As you go through life, some things are constant. Working out is one constant: your body needs to work out, consume healthy foods, and get ample sleep every day of your life. These things remain the same!

I have found that working out for strength and flexibility actually become more important as you progress into your 50’s, 60’s and beyond. But the amount of stimulation your muscles need for strength decreases, while the stretching required actually increases somewhat.

Actually doing a strength session can be very intense, and productive, in less than a half hour! It is the intensity that matters most. Also, recovery from an intense session of strength training needs to be longer than when you are younger.

I have also found that really draining movements, like heavy squats and deadlifts need to be far less frequent. In your senior years, you probably have all of the sheer bulk you would want, anyway! To be strong and yet defined is far more desirable as you get older.

I have pretty much eliminated, at age 72, the barbell back squat, the deadlift, and the bench press. Pushups on the gymnastic rings, along with flies and other movements are preferable to bench presses, and can be done at many angles. Single leg or ‘sissy’ squats using the rings for balance are also much better for your knees, and take the emphasis off of your glutes and put it on to the front thigh. Substitute the squats for these..

I also do kettlebell swings instead of deadlifts now, for high reps. Quite exhausting, and targets the lower back without overstraining the nervous system to the point where recovery suffers!

Dips, pull-ups and rows are always good, and are improved by doing them on the rings as well. As we age, it is great to avoid spinal compression by loading the body excessively by means of barbells.

Walk backwards, resisting with a heavy band anchored against your movement, and then walk forward. I do this as my warmup before my strength sessions, for about 10 minutes- this will forestall knee problems very effectively. Credit to the Knees over toes guy Ben Patrick for this! Truly wonderful inspiration from him.

I used to work out for hours at a time. I was young, and I was kind of stupid, well, uninformed at least. Now I know better:

Workouts can be short, but yet intense. Results do NOT suffer; in fact they can be BETTER!

But, be sure to prioritize stretching. Each morning I stretch, and do Virtual Resistance, first thing. In front of the television= a win-win. Wake up your body productively, and stretch it out for the day to come, and you are setting yourself up for a wonderful day.

Then, follow through with your diet: Eat protein, and make that your priority. If you want some carbs, go with sour dough bread, but minimally. Have a paleo smoothie (PLEASE) like I do daily- but now I consume a small one, of veggies, kefir, some berries and citrus, and sour cherrie juice that is spiked with iodine, vitamin D, and cod liver oil. This is your “insurance” nutritionally speaking, and should be adhered to religiously!

These are the basics. After these are fulfilled, just live a good, balanced life, as our founding fathers decreed. Religion, conservative politics, and observing the golden rule along with your neighbors….

Life can be quite simple, and wonderful. Just adhere to the basics of Western Civilization!! All else is dross.

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Most Americans nowadays are severely overmedicated, malnourished, and sick!

This sounds like an extreme statement, but is nevertheless true.

Most adults are on a number of drugs, from anti-depressants, statins, high blood pressure drugs; drugs to help you sleep, and drugs to wake you up. The average number of drugs the average American is on at any one time, are 7. At a cost of $1200 dollars per year, per person.

Of course, this is excluding the cost of going to see the medical doctor, and whatever procedure he decides you should have… Oftentimes, procedures and tests are given that result in huge bills for the patient, and those expensive tests are totally unnecessary.

Also, you can be prescribed drugs for which the doctor receives a ‘kickback’ of commission for prescribing them. All of this is ethically highly dubious, but it goes on regardless.

Is it any wonder that medical bills are the number one reason for bankruptcy? Perhaps this is why anti-depressants are one of the biggest drugs to be prescribed!

How many drugs should a person be on? NONE! But this does not seem to be the goal of the doctor at all anymore. They just keep on prescribing, and never get around to weaning you OFF the drugs, which ALL have side effects, which you get another drug prescribed to to treat THOSE effects. This is a pernicious system, that feeds endlessly on itself, making us sicker, and more dysfunctional as time goes on.

Drugs are just treating our messed up lifestyles! A calorie restricted, low fat diet of processed and fast foods. A lack of good exercise, sunshine, and good sleep. Fulfilling relationships and conversation with the TV OFF are the best “prescriptions” you could ever have in your life. Getting out in nature with your bare feet in the grass and strolling down a woodland path will do more for your health than any stupid cholesterol drug can ever do!

Be a stoic! 1Moderation in All Things: Adopt a balanced lifestyle, incorporating healthy eating, moderate exercise, and ample rest.

1. Mindful Awareness: Practice mindfulness and self-awareness to understand and control impulses related to diet and exercise.
2. Acceptance of the Uncontrollable: Recognize that certain health factors are beyond our control. Embrace acceptance and focus on how you respond to these circumstances.
3. Mind-Body Symbiosis: Understand the profound link between mental and physical health. Nourish both aspects through positive thoughts and self-care practices.

Rely on yourself, in other words. Be your OWN doctor! Drugs are usually NOT the answer.

The only real breakthrough of Western medicine was the discovery of penicillin and the whole class of antibiotics. Alexander Fleming discovered that this type of fungus had an antibacterial property. This led to discovery of the drugs that could treat deadly diseases such as pneumonia and tuberculosis and many others that wiped out these heretofore untreatable diseases!

This gave western medicine and your medical doctor a halo effect; such that now doctors are regarded as near god-like in their wisdom. No, they just gained access to a form of drug that is amazingly effective!

And what was the treatment of choice for Tuberculosis in the old days?

Doctors could only advise their patients to rest, eat well, and exercise outdoors.

This is still the very best advice you can give to people today. It’s the very best we can do, overall!

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An Easter Story

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