Exercise: More Important Than Ever My friend, John Hanc, a writer from Long Island, New York, has done several interviews with me over the years about basic fitness trends. He writes for several nationally published newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times and, Runners World about fitness-related topics. I’m excited that this Alabamian and New Yorker can come together to write this article for you! During the pandemic, we talked about how our exercise had been affected and how we were coping. He is an avid runner, works out with a personal trainer and practices yoga. John, like the rest of us, is a BOOMER and exercise has been a part of his life for 40 years. When the stay-at-home order was put in place in both New York and Montgomery, the one thing that was not taken away was going outside to walk, run or do any kind of physical activity in our homes. As most of you are aware, COVID – 19 virus seems to hit the older population
26 BOOM!
July 2020
RiverRegionBoom.com
Fitness over Fifty by Leigh Anne Richards
and the people with chronic diseases the hardest. Some chronic diseases include Diabetes, Heart Disease, Obesity, etc., all conditions that can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy lifestyle that includes physical activity So if I can shout this from the roof tops (without a mask on), NOW should be a wakeup call to get active! In fact, COVID-19 should be a wake-up call for all of us to get us moving and healthy—not just for our physical health, but our mental health as well. John and I also discussed the importance of mental health during this pandemic. We’ve seen an increase of stress, depression, anxiety, loneliness,
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feelings of hopelessness. Anybody out there struggling with these or still struggling? Research shows that exercise can
Even if you have exercised during the pandemic, a lot of us lost our ability to work out together in a group fitness setting. Yes, you can get those feel-good hormones when exercising at home, but what happens when your time to connect with people and socialize was at your local gym? Even though many of you could not be in your exercise class or your walking group, technology became a way to work out together. ZOOM has become a popular way to get to see your friends and exercise. While you still can’t be in the same room together, sharing the joys and challenges of a Spin class, you are still able to look at the faces, talk and laugh while working out. John pointed out that he felt like us BOOMERS became more familiar with technology during this time in order
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