You are NEVER too old

Far too many people make far too many excuses for not staying fit. If it wasn’t for the dog owners, most streets would be almost complete devoid of pedestrians. But the excuse that really doesn’t work is, “I’m 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.

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’t make sense.

I decided to take today’s 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’ve 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’t want to fall, and I don’t 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.

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. Almost. I promise I’ll 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’ve 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?