"Younger Next Year": Have you read it?

[Gardenarian]

Hi - I'm about halfway through Younger next year : live strong, fit, and sexy--until you're 80 and beyond by Chris Crowley & Henry S. Lodge. It seems like pretty good advice (though the good ol' boy style of writing is both kind of cute and kind of annoying.)

Has anyone else read this? They emphasize that exercise can keep you young (feeling like you're fifty when you're much older.) I also read 20 years younger : look younger, feel younger, be younger! by Bob Greene, which had much of the same advice.

Both say that strength training is absolutely essential. I hate weight lifting - but if it's going to keep me from crumbling, or dying from a broken hip, I'll do it.
Thoughts?

This getting old is really not going well for me.

[cdttmm]

I read "Younger Next Year" a few years ago and loved it! It's a book I've recommended to various family members. I read it as part of my graduate studies in positive psychology. We were learning about positive psychology and positive health so we read it along with a book called "Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain." I would also highly recommend "Spark."

[Gardenarian]

Thanks, we actually have a copy of Spark in the library where I'm working at this very moment!

[rodeosweetheart]

I am going to look at both--I am with you on the 50's--have absolutely hated them, so I would have to rewind the clock a bit earlier than 50 to feel good, lol.

I still thinkmuch is genetics--I look at my parents, who are still alive in mid 80's, and try to see what they did to make it this far. All I can figure out so far is that the gin killed the germs in the deer meat.

[razz]

What I believe is that most of aging is mental as is every part of life. I get so tired of people who complain about their aches and pains, have little to talk about except their next visit to the doctor and have constant echoing of all the cr@p that they listen to on TV. This happens at all ages - these people are dead mentally by choice and their bodies age rapidly according to their expectations.

My goal is to learn, explore, search and discover something new and wonderful every day with gratitude for each day and its offerings. Is it easy? No, it takes a lot of hard battles and ongoing work but I am in charge of my thinking, my goals and my future. I am as old as I mentally accept that I am.

I have seen people who are in wheelchairs requiring daily help who have enormous zest for life and energy compared to so many younger who are fully able.

You choose your age so choose wisely.

I figure, philosophically speaking, that I am on an adventure to learn and experience as much as possible in this life experience that will benefit me in the next and the next ad infinitum.

[Gardenarian]

What I believe is that most of aging is mental as is every part of life.

Razz,
I think this is partly true, but physical ailments can make the most optimistic person become prematurely curmudgeonly - and why not avoid those aches and pains if you can?

For me, "choosing my age" is going to require quite a lot of work! I don't want to have joint replacements, or develop diabetes or heart disease, or especially, be a burden on my daughter. For many people, aging becomes a medical condition, requiring surgery after surgery, assistive devices (CPAP, etc.) endless meds and doctor appointments, exorbitant expenses, and lots of pain.

Whatever your genetic heritage and background, there is a steep physical decline for most people after age 50. The book I mentioned discusses how you can greatly reduce age-related physical decay, and help to prevent illness, through (primarily) vigorous exercise, and also eating well, maintaining healthy relationships, and a positive disposition.

This book is all about staying alive mentally and changing your expectations about aging.