Sit-ups, Push-ups and Planks, Oh my!

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As I’ve gotten older, the form of my body has changed. I knew that people lose muscle as they get older, but I didn’t think about the effects of that process. I didn’t realize that the muscle would be replaced by body fat.

My previously flat stomach grown rotund, hips developing what people commonly refer to as “love handles.” I didn’t realize how easy I had it when I was younger. No need for exercise to keep my slim form.

Now things are quite different. There is no passive slimness, I have to take actions if I want it.

I don’t only want to slim down and build muscle to look good. There is many health benefits associated with a smaller waist and lower body fat percentage.

I’ve heard that health outcomes have been more tied to waist circumference than being a “healthy” weight. I’ve read that 31 and below is ideal for the waist measurement. I measure my waist every Saturday morning first thing when I get up.

A healthy body fat percentage for women is 14-31%. I have a digital scale that measures body fat percentage. I’m currently at 29.4% body fat but I’d like to get it down to 25. It’s a simple equation: the more muscle, the less body fat.

For several months I’ve been doing one-minute planks five to six times a day. Every ninety minutes during the workday. I do the forearm version. It hasn’t gotten any easier despite doing it multiple times a day. I try to read a book while planking. Something to distract the mind from the torture one minute in a pose that relies on so many muscles. It impacts your core muscles, shoulders, upper and lower body, everything really.

The start of this month, I added push-ups to that repertoire. At my local gym, the gym leader (not a Pokemon gym trainer!) showed me these booty bands you can put around your forearms to make pushups easier. When you go down towards the ground, it helps bring you back up. I don’t really understand the physics of it. She said the heavier the band the easier the pushup. I’m using the heaviest band right now: 35-45 lbs.

This past Wednesday I installed a sit-up bar under my door frame. It helps keep my feet down. Now I’ve built the routine into 10 sit-ups, 10 push-ups and a one-minute forearm plank. I perform this set of exercises right before work at 8:50 am, then at 10:30 am, 12 pm, 1:30 pm, 3 pm and 4:30 pm.

I’m nearly 40 and in good health so far but I know that I need to keep my body in good shape to become that healthy 80-year-old I’ve imagined. I would highly recommend getting some form of exercise into your daily or weekly routine.