Its not like I found myself suddenly getting older, or as if it happened overnight. I still like a good workout, and find riding my bike one of the most relaxing things I can do. But when it comes to making changes, such as losing weight or increasing muscle mass, it is getting harder to do as I get older.

By Gods grace, many of the changes in getting older are great. My children have grown up to become my friends. And my wife handles most of the worrying and fretting (although I do a small amount for myself so I can get the occasional dirty look and can feel proud when it all works out).

Another good change is that all the hair that was determined to leave has already gone, leaving me that same good look every day in the mirror. Besides, if I really want a new look I could always use the curling iron on some of those unbelievably long eyebrows!

However, the greatest change of all is that I have grandchildren. This is when we realized we had to make changes if we were going to spend quality time with our grandchildren and not be exhausted.

Two years ago, my wife and I were riding 150 miles a week15 miles a day to work, a 30-mile ride on the weekend, and a 10-mile ride several times a week just for fun! Living in Indiana, you can only ride bikes about 8 months a year, at best. So our winter hibernation began. After a long winter layoff, I found myself out of shape, 20 pounds overweight and unmotivated.

The next year was on again, off again...never really getting a well-sustained routine all season. We knew we had to find a way to keep ourselves motivatednot just to get in shape, but to stay in shape.

One big problem is that Im not a person who likes to be on a diet. In fact, I like to eat. Ive found out that Im a stress eater, which makes losing weight even harder. So my first step was to find a way to be accountable to myself and to othersespecially my wife.

Second was to find a good diet, which for me (for the most part) turned out to be just watching what I eat and cutting back. When my wife and I went out to eat we began to order only one meal and split it. At first, any meal would do. But as our metabolism speeded up, only a larger meal would satisfy. The waiters and waitresses were very understanding, and treated us well (we still tip as generously as before). Ive also learned that if I eat only when I am hungry, all food is good-even fruits and vegetables.

Third was to find a good workout that I liked, which was rather easy because I dont just like riding bikes, I really love it! Last, we wanted to find a place to get all of this under one roof.

One thing life has taught me is...if you want to get a job done, you have to have the right tools. We already had the bikes and exercise equipment. Then we found a way to beat the heat, rain, and cold weather. We took our bikes inside and put them on our new indoor stationary cycling units (like the Olympic bicyclists train with), which allow us to ride in front of the TV. The cost of two units were less than 1/4 the cost of a good treadmill or exercise bike.

Then, my son showed us one of the best tools I have ever had...a CD called Workoutware. I had come to the point in my life where I wanted to make a permanent change. What I did with my life mattered...what I ate, how often I worked out, and how my body was responding to the workout, my heart rate, body measurements, and percentage of body fat were all things I had to look at, if I wanted to have any energy to play with my grandchildren. Thats exactly what this CD offereda closer inspection of me and my habits!

After one day of keeping close track of my diet, I knew there had to be changes. Snacks were killing me. Keeping track of body and weight measurements was a humiliating starting point. But thats exactly what it was...a starting point toward a healthier life. So I began to record everything.

Time is always a big problem in our lives, and keeping track of my diet took time. But once I established a pattern or routine, I could quickly sit down and record information once a week. When typing in the information less often, I found it too easy to slip back into old, bad habits. Accountability is everything, and the more people you are accountable to, the easier it is for everyone to stick with it. The group accountability also puts some fun into it.

At my age, I now take a number of vitamins, amino acids, and things to ease a variety of ailments. At the cost of these medicine man elixirs, I am tight enough (moneywise) to want to know if they really help. The software program allows me to keep track of my supplements and includes a place for me to take notes.

I had some problems with my knees and elbows...actually, I was getting stiff joints all over, so I started taking sam-E. My wife said she noticed I had a better temperament and was much more pleasant to be around (Sam-E improves both mood and joints!). At a buck a day, I could have bought her flowers, got the same response, and in real short time been money ahead. But my joints improved so fast that I felt better in less than a month.

I also need to keep track of body stats and workouts. If Im going to discipline myself, I want to know its workinglike seeing the positive effects of taking my sam-E. So I want to have a record of how many inches it is around my belly. If I lose an inch, there, I know my workout is working. If I dont lose in a reasonable amount of time, I know I need to adjust my workout. Likewise, if Im trying to gain muscle, I want to watch the inches around my arms and legs increase.

It is also important to track my heart rate and watch it ease down as the workouts improves my fitness. Ive seen my bike riding grow in distance, as the elapsed time grows shorter. The amount of weight I can lift gets heavier. Its all there in my record keepinggains and losses look pretty impressive when I hit the button that turns them into graphs!

I am at the point in life where I have no desire to be a superstar. I do, however, want to grow old with dignity, and I want to love my wife, children, and grandchildren in a meaningful way. I want more than the emotion of love. I want to be able to throw a ball to my grandsonnot just watch. I want to help my kids with their house projects; to ride, walk and even run with my wife. I want to be able to bow the knees if my family needs my prayers.

Love is a verb, and I want the actions in my life to prove itin your life, too. I write this to share some of the things that have helped me...my bike, my stationary bike unit for riding indoors, my "curling iron" (an in-house joke for my curl bar), and my Workoutware software, which is as important as any piece of exercise equipment I have.

May God bless your workout and keep you safe and fit!