SIXTY is the new “forte”!

(Photo above of 80-year old Jacinto Bonilla borrowed from Men’s Fitness magazine online. See details below.)

I’m not going to change the name of the blog, but I’ve entered a new decade! And while I ended my 50s in a fulfilling place vocationally, fitness-wise I need to step up my game. It took a couple of startling photos and a couple of alarming readings at my annual physical to shake me up — but consider me shook! There’s been too much commuting, too much sitting, and too much convenience/prepared food-consumption in the past 12 months. So I entered October with the Great Cycle Challenge already checked off (I rode 400 miles and raised $1100 in September for children’s cancer research), started logging my daily diet again, and have been lifting weights two or three times weekly for the last four weeks. This Saturday I start a near-weekly indoor rowing workout program with my dragon boat crew, and I’m trying to walk/jog my way back into trail running in time for a challenge I don’t want to publicize, yet. 😉 Learning how to be a full-time pastor in a congregation 50 minutes from my home has presented its own challenges – mostly in time-management! – but I’m getting them sorted, as they say.

I’m looking forward to sharing a couple of Zoom interviews in November. In the mean time, three good reads…

(1) The inability to stand on one leg for at least ten seconds is correlated with higher all-cause mortality after 51 years of age. Perhaps not surprisingly, those who struggle with the test also tended to have other life-shortening conditions, such as obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. (Here’s the whole study.) If you’re reading this blog, chances are you can pass this test, but it’s still good to practice single-leg balance activities throughout the day! Stand on one leg while brushing your teeth, doing dishes, or working at a standing desk. Do single-leg kettlebell pickups. Or if you’re feeling especially sure of yourself, try putting a sock and shoe on your free foot while standing on one leg!

(2) We know that lifting weights as we age helps us maintain (and even increase) muscle mass – which is vital for maintaining strength, independence, and mobility. But new research shows that weight-lifting also strengthens the nervous system by strengthening the connections between nerves and muscles! Win, win, win.

(3) From Men’s Fitness, “6 Men Over 60 Crushing Fitness.” Click through each one, because they’re all inspirational, but my personal favorite is the story about 80-year old Jacinto Bonilla, who runs a CrossFit gym in Brooklyn!