I turn 80 years old tomorrow, April 1, 2020. April Fools Day. I was thinking about what the future looks like for a healthy and fit 80 year old as I get older.
I thought of an old blog post I wrote many years ago (read it here) about a man (age 93 at the time) who had turned to weightlifting and bodybuilding at age 87, and was in the prime of health. At age 93, that man, Charles Eugster, gave a TED talk in Zurich (watch it here) about the importance of health and fitness at his age and older. He said he started because he said his body was in “sad shape” and he was losing muscle mass at an alarming rate. He said he was very vain and wanted to look good for the “70 year old ladies”. Maintaining muscle mass is very important to Seniors and resistance exercise is the best way to do it.
While the talk was a bit racy in the beginning, he gave some very worthwhile advice on what to do to become and stay fit at an older age.
When you follow the link and watch the talk, you will notice several important markers of health and VITALITY. Notice his posture throughout the talk, and particularly notice the vitality and strength in his voice, along with the enthusiasm with which he delivers it.
Charles Eugster passed away in 2017 at the age of 97 from complications from heart disease. But in his nineties he learned to swim. At the age of 95, he took up sprinting. Yes, I said sprinting, not jogging nor walking. After he learned to sprint, he proceeded to gain two world records in Masters Competitions as a competitive sprinter.
So I don’t know what my future will bring. But I hope I can have Charles Eugster’s strength, vitality and enthusiasm for life as I move through my eighties. I changed a great deal about myself and my lifestyle at age 70 and will continue to do the things that have kept me feeling youthful and ALIVE!
Anyone can do the same. The cost of poor health and lack of vitality is too great to let poor habits sabotage your Senior years. Work, nutrition and exercise worked well for Charles Eugster, they worked for me, and they can work for you.
You don’t have to start weightlifting at 87, learn to swim in your 90s or become a sprinter at 95, but there are incredible lessons to be learned from the man who did them, particularly that “it’s never too late” to become healthy and fit.
Thank you for reading.