You are NEVER too old

By Dr. Graham
Last updated March 4th, 2019 .First posted on by .

Far too many people make far too many excuses for not staying fit. If it wasn’ for the dog owners, most streets would be almost complete devoid of pedestrians. But the excuse that really doesn’ work is, “I’ too old,” and unfortunately, that is one of the most-used excuses of all.

If you wish to get really old, really rapidly, stop exercising. Infirmity comes on the sedentary people far more rapidly than it “attacks” the fit folk.

Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying, “We do not stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” Apparently, using age as an excuse for not striving is not a new idea.

 


Health & Fitness Week

Countless studies on seniors and exercise have shown that we can expect to continue to learn and improve in an unlimited number of activities into our seventies, eighties, nineties, and beyond. Fauja Singh is credited with running the London Marathon at the age of 101. Sy Perlis, 91, recently broke the world record in bench press for his age, (destroying the old mark of 130) by benching 187.2 pounds. Yet when you are ready to make an excuse, any one will do, even if it doesn’ make sense.

I decided to take today’ message seriously while out ice skating with my daughter. I can skate. I can perform a move known as a “hockey stop,” but only by turning a quarter turn to my left. I’ tried the stop by turning to the right many times, for decades, but never seem able to figure it out. Making the move to my right not only seems impossible, but it is terribly scary. I really don’ want to fall, and I don’ want to get hurt. Somehow, trying that hockey stop by turning to the right petrifies me, and fills me with the belief that something horrible is going to happen.


Hockey Stop

So, today I took baby steps, thinking to myself that it has to be now or never. I tried the stop a few times, going slowly and very close to the wall, so I could grab on if necessary. Grabbing for dear life proved necessary, time and again. Finally, I could perform the stop without grabbing the wall, and after lots more tries, without losing my balance. After about thirty more tries, I could actually perform the hockey stop to my right with almost as much assurance as I could to my left.


Dr. Graham’s New Ice Skates

Almost. I promise I’ be practicing lots more during the coming weeks. Still, it was encouraging to see progress could be made. Apparently, not everything you hear is true.

I’ proven today that you can teach an old Doug new tricks.

What is it going to take to get you out there learning something new?

 

 

Additional Resources

Articles:

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Amp Up Your Fitness

 

Practical Skills To Thrive

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Raw Athlete’s3 Book Combo

The 80/10/10 Family
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How To Live 80/10/10
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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.