Vonda Wright - Dr. Vonda Wrights Guide to Thrive: 4 Steps to Body, Brains, and Bliss

The contents of Dr. Vonda Wrights Guide to Thrive, www.vondawright.com, The Thrive F.A.N. Club, and Fitness After 40, such as text, graphics, images, information obtained from Fitness After 40, and Thrives licensors and other material contained on the website and book are for informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional advice or delay seeking it because of something you have read in Dr. Vonda Wrights Guide to Thrive, Fitness After 40, or on www.vondawright.com or the Thrive F.A.N. Club.

Copyright 2011 by Dr. Vonda Wright

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, Triumph Books, 542 South Dearborn Street, Suite 750, Chicago, Illinois 60605.

Triumph Books and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Wright, Vonda.

Dr. Vonda Wrights guide to THRIVE : four steps to body, brains, and bliss / Vonda Wright.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-60078-599-3

1. Exercise for middle-aged persons. 2. Physical fitness for middle-aged persons. 3. Middle-aged personsHealth and hygiene. 4. Middle-aged personsMental health. I. Title

GV482.6.W748 2011

613.70446dc23

2011025256

This book is available in quantity at special discounts for your group or organization. For further information, contact:

TRIUMPH BOOKS

542 South Dearborn Street

Suite 750

Chicago, Illinois 60605

(312) 9393330

Fax (312) 6633557

www.triumphbooks.com

Printed in U.S.A.

ISBN: 978-1-60078-599-3

Design by Paul Petrowsky

Photography credits. 1. Peter Taglianetti: Two-time Stanley Cup champion and fitness expert www.petertags.com

2. Duane Reider: Duane Reider Photography, Pittsburgh, PA www.duanereiderphotography.com

3. Thrive exercise equipment demonstrated in this book sold exclusively at Dicks Sporting Goods Stores

4. iStock photos as indicated

Love and all my best to

Isabella
my pure joy and bliss who motivates
what I really want out of life,

Mom
who taught me strength and courage
and is now teaching my daughter,

Dad
who dazzles me and everyone he meets
with his love of life

Collin
who perseveres in building a thriving life

Peter
the rock who gives me amazing advice,
support, and partnership

A s a surgeon, mother, daughter, and author I have had the extraordinary opportunity to listen and learn from amazing people throughout my life and career. Sometimes they are the giants in their fields, my patients as they teach me about themselves or long-abiding friends.

Once again, my first thanks go to God and my family. To God for giving me a mind capable of invention, the hands to create, and the stamina to get it all done. To my family, Gene, Joy, and Collin Wright, unending gratitude for being a solid foundation and support for my vision. I am again most thankful for wondrous Isabella. Spending my life watching her grow would be enough.

I thank the hundreds of fascinating and inspiring masters athletes and Starters who motivate me to change the way we age in this country. In them I see the real-life examples of how a daily conscious decision to invest in oneself manifests in Body, Brains, and Bliss. I am thankful they take the time to participate in my research.

For bringing Guide to THRIVE out of my office and into the world I thank Triumph Books and my literary agent, Steve Mandell. Specifically, I am thankful that president Mitch Rogatz and editorial director Tom Bast believed in my vision. I am thankful to the Triumph team: Don Gulbrandsen, managing editor, and Karen OBrien, associate editor, for their countless hours in expertly managing the details of the manuscript preparation, and Natalie King and Fred Walski for charging forth with PR and marketing. Thanks also to Rex Halbeisen and Kevin Dill of Connect U Marketing for their web creativity. To Robin Waxenberg, last but certainly not least amongst this group, thanks for her tireless pursuit of the media and championing my platform.

Special thanks to Peter Taglianetti, two-time Stanley Cup champion and fitness expert (petertags.com) for agreeing to demonstrate the moves in this book as well as the patience to give solid advice as I bounced ideas off him, and for the creative eye of Duane Reider, our photographer, (duanereiderphotography.com) thanks for capturing my words in pictures.

Finally, I am thankful to the giants on whose shoulders I stand. I have had the great fortune to learn from some of the best experts throughout my career about orthopaedic surgery but most importantly about life. Some of their wisdom I have shared with you in this book.

Writing Guide to THRIVE redoubled my passion for changing the way we age in this country. It was motivated by the lives and stories of the people I am privileged to care for in my clinics, the O.R., and on the playing field. I realize that by helping and motivating people to maintain mobility throughout their life spans that we can actually save their lives and lifestyles. For a job that lets me do this, I am thankful.

My best to you.
Vonda Wright, MD

The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.

Eleanor Roosevelt

T hese are the best years of your life! No matter what stage of life you are in, you can make this year the beginning of your best years. Look in the mirror: strong, smart, happy, and in controlyou are not a kid anymore!

Not happy with what you see?
You can see it with my four practical steps for THRIVING:
A Vision, Action, Attitude, and Achieve

No one wants to just get by or merely survive another day, but thats where we can sometimes find ourselves if we are not purposeful about how we are living. Living healthy, vital, joyful, and THRIVING lives is an active and intentional process.

Guide to THRIVE is based on my extensive work with masters athletes and adult onset exercisers who have literally changed their lives by paying attention to the lifestyle choices they make. I have seen everyday people people who were stuck in a track toward middle-age with seemingly nowhere to go but oldchange their bodies, their brains, and the way they feel about themselves, their lives, and the future.bliss. I translate practical advice into real-life action using tactics learned as a surgeon, sports doctor, thinker, businesswoman, athlete, mother of a three-year-old, and the head of a household.

THRIVE-ing is intentional, fun, a lot of work, and not always easy. I share stories of encouragement from my own life and the lives of the people I am honored to care for. I also pass along the real-life advice I have received from the giants who have mentored me. As an academic surgeon, I insist on the best information backed up by solid research. Your Body, Brain, and Bliss connection is not just opinion but good science.

Guide to THRIVE is divided into four sections. , we are ready to Achieve