1/2 Marathon Workout for 12/8-12/13

THIS WEEK WE ARE JUST APPROCAHING THE 1/2 WAY MARK OF THE 13.1 MILES WE ARE GOING TO CONQUER. SOME OF YOU HAVE DROPPED OUT, BECAUSE IT IS DIFFICULT, NOTHING WORTH DOING IS EASY. MAKE UP YOUR MIND YOU ARE GOING TO DO THIS COME HELL OR HIGH WATER AND STICK TO IT.
ASSIGNMENT:
5 MILES 2 TIMES THIS WEEK THAT IS ALL. IF YOU WANT TO BREAK UP THE 5 MILES INTO TO SEGMENTS OF 2.5 IN THE MORNING AND 2.5 IN THE EVENING THEN THAT IS FINE, BUT 5 MILES TWICE THIS WEEK.

SUNDAY WE MEET AT 9:00AM TYLER ST PARKING LOT AND SURF RD.

A friend of mine asked me a question, she has read my articles in the past and this is how she posed her question, I have a personal question for you, please be “honest”, as if the things I write for publication are for show or some type of sales pitch. I tend to be very honest, some say brutally when asked questions but her question went like this:

Can you get really fit, I mean get shapely legs and arms at my age (she is 48 and I will not be using her name, I want to live to see Christmas). She goes on to say that she looks great for her age but she sees her arms and legs turning to Jell-O. My friend wants to know is it possible to get fit by walking really hard and maybe doing weights, she loves kickboxing and boxing but hates machines and stationary bikes, she needs to have fun in order to be consistent. She feels as though she is getting too old to get hard muscles and she wants to know is she right. Then my friend has the grand finale question of: “What is the fastest way to get your arms fit because the butt and legs she can hide under clothing. Hide under clothing? You might be able to hide your fatness or flabbiness under your clothes but you can’t hide from yourself.

My friend does not know I am answering her in print but she will find out relatively fast. Anyway I wanted to present this question because so many women have the same questions and the short answer is: Yes, you can get really fit arms and legs very shapely at age 48. However, if one wants to keep fit arms and legs and have them shapely at any age one must continue to do whatever combination of exercise that made them fit and shapely. One cannot exercise for 6 months and upon being satisfied with the result of the work on those newly toned arms and legs then stop exercising. Just think of Tina Turner at age 69, shapely legs, fit arms, there is your example people.

 Read these words very carefully maintaining a toned and fit physique is the journey “Carrie” from “Sex and the City” has with buying shoes you don’t stop, it is a life long proposition, there may be times you don’t buy as many shoes or don’t exercise as frequently but you never stop-period. I hear weekly from people that are presently out of shape “Oh I used to work out 3-4 times a week and I was in good shape but I stopped”. I will not go into the shape they are in now, place your own interpretation on that prospect.

 I don’t know if it is possible for her to get fit by “walking hard” and “doing weights” because this is subjective and I have never seen my friend “walk hard” or “do weights”, that being said if one maintains a walking pace that would be similar to how women walk when there is a 50% off sale at Macy’s then yes that walking is good and beneficial. As far as the “doing weights”, again not having seen my friend weight train, I have no idea, but it is possible and mandatory for her to tone those arms in no time using weight training exercises several times a week.

She likes kickboxing and boxing and this will give her a great cardio workout and most places that specialize in this type of format will incorporate weight training into their prescribed routines, after all what good is a punch if it only carries enough strength behind to lift a soup can?

So I hope I have given my friend part of the answer she has asked me, without more detailed information about her exact regiment and frequency of days and intensity level I can only give her “honest” answers to the questions posed.