Aging Doesn't Mean Hanging 'Em Up

Over the hill. Old. Ready for retirement. What the heck is in these terms? Nothing, as far as I'm concerned. Aging is a state of mind. No doubt time moves forward, but does that mean life slows down? For some, maybe; but plenty of people are taking their lives to the next level--the next experience--as they age. Rock on! That's the way I'm gonna do it, for sure.

Baby boomers are taking these sentiments to heart: This generation is the first to take an active lifestyle into older age. I commend them. Keep truckin' baby boomers. Just make sure you learn to partake in your activities in the right way. Learn how to train properly. Take a yoga or Pilates class and master the form. You'll keep truckin' for years to come that way.

And younger generations take heed. You'd be wise to look to the boomers for inspiration. Looking to generations earlier than boomers might just land you in the rocking chair. Start exercising and taking care of your health now, today. Eat well, get plenty of rest, and never, ever stop training your mind--it's imperative to keeping your wits and staying youthful. And don't ever fall into the, "I'm too old for that" trap. Believe you can and you will--guaranteed. Don't think so? Look at these young middle-agers and their extraordinary accomplishments:

• Olympic Swimmer Dara Torres--at 41, Torres is heading for her fifth Olympics, despite taking several years off, giving birth just two years ago and undergoing two surgeries within the past eight months.
• Barry Bonds--at 44, broke the major league home run record held by Hank Aaron for 33 years (which Aaron, himself, broke at age 40). Bonds also won a batting title at 38 (considered old for baseball!).
  
• George Foreman--in 1994, at age 45, Foreman captures the IBF and WBA championships to become the oldest champion in any weight class.
• Jack Nicklaus--in 1986, Nicklaus wins the Masters at age 46.
• Leonid Hurwicz--in 1997, became the oldest person at 90 to win the Nobel Prize for his work in economics.
• George Burns and Jessica Tandy--oldest competitive Oscar winners for their work in The Sunshine Boys (1975) and Driving Miss Daisy (1989) respectively.
• Min Bahadur Sherchan--at 76, the oldest person to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Understand? If you can see it and believe it, you can achieve it, no matter what your age. Nuff said.

Baby Boomers Breaking Down

Flash! Breaking news: Baby boomers are not invincible. That's right, recent reports disclose that baby boomers, like every generation before them, wear down.

Is that news?

According to Dr. Jeffrey A. Ross, foot and ankle podiatrist from Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, who spoke at the recent annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine, an increasing number of baby boomers are suffering wear and tear injuries as a result of living active lifestyles. As the middle-aged generation continues to play hard and exercise balls to the wall, they are developing an inordinate amount of repetitive use injuries of the feet, ankles, knees, hips, shoulders and elbows. These numbers seem alarming because this is the first generation to take a highly active lifestyle into older age. Despite these facts, I say bravo!

These types of headlines might make some people think that active lifestyles are hazardous to the health, but it's important to put it all into perspective. Previous generations tended to decline in physical activity as a sort of "natural process". During the 1st half of the 20th century, medical science even saw increased physical activity in the elderly as detrimental. Pshaw, I say. We know now that staying physically active is more than just good for you--it's essential.

The problem happening with baby boomers is one of faulty form, poor biomechanics, and ignoring the need to establish parameters. Many baby boomers have jumped into physical fitness without taking the time to be properly trained, and the result is an increase in injuries. No problem. It's never too late to learn to do it the right way.

Poor biomechanics can be a simple issue of poor form or it might be due to biomechanical dysfunction. Chronic subluxations, poor flexibility, and funky feet can all exacerbate the problem...and eventually lead to injury. Gotta get your stuff worked out. See a chiropractor. Take yoga classes. Get fit for orthotics. You can get back to normal functioning; I see it happen every day in my practice.

And establishing parameters just means always reevaluating your limits. You can do this by keeping records of your current physical abilities--how far you run, how quickly you lap Runyon Canyon, how much weight you push, and so forth. If you wake up one morning feeling beat to hell, take note: you might need to change that current parameter and work back up to where you were. Wisdom is listening to your body. You will slow down eventually, but that doesn't mean you have to hang 'em up at fifty. Keep going, just listen to your body when it tells you to bring it down. That way, you will be able to enjoy all the benefits of an active lifestyle for years to come.