The Soft Bigotry of Age Brackets
Age gives one a good, heavy rind. A durable crust that preserves the psyche and reduces the faint sting of left-handed compliments and micro-aggressions. Pride is still there, but it’s tempered by the knowledge that you do have limits. And failures. But still, repeated slights—no matter how subtle—get under the husk from time to time....
The Fountain of Youth is Real
If you track information on aging and fitness…and if you’re here, you maybe do…you are probably frustrated by the research summaries that begin with: “1,000 volunteers, aged 25-30…” Our wholly unsubstantiated theory holds that fitness research focuses on younger people because much of it is funded—directly or indirectly—by shoe and apparel companies that see free-spending...
An article about arteries. And runners. And tribes.
No young person thinks about their arteries, nor should they. But arterial health looms large as one ages and larger with each year. That’s why Gretchen Reynold’s piece in the New York Times might be of interest. The details are fairly straightforward: Researchers tracked the arteries of sedentary people who, God knows why, decided to...
Skiing is good for the soul. And brain.
There are a great many reasons to stop skiing. The cost of a lift ticket. The risk to life and limb. Your lack of updated skiwear and your refusal to spend $949 on a jacket. But there are other, better reasons to stay on your sticks. Fresh air. Adrenaline. The satisfaction of slaying the...
Hot and heavy
Two stories collided last week. First, it was very, very warm, so that the heat map of the United States turned a radiant, stop-sign red—the color of Irish skin after the first day of a beach vacation. So hot, in fact, that the National Park Service had to nag people to stop frying eggs...
Monitoring fitness monitors: the heart of the matter
In exercise, the flesh can be weak and the spirit too willing. You know the stories: someone your age pushed too hard and then keeled over. (In fact, this happens at all ages, but you pay more attention when the deceased is someone your age.) The more often you hear the stories, the more...
Boomers are all about the couch
A post earlier this week contained a startling public health nugget: most Baby Boomers—52 percent—report zero physical activity. No jogging, no biking, no backpacking. No walking the dog. No wading in shallow water. No golf with a cart. This is head-swiveling because (one) it’s an intellectual challenge to conceive of zero physical activity and...
Failure to crunch
It might not be your fault. If you don’t like to exercise, or if the exercise you do doesn’t seem to count for much, there are reasons that have nothing to do with your discipline, your will, or your moral fiber. You are not a puss. It’s your DNA. The Wall Street Journal recently...
Don’t know squat about squats?
The world falls into four camps: people who have no interest in leg strength and therefore no interest in squats (you are excused), people want leg strength but fear squats because they have seen too many crippled power-lifters, and people who swear by squats and believe the risks of working them into your routine...
Afternoon workouts work best. Maybe.
The popular press has a wealth of information on fitness. But if you are over 50, your reading will often leave you feeling confused or unsure. This is because so many studies focus on younger people and you know better than to generalize. Good health and fitness guidance for a 12-year-old might not true for...
Stop loving your couch
The time between Christmas and News Years is, unofficially, the National Sweatpants Week. A time for long breakfasts that fade into lunch, naps, hanging out, informal family gatherings–all activities that can be undertaken and are perhaps best undertaken while wearing sweatpants. But now it’s over. You know you need to get off the couch....
Fitness can compress your inevitable debility. Yay.
If you turned 65 in the middle of the last century—in 1950—you could expect 13.1 years more of life if you were a man and 16.2 years if you were a woman. If you turned 65 in 2007, your remaining life expectancy was 17.2 (male) and 19.9 (female) years. So, in theory, that’s about four...
