💬 Friday Thread: How do you prioritize your health/fitness?
A few years ago, the comedian Jerry Seinfeld appeared on Tim Ferris’s podcast and shared this thought about the time and effort he puts into staying fit and healthy at age 66:
Do you realize what it takes to travel, to go to the airport in your 50s and your 60s, to fly on planes, to go to strange cities, to go to hotels, to put on a suit, to go out on stage at eight o’clock at night and run around and yell and project your physical energy for an hour in front of thousands of people? They’re trying to kill you. So I have made it into a game. It’s like Mitzi. I’m going to step on you, and I went, “No, no. I’m going to step on you.” That’s the game we’re playing. That’s life. Life is they’re trying to kill you. You get this free ride till you’re, let’s be generous, 43, and then God goes, “You know what? I’m going to move on to the people in their — 16 to 23 and I’m going to give them my best. If you want to hang around, you can hang around, but I’m not giving you anything anymore. It’s on you now. If you want to stick around, go ahead, but I got nothing for you. You figure it out.”
I’ve always loved this, because it captures so well what it’s like as we age. We really do take our health for granted when we’re younger; generally, we’re just healthy by chance, because we’re young.
But as we get older, we have to be intentional about it — which got me thinking, how intentional are you about staying fit and healthy, whether that’s through running or anything else?
How do you prioritize it, and how much goes into your effort to stay as healthy as you can? — Terrell
thank you for this question, Terrell!!
I'm turning 60 in October (not that I'm thinking about it yet!).
I'm doing an Ironman 70.3 on that day! (just the running portion of a relay. but how could I not? Ironman 70.3 Wilmington is ON my 60th birthday - and I live in NC. Let's go!)
that does get to your question.
I would say that almost *everything* I do is about prioritizing my health.
There's a saying that when we stay healthier as we get older, we live *longer* and we die *quicker*.
Which sounds not good until I realized that's exactly what I want - to live as long as I can, but not just to be technically alive. To be able to be mobile and active and engaged as long as I possibly can. Then die in my sleep - not linger for months or years in a state of decline.
I am 62. I do not run, but I enjoy this page as all of you inspire me to keep being intentional about my health. Right now, I have started working with a movement teacher, working on balance, strength, core, and flexibility. I used to weight train and was always quite fit, and I am still in very good health, but the stresses of the pandemic and life over the last 5 or 6 years have really set me back in terms of my goals. But I am ready now.