Can we slow down the aging process?

In my opinion, we most definitely can!

In fact, I’m a firm believer that by weight training regularly and following a clean diet religiously, we can not only slow down how we age, but we can also improve our health, better our appearance, and prolong our life span, not to mention improve the quality of our lives in our later years.

And now, thanks to modern technology, many of us our able to maintain a somewhat youthful looking appearance with the help of cosmetic surgeries such as face lifts, liposuction, rhinoplasty, vein ligation, etc. And for those whose budget doesn’t fit these types of surgeries, the usage of neuromuscular blockers such as botox, fillers and lip injections can make a world of difference. Regardless of your personal stance and opinion on these types of procedures, you cannot deny that for the most part, they do work.

But when is enough, enough? I mean how many times do you really need to go to the gym each week in order to build and maintain muscle? And how much cardio do you really need to do in order to remain reltively lean? And how little calories must you consume in order to keep your waist tight and trim? And lastly, how much sculpting, sucking, tucking, shifting and lifting needs to be done, in order to maintain that so-called “youthful appearance”?

Let’s find out!

She’s Got The Looks That Kill!

Remember the band Motley Crue? If you don’t then shame on you! Go do your research! The band was one of the biggest and most popular “Glam Rock” bands of the 1980s. They were young, good looking and partied like rock stars (because…well…. they were rock stars). Vine Neil, Tommy Lee, Nikki Six and Mick Mars were known for their crazy antics both on and off the stage. Each battled their own addictions with alcohol, heroin, cocaine, sleeping pills etc. And as much as I enjoy their music (90% of my Leg Day Playlist is Motley Crue) none of them have aged well.

Motley Crue is a perfect example of people who have aged themselves by abusing their bodies for years on end, exercised little to ever, and followed a diet that mainly consisted of fast food, hard liquor and copious amount of pills. I honestly don’t think any amount of cosmetic surgeries could assist in bringing any of their youthful appearances back to life. No, it’s never too late to start exercising and eating clean. But would either of these actions really have much of a significant impact on their overall health at this point of their lives? My guess would be no.

Are You Aging Well?

Okay, so if you’re like most people, you’re most likely not partying as hard as Motley Crue did back in the 1980s & 1990s. However if you’re also like most people, you’re probably not exercising as much you should be and/or watching your diet as carefully as you need to be. Now ofcourse some of you reading this are exercising regularly and following a clean diet the majority of time. And for you people, I commend you for your discipline, determination and self motivation. But for the rest of us, what the hell are we doing?!?!?

The fact of the matter is that following a poor diet, while living a fairly sedentary lifestyle is not only a recipe for aging more quickly, but can also cause severe health implications as we become older. So yes, all those cosmetic procedures that I listed above can help make us appear younger, but if we’re not staying on top of our own health and fitness, we most certainly will NOT feel any younger.

The Aging Excuse

There is nothing that causes me to roll my eyes more than when someone tells me they “can’t” do something because they are “too old”. I’ve had some clients in their 50s use this excuse when they don’t feel like increasing the intensity of their own workouts. Meanwhile, I have a few clients in their late 60s and early 70s, squatting, benching and deadlifting more weight, with less rest, than some people in their 20s!

Using age as excuse is lame. No, you might not be able to lose weight as fast as you did when you were in your 20s. And no, you might not be able to build as much muscle onto your frame as you could when you were in your 30s. But, as we become older, most of us (not all of us) do become more mature. We tend to think more methodically before taking action. We also become more realistic with our expectations. My concern is that some peoples’ expectations become too low as they become older, and as a result, begin to regress rather than progress with both their internal and external health.

Final Thoughts…..

Regardless of whether you care or don’t care about your outer appearance, I think we can all agree that we would all like to live long, healthy and enjoyable lives. Unfortunately there are numerous factors and variables that are out of our control when it comes to predicting our own lifespans. However, there are just as many factors and variables that we CAN control in order to assist us and provide us with a greater chance of living a happy and healthy life. And in my opinion, this all starts and finishes with how fit we are, how active we remain, and how much we care about our health and our bodies.

“We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.”
Dolly Parton