Fitness Over 40: What’s In. What’s Out.
The photo above is the stack of magazines currently sitting on my coffee table. (Cabana, The Gentlewoman, Oh Reader, Violet, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, The Coastal Table, Parabola, The Paris Review.)
There’s this thing I’m known for (that not everybody knows): I LOVE MAGAZINES!!!!!
As a child of the 80s and 90s, magazines were my favorite source of entertainment, creative inspiration and education.
When I first started lifting weights at age 16, articles in Shape and Men’s Health guided me through the weight room.
My subscriptions over the decades have been plentiful.
One of my favorite weekend activities is finding a magazine stand, buying a few and reading them with a cup of coffee and a pastry.
Do you remember that standard feature of magazines in the 90s and 00s, the In + Out List?
Here’s my homage to that vintage trend:
In: Easy yet effective workouts that leave you feeling energized.
Out: Overly challenging workouts that leave you feeling exhausted.
In: Steady consistency.
Out: All-or-nothing mentality.
In: Doing your workout right now.
Out: Waiting for the perfect moment.
In: Workouts that maintain joint health and integrity.
Out: Workouts that ignore biomechanics and wreak havoc on your joints.
In: The knowledge that it is best to perform basic movements with impeccable technique.
Out: The belief that it is best to work yourself into a sweaty mess with every workout.
In: Maintaining your strength and vitality while also accepting certain realities that come with an aging body.
Out: Anti-aging and chasing the appearance of youth.
In: Developing a light-hearted curiosity about your body and how it’s capable of performing.
Out: Hyperfocusing on a rigid aesthetic goal.
In: Letting pleasure and play lead the way.
Out: White-knuckling your way through workouts.
In: Learning to love doing the same workouts for several weeks in a row.
Out: Constantly looking for something new and novel to keep yourself entertained.
In: Moving your body every day in a way that feels good to you. Finding ways to make consistency work for you.
Out: Skipping workouts because you’re not in the mood or you believe you don’t have enough time.
In: Eating to support performance, muscle and bone mass, steady blood sugar, healthy digestion and low inflammation.
Out: Restrictive fad diets.
In: Simple workouts and tried-and-true exercise principles.
Out: Complicated workouts and trendy exercise modalities.
Any others I should add to the list?
Do you have a favorite magazine from the past or present?
Don’t hide out, send me a shout-out!