What happens when fitness preparation meets real world demand?
Does the body hold up in travel’s requirements – hauling luggage, sitting for hours, climbing stairs?
Can a slightly aging body pass the Rubber Meets the Road test?
Do cardiovascular, strength and mobility training – even a little – give a person capability to schlep bulky items, sling bag straps over both shoulders and independently move when finding herself away from normal support people and mechanisms?
On last week’s Pool School (pocket billiards) Boot Camp vacation to Colorado I discovered that the answer is an unequivocal Yes.
One example was hoisting myself and suitcase up a flight of narrow stairs. (Mary -see below-was helping by carrying my cuestick case.)
Even with an iffy knee, the body’s strong core, enabled managing the close-step stairs with ease.
Rationale for exercise becomes becomes clear and stark when the body requires movement skill to manage itself independently.
At its most basic level here are the critical Activities of Daily Living (ADL’s) that fitness saves:
Bathing.
Dressing.
Eating.
Transferring.
Toileting.
Continence.
Our Strong, Lean and Limber mantra appeals to us.
Beneath that, though, is the body’s call for lifelong freedom and independence in all foundational activities.
The great joy is that we can maintain this freedom by choosing to walk, dance, lift a dumbbell, stretch, take any kind of group fitness class, when the body would rather sit and be sedentary.
Rubber Meets the Road equals Moment of Truth. Love it. WF!
One of our Zoom Zumba® Gold students, Mary and husband, Rich, drove down from Laramie, Wyoming to meet me in Ft. Collins, Colorado for dinner.
What Fun. Thank you, Mary!
