As an online trainer and coach who focuses on combating REACTIVE AGING with PROACTIVE AGING activities, one of the BIGGEST questions I get about regaining the strength and mobility from my youth is “HOW?” What do I need to do to live stronger without hating the process?
Here are my 5 keys to “growing old without getting old.”
#1 – “Ya got ta git ya mind right.” (In my best Smother Martin voice. If you’re not familiar with it, watch the movie “Cool Hand Luke.”) This first and most important key is all about mindset. You have to admit to yourself that every day of your life you are getting older and that you – and only you – have the power to keep yourself from getting old and miserable. Ask anybody who’s having the experience and they’ll tell you, old and miserable SUCKS! Getting your mind right is the only way to access the next 4 keys to unlocking a strong and healthy future.
#2 – Develop some grown-up taste buds. That means ditching fast foods, processed foods, junk foods, and fried foods. That’s all the foods we taught ourselves to like when we were 12. Keep eating that way into your 40s, 50s, and 60s and you might as well put a gun to your head and pull the trigger. It’s been said that our taste buds change every 7 years or so, and it’s time to approach the foods you’ve told yourself you didn’t like since the 6th grade with an open mind and give your adult (and hopefully more mature) taste buds a chance to voice an opinion that has healthy living in mind. That doesn’t mean you have to eat hay and tofu for the rest of your life but it does mean finding ways to enjoy foods that are both healthy and nutritious.
#3 – Don’t just sit there. DO SOMETHING! (from a Robert Schuler commercial). That’s right… you’ve got to use it or lose it… motion is lotion… and it’s better to wear out than to rust out! All of those cliches that you’ve heard before are true. The human body was built to move and you’ve got to do some cardio and resistance training as you age to ward off chronic disease and maintain cardiovascular health, muscle mass, and bone density. Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean it ain’t true! Go ahead, ask your doctor if getting up off your ass is right for you!
#4 – Stop making eating and sitting down major life events! Some examples include going to dinner, going to the movies, binge-watching television, having a potluck dinner, meeting for lunch, getting together to play cards or board games, networking at a rubber chicken dinner, you get the idea. All of these and more are things that throw you off your nutrition game and force you to be sedentary. COUNT ME OUT! Instead, let’s go for a hike, a bike ride or ziplining. Let’s go bowling, hatchet-throwing or ANYTHING that keeps us active and doesn’t force us to sit still for hours or eat unhealthy food. Now that’s what I call a good time!
#5 – Find the right tribe. It’s said that you are going to be just like your 5 closest friends. So if your friends aren’t living their lives around the first 4 keys – then neither will you! Your tribe should have a mindset focused on healthy living. They should be committed to a healthy diet so that when you get together to eat they’re not fueling your body with the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.). Your tribe should be exercising, stretching, going to the gym and playing outside. They are not just sitting there, they are doing something to keep their bodies fit and flexible. Your tribe should simply have a lifestyle that is centered around staying active. It’s just that simple! FIND YOUR TRIBE and you’re always welcome to join mine.
Any one of these 5 keys could be the one that moves the needle for you and helps you live longer and stronger right away. And one of these secrets probably speaks to you more than the others!
Which one of these keys could make the biggest impact on your life? Comment below.
