I don’t particularly enjoy going to the gym or exercising for that matter. I doubt if anyone truly enjoys it. They may tell you they enjoy the feeling they get pushing themselves or they may enjoy the results of strength training, or they may enjoy being done with the workout, so they can get on with their life of not working out.
Please don’t confuse my distaste for exercise with a sedentary lifestyle. I enjoy staying active and doing things that I love, many of which are considered by some as exercise. For example, I wouldn’t give much thought to a several-mile paddle on my Stand-Up Paddleboard. Instead of lifting and putting down barbells in a climate-controlled gym, this is a full-bodied workout that engages almost every muscle group, and frankly very enjoyable. It also allows me to be outdoors, on the water, feeling the sun and wind on my skin. It is usually quiet and does not include someone’s idea of a playlist, designed to motivate movement, with a pulsating rhythm.
I also enjoy playing a brisk round of golf, walking the course, and being outside in nature. Due to my pace, I mostly play by myself. I do keep score, but I don’t agonize over 20-foot putts, and I usually finish 18 holes in about two hours. For much of the same reasons that I enjoy my paddle board, I enjoy golf. I am outside. I am in nature. It is quiet, and I am at peace.
These activities are great, but the more I read and learn about our bodies, the more I am convinced that for health and longevity, these may not be enough. As we age (everyone is doing it) we lose muscle mass and strength. This is not a shock, I know. One may think, big deal I’m not entering any bodybuilding competition, so it doesn’t matter. Well, it may not be that simple.
Almost twenty years ago (before I was old) I was given a copy of the book Younger Next Year by Chris Crowley and Henry Lodge MD. I read it promptly and considered that this would be good information for when I got older… Well, here I am. The premise of the book is that our bodies are predisposed to one of two conditions: growth or decline. If we remain sedentary, we send the signal to our body that it is time to wind things down, and signs of aging rapidly manifest. On the other hand, if we remain active, we send the opposite signal to our body that we must remain vibrant and ready to serve our needs.
We cannot stop aging, but we can slow down the symptoms associated with it. I have been ruminating on this message for these past decades, and it is in that spirit that I am moving my body and heading to old age kicking and screaming like a toddler passing the cereal aisle.
In my years as a wealth manager, I would help people plan for their “golden years” where a common theme was travel, independence, and most especially not being a burden on their kids. As an aside, I heard this so many times during a period in which I was living and working to serve my kids, educate them, feed them, and keep them healthy, the thought of not burdening them seemed foreign to me. It only seemed fair that they could someday return the favor. But I joke.
To live the way most people want to live as fully functioning independent people who can travel and explore on their own, they need to remain healthy and active. As we lose muscle mass, we become more vulnerable to trips and falls. Trips and falls lead to injury and dependence. Strength and resistance training (at any age) help to eliminate the likelihood of tripping over a rug or a crack in the sidewalk. It is when we shuffle or not lift our feet high enough (due to diminished strength) that we are prone to injury. In addition, lifting some weights helps to keep our strength up so that it is possible to lift a carry-on bag into the overhead compartment or bring in a couple of bags of groceries. It also means being able to lift a grandchild or great-grandchild onto your lap.
For these reasons and some others, I decided that for the first time in over a dozen years, it was time for me to hit the gym and focus on strength. I made a one-year commitment on my last birthday, in September (which is the same month I celebrate my birthday every year), that I would work out three times a week for at least 30 minutes. I am not killing it and the weights are significantly lighter than they were in my thirties, but I am doing it. I don’t have a trainer, and no one is shouting, “Bro, you’re huge.” But every week I am there working. I keep a journal so that I can mark my progress and move up incrementally when it makes sense. I established three sets of push-ups, planks, and jumping jacks as standards for every time I exercise. In addition, I switch things up each time so that I am focusing on different muscle groups.
I have to report that on my first day, I could not even do one set of 20 push-ups. I could only do 14. Those of you who know me know that I don’t accept defeat easily. I circled that failure in my book because I knew one day I would look back and laugh. That day came within a week. I admit that I was discouraged by how far out of shape I had gotten. I was a little sad too, if I am being totally honest (which I promise to always be). But I had two choices: Give in and accept that I am older and weaker or kick myself in the ass and work towards a healthier stronger version of myself in the future.
We all want instant results. What I have learned through my health issues struggling to rebuild my adrenal function and my immune system is that it is the long game. My naturopath reminded me that it is a marathon and not a sprint. When he told me that, inside my head, I literally said, “Maybe for most people but not for me. I am going to prove you wrong and within 6 months I will be back to my healthy self.” I’ll take two helpings of humble pie, please. That was almost three years ago, and I have been working so hard at getting healthier and I am only now starting to feel like I am close to back to normal.
So back to strength training, with my new appreciation for the long game, I figure giving myself a year to get strong seems reasonable. I can’t say that I enjoy working out at all, and I would still much prefer a paddle to pumping iron, but I do like seeing the progress and know that I am doing this for future Brian. My goals are probably not unlike those of the many clients I have helped. I want to be independent (I really don’t want to be a burden on my kids), I want to travel, and I want to be an active and fun Papa to my grandkids.
Let’s say that your gym days may be behind you. Maybe they are. But before you throw in the towel, read the Younger Next Year book. If you don’t want to do that, start with a ten to fifteen-minute walk after dinner, and slowly build up to twenty or thirty minutes. Walking is the single best activity for health and longevity. It is such a great activity that it will be a topic for a future blog.