Why do you exercise? Is it to maintain a healthy weight? Or to make your body look a certain way? For me, it’s mostly about mental health.
Occasionally people will praise me for my dedication to exercising every day. No, no- you don’t understand! I have to exercise in order to feel good. When I exercise regularly I feel like I’m barely keeping my head above water, mentally and emotionally. I’m so focused on my mood and endorphins, I sometimes forget about the physical benefits of exercise.
A few years ago I read Younger Next Year by Chris Crowley and Henry S. Lodge. The authors lay out the best argument I’ve ever heard for daily exercise. The basic premise is that there’s a difference between aging and decay. Aging is inevitable, but decay is optional.
Our bodies are constantly getting signals to either grow, or decay. In our youth, the tide of growth is strongly at our backs, pushing us forward. But in our 40s or 50s (when our reproductive years are behind us) our bodies switch into a “default to decay” mode. There’s no middle ground… you don’t just drift along at the same level. It’s either growth, or decay.
Luckily we can switch these “decay” signals to “growth” signals with… you guessed it… exercise. The most simple rule in this book is exercise six days a week for the rest of your life. That’s the way to send constant “grow” message to your body. There’s a whole chapter on the science behind this (and it’s pretty interesting) and also a whole chapter for those reluctant strength trainers- like me- on why two of those days should be strength training.
According to the authors, if we allow the default to decay scenario to run its course, our eventual decline will look like this:
But if we send constant growth signals to our body, our trajectory can look more like this:
Of course we’re all still going to die, but the idea is to live healthily and have the inevitable decline be right at the very end. The only thing I would change about this graph is that I’d like to live a bit longer… but if I can be healthy well into my 80s, I’ll take it!
Funny thing about this book- I really enjoyed it and thought the information was fascinating, but wondered why it seemed so geared towards men. There’s a couple chapters dealing specifically male-related aging concerns. I kept thinking, “why does this book seem like it was written for men? These ideas should apply to everyone!” Then on the last page I found this:
Ha ha… there’s a specific version for women, and I read the men’s one. Oh well! A couple years later someone gifted me the women’s version, and to be honest, it says basically the same thing. The important points are the same for everyone.
If you find yourself struggling with motivation, or feeling burned out on your exercise routine, I highly recommend this book- either version. I promise you’re find it entertaining and inspiring- you’ll have newfound motivation to send your body those “grow” signals- and who wouldn’t want to be younger next year?
I’m linking up with Kim and Zenaida for their Tuesday Topics- check them out for more inspiration!
What do you do when you struggle with motivation?
Do you exercise with a specific goal in mind, like a race? Or is your motivation more general, e.g. slowing the aging process?
33 Responses
This sounds like a book I should buy for all my friends! After spending the weekend with my friend Holly, we both realized that we are the only women our age we know that are still active. It is really disheartening. And do you experience other women ‘guilting’ you for being so active? It’s a really interesting phenomenon.
Thanks for sharing!
I had to respond to the “guilting” phenomenon – I’ve had that from some people and quite hurtful too. But I think it stems from a guilt within themselves to do more.
I hear ya.
Many of my friends just think I’m crazy. “You’re so active”, they say.
What??? I think “Why aren’t you?”
What I do just seems normal….
Why do I run a lot of races? Why shouldn’t I if I enjoy it….
Hiking, biking, tennis and now the gym….
Not crazy to me. Important to live longer.
Yes, it makes no sense that the sedentary people think we’re crazy. WHY??? Why is it crazy to want to be healthy and enjoy life? Sheesh.
It actually is a good book to buy for inactive people (if you can get away with it- they may not receive it well) because it’s totally written for people who don’t already exercise. The whole tone is- “I get it! You don’t want to do this- let me try to change your mind.”
My husband is so consistent with his exercising and when questioned he has always said it’s for him to be comfortable in old age. And that ties in with this book – growth or decay. Just the word “decay” sounds awful – I was debating whether or not to skip my run this afternoon and this has jolted me into action, LOL.
Don’t skip your run! Send your body that growth message!
Nice! I’m all about maximizing longevity these days! I’m working my way through all the Blues Zones books, and I’ve been trying to implement Blue Zones principles into my life so I can live past 100! 🙂 My favorite BZ principle is “wine at 5.” Ha! Apparently, those who drink 1 or 2 glasses of red wine a day live longer, so I guess I need to drink up.
Oh, REALLY? Well, I’ll just have a little wine myself then : )
Ah, Jenny, that second graph is what I want! Live healthily for as long as possible and then drop dead.
If I’d tell my family and friends that they should exercise six days a week for the rest of their lives, most of them would call me crazy. And that I’m overdoing it. But the authors are right: the only way to slow down the decay and to age gracefully is by keeping active (including the odious strength training! 🙂
Honestly, it’s sad that the people who stay active are considered the crazy ones! It should be the other way around.
Living better, not necessarily longer (although of course both are nice) is my motto! It’s why I do #allthethings but not #ALLTHETHINGS, if you get my drift.
I don’t need to run for my mental health, thankfully; I know many that do, though, you are not alone!
Both my parents lived well into their 90s, but they didn’t age well. I definitely took this as a cautionary tale. My siblings don’t really try to change the way they live, either. We’ll see how all that plays out. Not if only my husband would pay some heed . . .
Yes, I want to live into my 90s AND be able to enjoy it. I’m trying!
My issue rarely seems to be motivation – it’s more an issue of time! I just can’t get on board with working out at 5am so I have to squeeze workouts in when I can and I consider 4 workouts/week enough for this stage of life. 5 would be ideal for me and maybe I can achieve that in a couple of years. I am already missing being able to WFH full time. It was so much easier to fit workout in! Outside of the pure motivation to move, I find training for a race very motivating. I like my running to have a purpose. I can enjoy running for the sake of running, but I like knowing that I am working toward something. Otherwise I don’t feel super motivated to increase my distance – at least not at this stage of life with young kids!
I have good genes in terms of longevity, though, but I want to make sure I am enjoying those later years in life. My paternal grandma will turn 99 next month and she is in good health, all things considered. She still plays wordle, emails, uses facebook, etc. She did not really ‘workout’ but she has always done a lot of walking. I’d love to be as healthy as she has been when I am in my 80s or 90s! I really hope I have that kind of longevity since I had kids later in life! I want to see them get married and have children so I need to stay healthy for that!
Yes, that’s one of my biggest motivators. Especially since I had my kids later in life- I really need to stay healthy (and alive) for a long time to enjoy my future grandchildren.
I would say what you’re doing now is great- when your kids are older (and your body goes into “default to decay” mode) you can exercise more.
Yes this is exactly why I exericise. I can’t remember if I ever told you about the time in my early 30s when I decided to stop working out just to see what would happen, but for the few months that I was able to keep the sloth streak going, I felt progressively worse. I was always tired, always sluggish, and always achy. Once I started working out again those symptoms went away and I haven’t stopped since.
Oh boy… I don’t think I would want to try that experiment! It would not be pretty.
Exercising is 50-50 for the mental-health side of things (I just feel so much better mentally when I am active) and for the physical side.
I know so many older people who are overweight and suffering with chronic conditions, most of which could likely be GREATLY improved with an active lifestyle. I am also fortunate to now many people who stay active and are aging well, despite the normal aches and pains. Seeing both sides of the coin motivates me to stay active.
Also, I have young kids so at this stage in life “active” seems to find me regardless!
Yes, I see both sides of the coin as well! I have some clients who are in such terrible shape, and they’re only in their 70s. So many of the problems could have been avoided if they had just kept moving.
I often times get shamed (I believe from well-meaning people, though) for being so active. For me, it just feels good to be in motion and not “hurting” while doing so, LOL.. Ironically, I find that a lot of less-active people seem to be the ones who are constantly more tired than I am. Funny that this was a men’s version of the book, and that the women’s version came out later.
Yes, that’s true- the people I meet who are chronically tired are usually the sedentary ones! You can tell from your blog how much you enjoy being active- it’s not a chore for you. Why not do something that makes you healthy and makes you feel good?
I run to be healthy. I also run to start off my day on a good note. Though sometimes I like to sleep in and run after work. 🙂
I’m with you, Zenaida- I like to start off the day on a good note. But also every once in a while it’s fun to sleep in and run later!
That book looks really interesting, I’ll check to see if my library has it. I love exercise, which is why I do it. Well, I love a certain KIND of exercise. If the only exercise available to me was swimming or zumba, I probably would not love it. But as it is, I love getting all sweaty and breathless. In the last year and a half I’ve added weight training which I DO NOT LIKE but I am doing it for health reasons, to stave off osteoporosis. I have gotten a lot stronger, but I don’t enjoy it. However! It’s only ten minutes a day and I feel like I can do anything for ten minutes a day.
Blech. Weight training is also not my thing- I would rather do cardio all day, every day. But… we need it. Sigh! I have to laugh at what apparently are your least two favorite ways to exercise- swimming and zumba. I’m with you on those two.
I am definitely hooked on the endorphins of exercise. However, I would be lying if I did not admit that I do it for how it helps to make my body look. I also really do it for the health benefits. I know I would be in much worse condition medical wise without it
Ha, I’ve pretty much given up on the notion that I can make my body look a certain way… at this point I just want to be strong and un-injured!
Ok I’m a little sad about the “dead” part on the graph, but it does sound like an interesting read! Exercise is a sure way to clear my mind and make me happy 🙂
Yes, that is a little depressing, ha ha. That’s why I want to push that age back a bit, into the 90s.
It always baffles me when people equate fitness to age. My mom is 71 and I think she is the only 70+ person at our OTF studio. People always act shocked when they find out her age, like people in that age bracket shouldn’t be into fitness. I truly hope that I am still active at that age! Plus there are so many benefits to exercise and why not do whatever we can to make us live as long as possible!
Yes to this! I mean… I’m 56. 70 isn’t THAT far away and I can’t imagine myself not doing my workouts and runs. The problem is, there are a lot of people in their 70s, and 60s (and even 50s) who have let themselves really deteriorate. I have a client in his 80s who still bikes and plays tennis and he’s in great shape. His doctor warned him not to stop exercising- he told him if he did, he would get old really fast. Great advice, doctor!
Exercise for me is DEFINITELY as much physical as it is mental. A good sweat will do wonders for my mental state!
This book sounds intriguing – I might have to see if the library has it. I am super-excited that both my parents are physically active on a daily basis and I hope they’ll be around for quite a while… and I’d also prefer to be healthy and active well into my later years. You hopefully get out what you put in!
Yes, that’s true! This book is really good- but in your case it sounds like I’m preaching to the choir.