FORTY AND FREE!  LOOKING BACK AT THE PAST AND CELEBRATING SO MUCH MORE!

Rommell Corpuz, Director of Performax Training at The Family Life Fitness Center

Happy Birthday to you!  Happy Birthday to you!  Happy Birthday dear, (your name), Happy Birthday to you!  Whether you choose to celebrate or commiserate the event, your birthday reminds you of the inevitable passage of time in your life and what you did with it or did not do with it.  In the world of health and fitness, it is widely accepted fact that you stand to lose 15% of lean body mass between the ages of 30 and 60.  Roger Feilding, PhD director of the Nutrition, Exercise Physiology and Sarcopenia Laboratory at Tufts University in Boston confirms, ‘we are becoming much more aware now than at any time in the past that as people get older, the amount of muscle they have in their body becomes smaller’.  As a result, the aging population begins to reflect on ‘what they did not do’ as they lose strength.  For some it may even be ‘what they cannot do’, as Barbara Bushman PhD, a professor of health, physical education and recreation at Missouri State University cites one study that reveals 40% of women ages 55 - 64 said they could not lift 10 pounds.  Dr. Williamson, the clinical director of the J. Paul Sticht Center on Aging and Rehabilitation at Wake Forest University targets the age of 40 as the key point to not just get active, but hit the gym and most importantly lift some weights.  Associate professor of exercise science at Wake Forest University Tony Marsh, PhD advises, ‘The strength of your muscles is fundamental in maintaining your independence.’  In our commitment to provide a quality of life changing experience at the Family Life Fitness Center, we provide quality programs and qualified service as a resource for you to Get Strong!  Stay Strong! and Finish Strong!  Learn how to train with a Kettlebell and develop strength that you can use!  Get yourself back into heart health with the energy of a Group Cycling Class and the encouragement of others getting back into shape just like you!  Need a little help to get started, no problem, the Family Life Fitness Center offers F.I.T. Training, as well as One-on-One Performax Training to get you reacquainted with yourself, orient you to the fitness center and introduce a program to get you back on track to energy, vitality and longevity!

As the reflections of the inevitable loss of muscle charge you with the responsibility to take the best care of your body as possible, the wisdom, knowledge and experience from your life puts you in the position to gain all of that and more.  Looking back at it all, you may come to realize the truth of successful living in what is my personal favorite of Pastor Kenny Foreman’s sermons, ‘mistakes are not fatal, failure is not final and delays are not denials’.  In her experience of turning 40 years young, my wife, best friend and business partner exemplified this truth in taking the first steps into the best years of her life.  Aurora’s big ‘Four - O’ became a strategic plan for her life from diet, exercise, relationships, travel and wardrobe.  She set out to accomplish all things new and exciting before the turn of her fourth decade.  As she took ‘one day at a time’, diet became nourishment not denial, exercise became enjoyable not dreaded, relationships became fulfilling not challenging, travel became purposeful not just passing time and her wardrobe became a reflection of who she was on the inside rather than a reflection of what she unrealistically wanted to be on the outside.   In the year long ambition to achieve at 40, Aurora was mentally strong as ever, physically fitter than she thought possible and emotionally prepared to serve as a godly woman of instruction, influence and inspiration.  Coincidentally, it would seem that Aurora may not be alone in the epiphany of the decades.  A recent poll conducted by More magazine of women over 40 revealed the top reasons to turn from the years behind and look forward to those ahead.  Learning from mistakes become life giving instead of giving up on life, as those polled shared “we’ve honed the ability to allow things to roll off of our backs”, mistakes are learned from and easily forgotten.  Getting back up from failures provides hope in a new beginning as those over 40 remind themselves “we’ve grown to appreciate the singularity of our own selves and finally absorbed the reality of it”, no matter what the flaws or great the shortcomings, gone are the days spent in despair preventing the experience of love, happiness and joy.  What once were delays give way to the blessings of deliverance as those moving into the fourth decade of life commented on the confidence in the ‘yes’ and contentment in the ‘no’ decisions of their lives and “regaining all the time obsessing over turning 40” (50 or maybe even 60). 

As many of you have or will turn the corner of the decades embrace the blessing of the Freedom at Forty as the realities of life define your circumstances but do not define you and will never again confine you.

Stop by and visit at Performax Training at The Family Life Fitness Center and share your story of not just living life, but living it to the ‘Fullness of God’ (Eph 3:19).  We look forward to seeing you soon and helping you to not just change your body, but change your life!

The Interlock

The theory behind the interlock, which works best with standard suitcases and travel packs, is that each piece of clothing folds over or is cushioned by another piece. It’s really quite simple:

1. Lay a pair of slacks or a skirt across an open suitcase from north to south, allowing some surplus to drape over each side.

2. Place a sweater from east to west, allowing arms to drape both east and west and tail to drape to the south.

3. Now flip the northern part of the slacks over the top of the sweater, fold the sweater arms in over this, then fold the bottom of the sweater and the southern part of the slacks or skirt over everything.You’ve created a neat stack of clothing that provides cushioning everywhere a wrinkle wants to be.  You can add as many garments to this construction as you wish.When you’ve finished, fill in the corners and crevices with underwear, socks, scarves, and so on. Place shoes heel down along the hinges of your suitcase.  A quick aside about packing your shoes: they should never be empty. They should always be stuffed with underwear, socks, a child’s shoe, a purse-size travel umbrella.Otherwise, the hollows of your shoes are just wasted space, and those small items are free to wriggle into whatever crevice they please.  We all harbor fears that a customs official will fling open our suitcase, revealing our “unmentionables”to the airport community at large. Stuff them in a shoe and he’ll never notice.! Depending on how fancy you want to get, you can buy cloth drawstring shoe bags, or you can simply place each shoe in its own plastic shopping bag. But do pack shoes separately rather than as a pair- the positioning possibilities are greater that way.

Rock and Roll

Rolling is an easy way to pack clothing, both light and heavy. It works best for duffels and travel packs, but if your trip is casual, you can roll garments for standard suitcases as well.  Let’s demonstrate with a T-shirt: Lay the shirt facedown on a flat surface. Fold in the sleeves.Then,with the shirt still facedown, begin to roll it up from the bottom hem. Smooth it as you go, so that no wrinkles are folded in.The collar should wind up on the outside of the roll.Jeans are a natural for this process. So are dress slacks: Hold them upside down, by the cuffs, and lay them out.Then roll from the cuffs up.This technique even works for sports jackets: Fold the jacket in half lengthwise, tucking the arms inside.Then begin at the top and roll down.Delicate garments should be placed on top of T-shirts or tissue paper before being rolled. I’ve had great luck rolling a pique sundress by filling the dress with a plastic dry-cleaning bag, backing and fronting it with two more bags, then rolling it from the hem up. Skirts can be done this way as well. Put a plastic dry-cleaning bag inside the skirt to pad it, theneither roll it or fold it in half lengthwise over another garment to pad the crease, and then roll.

Soon, you’ll be able to roll anything.

 Twin Towers

This is the way that most people put clothing into their luggage. Fold your clothes and place themin the case in two neat stacks. If you know your trip schedule, pile them chronologically – the first day’s outfit on top, the second day’s clothes below that, and so forth. This will eliminate the need to paw through everything to unearth that purple polo shirt you meant to wear in the opening daygolf tournament. Fill in around the edges and in the center with underwear and socks,bathing suits, etc. Try to pack snugly so that things will not move around in the suitcase. If it has interior straps that you can use to secure clothing, use them.  Alternatively, you can roll your clothes and then stack them neatly like cigarettes in a box.Again, if you lay them in so that the things you plan to wear first are on top, you’ll have an easier time getting to your gear.