Younger Next Year, Part II: A Second Glance

 

Younger Next Year, Part II:  A Second Glance

 

If you and I are both lucky, you glanced through my first review of Younger Next Year.  Possibly, you found some good information, but decided to wait a bit, or got distracted by that cold beer in the frig.

Younger Next Year, Part I

 

Maybe you just need some more details.  After all, a new you is not just about exercise, but about being healthy and happy. You are in luck! As usual, I do everything I possibly can for my three faithful readers.

 

First two rules: 1. Get a physical checkup before you start.

                               2.  Unless you’re used to exercising, start slowly.

 

Let’s lean a little heavier into the science of exercise.  In a nutshell:  Your body decays everyday.  The book lays out specifically what forms decay.  For now I’ll stick to what fits under the nutshell.

 

According to Dr. Lodge, growing old and weak is not normal.  Cells in your body die every single day.  Natural chemicals clean up the mess and also, if you exercise, the same chemicals call on other body chemicals to come behind and repair things.  But, without exercise, there is no call for repair.  This is such a brief description that I’m almost ashamed to write it.  Younger Next Yearexplains the process in more precise detail.

 

But, your exercise program builds up your cells, your muscles. In other words, it repairs the body. 

 

Let’s step back a moment and quickly discard two normal approaches:  #1 – I’ll try it for a while and see how I like it.  #2 – I’m too busy.

 

#1 is a no win.  Start slowly, but commit to exercise for the rest of your life.  Chris Crowley relates the story of a middle age guy, a hundred pounds over weight, who could only walk a hundred yards. But he DID walk a hundred yards and did it everyday, losing weight and building up to a five mile walk!

 

#2 is a whimp-out.  At the age of 50 or older, surely you can arrange your day to get 45 minutes of heart pumping exercise.  We’re all blessed with the same 24 hours each day.

 

The authors use the analogy of tearing down an old house and building a new one.  As a house sits, it decays.  You bring in a wrecking crew to tear it down.  Then you bring in the construction crew to build your new house.  A sedentary person never brings in the construction crew.

 

Dr. Lodge explains the science. “With the chronic stress of modern life, the chemistry of inflammation persists, but the renovation never gets started.  Decay becomes a career path for your body, and your blood itself becomes an inflammatory caustic stew.”

 

Here’s the good news:  “You can control the cycle.  Commuting, loneliness, apathy, too much alcohol and TV all trigger the inflammatory part of the cycle (the decay).  But, daily exercise, joy, play, engagement, challenge and closeness all trigger the crucial repair.”

 

Don’t know about you and my faithful readers, but I love knowing I can control the situation.

 

Cynics may sneeringly ask, “So, what the hell do you do?”  I ignore their cynicism.  Been bike riding for about a year and my body keeps pushing me to pedal faster.  I belong to the local YMCA and swam until the cold weather hit. Now that warmer weather is just around the corner, I’ll be at it again.  Haven’t jogged in years, so I followed what the exercise magazines tell you to do. I’ve start off with a short run and short recovery walk, run and walk, run and walk, for about an hour.  If you’re lucky enough to live by a beach, it’s easy.  For me, this has turned out to be a blast!  Younger Next Year explains a host of exercises that will do the job.  Just pick one or two or three you like.

 

Don’t forget hitting the weights and those push-ups and pull-ups.  Both are easy ways to work the upper body, build strength, and call in that construction crew.

 

Yes, the book also gives interesting perspectives on nutrition and how it affects your blood, your heart, and the rest of your body.  It also convers answers to a host of questions:  Is a heart attack really a heart attack, or is what we call a heart attack really something else?  And, how are “heart attacks” and strokes similar?  Best of all:  How exercise and nutrition help you avoid both! 

 

Younger Next Year packs in humor, science, and loads of encouragement.  NOW, grab a copy of Younger Next Year, get motivated, and start building a NEW YOU!

 

News about one of the authors, Chris Crowley, who was 70 years old when the book was published.  He is now 86 and still skiing the double black slopes!