I’m 93 ya know…..
You have to love the old man and woman in the post office queue. Engage in conversation with any senior citizen who takes care of themselves and you know what’s coming….an age reference!  Information given to you that they are an active soul.  They are quite capable of anything at all, no matter how old they are, and long will it continue.

A feat that you are most unlikely to achieve yourself missy or sonny!

Well guess what?  It’s happened to yours truly Paul Connor!

I’ve been around a while, am proper middle aged and don’t mind telling you when I get the opportunity. Now I won’t be telling you in every conversation we have:  but I will when it comes to certain topics: health, body composition, strength, power, speed, endurance and muscle mass. There are many out there, even older than I, that are in better nick but, as every extra mile on the age clock occurs we become less of a percentage.

When I was in my twenties I was on a level with most of my peers.  Now there are less and less capable of achieving what I can do, or who have better health markers.

It is very rare I meet anyone my own age in as good a condition as me.

The question is why? It’s here I paused for ten minutes pondering what to write next as that is too big of a question really. It’s huge. Careers, relationships, illnesses, injuries, family commitments; many reasons.

For me though I guess I will answer by stating that it is misinformation and misapplication of false beliefs that have led to millions of men and women of my age (and younger) being physically way out of condition.

We all believe we know what to do but never get around to doing it because of will power. Or maybe we are doing what we are supposed to be doing,  but just not trying hard enough. Yep – I’m happy with that answer.

That’s it. That is why people of my age, give or take ten years, believe they are not in tip top shape.  Well I disagree. I think that if it was down to my will power I would begin questioning why I had such a lack of such an important part of human make up.

I’ll tell you something profound now.

Do you know why you are here alive today? You are here because every single one of your ancestors survived. They fought their way through the Ice Age & Stone Age, through famine, wars, pestilence, poverty and god knows what else. They did all that, and at the long end of the line is you… You, you OVERWEIGHT, TV watching ,Doritos scoffing, layabout!

Don’t you talk to me about will power. Today we rarely have to face any life or death challenge, but if we did, then I think you would all rise to it. You would claw your way through hell in order to survive. If you needed to you damn well would. You’ve got more will power than you know. The trouble is you never need to use it.

When it comes to the issue of will power, it is more the case that you have been poisoned to the point of not having any desire to live. What you eat, drink, rub on yourself, wash your face with.  What you do for entertainment and ‘happiness’ has beaten you down so much, that you don’t have the energy to WANT to get in condition anymore. It’s hard. It’s a vicious circle.

The more you do of a certain thing, the less you want to or are able to do of another.

The misinformation and misapplication of false beliefs is more relevant. We have been told to expend more calories than we consume; in effect go to the gym and eat more salad.

The human body is such a complex machine. Can you understand that there is so much more to understand about “going to the gym”? So far today, our postman has been to the gym, so has the man who read the electric meter, the cleaners and the refuse collectors.

They have all “been to the gym” today but it is what they did there that will bare any relevance to what the outcome is.  The postman’s intention was to deliver me some mail and he did that successfully.

If you go to the gym and your mission is to have a workout that aids with fat loss and muscle gain then you need to know what that is and how to execute it.

It is that, I’m afraid that just sails over most of our heads. Because you walk into a building it doesn’t mean you are achieving what you want. Learn what to do and then how much intensity to apply to that task.

What then has made me stay near the top of the fitness pyramid as I knock on the door of my half century?

• Working in the industry for over 20 years and the extensive knowledge I have helps.
• I spend my spare time learning about how to help others. That’s the time you might spend learning about accounting or health & safety. A big bonus that one.
• I eat well. I eat what a human being is supposed to eat and I know when and why to eat those things
• I don’t eat what the man on the tv tells me to, because he wants to sell more of his product.
• I compete in sport.
• I know about training protocols and how to apply them.

Applying all of the above plus a lot more has consistently helped me to stay at the top of my game and feel pretty awesome with myself.

We now have more gyms, fitness instructors, marketing gimmicks and internet gurus than ever before.  However I know myself, I know my body and I know what does and doesn’t work.

That knowledge and experience has served me very well over my 45 years. I can beat most men in their twenties in most physical competitions and I will continue to do so for another twenty years I’m confident of saying.

Please get in touch if you are over 40, and trying to change your exercise and nutrition habits.  With over 20 years in the industry, my advice and training ideas will be some of the best advice you will be given.

My advice may just be what has you standing in that post office queue, or even better, jogging along that sunny beach in your retirement, grabbing any passer-by who cares to listen, to say….”I’m 93 ya know!”