Dont Count Yourself Out: Staying Fit After 35
by By Gordon, Neil and Connors, Jimmy
Category: Medical , General

Over the years, Jimmy Connors has come to symbolize the indomitable spirit of the world-class athlete. Now forty years old, Connors continues to compete with players half his age in tournaments around the world and attributes his extraordinary endurance to his personal fitness program. Here, Jimmy Connors shares the program he and Neil Gordon, M.D., of the Kenneth Cooper Aerobics Center developed to keep him at the top of the tennis world.The Connors program is designed for people who have never exercised as well as for those who already have reached an advanced level of fitness. Unique in its sensible approach to exercise, here is a program that encourages you to create your own regimen to achieve your personal fitness or health goals. While you follow his program, Jimmy will help you stay on course by sharing the motivational techniques he uses to stay pumped up.One of the first things you'll learn is that it's not what you do - but how you do it; keeping track of how hard the exercise feels is key to getting the most benefit from it. At an early age, Jimmy learned to listen to his body, or, as Neil Gordon explains in more scientific terms, to monitor his perceived level of exertion. Now you'll find out why it's not beneficial to exercise too intensely, how to rate your perceived exertion, and what your target level should be.Two sixteen-week programs - one for the novice, one for the more advanced - offer a wide spectrum of activities that include aerobic, weight-resistance training, and stretching exercises. Each activity earns you a certain number of points determined by the number of calories burned. Comprehensive charts are provided of nearly a hundred different activities with their rating equivalencies. You'll learn how to use the Connors Count as your scorekeeper. Once you've embarked on the program of your choice, you'll find yourself echoing Jimmy's own proclamation, "I may be forty, but I don't know when, if ever, I've felt more alive or more in control of my life."