. Beyond the Exterior
. ere is much more to looking good and feeling great than having big and
strong muscles. If you are not healthy on the inside, then sooner or later you
will be unable to maintain size and strength on the outside. Your health is of
supreme importance.. Always being locked into the bigger and stronger mode, even after you have
already built impressive size and strength, is something to avoid. I have known
many trainees who have grasped the value of aerobic work, a health-produc-
ing diet, and reducing bodyfat, but yet forever putting off making changes in
their lifestyles because they first wanted to get even bigger and stronger.. Once you are over age thirty-five, the healthy diet and the training program
free of aerobic work that packed on size and strength in your youth will
make you bigger and stronger, but at a cost. Poor cardiorespiratory fitness
takes its toll as you get into middle age and older, perhaps even a fatal toll.
Excess bodyfat is harder to take off the older you get.. After you have hit age thirty-five, balance your total program and give seri-
ous attention to your diet and cardiorespiratory training. If you are already
in your middle years, but a training novice, you need to build bigger and
stronger muscles by using a balanced program right from the start.. As valuable as aerobic work can be, and as worthwhile as it is to be fit, being
fit does not necessarily mean you are healthy. It is possible to be unfit and
healthy, or fit and unhealthy. Factors including not smoking, not having high
blood pressure, following a healthful diet, avoiding excessive stress, being
happy with your work and life, and being lean are, in total, much more influ-
ential in affecting your health than is the single factor of aerobic work.