Excerpt from Look 10 Years Younger, Live 10 Years Longer:
Seven Secrets of Robust Mature Men
1. Take Care of the Body
Twenty years ago, young adulthood was considered to be between the ages of 18 and 22. A recent Gallup poll delivered the newly emerged range of young adulthood as between 18 and 40! We’re definitely living longer and staying youthful for more extended periods. This quiet revolution of longevity means that as we live longer, we take on the responsibility of caring for a body that is pioneering a new path. Such courage deserves special consideration.
2. Continue to Expect Ongoing Energy and Endurance
We must learn to break tradition and destructive mythologies about aging. In terms of physical strength, we can continue to expect ongoing energy and endurance instead of settling into the proverbial rocking chair. At age 70 in 1984, Jack LaLanne impressed his friends and reporters by having them board 70 boats and then towing the boats through choppy water, swimming a distance of 11/2 miles, while handcuffed and shackled. Although exceptional, Jack’s feat helped demonstrate the importance of keeping fit and active as we age.
3. Enjoy Your Sex Life
A discouraging mythology about sex among the aging would have these poor folks giving up sex for the most part in the later years. However, the Starr-Weiner Report, questioning over 800 people between the ages of 60 and 91, has revealed that 97 percent of this group enjoyed their sex lives and 75 percent considered their sex lives at least as or more enjoyable than when they were younger.
4. Keep Your Lifestyle Young
It appears that remaining fit as a fiddle into those special extra ten years has more to do with lifestyle than with any intrinsic physical limitations. Consider, for example, the careers of basketball great Kareem Abdul Jabbar, golfing legend Jack Nicklaus, boxing champion George Foreman, Olympic swimmer Mark Spitz, and star pitcher Nolan Ryan. All five continued to perform superbly in their respective careers beyond age 40.
5. Slow Down as Little as Possible
Making these extra ten years as healthy and fit as possible begins by extending the fitness of our young adulthood as much as possible, and slowing down as little as possible over the passing years. Let’s look at the example set by Nolan Ryan. In his mid-forties, Ryan struck out his 5500th batter and won his 314th game.
6. Maintain a Healthy Routine
Beginning in his twenties, Ryan maintained a successful, ongoing routine of healthy eating and exercise. After each game, Ryan worked out on his exercise bike. On days between games, he swam, sprinted, and did a goodly number of sit-ups. He makes it all sound so simple: “All you have to do is become more active and watch what you eat.”
7. Never Allow Yourself to Become Inactive
The elegant simplicity of it is in the ongoing nature of such a lifestyle over the passing decades, even into the 60s, 70s, and 80s. One research project studied 184 healthy but inactive people over the age of 60. Part of this group began an exercise program while the remaining members of the group remained inactive. Of these inactive individuals, after the passage of two years, 13 percent exhibited new heart problems. Of the exercisers, only 2 percent showed such problems.
Daily Exercise Routines-Throughout Life. How better to have a sense of control over one’s life than to be as physically fit as possible! Daily exercise routines that are enjoyable can be carried out throughout all of life, and are just as important to “successful aging” as they are to the earlier stages. At 65, 75, or even 85, we may have less vim and vigor, but still maintain a sufficient store of energy to continue to enjoy whatever physical exercise we choose.
Whenever I run my 5K or 10K Saturday morning races, I always keep an eye out for senior runners. If possible, I create an opportunity to chat with these inspiring individuals. In their 60s, 70s and 80s, these wonderful individuals continue to run competitively and, in the process, gain the benefits of “successful aging.” Their sense of control over their own lives is much greater because of their enhanced physical strength and endurance. And this, in turn, can play a role in adding years to life, as well as adding life to years.
By David Ryback
