Embracing Lifelong Fitness: The Key to Longevity and Vitality

I’ve always embraced physical activity simply for the love of it but there’s a growing body of evidence that routinely elevating one’s heart rate significantly extends one’s life and fends off serious ailments. Who wouldn’t want to live longer AND better?

(https://www.news-medical.net/news/20240508/Higher-cardiorespiratory-fitness-levels-linked-to-dramatically-lower-mortality-and-disease-risks-study-finds.aspx)

Like most guys, I started lifting weights in my teens, but I’d always been an ‘outdoorsy’ type, encouraged by having a dad who was basically an action hero (bear hunter, flew his own plane, took us kids on long forest treks, etc.)

Also like most guys, I wanted to be fit so girls would notice me. But I grew up in Canada, where everyone plays hockey, so a little extra muscle was mandatory if you wanted to play that rough-and-tumble game well.

I was probably never destined to play in the NHL, but I was versatile, able to play both offense and defense. Coaches loved that because players are always getting injured, so being a guy on the bench who could adapt to what was needed at the moment was a definite plus.

As I got older, I incorporated other disciplines into my fitness routines, everything from martial arts to Pilates to yoga. Some things I stuck with, others just didn’t ‘fit’ for one reason or another, but you’ll never know if you don’t try.

I got into wakeboarding in a major way and still love to get out on the waves when my schedule permits. I don’t like to go too long between sessions, because it’s a serious all-body workout, and ‘use it or lose it’ is anything but a cliché.

Wakeboarding involves serious balance skills, and studies show balance training helps prevent the types of falls in seniors—I’m not there yet, but it’s in the mail—that break hips and restrict your future ability to exercise. Stay upright, stay fit.

(https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/fall-prevention-exercises)

The older I get, my focus shifts from training harder to training smarter. The muscles may be willing but the connective tissue isn’t always so obliging. Like they say, Father Time is undefeated but that doesn’t mean you can’t rage against the dying of this light.

I travel a lot for business but I always try to find time to sneak in a gym visit. a swim. an extended walk through a city or a hike up local hills. All of it ‘counts’ and where there’s a will there’s a way. Helps shake off jetlag, too.

So many people never got into fitness or put it off so long because they were intimidated by people who’d been doing it forever and who seemed so much more capable. But everyone starts somewhere and there’s never a bad time to start.

The trick is to find something you enjoy doing, something you can see yourself doing regularly, something you’ll look forward to rather than dread. Try everything, then prioritize the things you enjoy and shitcan the things you don’t.

Some single-discipline purists cough crossfit cough can be dismissive towards other types of exercise, but you just have to ignore them. There are ‘the rules’ and then there are ‘the rules that work for you’. Each of us is unique and all fitness roads lead to Rome.

The benefits of vigorous activity are legion. It releases endorphins, lowers the risk of dementia, boosts your energy levels and improves your overall outlook. Other challenges just look easier after pushing yourself to or near your physical limits.

(https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/managing-the-risk-of-dementia/reduce-your-risk-of-dementia/physical-activity)

I encourage everyone to work up a good sweat whenever and wherever you can. In fact, when I finally die, if my pallbearers want to pause halfway to the hearse and do a few squats with me as ‘dead weight,’ I promise not to say anything.

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