The Difference Between 20 and 60 is Experience


If asked those questions then and now, my responses would be completely different.


What changed? I did.

At 20, I knew a lot about fitness, having enjoyed athletics from my earliest memories. I went through college as a physical education major, and learned lots. I was bursting with talent, information, and already had accumulated 8 years of teaching fitness and sports at summer jobs, as well as coaching sports through the school year. People asked me questions, and I answered with confidence. “Is running hard on your knees?” “What’s the best exercise?” “What should I eat when preparing for a marathon?” “How important is it to lift weights?” “How would you define fitness?” “How do we measure fitness?” “Can vegans be athletes too?” If asked those questions then and now, my responses would be completely different. What changed?

I did.


Health and Fitness Week

Though I thought I knew what I was doing forty years ago, and admittedly my knowledge and coaching abilities were fairly good, what I sorely lacked was experience. Practically every situation I faced was a new one, often including challenges I had never been prepared for while in school. Looking back, I realize that I was teaching by the seat of my pants.

Now it’s more than forty years later. I am a more compassionate person, and I have grown in many ways. I still expect athletes to give all they’ve got, knowing that total commitment is necessary if you hope to get maximal performances. Over the years, I’ve mellowed, but I’ve learned much more in the real world than I ever could have in the fishbowl of the classroom. I’m not making things up as I go along these days. I teach based upon what I know works, and I know it works from experience, not just from theory. Recently I watched a video of a medical doctor who is 100 years old. He worked as a cardiac surgeon, and is still quite fit and healthy today. He said, essentially, “I eat my fruits and vegetables, and make myself healthy and heart attack proof.”


When you listen to whoever is currently teaching you, ask yourself whether they are leading with sheer enthusiasm, or do they draw from the benefit of education and experience as well.

 

Additional Resources

Articles, Blogs, and Vlogs:

Retreats:


Amp Up Your Fitness


Practical Skills To Thrive


Self-Study Materials:


Raw Athlete’s

3 Book Combo


The 80/10/10 Family
Membership


80/10/10 Bootcamp
How To Live 80/10/10

This entry was posted in All, By Dr Graham, Fitness, Quality of Life, Rest & Recovery by Dr. Doug Graham. Bookmark the permalink.

About Dr. Doug Graham

Dr. Douglas Graham, a lifetime athlete and raw fooder since 1978, is an advisor to world-class and motivated athletes and trainers from around the globe. He has worked professionally with top performers from almost every sport and every field of entertainment, including such notables as tennis legend Martina Navratilova, NBA pro basketball players Ronnie Grandison and Michael Porter Jr., track Olympic sprinter Doug Dickinson, pro women's soccer player Callie Withers, championship bodybuilder Kenneth G. Williams, Chicken Soup for the Soul coauthor Mark Victor Hansen, and actress Demi Moore. As owner of a fasting retreat in the Florida Keys for ten years, Dr. Graham personally supervised thousands of fasts. He was in private practice as a chiropractor for twenty years, before retiring to focus on his writing and speaking. Dr. Graham is the author of many books on health and raw food including The 80/10/10 Diet, The High Energy Diet Recipe Guide, Nutrition and Athletic Performance, Grain Damage, Prevention and Care of Athletic Injuries, and his latest, Perpetual Health 365. He has shared his strategies for success with audiences at more than 4,000 presentations worldwide. Recognized as one of the fathers of the modern raw movement, Dr. Graham is the only lecturer to have attended and given keynote presentations at all of the major raw events in the world for each of the last eight years. Dr. Graham has served on the board of governors of the International Association of Professional Natural Hygienists and the board of directors of the American Natural Hygiene Society. He is on the board of advisors of Voice for a Viable Future, Living Light Films, Vegetarian Union of North America, and EarthSave International and serves as nutrition advisor for the magazine Exercise, For Men Only. Dr. Graham is the raw foods and fitness advisor for The801010Forum.com. He taught the Health Educator program at Hippocrates Institute, served as the "source authority" for Harmonious Living, and authors a column for the magazines Get Fresh! and Vibrance (previously known as Living Nutrition). Dr. Graham is the creator of "Simply Delicious" cuisine and director of Health and Fitness Week, which provides Olympic-class training and nutrition for people of all fitness levels in beautiful settings around the world. He will inspire, motivate, educate, and entertain you like no one else in the health movement can.