Author of Fitness After 40: How to Stay Strong at 40, 50, 60 and Beyond, Dr. Vonda Wright Shares her Vision
If unchecked, your body grows weaker every day as you age. The stairs you used to fly up feel steeper, and the cracking of your joints sounds louder. After turning 50 a friend once lamented, “I go to bed feeling fine and somehow wake up injured!” This aging process, however, does not have to derail your fitness plan. In fact, it should invigorate it. Let’s forget how many candles lit up your last birthday cake: Through smart exercising you can enjoy an energetic life for years to come.
After reaching a certain age our bodies undergo change. “Even if we have been fit in our 20s, we grow up to be entirely different adults after 40,” says Dr. Vonda Wright, double board-certified orthopedic surgeon. “The good news is that not only are we capable of sustaining the vigor of our youth, we can also perform as well, if not better, than ever.” Wright currently serves as the inaugural Chief of Sports Medicine at the Northside Hospital Orthopedic Institute and has authored four exceptional books, including Fitness After 40: How to Stay Strong at 40, 50, 60 and beyond, Guide to Thrive: 4 Steps to Body, Brains & Bliss, Younger in 8 weeks, and Masterful Care of the Aging Athlete.
Dr. Vonda Wright is the mind behind a unique medi-cal program created to target the fitness and performance needs of mature age groups. In Fitness After 40, she illustrates how to utilize flexibility, strength training, and aerobic exercise to make most of a fitness regime. She calls this F.A.C.E. your future. The second edition incorporates “20 Minutes to Burn” workouts, a six-week total-body plan, and the latest information on nutrition, injury prevention, joint preservation, and the mind/body connection. The consistent approach detailed in Fitness After 40 can help you regain your youthful energy and physique.
“Significantly, the programs empower you to comprehend your body and approach exercise and injury in a unique way,” explains Dr. Wright. “You will also learn to gain maximum results out of your exercise routine during a busy week, along with keeping yourself hydrated and adopting healthy eating habits. Additionally, as you indulge in reading this book, you will learn how to avoid injury to rotator cuffs, lower back, knees, and legs while maximizing stretching, running, and weight training. Featuring a nutrition plan and exercise program, Fitness After 40 is perfect for each individual to recover the energy of their youth all while looking and feeling better than before,” she adds.
A well-known authority on active aging and mobility, Dr. Wright explains that her purpose behind the program is to transform the manner in which humans’ age. “I really despise the age-old concept of getting weaker as your birthday cake candles glow stronger. Trust me, it is a myth. It is nothing but a fairy tale, a thing of the past, a tale as old as time,” she says.
Dr. Wright’s work has led her to recognize just how powerful our bodies are. “We are crafted masterfully to move. We are meant to live,” she says. She is empowered to jump-start a national conversation about active aging. She firmly believes that it is in each of us to decide how we age.
“It may sound cliché, but trust me; it is you who is in control. In fact, 70% of your aging is in your control. It begins from making the conscious decision to get up and move. And, yes, only 30% of the way you age is determined by genetics,” says Dr. Wright. “The rest is up to you, so why not age actively?”
