USE WHAT YOU HAVE

In my bookshelf, I discovered a home decorating book with the theme of using what you have to create a whole new look. The author's premise is that this approach lets you emphasize what you know you already like, then creatively modify and use what you already own, and also save time, money and energy in the process. Cool concept. What's even cooler is how I see this relate to exercise.

Think about it. Have you ever walked through the gym and made a mental note of those arms, that butt, and these abs and wanted them as your own? Stay with me here. Guys, think clean and recognize yourself in this, too. It's as if we are filling a plate of perfection at a body buffet. Within minutes, we can identify the ideal body parts we want to pile on our dish of personal fitness quests.

In comes the trainer. It's our job, this potential client believes, to show them how they can acquire that perfection. I shake my head. Can't do it, I tell them. Never have and never will. The client-to-be (or not) tightens her mouth in defiance as if I just reneged on a bargain we'd made. Or maybe she's just thinking I'm not qualified enough to perform the magic she's looking for. But the reason I can't do it is that these body parts are not hers to begin with! She is not looking within her own house at what she already owns - THAT I can work with. The derriere de jour pictured on the cover of the latest tabloid, or the abs of the twenty-one year old pilates buff are not available for trade or barter. However, a person's natural shape - assets and weaknesses - is very much up for exercise negotiation.

So where do you begin? As a trainer, I am repeatedly helping my clients realign their perception of their body with reality. Unfortunately, both men and women of middle age and beyond, are coming to grips with age-related changes to their bodies and to those body parts they have yet to own in the first place. Add to that the media's version of an "ideal" that never includes these age-related changes, and you have body-disconnect BIG TIME. My training helps me observe my client's dress, posture,and gestures plus hear their words so that I can assess the degree of disassociation. Then it's my job to help close the gap between what is and what is attainable; and then help them get there.

A body scan is first and foremost. No, you don't need a prescription for this, nor do you need to drink a radioactive milkshake and then slide through a steel Yodel. But you do need objective eyes. A close friend would do, or hire a trainer. Take a good look at what you already own: long or short legs, a wide or narrow pelvis, sinewy muscles or the shorter, stockier variety.

Then, make a list of what you like about your body - what is working for you? What can you emphasize about your shape that boosts your body image?

Once that's done, make a realistic appraisal of the body parts - best described as muscle groups - that you can improve through exercise. If it's defined arms you desire, don't look at the biceps of a body builder when you're built like a marathoner and want to maintain that shape. Work with what you have and make it better through proper exercise technique and selection. Seek the help of a certified professional if you are stuck at this point.

We all look in the mirror and want to make changes. And that accelerates as the aging process remodels our skin and bodies in ways we find difficult to accept. The reality is, our bodies are continuously changing, but they are still ours. And the sooner we step down from that buffet mentality of hoarding an array of unrealistic body part images on our plate of perfection, the sooner we can reconnect with what is ours and savor its uniqueness.

Remember, you start with an open floor plan in your already-constructed house. But it's still your house. Check out what you own, make the most of what's there, and improve what you can. Then enjoy your house. Shut the blinds and stop looking at your neighbor's house.