As a procrastinator and generally lazy person, I can come up with excuses to avoid exercising pretty easily.
But numbers don't lie.
While conducting an interview at SunUte Community Center about getting in shape, their staff told me about the Polar BodyAge system. An assessment takes about 20 minutes and is free for SunUte members. Did I want to give it a try?
Knowing I've slacked off on my exercise this winter, I figured what the heck.
I set an appointment, and Claudette Casaus, a trainer at SunUte, met me at a computer in front of the training desk.
So far, so good.
We started with the basics - height, weight, blood pressure. Blessed with healthy genes, my blood pressure was 99/66. Weight? Oh, let's just say a little higher than I'd like. Flexibility test: did well on that, hitting "moderate" on their scale.
Body fat percentage? 34.7 percent of my tired old mom body is fat. That's a little higher than it should be - 20 to 30 percent is considered a healthy range.
Taking all of that into consideration, my 47.8-year-old body is comparable to a that of a healthy 50-year-old.
Well humph.
I wanted a rosy assessment, not grim reality.
Claudette smiled. It could be worse. She said I need to get moving more. I also need to drink more water.
I drink a lot of tea, I pointed out. Drink some water too, she said.
I'm pretty good about making it to the gym for my weekly fitness class, but after that, you see...
Quit the excuses, she recommended. At least two sessions a week of cardio and weights for 35 minutes or more, then try to do something with the kids on the weekend.
Honestly, getting a little extra exercise shouldn't be that hard, I told myself.
I'll start next week.
