Do you think of your body the way you think of your car? When a few lucky individuals buy a sports car that has some of the best automotive engineering available today, watch them read the maintenance manuals religiously.

They take their car for inspection even when it purrs like a kitten and book it in for attention as soon as something does not feel right. And they’re very concerned.

That car is their most loved possession, a mark of all the long and hard hours they put on the job so they could finally own it. It cost a LOT of dollars, so looking after it is logically, their # 1 priority.

But how important is the person that drives that car? Shouldn’t that person – shouldn’t YOU – be the #1 priority?

The average lifespan of men and women is 80 years, give or take a few years. The sad truth is, a large number of men and women look and feel 80 long before they even make it to 45! You can spot the give away signs from their physical appearance:

* drooping dry skin
* unsightly posture
* uneven and unsteady walk (they need to drag around those extra pounds)
* sore joints
* displaying the “I’m not happy because I look terrible” look

Now, if their external look is this awful, just think what the inside is like! Most likely, it’s even worse:

* clogged vessels
* inefficient heart
* mounds of fat parked in or around vital organs
* Conditions such as diabetes, nervous tension, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease that are quietly developing.

If fitness gurus had it their way, they’d introduce legislation to make exercise compulsory as soon as a baby leaves the cradle, not during the teenage years when obesity is likely to strike.

But fitness must not be associated with any age limit. You can commence at 9 or at 30 – even at 50 and 60 – the principle being that fitness should not be seen as the cure for an ailment that’s already come about. As the saying goes, don’t wait for illness to strike.

Brad King and Dr. Michael Schmidt in “Bio Age, Ten Steps to a Younger You” (Macmillan, Canada, 2001) devised a questionnaire for assessing physical damage to a body as a result of no exercise. Some of their guidelines include:

Begin with the question, “How do I look?” Do any of these apply to you?
* Am I overweight, pear or apple shaped?
* Do I have a spare tire around my middle?
* Has my skin become excessively dry, almost paper-thin?

Next, ask: “How do I feel?”
Do my joints hurt before or after any physical exercise?
* Am I continually anxious and worried?
* Do I feel fatigued and sluggish most of the time?
* Do I suffer from mood swings?

Last question, “How am I doing?”
* Are simple walking and climbing stairs difficult?
* Do I have problems concentrating?
* Is running impossible for me now?
* Am I unable to sit straight, preferring to slouch or stoop my shoulders?1

You’ve finished your basic assessment. Note, however, that other exercise or fitness experts will have created their own parameters or indices for assessing your body’s overall state and one isn’t better than the other.

As long as they include all dimensions of the self – physical, psychological and mental – they are as valid as the next person’s assessment charts.

Now you need to develop your very own ACTION PLAN.

References: 1 Brad J. King & Dr. Michael A. Schmidt. Bio Age – Ten Steps to a Younger You. Macmillan, Canada. 2001.

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