As a society, we always hear, or get told, about how we slow down as we get older.
Kinda primes us for slowing down, don’t you think? I do.
I’m now in my early 60’s and, let me be honest, it’s hard. I’m getting more medical issues as I age, and working out is getting more challenging. Do you feel sorry for me? Don’t!
Just because I’m the age I am (still a relatively young man), it doesn’t mean that I have to, or should stop doing the things I enjoy.
I enjoy going to the gym and lifting weights in some kind of way. Kettlebells are a great way of doing that, for example, but anything will do.
I enjoy teaching indoor cycling. The ability to use science and be precise in my training/teaching is such a blast! Not for everyone, so I try to make sure there’s some fun involved (beware of my joke list!).
I enjoy the odd walk- not an ‘odd’ walk as in strange but the occasional one- and getting out and about on a decent day.
I enjoy getting out on my bike whether it’s for a training run, or a nice bimble down the canal path, checking out the scenery. Not a huge list but I hope you get the point.
There is nothing to say that any of us have to stop doing the things we enjoy just because we are beginning to get closer to a National Entitlement Card (I refuse to use the term, ‘Bus Pass’ 😊).
We may have lost some of the mobility we used to have as younger people but that doesn’t mean that it may be gone forever.
We may not be able to perform at the level we used to, but that’s no reason to give up something that we truly enjoy. A bit of biting off the nose to spite the face, isn’t it?
I see many people who I think have given up because THEY accept that they’re too old.
They’re not.
They might very well be afraid to go to a gym for the first time in years, scared of being looked at by the gym bro’s, or the girls standing in front of the mirror to get the right angle for the inevitable Instagram post (ask your grandchildren if not sure what that is 😊).
Or the gym bro’s doing the same thing.
Age is not and should never be used as a reason for not moving and doing the things we love.
There’s also the fact that as we get older, we NEED to put our muscles, skeleton, nerves, cardio system under a bit of stress. It actually HELPS us. (I know, hard to believe, huh?).
If running is your thing, keep doing it (it won’t damage your knees). Cycling? Why not?
Swimming? You don’t need to wear speedos. Dancing? Getting fit and good enough to
make the final of ‘Strictly’ isn’t necessary. Do what you love. For as long as you love it.
I have absolutely no intention of slowing down. I will naturally slow down.
I also have every intention of enjoying movement, any movement I enjoy, for as long as
I can.
Age? Who cares? Don’t let it rule you.