Just Move: New Approach To Fitness After 50

You can’t help getting older, but you don’t have to get old. Exercise is the one anti-aging treatment entirely in your own power. Take charge of your fitness with Just Move! Written specifically for people north of sixty by James P. Owen, a former couch potato who’s decidedly within that demographic, it aims to be inspiring, even empowering, while giving you just enough knowledge to create your own exercise program fitness basics you need to know with no confusing buzzwords or information overload.

Former Wall Street rainmaker Owen was 70 when he decided he had to get fit. Years of a chair-bound lifestyle had left him stiff, weak, and plagued by aches and pains. With help from the experts, he distilled the secrets to becoming functionally fit, an approach very different from old-school bodybuilding. He also developed a step-by-step program that can be tailored to any level of physical ability.

Along the way he learned why cardio machines aren’t enough, what it takes to be “functionally fit” for daily life, and how to stay motivated. Today, Owen is in better shape than he was at 25, and he is a passionate evangelist for fitness as a way of life. He has proved that you don’t have to be powerless in the face of advancing years: if you make a commitment to “just move,” you can take charge of the aging process and make your coming years the best they can be.

The book is divided into two sections, with the first providing fascinating information and the second showing step-by-step details of how to put the best fitness principles into practice.

Just Move! is one part essential information, one part inspiration, and one part step-by-step program, all geared to those at midlife or beyond. Jim’s approach is flexible, with insights, advice, and basic movements you can tailor to your own goals and favorite activities.

Owen’s practical and inspirational guide will empower anyone who’s over 50 and wants to:

• Get fit, but thinks it’s too hard – or too late
• See more results from working out
• Feel better and look younger
• Have fewer aches and pains
• Know how to avoid injuries and falls
• Be more motivated to stay active

Owen notes that balance is critical as we age. In 2010, more than 13 million Americans reported fall-related injuries. These injuries are particularly dire for people over 65. Balance disorders can be caused by inner ear, central nervous system, cardiovascular, or vision problems, as well as normal aging. Medications and some over-the-counter drugs can affect balance.

SIGNS OF TROUBLE

According to Owen, balance may be a problem if:

• You can’t stand on one foot with your eyes closed for at least 5 seconds if you’re 65 years old; 8 seconds if you’re 55 years old; and 12 seconds if you’re 45 years old. Do this test next to a wall or with a partner close by to make sure you don’t fall.
• You stop walking when you talk. The cognitive demands of doing both may be too taxing for your brain.
• Rough, uneven surfaces or stairs seem more daunting than you remember.
• You have already fallen – especially if you fell without knowing why.
• You experience brief spells of dizziness, light headedness, blurred vision, or the feeling that the room is spinning.
• At times you feel disoriented, and may even forget where you are or what time it is.
• You feel as though you’re moving when you are actually sitting or standing still.

Whatever your goals and preferences, this book is designed to help you pursue the fitness program that works for you, taking it one step at a time. Anything you can do to be active is all good. The important thing is to get moving!