Lifelong Fitness

I’m over 90, healthy, a man, and more fit than many people decades younger than me. I have a rich, full family life. I live independently and I have goals that I work at every day. Statistically, men like me fall into a very small group.

I am starting this blog about the fitness and health practices that have helped me attain and maintain this level of wellness. In it I will tell you how I got started and why, and how my routine changed with my age and lifestyle over many decades to what I do now at age 92.

The routine I use is my own creation. Feel free to reach out to me -- I'd like to hear from you and I’ll be glad to answer your questions.

A lifetime of
health and fitness

Fitness is achievable even after years of sitting on the sofa! You don’t need a ton of equipment or experience to get fit at age 50, 60, or any time. I know this because I did it! I went from a youth of high levels of fitness to a young adult period of relative inactivity and lower fitness -- and on to a midlife and old age where I have stayed in shape and amazingly healthy even now, in my nineties. In high school I was on the track team and won sprint events at all levels including national championships and later a win in Madison Square Garden, New York in 1952. That same year I was a member of the Canadian Olympic Team. Years later, in 1979, when I was 47, I ran my first NYC Marathon. I had learned about serious training, aches and pains, discipline and how to stay focused. As I grew older I adapted my routines and practices to become more efficient and suited to the changes that come with age -- without giving in to them too much! Follow along to find out more, and join me in my quest for health and well-being in your senior years.

Quote of the Month

I carried this clipping in my wallet when I was much younger for over 30 years and from time to time it was a comfort to read it. It’s now on my bulletin board, still close to me and I still look at it.

Welcome to Lifelong Fitness!

I seem to have stumbled on a formula for reaching old age with an amazing level of fitness and good health. This was not intentional and I didn’t have a plan at the start. The plan came a few years later after I realized I should start exercising. This is how it happened.

1. The Realization.

It began in my 30s when I thought for some reason or other it would be a good idea for me to do some type of regular exercising. I’d been working hard at my job and I now had a small family. The event that was probably the most persuasive came when I played in an interoffice touch football game and afterwards my legs were so stiff I could barely walk. I knew I had to do something. That experience was an awakening! A painful one!

2. How I Got Started.

We know that regular exercise is good for you. But what we often forget about is that it must be regular exercise. It’s one thing though to think about it and quite another to actually do something. There are so many questions. How to get started, what to actually do, where to do it, use a gym, how often, is equipment needed, the cost, how long does it take, is exercise measurable, the questions are endless.

And you think about it, maybe even worry about it, and at some point, you may actually get started. For some it might become a start and stop project. That’s okay too as long as you eventually turn it into a several times a week activity. And all the time there’s a constant mention of wellness and fitness from the stream of ads in the media about health, weight, nutrition, gyms, vitamins, and more. This can be a nag and even create a bit of guilt. You don’t want to get sick for lack of exercise!

3. The Plan Evolved.

Because I had been a competitive runner in my younger years, I thought that running would be the easiest way for me to get started. I discovered to my great surprise that I couldn’t actually run very far!

So, I started jogging. Even that was harder than I thought. No doubt the result of about a decade of not doing much regular exercise. I first tried to jog a mile -- and couldn’t do it! So, I decided to jog between two telephone poles, walk to the next pole, then jog to the fourth pole, and on and on until I’d jogged and walked one mile. Success!

That was my base line -- a mile of telephone poles starting with a jog and walk, then going to a run and walk. I kept a record, a sort of diary of the length and time. Wow! The beginning of a plan!

Follow along in my Blog to learn more about how this fitness plan unfolded, how I adapted it as I grew older, and what you can do to promote your own fitness and well-being from midlife through to old age!