Fitness
Fitness Corner: Exercise and our own mortality | MLTnews.com
You hear about it here and there.
A triathlete riding his bike suddenly suffers life-threatening distress. A golfer has a heart attack while golfing. A young athlete, perfectly healthy, collapses on the court. Famously, trainer Bob Harper of The Greatest Loser fame, had a massive heart attack while lifting weights and is only alive today because a doctor happened to be there to perform CPR.
These stories appear periodically in the news, or someone you know tells you about something they heard along these lines. Most often, the cause is heart-related, and generally any pre-existing heart issues were previously unknown. (Bob Harper was unaware of his genetic history of a cholesterol abnormality.)
In the last year or so, I’ve been thinking a lot more about my own potential sudden demise while working out. I mean, it could happen, right? This is a first for me. Obviously, suffering a heart-related incident is a risk of exercise of which I am well aware — in my line of work you have to assume it could happen at any time to any of your clients. I was CPR-certified for many years and kept an AED in the training facility because it is that much of a risk. There has never been an issue in all these years, for which I am so grateful!
But, until now, I’ve never worried about it for myself. It only dawned on me a few months ago that I’m now at an age where this is something that might behoove me to consider. (As an emphatic reminder, regardless of your age, if you have never worked out or done any kind of intense activity, you should always consider your heart and lung health prior to starting a workout program!)
Why is this coming up now? I think as a normal process of aging we begin to think and feel differently about our own capabilities. Yes, I’m older, and perhaps no longer can I take for granted how much more our younger bodies can handle. Also, I’m ramping up intensity in cardio after some downtime. (Peloton is a wonderful workout but it asks a lot of your cardiovascular system!) And, in this last year I have witnessed so many who have lost loved ones to illness/incidents or have been diagnosed with random serious health issues that seemed to come out of nowhere.
Anything can happen at any time, and it does.
And then there is my own significant family history of heart issues that I remined blissfully unaware of until, five years ago, when my mother found herself in the ER in India after two days of “indigestion,” which was diagnosed as myocardial infarction — one artery fully blocked. Turns out both of her brothers and her father have had heart issues; I was subsequently informed by my cousin!
Between that and my vegetarian, teetotaling, mostly organic, non-GMO-food-eating father dying of stage four colon cancer less than two months post-diagnosis, I now think a lot differently about my own mortality! It’s not that I don’t take good care of myself, I do. But so did my parents . . . .
These experiences can make you think more about what you and your body, which we all tend to take for granted, can truly handle. Perhaps this same awareness makes you take a little better care of this precious body in which you reside, the only one you’ve got.
Let’s review how you can best care for yourself while still allowing yourself a good and challenging workout.
1. Be not afraid. Exercise will always improve your overall health, wellness, quality of life and yes, longevity. There are risks of injury and death inherent in exercising, yes. But getting in your car every day also carries risk, and we still drive regularly. Work out smarter, not harder.
2. Exercise is inherently stressful, depending on your choice of programs. Biking will be harder on your body than gardening but will provide greater overall benefits. Lifting heavier weights provides greater muscle development and strength gains than lifting lighter weights. Any movement is good movement, regardless.
3. Get checked out by a medical professional prior to starting or restarting and exercise program, especially if you are sedentary or older (older means if you have any doubts at all about how you might react to challenging your body with exercise). It’s true they cannot completely rule out something happening at some point. But it provides a good foundation and some peace of mind.
4. Start with minimal intensity. Shorter duration of activity, less resistance, slower movement. Your body needs to understand you will be asking it to do more, but not so much that it puts you over the edge where it can’t keep up. There are so many benefits to exercise at any level of intensity, so err on the side of caution.
5. Know and listen to yourself. If you don’t feel right, or you feel sick, or you are having trouble catching your breath, you must listen to your body. Don’t push through, or say to yourself, “I’ll just finish this workout” or ignore the signals. When in doubt, back off.
6. Take a step back if necessary. If you’ve taken a week off, or aren’t feeling 100%, or are distracted, it’s okay to do less or lift lighter or choose a different kind of activity for that occasion. Our bodies don’t function optimally all the time, and our workouts don’t need to be the most challenging or intense every time. Your physical and mental health will thank you!
7. Find an experienced coach. This works both ways — a good coach will push you but also offer objectivity in how much you should and shouldn’t challenge yourself. We can all use perspective, guidance and support.
As a natural consequence of aging, your body simply cannot function as optimally as it used to. Even if you’re in the greatest shape, you must make concessions to being older that you didn’t have to do when you were younger. Nor can you ever go wrong at any age being aware of the inherent risks of exercise and taking action to mitigate those risks.
Few of us, including me, probably need to worry about dropping dead during a workout. But if doing so makes us care for our own health and well-being more conscientiously and carefully, then a little awareness of our own mortality can be a positive force!
— By Pritam Potts
Coach Pritam Potts is a writer and strength coach. After many years of training athletes and clients of all ages as co-owner of Edmonds-based Advanced Athlete LLC, she now lives in Dallas, Texas. She writes about health & fitness, grief & loss, love & life at www.mrsathlete.net and www.advancedathlete.com.
It’s important to have goals in mind as you set out on your fitness journey, whether you’re trying to lose weight, gain muscle or train for a race.skynesher/Supplied
January is notoriously the busiest time of year at the gym. A survey from Ipsos reported that a third of Canadians made exercise-based resolutions for the new year, with many folks working out for the first time or returning to fitness after some time away. If you’re new to exercise, the gym can feel like an intimidating place. But it doesn’t need to be. Below we’ve put together a few suggestions to help you get started.
Have a plan going in
For success at the gym, it’s crucial to have a plan. Before you start, it’s important to identify your goals. Are you looking to get stronger? Training for a race or competition? Do you want to improve body composition? While almost any consistent exercise is going to improve your overall health, specific results require specific training.
Following a workout program can help you stay committed – here’s how to write your own
Those completely new to working out may want to invest in a few sessions with a personal trainer. A reputable trainer will be able to put together a plan based on your preferences and skill level, while walking you through the proper form for each exercise. If cost is an issue, many gyms offer a free intro training session as a sign-up perk. There are also hundreds of different workout programs you can find online and video tutorials outlining proper form.
If you’re intimidated to exercise on your own, a fitness class allows you to follow along with an instructor while getting some quick pointers on how to properly perform the workout. Many gyms offer discounted or free classes to first-time visitors.
Trying to do too much, too fast will burn you out, leave you injured or both
When you’re motivated by a new year’s resolution, it’s tempting to pencil in long gym sessions multiple times a week. But that kind of regime is rarely sustainable. If you’d like to make exercising a habit beyond January – and you’ll need to for any kind of lasting results – it’s best to think about what you can do in the long term.
“You can either do an hour of weightlifting a few days a week, and actually do it, or you have these imaginary 10-hour training sessions you’ll never actually have time for,” said Dan John, strength coach and author. “I try to focus on [programs that are] doable, repeatable and reasonable.”
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Similarly, trying to immediately push beyond your physical limitations is a great way to get injured. For weightlifting, it’s important to consider proper warm-ups, active mobility exercises and learning the right techniques before trying to lift anything too heavy. For cardio, Canada Running Series offers a Couch to 5K plan that eases newcomers into jogging by starting small and gradually increasing the length/difficulty of each run.
Follow basic gym etiquette
The gym is a shared public space. Everyone there is trying to get in a good workout. That’s harder to do when people are having phone conversations, listening to videos without using headphones and refusing to wipe down their equipment after use.
In March, fitness trainer Paul Landini wrote an article explaining some unofficial rules to follow when going to the gym, including being mindful of other people’s space and making sure you’re not monopolizing equipment during busy hours.
Try to find what you like about the gym
Changes in body composition, strength and overall health take time. They also need upkeep over the long term. Building a consistent fitness habit is something that will help with all those goals. One of the best ways to do that is finding something at the gym you genuinely enjoy doing. That can be working out with a friend to add a social aspect to exercise and accountability to show up. It can entail learning a new fitness-adjacent skill such as boxing or training for a competition like Hyrox. It can be rooted in the sense of accomplishment that comes with getting stronger. Whatever the reason, finding the joy in exercise is going to be key if you want to move beyond short-term motivation.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Finding time to work out as a mom with young kids can be a challenge in itself, especially when you’re new to an area and don’t know where to start. However, a new fitness option strolled into Sioux Falls today. iStroll offers moms the chance to work out and meet other moms all while their kids can play or even join alongside them.
iStroll is a national organization that has more than 35 locations in the country but this is the first time one opened in South Dakota. It’s a full body workout that incorporates dumbbells, body weight, and jogging strollers when the weather’s nice.
“I found iStroll in Oklahoma and fell in love,” said Kelsi Supek who started the affiliate in Sioux Falls. “We made friends. It became our entire social network. The kids loved it and then we moved to Arizona during COVID. And all the moms were stuck at home. They were inside with our kids and lonely, honestly. And we were like, why can’t we start an iStroll and be out at the parks with the kids every day? And it took off.”
When Supek moved to Sioux Falls, she was encouraged by her family to start an affiliate and own it herself.
“Gym daycares did not work out for my children,” said Supek. “I would get 10 minutes into a class and then I’d have that person trying to knock outside the yoga studio going, Can I have Kelsey and her kids screaming in daycare? And it just didn’t work for us. So at iStroll they could be with me or I could be breastfeeding the baby as I was teaching in class.”
Classes are planned to continue each Wednesday and Friday at We Rock the Spectrum and First Presbyterian Church. For a full schedule for January and February, you can look at their Facebook. The first class is also free and memberships are for the whole family.
“Letting the kids see you work out is, it’s similar to homeschooling where like, you know, how are they going to love working out if they don’t see you working out,” said Kelly Jardeleza, a stay-at-home mom of three kids. “Whereas at other gyms they put them in a room and they don’t get to watch you. And how are you going to inspire them if they’re not watching you do it?”
Copyright 2026 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
There’s no bad time to take a more active interest in your health, but the new year, for lots of us, feels like a fresh start. Maybe you’re planning to sign up for a 10k or finally have a go at bouldering, eat a bit better or learn to swing a kettlebell. Maybe you want to keep up with your grandkids — or just be a little bit more physically prepared for whatever life throws at you.
To help things along, Guardian Live invites you to a special event with public health expert Devi Sridhar, journalist and author Mariella Frostrup, and health and fitness columnist Joel Snape. They’ll be joining the Guardian’s Today in Focus presenter Annie Kelly to discuss simple, actionable ways to stay fit and healthy as you move through the second half of life: whether that means staying strong and mobile or stressing less and sleeping better.
To make the whole event as helpful as possible, we’d love to hear from you about what you find most challenging — or confusing — when it comes to health and exercise. What should you actually be eating, and how are you going to find the time to make it? What sort of exercise is best, and how often should you be doing it? Is Pilates worth the effort — and should we really all be drinking mugfuls of piping hot creatine?
Whether your question is about exercise, eating, or general wellness, post it below and we’ll put a selection to our panel on the night.
Share your experience
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