You don't stop running because you get old.
You get old, because you stop running.
This is a pretty famous quote by now, which I came across in a book I read several years ago called, Born to Run, which is about surprise surprise, rubbing. I am not a runner, but read it due to having foot issues and wanted to explore barefoot and minimal shoe content.
This is not about that.
The quote came up the other day when friends were helping cut wood and we were talking of our elderly neighbors, who are in their mid-eighties. They do all the work around the house themselves still, cut the lawn, plough the snow, do the gardening, build bits and pieces. They have worked their whole lives, and they aren't going to stop.
One of the friends was saying how his grandmother was similar, but as Alzheimer's set in, they moved her from a house to an apartment bad a year later, she was gone.
She stopped running.
But this is not about old age either. At least not directly. It is about how our sedentary lifestyles are doing this to us now, from very young ages. We are running less in youth, as young adults, and in middle age, but because we are relatively young, it isn't as noticeable at how much we are degrading our minds and bodies. However, if it starts to drop off heavily for people who have been active their whole lives, what is that cliff going to look like for people who have been inactive lost of theirs?
We know that being sedentary is bad for our health, yet obligation ad convenience keeps us on our chairs. As does entertainment. While it isn't as noticeable while young, the lack of movement, the damage done will compound and increase the rate of decline, likely from earlier. This means that despite all that we know and have available to improve our health, we will be more affected than before. We are already seeing a lot of "lifestyle disease" with cardiovascular issues, obesity, diabetes and many forms of cancer on the rise. When we stop moving even more, these will worsen.
My foot problems for instance, date back to between the ages of 17 and 20, where I was so ill I spent a lot of time in bed, sitting, or not doing much of much. Prior to this, I was extremely athletic, but once I stopped, my body atrophied, including my feet. Compounded by the medications I was on at the time, my entire system warped, and while I have improved in some areas, in others, the damage is largely irreparable.
And then, each of these issues compounds against all the other issues of aging, which means that I am forty five with the body of a sixty year old - even though from the outside, I look relatively healthy. This has many affects on mental and emotional health too, because once we start to notice the decline, we start to shift our focus, seeing other aspects of aging, feeling ourselves slide away. Yet, we aren't old at this stage, just not in good condition.
I wonder how much of the mental health issues that are currently plaguing society have their roots in a sedentary lifestyle, where we aren't physically doing that much that actually matters, that makes an impact, so we look for other ways to create meaning. And it isn't about going to the gym or for a run, because that is largely "pointless exercise" in the sense that it is non-creative, and isn't relevant to our daily lives in the sense that it brings very little value. If we worked to our actual needs in life, we wouldn't need gyms, would we?
A year or two ago, a group of friends got together for an evening of games and conversation, and one of the questions that came up was, "what would you tell younger you?" and someone said, Start squatting at the gym. He had started about a year prior to this, and the change in his body, posture, and general feeling had been huge - and this is someone who has never been over weight, and would be considered pretty fit.
I suspect many of us would look back at some of what we have done and perhaps would choose differently, while some say they "wouldn't change anything" as it would change who they are today. I question this second one, because if we could go back and eat a bit better, move a little more, we would likely feel much, much better today. For the people who are suffering from one of the lifestyle diseases, or multiples of them, if an obese person could instead be much thinner, or a diabetic not be so, all through making a few small changes in their lifestyle, wouldn't they?
So looking forward, if we are younger now, should we learn from those who are older as a cautionary tale of what happens when we stop running? Should we think a little about whether the cupcake is worth it, or if the discomfort of exercise is so bad, that we would rather the pain to come in the future?
It seems like a pretty simple decision.
So why is it so hard to make?
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
This reminds me of the common phrase "Use it or lose it", which can apply to a lot of different things. When it comes to our bodies, exercising the muscles is the topic. Whether it is challenging the brain, or moving the different parts of the body, those are needed to keep the mobility and sharpness. I think we can all think of a way to improve our lives a little. One can start small and slowly build on it.
Exactly - and we used to use it all earlier, and for much longer than we do now - these days, we are sedentary in just about everything that matters.
Of course, I’m sitting on my butt while reading this post. I will get 10,000 steps today, I will.
10,000 should be easy, right? ;D
I wish I had encouraged myself to be more active in my earlier adult years. That being said, I am not sure I would have wanted to be a runner. I am working on fixing that now, but a lot of runners end up having issues with free radicals as well as other factors and they look about twenty years older than they really are. They are probably totally healthy, but they look like old men and women. That's part of the reason antioxidants have become such a huge thing.
oh, forgot to mention how haggard the runners look. It is the same with skiers. I think it isn't the running, but the running/skiing in the sun. The sun shatters youthful looks fast.
I think you are right I did some more research and the sun seems to be a major contributing factor.
Yeah, I am not a runner, but I struggle even walking at a moderate pace. It isn't my fitness, it is literally in my feet. I don't think it would have happened like this had I been able to walk more for that period.
I'm working my way up to being able to run. Right now I can only do about three minutes at a time.
A rolling stone gathers no moss! I have always identified as way younger than I am and will be that way til I am gone or down and out I hope. What keeps me young now at my vintage is fighting trained martial artists a few times per week, along with a relatively active lifestyle. I do participate in waves and don't eat the best but those are tweaks we can always make and test our willpower to stick with it.
Inevitably, we all think we are immortal and time is infinite.....'til it is not. I know there will come a time where I will regret the sum of my decisions and habits when they manifest themselves into a real problem, which there will be no solution. What I will not regret is enjoying that cupcake in the moment, and work to turn that into motivation to be extra active and have a salad instead of some pizza.
Still, time WILL catch up to each of us and we will look back and wish we made different decisions. Hopefully it will be accompanied by a lack of regret for a life well lived.
I identify as extremely good looking.
Have you been doing the martial arts for a long time?
I think the trick is, to eat treats when there is a "reason" to eat, like spending time with friends and having a cake together, like I did last weekend. The killer is sitting alone in front of a screen, eating a cake.
I don't care much about dying, I just don't want to live the rest of my age in poor condition, unable to do much except sit.
I guess it has been over 10 years training brazilian jiu jitsu. More as a hobbyist than a hard core competitor.
Totally agree. It is all about the habits. When the cupcake is the exception to the rule, and the rule is not to have those, then those exceptions are taken care of by the rules. As long as exceptions don't become the rule.
Keeping yourself active and mobile will go a long way to being in decent condition so you must be doing it right!
Every day we become lazier, we create machines to do everything for us, we all want healthy bodies, but the truth is that few are willing to make sacrifices, people prefer to make an operation to lose weight rather than diet and exercise, we all want it fast and easy.
Healthy bodies and healthy minds, plus we want to feel good about ourselves - but do very little of what it takes to have these things.
This one talked to me! At 46, boy would I love to have a conversation with 36 year old me.
43 year old me went sober, but wishes he could talk to 33 year old me about going sober.
lol, and thus we live in our current bodies, I guess the difference now is I’m asking the question, what do I think 56 year old me would want to talk about.
Nice to see you here mate - been a while!
I don't drink much, but I know some people who do quite a bit. It definitely has an effect on more than the way they look. A lot of them don't seem that happy, no matter what they actually have in their lives. Perhaps it dulls the senses, and then at some point, keeps them dulled?
The evolution of our species is tied to constant movement. Moving for many hours every day removes the effects of our stress and benefits our body in many ways. Every other day I walk now and work in my garden for 8 hours, it’s wonderful, by the evening I’m a completely different person than if I sat at the computer all day.
A couple hours a day of "honest movement" can have profound effects.
I think as we get aged, we become more prone to being sedentary because we don't have as much energy as in our youth.
that too - but it is compounded when people who are young, don't have enough energy to move already :D
It's crazy how easily we slip into sedentary habits, thinking it won't affect us until we're older. But seeing those who've stopped running, whether young or old, is a wake-up call. Maybe it's time to lace up those shoes of mine and go for a run . Thanks for this eye opener good friend
Yeehaw, partner! This here blog post is a powerful reminder that keepin' active is the key to a bright future and a strong mind. Let's saddle up and keep on movin' for a healthier and happier life ahead!
@tarazkp Sr. 44 users reblog your post is it real or got booted 😂
some are real - some are not it seems.
I’ve noticed that people born during olden days or let me say older generations still tend to be a bit stronger when they grow old. That’s because they never consumed some chemical foods when they were younger and there was no machine to do their homechores for them unlike we that now rely on machines all the time
!WOC
I need to relearn
runningplaying splinterlands in a few days. because 31 day is the biggest tournament of the year.I always think of what Wil happen if I stop running, that is why now am young i take more of vegetables and engage in fitness exercise. Nice reminder, most people today live their life like there is no tomorrow not knowing everything we do today will down on us when we get older.
This happened to my grandmom, although she was already 91, when they moved her out of her house ( with big garden ) and into an elderly home. She lived for two more years.
Her (daily) garden(ing) and social life, she outlived my granddad for 22 years ( although I must add that he was 9 years older ) clearly added to her longevity. Once she became mostly sedentary and taken out of her home, she deteriorated rapidly.
I could say the same about my dad too. Due to his lung disease and - later - fear of breathing ( even fresh air ), he started getting out less and less. As a result of this, his muscles deteriorated, he burnt all his fat and he slowly but steadily withered away, where up till his diagnosis he had gone on daily long walks.
All of the aforementioned and your post are a reason why I move daily ( especially walking/hiking and cycling and - as an added bonus - outdoors, in nature. And, as you might know, I don't even drive a car.