I’m in my 40s, it’s all downhill from here...
I’ve got aches and pains I never had in my 20s. Sometimes I find myself out of breath at the top of the stairs. My waistband is definitely a bit bigger.
We live in a culture which tells us that once we reach a certain point in our life, the best we can hope for is to slow the ‘decline’. That we will lose muscle, that it’s inevitable that we’ll become less fit, weaker and generally less capable and therefore less in control.
That’s a reality that you can accept, and find yourself unable to run the distances you used to, to struggle to move objects which you used to move with ease, to be uncomfortable with aches and pains, when you used to feel fine. You could accept that as normal and just carry on with it.
But, if you choose to challenge that – as you’ve challenged many status quos before – and decide that, as you age, to get stronger, fitter and more powerful than you ever have been. To arrive at meetings – online or in person – and have people comment about how great you look. For people to ask how you fixed your posture and now you look so confident. To pick up weights that you couldn’t have when you were 25. To move in a way that gives you presence in front of others, confidence in yourself and the security that your body will last the test of time.
Life can be so much better.
We can achieve so much more when we’re not distracted by aches and pains or lack of energy.
If you are seen as an individual and you focus your attention on building up your weaknesses (rather than just living with them), you build a foundation upon which it’s almost impossible not to reach the strongest point you ever have in your life.
Let me tell you about David (name changed for privacy reasons). David is a partner in a law firm, working long hours and used to deal with back ache a lot of the day. David used to play rugby in his 20s but stopped as work and family made more demands on his time. He used to feel like that was just it – he was getting older and still works long hours, there wasn’t much he could do.
Fast forward to taking the right action consistently, David can now lift 100kg off the ground, complete more continuous pull ups and press ups than he’s ever been able to and has gone a year without any serious back pain.
He feels fitter, better and slimmer than he has since his late 20s… which was 15 years ago. He’s noticed, and so have the others around him, who now ask him what he does.
They key is to learning what these steps are for you, then working on them consistently. Doing nothing won’t work, nor will doing things that you’ve tried already and didn’t work long-term.
