Stop Telling Yourself "I'm Just Getting Old" and DO Something About It

Too Old for This Sh*t: How to Take Your Life Back from an Ageist Society

Photo by Lourdes Mendez on Unsplash

You can’t roll back time. You CAN roll back bullshit. Here’s what I mean

Fellow Substacker

Howard Luks MD

put a terrific note out the other day that I had to grab and elevate. Here it is:

Aging Doesn’t Take Anything You’re Not Willing to Give Up.

Sure, some things change with age, but far less than most people assume.

You lose power if you stop training for it.

You lose balance if you don’t challenge it.

You lose strength if you don’t use it.

You lose confidence if you don’t move.

Aging isn’t the thief — neglect is.

This isn’t about denial or trying to be 25 again. It’s about realizing that most decline isn’t inevitable, it’s optional.

Don’t hand over what time hasn’t taken yet. (author bolded)

In every single way this is what I am trying to communicate on Too Old For This Sh*t. I am so truly sick and tired of hearing people use age as the excuse when in truth, we’ve slipped out of good habits, into our jammies instead of our jockey straps, settled into the couch with our fourth beer and second pizza.

Starting in our thirties these days, people wail about how old they are. This aches, that aches, my bad knees, I’m slowing down. I kid you not. Thirties. I’m surrounded by it at the gym.

We can by god talk ourselves into old age in no time, with fifty years ahead of us. Why not start using a walker now and get in practice?

Do we start deteriorating at some point? Hell yeah. In fact, right past prime reproductive age, in our thirties, we are at our physical peaks and the long slow slide begins.

Mother Nature starts stealing our vitality…but not if we do the work. Let’s talk.

I’m 72. Iwas at my absolute peak fitness at 64. The following year I had my first of fourteen major surgeries.

I’ve watched some losses happen in my own life, not necessarily by design. Foot surgery has kept me from being able to run, and the constant foot pain since then has made the habits of hiking, running and damned near everything else so painful that it’s been hard to exercise, at least the kind I prefer.

I still work out, but not like before. The regularity and intensity have been curtailed because of surgeries, recovery and pain. I can see the results.

When my body began to change, I knew the reason. I know the science behind those changes and what I would need to do in order to reverse much of it.

Still, how easy is it to simply say well, I’m just getting older.

Photo by Mukidi Teguh on Unsplash

OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD.

That is such a lame excuse that it’s deeply embarrassing to even hear it in my head as I write it. Sarcopenia, and the loss of the all-important VO2 capacity which pumps oxygen and nutrients throughout the body’s muscles, organs and our brain, are physical changes which begin in our thirties.

It’s such a small percentage, year after year, but it adds up, if you don’t put the work in.

Slight changes aren’t obvious until we ask our bodies to do something that used to be effortless.

Suddenly the loss is so great we can’t stand up out of an easy chair.

Wasn’t sudden. Wasn’t overnight.

Was the result of choices, habits and the small, everyday decisions to do what keeps the body in excellent order.

That’s not “just getting older.” We got lazy. We traded good habits for bad ones. We sat instead of sweated. Slept in instead of sucking the marrow out of life.

You and I are regularly bombarded with messages which associate all kinds of physical and mental changes with “just getting older.” Repeat them enough they become gospel. Well, let’s blaspheme this particular gospel.

A Google search gave me this AI answer:

It is a myth that significant memory loss, physical decline, depression, weight gain, and sexual problems are inevitable parts of aging.

Cobbled together from the Mayo Clinic, the National Institutes on Aging and more resources, Google offered a handy list to use to counter the idiot argument that certain symptoms are a sure-fire indicator that you’re just getting old, and there’s nothing to be done.

I’ll handle that last bit in a moment. Here’s the list:

• Memory Lapses/Cognitive Decline: While some minor changes in memory and thinking are common with aging, such as occasional forgetfulness or needing slightly longer to process new information, significant memory loss or drastic cognitive decline are not normal parts of aging. These more serious issues can be signs of conditions like dementia, which are not inevitable and often influenced by factors beyond age, such as lifestyle and health conditions.

• Weakness, Decreased Mobility, and Frailty: It's often assumed that significant physical deterioration and reduced mobility are an unavoidable part of getting older. However, studies have shown that regular physical activity can help maintain muscle strength and functional capacity even in older adults. Lifestyle choices, not just age, significantly impact physical function, and inactivity is often more to blame for lost abilities than age itself.

• Depression and Loneliness: While some older adults may experience isolation or loneliness, especially after losing loved ones, depression and loneliness are not a normal part of aging. In fact, some studies indicate that older adults may be less likely to experience depression than younger individuals. Social connections and engagement are vital at any age.

• Weight Gain: A slowing metabolism with age is a real phenomenon, meaning the body burns calories slower. However, weight gain in older adults is not inevitable. Maintaining a healthy weight depends on a combination of factors, including physical activity levels, diet, and stress management, not just age.

• Sexual Problems: While risks of conditions like erectile dysfunction or vaginal dryness may increase with age, these issues can often be addressed and treated. The myth that older adults are automatically sexless or lose their ability to enjoy intimacy is not true, and many continue to have fulfilling sex lives. (author bolded)

Nothing to be done about it?

Bullshit.

If you want to buy into that story, thereby costing yourself not only years but above all the quality of those years, be my guest. Between you and me, however, I call crap on the lies society tells us. Those lies could cost you decades.

Here’s what I’m doing. I had one last surgery on my left foot in March. The other foot? Maybe never. Fine. I have work to do.

Once I was able to lace up my sneakers, and have at least part of the day at a tolerable pain level, my dog and I started hiking again. Three hilly miles, and with a weighted vest. I will be adding much steeper hills to this soon. And sand dunes.

These are a bear to climb.

While I have pain in my shoulder from arthritis, I am at the gym punching out the weights. I may not ever lift heavy again but that’s not the point. I want strength, power, and endurance- all of which are available with steady, consistent work.

When I was in my thirties I rode my bike from downtown Denver to Vail. That’s 120 miles, at altitude. Vail Pass is close to 11,000 feet. My legs remember- so do yours. If you were ever an athlete, muscle memory is your dearest friend.

All you and I have to do is invite our VO2 capacity and our muscle memory back into the room. We may not look the same, but honestly?

I want the strength. Endurance. Options.

I’ve done a little casting about to find more articles which support what Dr. Luks points out.

This one from Medical News Today is my favorite. It attacks all kinds of medical myths about aging which are perpetuated by doctors as well as family members as well as our own belief system. Read it and see if some of these myths have made their way into your brain pan. If so, conduct surgery to remove them.

This article addresses that irrational fear we get when we can’t think of a word and immediately think DEMENTIA. Look. We all forget our keys. When we forget what keys are for, that’s when we need to be concerned. Know the difference and spare yourself (I’ve done it too) the catastrophizing.

Speaking of memory, this piece talks about why we can get memory overload as we age. While yes, being older means we have more to remember, that’s not a bad thing. And it surely isn’t a disease. We have millions of memories, and with luck there will be more. Of course there’s clutter.

Finally, I had to end it with this: get thee to a dumbbell, a barbell, a kettle bell. Do some light strength training. Do it long enough to watch what happens to your body and your brain and your energy and then tell me I’m full of it.

I want you to live long, but better. I want us to get an attitude enema about aging and rethink how grand it is to be old.

It IS grand to be old. Consider the options.

Let’s play.

the author in Ecuador, 72

I am always grateful to those fellow Substackers whose excellent material allows me to craft a piece around their good work. I hope you were inspired by Dr. Luk’s Note, I sure was. Please consider: