Jason A. Belt

Seems like every guy in their 40s has a similar story starting with, ‘In my younger days I made some bad choices with my body, and now my (body part) hurts…’

I am no different and I would often complain of how my lower left side/back/hip was hurting and how it was frustrating to now be as capable as I was in my younger days…

And to compound the tragedy… I noticed that on my 40th birthday, Apple decided to adjust my fitness expectations lower. This ‘cliff’ was determined by the expected maximum heart rate for my new age bracket.

WHAT!?!

Are you telling me that because of my age I am just metrically limited? Yes, this is apparently a fact of life.

Not only did I feel it, my trusty sidekick, the Apple Watch, but was also telling me that I was doomed to a current and future life of limitations.

So, I sat on this news for about a year. Stewed on it. Yes, one year… I had other things to do…

Then about 4 months ago, I was dealing with some professional challenges, major stress, my watch beeping at me due to resting heart rate elevation during meetings, and my wife and I almost didn’t make it through a rim-to-rim in one day Grand Canyon challenge (Long Story), so I thought I need to hit this fitness gap head-on.

First, I started by actually looking at the Cardio Fitness metric for what it really was: The maximum amount of oxygen according to my watch that my body can consume during exercise.

So, simply… I can increase that number and my capability by exercising.

‘So do more things J’.

So, I set two goals: I want to move the number higher and stop some of the aches and pains. Time to research stretching and activity options for the old guy…

Second, I looked at ways to improve my flexibility and tapped into the yoga workouts on Apple Fitness and found the stretching to be helpful in alleviating some of the pain.

Third, I started moving more and incorporating some bodyweight training.

Fourth, upon deciding to make a professional change, with the consultation of my wife, I had the time (and brain space) to take on running and we both joined the Peloton community.

It has been 3 months since I tackled these 4 things and I can report that I feel so much better and really have very little nagging body pain. My cardio fitness number has moved from 35 as reported on my 40th birthday too as of this morning I am above 35.7 in 3 months of fitness. So, on the way up! I enjoy eating cleaner than before and find a sense of achievement in beating my personal records on the Peloton Tread. I found a trainer that I like in Jon Hosking #clubhosky and the routine of doing something fitness each day gives me something to look forward to much like sports did when I was younger. Also, I found that escaping into the workout was so good mentally. The Peloton trainers are very good at pushing you and connecting remotely, which was probably the biggest surprise for me.

So, people like me, in your 40s, complaining about your body hurting or being out of breath… It’s simple – if you don’t use it, you lose it.

The simple plan above worked for me, but find what works for you.

The Peloton Community and Apple Fitness have so many options, in fact, I just incorporated rowing via Apple Fitness last week and love it!

If you are someone like I was 3 months or so ago, tired of being sore and thinking that you could do more physically, then I encourage you to find a routine that works for you. The key for me was to keep it simple. Make some easy rules like; 1. I will do something active each day and 2. I will eat whole foods 80% of the time.

Keeping things simple has always enabled me to actually do the things and then find enjoyment faster vs stressing about a huge commitment.

Good luck and do something fun today!