Are You Too Old to Train?

I recently had a birthday. I'm 40 now. Do I feel old? Not really. When did I? About 30 lol.

It was a mental shift. We hit milestones and we adopt what everyone else believes: things go downhill after 30.

So I'd lift (or not) accordingly.

This doesn't work. It doesn't work for me. But that's how we're all wired. Our brains crave more. We crave the hunt. No, you don't have to go out in the wilderness with a spear, but goals make you feel better because you're working towards something.

What doesn't feel good?

Stagnation.

No one signs up to be weak and frail as we age. No one wants to either, but looking around, all of our actions lead to that.

Notice I said "our actions," not "our bodies by default."

"We all get older!" you may protest.

And that's true.

But that doesn't mean we speed up the process and give up.

How do we slow it down?

By taking better action right now….just like you used to.

Getting Older: Fact vs Myth

Aging is a problem today.

But not in the body, in the mind.

There are things we do just because….we see things around us or are told things by other people (who probably don't have the results we want).

• We eat less protein because we think it's dangerous

• We don't lift because it's…dangerous

• We don't "push ourselves too hard" and do light longevity workouts.

• We hop on xyz drug because we want xyz boost because xyz hormone isn't being produced as much as when we we 15.

Before I move on, I want to address each one of those.

• We need more protein since muscle loss happens as we age, so you want to counter that.

• We need resistance training, again, because muscle loss happens. If strength = muscle, then that's the complete opposite of muscle loss.

• We shouldn't slow down. I'm not going to tell you to lift 500lbs if you're 60 (that would be awesome), but you do need to show up to the gym the next day and push yourself with an extra 1-2lbs.

• I won't want to harp on drug use, but are you maxing out the boring stuff first? - Sleep, lifting, eating, sunlight, etc?

Now before you think I'm really mean, there are a lot of truths behind the concerns of aging.

• Yes, you're not 20 any more. Your hormones aren't going to be producing at the same level.

• You have a lot more stressors in life.

• You have a lot less time (but there are ways to find more).

• Your muscle mass will decline.

• You will get stiff.

But again, that's all true IF YOU DON'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. Even if those do happen, you can alter the future by taking action.

There are things that are still within our control no matter what our age.

• Action, no matter where you start, changes your body (and your mind).

• You can mitigate stress.

• You can shave off nonsense activities in your day to get more "time back."

• Muscle mass can improve from wherever you're starting now. It may not be able to get as peak as your 25 year old self, but it can do something.

• You can still stretch to prevent stiffness.

Getting Physically (and Mentally) Younger

We need a complete process to reversing aging.

Right away you're going to think,

"You can't turn back time!"

"We're all going to age and there's nothing we can do about it!"

Both true.

But that illustrates an issue most people have today.

The Mind.

We have start with that, because with a bad mindset we can't even get off the ground. This is especially true as we get older because what we've told ourselves or what we've been told or what we believe solidifies just because of the time we've spent with those thoughts.

Here's how to do it.

Step 1: Scare Yourself (Seriously)

If you don't do anything about your health right now, the opposite is far worse than any painful workout you could do.

• Muscle loss

• Lack of coordination

• Lack of mobility

• Lack of independence because of all of the above

• Lack of mental ability

• The pure inertia of life that will drag you down

Step 2: Watch How You Talk to Yourself

A good phrase I read recently was "talk to yourself, don't listen to yourself." Your mind will automatically come up with thoughts on its own. Inject thoughts that serve you, not tear you down.

• What do you say about yourself? What do you say about the aging process in general?

• Did thees thoughts come from you? Are you just repeating what you've heard others say? Do you want that to be your reality?

• This is important, because what you say about yourself in your head or out loud (even as a joke) gives your subconscious mind instructions. It tells your brain what to do (or what not to do).

Step 3: Find Better Examples

Being in peak physical condition into old age is rare. If you have better examples around you, you'll act differently. In this day and age, the best way, if you don't have examples around you, is to look around on the internet. Seek people that are doing what you want to do. Don't settle for the default.

Find people that preach the opposite of aging and crumbling.

I'll give people that inspire me.

Tim Anderson, Geoff Neupert, Mark Rippetoe, Dan John, Mark Felix, Geoff Reed, Mr. Infinity, John Brookfield, CM Monteleone, Jack Lalanne, George Hackenschmitt, Stan Efferding, and many more.

All of these people are older than I am, but are either examples themselves or preach the importance of training no matter what age you are. Some are teachers, some are examples, some are both. But there's a ton more people out there crushing it that are older than you. Look them up.

Step 4: Audit Your Time and Activities

Yes we have less free time than we did as kids, but a vast majority of older people I see complaining about being hurt or frail or lacking time are still spending a decent amount of time on other things that don't lead anywhere. Things such as watching the news or reading the newspaper or watching shows or movies every night. It's as if when we were kids we sought those things out as an escape to balance school, kept them in as adults to balance out our jobs, but kept them in as we got older. This stuff just saps the limited time you do have.

Can you not find an hour or at least 20 minutes in your day?

Break up with the mindset that you "need to unwind at the end of the day." It's usually not unwinding but more mental stimulation. Scrap it and trade it for working out in the morning instead.

Again, what's important to you?

Step 5: DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT

So you know training is good for you.

You know that doing nothing is bad for you.

You're talking to yourself better.

You see examples of other people doing it.

You've found some free time.

Only thing left is to get up and use your body.

What do you do? Pick something you enjoy doing or research training methods until you find something that sticks. It should be something related to strength training for that whole muscle thing we've been talking about.

Plan Your Future, the One You Want

The future is unknowable.

Saying "I'm too old to do blah blah," is usually followed up with zero action towards that thing that you said you're too old for.

You can't predict how long you'll live or what you can achieve. You can only affect the next steps you take. It's arrogant to predict the future. It's arrogant to believe that since you're a certain age you can't do something. No, you can't predict the next 10 years at any age. You can't even predict the next year or quarter. But you can determine what you're going to do in the next few hours or days, right?

When you put things that way, it seems silly to think that action is impossible.

Don't let that limiting belief turn into being idle for the next few years.

Where do you really want to be in the future? Don't hold back and don't give up saying "I don't know."

Stop giving up on yourself and be one of those jacked people in the gym that people are mystified with.

I bet all they did was workout a few days a week for the last few years.

I bet you can do the same thing.

Thanks for reading!

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