So if I’m 43 years old, am I considered middle-aged? I think it depends on who you ask. I really hate that category…it sounds so…well, old.
But I felt better about it when I recently read an article about Michelle Obama and Ellen DeGeneres having a pushup contest. The article even included a little clip from the show, so I could see it.
Without even breaking a sweat, first lady Obama was able to do 25 pushups. What impressed me even more was that it wasn’t the kind you do from the knees, these were from her toes. Ellen, on the other hand, completed 20.
Now I won’t tell you how many of those types of pushups I can do but I will say it is nowhere near what Mrs. Obama and Ellen was able to. Instead of making me feel defeated, it actually inspired me. If these ladies, 48 (Obama) and 54 (DeGeneres) years old can do it, I can too.
Sometimes I need extra incentives such as this to spur me forward. In fact, although this news story was from the beginning of the month, I only happened to read it recently. It was actually good timing because I was in that feeling of defeat mode.
One comment in particular that I read was perfect timing for some of the things I was struggling with. It was from a woman who works with the “American Council on Exercise.” She said, “It really goes to prove that some of the things we attribute to aging can be undone, or prevented, by regular exercise.”
This means I shouldn’t give up. There are just too many benefits. And although some days it can feel like my age or my crazy hormones are getting in the way of being successful, I can know that with persistence and consistency it will all pay off in the long run.
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Photo by Senior Airman Kathrine McDowell, USAF in Wikimedia Commons