Age Well

Life can get better and be more fulfilling as you get older!

What if you didn’t have to worry about heart disease, joint replacements, excess weight, shortness of breath, or many other concerns as you age? And what if all you had to do to avoid these maladies of older age is start moving?

Now I can’t promise you that a leisurely walk twice a week will do it for you. But I can promise you that if you are willing to commit the rest of your life to moving your body with intensity on a regular basis, and you are willing to consistently provide it with “high quality food” and not “junk food,” you can create a high quality of life for yourself and potentially avoid all the problems of old age and ultimately the loss of your mobility and independence that most older people experience.

Life doesn’t have to be about enduring and suffering your twilight years, and just fading away. But rather it can be about thriving and enjoying them. You can have a better and more fulfilling life if you decide to choose it.

• High level of physical agility and dexterity
• Youthful mentality and vitality
• High energy
• Vibrant mind, body and spirit
• Happy, abundant, and meaningful life

1. Strength Training – train with free weights or machines and emphasize your back, legs, and core.
2. Balance – seek ways to train muscles that create balance, e.g. putting socks on standing on one foot, or balancing on one foot on the Bosu Ball.
3. Flexibility – do daily rigorous stretching, enhanced by activities such as yoga.
4. Healthy Diet – recognize that food is fuel and not for comfort, and that good fuel comes mainly from fruits and vegetables and not processed foods, dairy or sugars.
5. Mind Strength – do what you say you will do consistently and follow a regimen that brings clarity, focus, ease, and gratitude to your life.
6. Movement – do a variety of exercises or activities that put positive stress on muscles on a regular basis. It could be weight training in combination with running, cycling, swimming, hiking, etc.
7. Intensity – train muscles at an intensity that causes muscle fatigue.  A heart rate monitor could be used to ensure that the activity is in the safe zone.
8. Rest and Recovery – pay attention to the amount and quality of sleep and down time that your body needs.
9. Self Care – increase awareness of what your body needs. Be deliberate about check-ups and screenings and regularly seek help for joint and muscle pain.
10. Positive Thinking – recognize that if you think you can’t you won’t. A negative mind will never give you a positive life.
11. Gratitude – realize that the moment you start acting like life is a blessing, it starts feeling like one.
12. Expansion – stay physically ready to test your limits and seek challenges that take you beyond your comfort zone.