On a Personal Note, 53 and Still Going Strong

Last September I wrote a blog titled ’52 and Going Strong’. I had just finished my second cycle of the famed, P90X Extreme Home Fitness program which helped whipped me into incredible shape, and not just for my age. Now, a year later I’ve completed my fourth 90 day cycle of P90X and I am proud to say that I have made further progress, dropping 8 more pounds to 178, the lowest weight I’ve been in about 15 years. Not only that, I broke my personal chin-up record, now 30 reps, and my pushup record, 60 reps. If it sounds like I am bragging, well, perhaps a little. Long ago I was inspired by fitness guru Jack LaLanne, who performed new feats of strength each year on his birthday, I got into the habit of always ending a training cycle on my birthday with the goal of breaking new personal records. However, although I have been doing this since the mid-90‘s my weight had creeped up to an unacceptable 220 pounds, at 5’ 10”, about 4 years ago. Activities like backcountry hiking while lugging my photography gear became too restrictive. Not anymore.

So why am I writing about this in a photography blog? Because being overweight or out of shape is often a major a excuse for not getting shots that are more than a 15 minute walk from the car. In the past two years I got into hiking and camping for my landscape photo shoots. I had captured most of the easy, near the car shots, in my favorite places and began to explore the backcountry to shoot lesser known waterfalls and views from mountaintops. I often refer to these shots as the ones I earned. Being in great shape lets me take on major physical challenges that require up to 11 hours of strenuous mountain hiking. This year I took on my most ambitious mountain hike, the Franconia Ridge Trail up to and across three mountains in the Franconia Notch in New Hampshire. As a matter of fact I did it twice with the second trek earlier this week - blog to follow when I return home. The reward for this effort was unsurpassed views, a very soar body, and a grand sense of accomplishment. There is nothing like standing on top of a mountain you climbed or hiked that is the highest for miles around. These places are also allow for opportunity to shoot 360 degree panorama views.

I guess the moral of all this is if you enjoy nature and want to capture landscapes that have not been photographed by thousands of others, you need to be in good shape to get there. Don’t let age or weight become the excuse. It is possible to whip your body in great shape, even in your 50’s, if you have the time, dedication and discipline to take care of your most important piece of equipment, your body. I do recommend the P90X for that since but it is not simply a way to get strong, it is a way to get super fit - see short success story video from the President of Beach Body who completed and describes the course. A word of caution, P90X is not a program to go from out of shape to good shape, it is a program to take you from good shape to great shape - possibly the best shape of your life. If I can do it, so can you.