Our neighborhood has great walking trails and sidewalks through neighborhoods as part of a master-planned community, and we've mapped out routes that are from 1.5, 3, and 3.5 miles long, and have a good range of flat to steep and shallow hills to negotiate to keep things from getting boring. We're also very fortunate that there's nice scenery and wildlife along the routes, and it's not uncommon to see rabbits, squirrels, different species of birds - including eagles, and even an otter that occupies one of the ponds at the nearby golf course. What is also good is that we see other people walking - from solo to couples and families, and from younger adults to seniors as we have a retirement community located next to our neighborhood.
Stay healthy and fit! ~
A benefit to our community is that walkers provide a second set of 'eyes' from the security standpoint in my opinion, and I often joke with ML that we need to go on 'foot patrol' which means 'time to go for a walk.' Sure, the frequency of walkers is non-existent in the night time hours, but I have seen people out as early as 0500 as I head out to work, which I think is great.
As we both get older, we know that walking regularly is not only important, but maintaining a weight-lifting program is too. Resistance exercises keep muscles and bone density in check, and we fortunately have a home-gym comprised of dumbbells, barbells, varying plates from 5lbs to 45lbs, a row and pull-down machine, and a flat bench that can also be configured to incline and decline setups. We don't have to drive out to a gym like we used to as we can do all of the exercises at home, and instead of a treadmill for cardio days, we just go for our walks.
Many people at work are surprised that I'm as old as I am when they find out because they say I look a lot younger and could pass for a guy still on active-duty. Well, I appreciate and am grateful when I hear things like that, but it's all due to me knowing from my parents and in-laws that as you get older, physical activity is so important - not only for your body, but for your mind also. ...and that I've always taken fitness seriously during my 32 years in uniform and now as a civilian working around military personnel. (Diet is the other part of this picture also and I'll save that for another post.)
Even if we're traveling, walking is part of the routine. And if there are stairs, we take stairs (within reason), and a lot of that is because we're eating out at restaurants more and the calories are more than we consume at home.
If you're younger and reading this, remember to keep up on your fitness regimen so that it doesn't become a chore or harder to do as you get older. Plus, as I used to tell my NCOs and Airmen, when you get older and 'things break' or you get sick, being in shape will help you recover better and faster.
Stay healthy and fit! ~
