How to Become a Champion of Aging

While genetics play a significant role in what ailments may befall us and how long we live, we have control over HOW we age.

We can try and compete in the sport of aging, or we can just let ourselves go and hope for the best.

I started Champion of Aging because I’ve seen the consequences of the decision not to compete in the sport of aging up close and personal.

I’ve watched friends and family make the decision to ignore their own health and fitness until it jumped up and bit them in the ass.

Some have lost most of their mobility and rely on canes and walkers to get around.

Others are clearly on that path, if they live long enough.

If you are reading this, no matter how old you are, you still have the opportunity to turn things around.

The Vital Health Pyramid

The Vital Pyramid concept is something I learned a few years ago when I was focused on combatives training.

It is a hierarchy of training created by an SAS officer by the name of John “Lofty” Wiseman years ago.

In Wiseman’s view, Mindset was the key to achieving a successful outcome if faced with a physical altercation.  Thus, Mindset forms the base of the pyramid.

Above Mindset are Tactics, Skills and then at the top, Kit, or Tools, aka, weapons.

In the Vital Health Pyramid, the hierarchy is tiered as follows:

• Mindset
• Principles
• Strategies
• Tactics
• Tools

Just as in combatives training, Mindset forms the base of the Vital Health Pyramid.

Everything starts with Mindset.  Upon that base we build our health through basic Principles, followed by Strategies, Tactics and Tools.

I believe that most people fail in their desire to lead a healthy lifestyle because they don’t have a complete understanding of this hierarchy.

Most people skip straight up to tactics such as training a few exercises with a certain number of sets and reps, or they will buy a fancy piece of equipment without having a clue about how to train.

As a result, with no real knowledge of how to train, how to eat, etc., they fail to get the results they desire, and then they fall back into their old habits.

Mindset

To become a champion in any endeavor, you must have a certain mindset.

However, this does not happen overnight.  The proper mindset must be developed over time.

The first step involves conducting a Self-Examination/Personality Purification.

To make significant changes and improvements to your health and fitness, you need to “get real with yourself” as they say.

These days, so many excuses are made for people who struggle with their health and fitness… work, stress, genetics, etc.

Most adults, particularly those who’ve raised a family, must deal with work and stress related issues.  That’s just life.

You can let those issues control you and use them as excuses for being unhealthy, or you can take control of your own situation.

In Shaolin practice, this concept of self-examination/personality purification is a component of their training.

The process of self-examination involves monitoring yourself for rationalizations, denials, delusions, etc., so that you can eliminate them.

You must eliminate your fears, narcissistic tendencies, ignorance and hatred.

You must examine all of your thoughts to identify your biases and predominant thoughts to determine those that are appropriate, and those that hinder personal development.

When you identify an inappropriate thought or bias, you must work to eliminate it.

Here are a few other personality traits that will impede progress…

• Bias
• Impatience
• Ignorance
• Fear
• Lack of discipline
• Impulsiveness
• Lack of accountability
• Greed
• Laziness

I would argue that one of the biggest impediments to personal growth is bias.

Unfortunately, the way most of us perceive things is through our own biases.  We tend to gravitate toward information that confirms these biases.

You simply can’t make progress without stepping outside of your biases to look at information that may be contrary to what you believe.

The rest of this article will take a somewhat deep dive into the Principles of Health.

Principles of Health

Within the Vital Health Pyramid, there are seven basic principles that should be followed:

1. The mind and body are connected. Strengthening the body helps to strengthen the mind.
2. You must do hard things.
3. Your training must be supported by a proper diet.
4. You must get adequate sleep and rest.
5. Your training and diet must be balanced.
6. Regular physical check-ups and blood work are critical.
7. You must exercise your mind to maintain long term mental health.

Let’s take a more detailed look at each of these principles.

The Mind and Body are Connected

In Eastern thought, training the body is the basis for personal development.  The thinking is that through rigorous training of the body, a connection with the mind develops.

This concept is known as Shugyo.

Shugyo is the Japanese pronunciation of a Chinese word that basically means deep mind-body training.

As suggested by the definition, shugyo encompasses both physical and mental training.

In the West, training of the mind and body are often separated and there is heavy reliance on the medical community for improved health.

People dealing with mental health related issues in the west typically rely on psychotherapy and medicine.  The same can be said for many people dealing with obesity and other health issues.

While some wellness practices will encourage exercise as a means of helping to improve mental health, that is usually as far as they go.

The goal of the shugyo practitioner is to push oneself beyond perceived limitations and achieve a deeper understanding of oneself and the world.

Historically, it has been practiced by monks and warriors who would submit themselves to extreme conditions to achieve enhanced or enlightening experiences.

In the case of Shaolin monks, pushing their limits physically is a means of preparing themselves to sit longer in meditation.

For them, meditation is the means through which they seek spiritual enlightenment.

In the modern western world, shugyo is somewhat practiced by our most elite military units, such as the Navy SEALs and Delta Force operators.  They push their bodies to the limit, and this helps them deal with what warfare has to throw at them.

However, our modern warriors in the west don’t typically engage in the meditative practices found in traditional martial arts training in the east.

Some view shugyo as a continuous journey rather than a destination, emphasizing the importance of ongoing practice and self-reflection.

This is also the way of the Champion of Aging.

Do Hard Things

When it comes to fitness training, most people, particularly over 50, tend to gravitate toward exercise activities that look fun, and not particularly difficult.

Recently, I’ve seen videos of people exercising on swinging mechanisms, or banging a big rubber ball as if drumming.

They may work up a sweat after a period of time, but these types of activities should never be considered too “hard.”

In fact, they aren’t designed to be hard.  They are designed to help you increase your activity.

In the senior community, we often see 70+ year olds participating in a fitness class that looks more like a dance class than anything else.

Yet, it is people in this age group who need to do harder things to get the body to respond.

Don’t get me wrong… any exercise is good.

However, these activities don’t do much for building muscle and strengthening bone, which is critical to competing in the sport of aging.

A training program that requires doing hard things consistently will be of more benefit over the long run.

You must eat right

Probably the most overlooked component of any fitness program is Diet and Nutrition.

A large body of scientific research demonstrates that diet and exercise work together to develop fitness and improve physical performance.

One reason for this relationship is energy.  When you expend more calories than you consume, you burn body fat, which is energy stored in the body.

However, since you need energy for exercise, every calorie you consume must be high quality.

A diet high in nutrients, consumed through small meals four to six times per day keeps your metabolism running high throughout the day.

Lastly, a healthy diet regulates blood sugar to balance hormones, resulting in maximum fat burn and a steady supply of energy.

Whether you want to lose significant weight, build strength, or just get in better shape, you will have difficulty achieving your goals if you don’t follow an appropriate diet and nutrition plan.

Sleep and Recovery

“You don’t get stronger by lifting weights.  You get stronger by recovering from lifting weights.”  Mark Rippetoe, Starting Strength.

Whether your primary exercise modality is cardio based, strength training or you combine both into your program, adequate sleep and recovery is a must.

An important part of the recovery formula is diet.

No less important is sleep.

Many of the processes that occur during recovery take place when you are sleeping.  The secretion of anabolic hormones is the most important of these processes.

When sleep is disrupted, or the trainee is simply not getting enough, production of these hormones becomes limited.

For older trainees over 50, these processes have already slowed down a bit.  That’s just part of aging.

Therefore, lack of adequate sleep will compound the issue, and the trainee will struggle to make progress toward their health and fitness goals.

Balance

Follow this one rule, and it will guide you well…

The Rule of No Extremes

A healthy lifestyle is best achieved through a balanced approach.

This includes pursuing a balanced diet, balanced approach to your fitness, and work-life balance.

This does not mean you seek to balance everything 50-50.

In regard to fitness training, some people simply prefer cardio exercise such as running and cycling and do no strength training.

Others simply lift weights and do no cardio exercise.

However, a balanced approach will prove to be more beneficial in the long run.

Runners who do no strength training tend to lack in overall body strength due in particular to a lack of upper body muscle mass.

At the same time, those who only focus on strength training or building muscle mass tend to be lacking in cardiovascular health.

The goal should be to find a good mix of strength and cardiovascular health.  I often point toward the warrior class as an example of people who find that balance.  Their jobs literally demand it!

I should also add that training too hard can result in injury, which will impede progress.

Obviously, training too little, or not at all results in a less functional and less healthy body.

A balanced diet should also be pursued as it is the best way to get all of the nutrition the body needs with as little supplementation as possible.

Extreme diets in one direction (vegan) or another (carnivore) will warrant significant supplementation in some form.

Speaking of diet, eating too much or too little results in issues as well.

When you train, you need to eat to provide the body with the fuel it needs to recover from your training.  If you don’t eat enough while training hard, your body will break down.

Obviously, overconsumption of food, alcohol, medications or illicit drugs will have a negative impact on health.  Smoking as well.  We all know this.

Balance.

Regular Check-ups and Blood work

We can live an extremely healthy lifestyle… get plenty of exercise, eat a balance diet, have great relationships, and that may still not be enough to hold off a nasty disease.

Genetics and our environment will play a significant role in what illnesses we may have to deal with at some point in our lives.

Therefore, regular physicals and blood work should be part of your overall approach.

I am a pretty good example.

As I indicated earlier, I’ve always done at least some exercise, even while I was slowly gaining weight.

While I’ve consumed a fairly balanced diet for most of my adult life, I gained weight due to a sweet tooth and enjoyment of some junk food.

I finally figured out that you can’t outrun a bad diet, even if it is not THAT bad.

With that said, the first time I really began to realize that I was on the wrong path was when I got a physical as part of a life insurance application when we purchased our home in 2020.

The results of the bloodwork taken put me into a more risky category, and thus, I didn’t get the lowest insurance rate.

In particular, my blood sugar level and triglycerides were elevated.

At the time, I really didn’t do much about that, but I started getting more regular physical checkups at the end of 2024, and some of these issues persisted.

That helped me get a bit more serious about my diet, and the desire to get a bit more lean.

The bottom line is that without regular checkups and blood work, you will really never know if there is something going on in your body that is otherwise undetected, or asymptomatic.

Exercise your mind

Modern medicine is helping us stay alive longer, even if we have diabetes, major heart issues, etc.

The problem is, many of us who live to an advanced age will develop issues such as dementia or Alzheimer’s.

Physical exercise DOES indeed help to guard against these issues.

However, training our brain can also go a long way toward at least delaying the onset of these issues and fight against them when they do take hold.

A couple strategies you can pursue to train your mind include martial arts training, studying a language, or just going back to school to learn something new.

You may remember the actor Peter Weller from Robocop (if you are of a certain age).

I learned last year that he is an art historian as well, and later in life he obtained his doctorate in Italian Renaissance History.

Weller is now 78 and judging from a recent podcast with David Duchovny, he remains sharp as a tack.

Remaining active and engaged in your community or work is another way to continue to exercise your mind.

Clint Eastwood and Warren Buffett, both 95 years old, are great examples of people who have lived very long lives but continue to have sharp minds.

Final Thoughts 

You now should have an understanding of the principles for maintaining a healthy mind and body to the best of your ability.

Throughout this article I hinted at some of the strategies you can employ, such as strength training, cardio exercise and even learning a new language.

Within those strategies are various tactics that will help you achieve your goals.

To learn more about those, consider our Champion of Aging program.

Now it is time to get to work if you want to become a Champion of Aging!