Key strategies for competing in the sport of aging

Ok, you’ve decided to commit to competing in the sport of aging.

But where do you start?

In this article I am going to give you the key strategies for competing in the sport of aging.

Change your relationship with food

It’s no secret that we have an obesity crisis in the western world.  While the obesity rate among people over 50 is a little bit lower than the rest of the population, it is still pushing 40%.

Not all of you reading this need to lose weight, but many of you do.

Therefore, to become a champion of aging, you will need to change your relationship with food.

“Do not seek pleasure in food.” Miyamoto Musashi.

In other words, you need to learn to eat to live, rather than live to eat.

Once in a while it is fun to enjoy a nice meal, especially for special occasions.

Many people though will use every excuse possible to eat poorly.

Additionally, some people also need to cut back on alcohol consumption.

If you are training to improve strength or overall fitness, regular alcohol consumption will sabotage those efforts.

While you don’t need to switch to an extreme diet, you’ll need to pay attention to your macros and calorie consumption.

Lift heavy weights

This is a somewhat controversial statement since the general consensus is that you need to take it easy as you get older.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

The older you are, the harder you need to work to maintain your independence and quality of life.

Yes, many of us past the age of 50 suffer from some wear and tear, so yes, we need to be more careful when it comes to strength training.

However, by careful, I mean we need to pay more attention to our form and programming.

There are some who suggest that it is better to build muscle with lighter weight and higher reps.

Well, the body will respond better if you get much stronger first, then you can do higher reps with heavier weight.

If you are new to strength training and lifting weights, you are not going to make much progress doing a bunch of curls with 10 pound dumbbells.

You will make much greater progress and build more muscle by significantly increasing your strength over a six-month period with proper programming.

Then you can venture into higher rep ranges to focus more on building muscle.

I do make one exception to this rule… if you need to lose significant weight, then you should focus on a slightly different program that trains in a modestly higher rep range.

I get into that in more detail in our Champion of Aging training.

Do Zone 2 Cardio

I get it… zone 2 cardio exercise is boring as hell.

However, it provides a big bang for your buck, especially if you need to lose significant weight.

Zone 2 cardio exercise is what burns fat best, but it requires longer sessions of at least 45 minutes to get the full benefit over time.

Also, it will improve your ability to handle more workload during your strength training workouts and to recover from those workouts.

It’s a great way to build your cardiovascular health foundation.

Increase your overall activity

Many people who go to the gym or workout at home miss this point.

To become a champion of aging, you need to do more than just lift weights and do some cardio.

You need to be active.

This can simply involve multiple walks each week, hiking, playing golf (walking of course), or something more elaborate such as martial arts training.

I know I was absolutely in my peak shape as an adult when I was heading to the kung fu school 2 or 3 days per week, and lifting and jogging.

Not only does this help with your overall health and mobility, it is great for your mental health to just get outside more.

Keep your brain active

One thing I’ve noticed is that people who continue to work at an advanced age tend to stay sharp.

Clint Eastwood and Warren Buffett, both 95 years old, come to mind.

They both love what they do, and they’ve continued to be active in their chosen careers.

The study of martial arts can help keep your mind active, as you must use your mind to remember how to perform kata, or forms.

Another great strategy for keeping your brain active is learning a new language.

While research into the effects of language learning later in life on cognitive function is somewhat new, there is evidence that the effect is positive.

Because language learning requires significant recall ability, it may act as a buffer when dementia begins to rear its ugly head.

Final Thoughts

Becoming a champion of aging is relatively simple, but it requires work.

In my own observations, I have noted that people who tended to stay active have been able to lead a higher quality of life in their advanced years.

The problem is, the longer you wait, the more difficult it becomes to get rid of bad habits and incorporate good ones.

The key question is this… how do you want to age?  Do you want to end up in the nursing home, or remain independent?

If you want to maintain your independence, you’ll need to work for it.

There is no better time than the present to get started.