Are You Stronger Today Than You Were Ten Years Ago?

Are you stronger today than you were ten years ago?

That’s the question that I ask my students and clients, and it is a question that you should be asking yourself.

At fifty-eight, for me the answer is an unequivocal yes; especially after a pandemic that got me into the habit of daily bike riding.  

The way I see it— until you turn sixty the answer to are you stronger today than you were ten years ago had better be yes. And I meet way too many people in their forties and fifties for whom the answer is a resounding no.

Aging is a natural process and there is no avoiding it. But you can prepare for it.

There are a number of things people need to do in order to age gracefully and even then there are no guarantees.

1. Move a lot.
2. Avoid medications.
3. Build balanced muscle tone.

But it is all about #1!

Solve #1 and the others are much less likely to trouble you.

There is so much bizarre incentive to avoid these prescriptions but we must learn to fight against them.

We start losing muscle mass in our forties and it gets worse into our fifties and beyond.

And even though that is a fact, the issue, and answer, is simple— we need to move. 

You have to fight against the pull of a sedentary world that offers too many couches and chairs and video games and TV shows for us to sit in front of.

There is nothing wrong with doing that some of the time, as long as you are moving a lot the rest of the time.

So movement is everything. Even though I am sitting at my desk as I write this, I will be out the door on my bike and working in the yard as soon as I am done.

When we move our bodies we hydrate our tissues giving our bodies the chance to build strength and avoid medications. It is that simple.

It also helps to move well but that is a subject for another day…

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