Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Getting Young

Just 4 years away from 50 I'm noticing that there are a lot of people I know complaining about getting old. Yuck! These Baby Boomers and even Gen X types are lamenting over their limited & finite state of being. Almost all of them believe that this process is a natural state of things. They say, "This is what happens when you get old."

I can't imagine filling that way...ever. Regardless of age, I've always felt that I would continue to get stronger, fitter, more flexible and healthier. I have always wanted to do everything I could to avoid aging in the traditional sense. Aging without exercise and healthy eating sounds like suicide to me.


I've been asking friends and family what they think aging is doing to them. The list was long but I thought I'd share with you the things I've heard most often.
1. Tired a lot
2. Slowing down
3. Stiff & tight all over
4. More illness more often
5. Frail & vulnerable to injury
6. Muscle & joint pain (knees, back, shoulders, neck)
7. Saddness & depressed
8. More fear
9. Forgetfulness
10. More anger & less open minded to try new things

I don't think any of us can be fond of this top 10 list. Quite often I heard about these problems coming from people in their 30s! Life can be pretty tough for all of us sometimes. But as we get older, it gets even harder, especially if we don't discover the importance of exercise & healthy eating. Does a healthy lifestyle cure us of the things on this list? Maybe not, but it sure will give us a fighting chance.

Every time you read a Power90 success story you hear about how someone's life changed. These changes relate to the items on the list above. Most of you started Power90 because you didn't like the way you looked. After completing it you cared more about how it made you feel, physically and mentally. Aging without a healthy lifestyle will guarantee some level of physical and/or mental malfunction.

Look at the list above and ask yourself if you're suffering from anything on it. Look at some of the seniors around you and see if they're suffering from anything on the list. They are you just down the road. You control your future and your destiny by making simple choices now. Give yourself a fighting chance and avoid the suffering that goes with unhealthy aging.

Let me hear that you're Getting Young.

T. S. Horton

10 comments:

Anne Dovel said...

Hey Tony,
Those are the reasons I continue to work out. I had several people tell me in person, "at 40, everything starts to fall apart", or "sorry, but pregnancy fat just sticks with you" and my favorite, "Once you have kids, you don't have time to eat healthy." I believed them until that first round of P90. All of the sudden I realized I did have choices. This spring I set out to prove to myself that 40 can be fabulous. P90X fabulous!! And it was and is. On my birthday someone said, "you don't look 40." I said, "Man, I don't feel it either." :)
Thanks Tony. Exercise/Eat Clean..Fountain of Youth.

Getting Young in Nebraska

Anne

Anonymous said...

Hey Tony! I gotta admit that I am an agefobe. I never tell anyone how old I am if I can help it. Once it's out there it just feels like people look at me different cause they would never have guessed. I soooo agree with you about exercise being the most important aspect of feeling young and healthy. I'm still working on the eating clean part (someday snickers and vodka may seem like poison but today is not that day). Thanks for the great workouts that help us get on the road to physical fitness!!

Anonymous said...

Hey Tony,
I have to say before I started power 90 I was truly getting old. In fact I was 1 thru 10 on the list, that was me. Changes didn't occur over night, I've completed p90, p90x twice. The only problems I've had, is crossing over the line of pushing it too hard, but that just tells you about the go for it attitude that I've developed. Because of knee problems I quit running 20 years ago, same thing with playing tennis went from playing everyday to once a year maybe, snow skiing went from extreme to extreme caution. Today I'm running again, I can outlast anyone on the tennis court, and this winter I'm back to the Bumps, crud, deep and the steep. So YES at 52, I am getting young. Thank you Tony Horton for not only the Programs but for making them fun too. Looking forward to the Power 90 Master Series. BRING IT!

Anonymous said...

What do you mean at 50? You should hear the aches and pains complaints I hear from much younger and sometimes myself. Once I started working out and eating healthier, things have changed for the better. My kids and even Ben realize the importance of exercise and eating healthy. Ben did a stress yesterday and he passed. Up 5% from last yr. The one thing he needs more off: cardio! I guess kenpo is coming out again!!

I think for me is the variety. As much as I love working out with you, I get bored of you. No offense. So now after adding TJ (turbo jam) to my collection of BB programs I know things are going to get better. Young age here I come!!!

xo peace!

Anonymous said...

Hey there, Tony,

I am a happy 34, married 11 years, 2 great kids, a daughter aged 6 and a son who is 3! They and my husband are my motivation to stay young! I want to climb trees, ride bikes, wrestle on the floor, give piggy back rides, hike in the mountains, etc. with my children. I won't say what I want to do with my husband (wink wink nudge nudge)!!! LOL
I want to give those precious kids a legacy of healthy eating and fitness. My son has a cup with a handle that he uses as his weight to "do his curls." He literally saw it in the store and called it his "Power 90." What else is a mom to do?? I BOUGHT IT!!! He loves it and I love what it symbolizes for him: health and fitness.

I never want to be that 10 out of 10, or even a 1 out of that list of 10! Power 90 has given me myself back, and I'm just through round 1! Today is my day 82 and I'm looking forward to another round with my hub, then on to P90X. So, thanks for the continued encouragement!! I greatly appreciate it and you!

Sarah/Psalm9567

TuxBaby said...

Hey Tony-

So very true, that growing old thing. But I agree- it's so reversible, too. I am now 40 and feel better than I did at 30! I slowed down ALOT during my 30's from having kids and a bad marriage -and probably had about half of your list of 10 going strong. Now I think I might be getting rid of my last item from the list- and no more Bad Top 10 for me!!

I owe it all to you and P90. The program's given me the tools I needed to get it done, but mainly, the attitude you exude is infectious and some days, that's all that is keeping me going. That new attitude on life is what's CHANGED my life! Thank you!

I've ordered TJ, I plan to get the Master's Series whenever it comes out, and I also plan to do the X next year, too. Lots of fun times ahead!

~TuxB

cewmont said...

Tony--Next June I will be 40---and I will also be healthier and more fit (Good Lord willing!!) than I have been in my life--due to BeachBody workout programs,all the nutrition and exercise info and inspiration packed into the Beachbody website, and all the great friends I've made on the message boards motivating me along!!!!!!!!! Thanks bunches for all you do!!

Anonymous said...

I just turned "younger" last week...I think I'm down to 21 years old at this point...!!

Anonymous said...

Tony...This post made me smile. Mike K. told me that I should (and would) have a crush on you.

I told him and Mark Briggs the same thing ... Tony is too young for me. *(I'm 32 btw).

I hope that one day I will be as "young" and energetic as you are.

Workin' on it. See ya, DEW

Anonymous said...

Well I turned 60 last month and I can tell you I can do more pushups, more pullups, more everything than when I was 20.

My cholesterol is 128, my BP is 110/70, triglicerides are 44 and I just feel great.

But I can tell you before I started P90 I had all the "symptoms" you describe in your article.

I believe age is a state of mind it is affected by your physical well being.

My martial arts teacher told me once that HIS teacher told him he didn't reach his physical peak until his 70's and he reached his mental peak in his 80's. I have heard stories and seen pictures of him and I believe the story to be true.

Ken Cooper once said that the human body was engineered to last 130 years but we take such poor care of it that it usually poops out around 75. That's about 50 years too soon! Imagine another whole 50 years, but it won't happen if you don't take care of yourself.

Tony and the gang at BB have laid it all out pretty simply; all we have to do is follow the plan. I did and I'm glad for it!

John