I was athletic my whole life. When I was a kid, nobody had video games or central air, so we all met up in the park to play. The only time I set foot in the house was to eat, sleep, and watch my beloved Detroit Tigers on tv. After high school graduation, I attended Michigan State where it seemed impossible to gain weight since the nearest class was a 20 minute walk away. (Unless you were one of those kids who actually had a bus pass.) After college, I continued to play sports like volleyball and tennis.
Now, flash forward 20 years and I have had 3 knee surgeries (soccer) and also developed some spinal arthritis. Finding the right exercise routine or program has not been any easy task. Infomerical offers are very enticing, and that is when I really starting thinking about the ‘plateau’ theory of exercise gains. I knew I wanted a program where I would not experience the ‘plateau effect’, which would result in a lot work with minimal payoff. (Or so they want you to believe.) What I forgot when trying these programs is that I had not consistently exercised since my first son was born 15 years ago. I still had the mindset that I was 20 and could do anything. What I soon realized was I was middle aged and my bones didn’t like how they felt after I did some intense-non-plateau-forming exercise.
My ultimate conclusion after a year of searching is to go back to the old reliable treadmill. I try to walk/run 2-3 miles a day. My goal is not major weight loss or super lean body, but to just be in good health. I may end up reaching the plateau, but with the other programs, I couldn’t even get very far up the mountain.
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I’m catching up with your archive this afternoon…good luck on your routine! Since more recent posts mention it as well, it’s cool to know this stuck!