((No, that amazingly flexible lady isn’t me: I was never that flexible, not even when I was in kindergarten, or ballet)) I don’t know if I have the right to talk about ignorance about health… in this particular area… because I have been ignorant for a long time now, myself.

Before I moved here, where I live now, I used to go to the gym or a personal trainer 2-3 times a week.

In my younger, school years I was an athlete, a gymnast, a swimmer, and in the past 13 years I was counting on the muscles I developed over the years… and… here is the ignorance, I didn’t comprehend that my muscles atrophied.

But… saving grace, I have a community center at the bottom of the hill, and they have a weekly seniors exercise class: to prevent falling…

It started this past Tuesday, and decided to go.

I was mortified how weak and uncoordinated I was.

But by the end of the 45 minute class I felt years younger, a lot more cheerful, and actually had no pain in my knees and my hip, which were killing me on the way down the hill.

It took me half an hour to pull myself up on the steps, and I can barely walk now, but other than muscle soreness: no pain.

Makes no sense… and that is what shows me that I’ve been ignorant.

You see, I have been walking, on and off, up the hill, down the hill, but that is not the same as have the simple and varied exercises we were doing in the class, for half of them actually sitting on a chair. Not the same.

How stupid I have been.

So now I am energized. I am electrified. I have found probably the last missing piece of the puzzle of my physical issues… lack of proper and varied muscle and joint movement.

Last year I passed up on yoga, because I was worried that I would not be able to climb up the hill once the class is over…

I lost a year.

Now, most of Tuesday afternoon I was in bed reading…

But I am sure in another week or two the little class for old people won’t whack me out… I’ll do a little exercising on my own; I have found some good videos for it.

Please don’t wait until you are my age and getting up a flight of steps is an issue…

Start now. You don’t have to do anything heavy duty, but if you can find a class like mine that makes all your muscles gently come alive.

It can add ten-twenty-thirty years to your life.

I repeat: not heavy duty… overexercising is actually a killer. The oxidative stress can actually make you age faster.

Here is a chair workout I can do sitting in front of my computer…

Read the original article: Ignorance in health matters is killing you