You want to get old, really old, here is why… #38

I watched an interview with Peter Attia on Health Theory and I loved his tag line. Kicking ass at 100. I thought, yes, that is what I want to do. I hate thinking of getting old when I look at the norm in society, sure there are some guys who defy that like  Hélio Gracie a Brazilian jiu-jitsu master who is 95 years old at the time of this recording and he still does jiu-jitsu. 

But sadly for most the prospect of getting old fills us with dread when we see old people crippled over and using zimmer frames, walking sticks and the usual oversized waist area.

Peter Attia  (the founder of Attia Medical, PC he is a medical doctor) says that if you want to be able to still have a great grandkid run up to you and you pick him up in your arms from a haunched position then you need to treat it like that is the sport you are training for. Just as a marathon runner trains to get over that line, and he runs for weeks in advance to build up the stamina so we must create our own finish line for when we reach a 100. 

What do you want to be doing? Still windsurfing perhaps? Maybe playing football, or simply going to the pub and playing some snooker, or bowls. Maybe it’s just being able to get down onto the floor and play with your great-grandchildren. 

You have to think about your long term future, you can’t put it off for another day. What you do today impacts your life if you reach 100. The small cuts we give our bodies now build up over time. The more of these small cuts you inflict the worse you will be off when you are older. But we want to feel good now! We want that instant gratification, eating that cheesecake or doughnut that floods us with dopamine. We tell ourselves “It’s ok, one doughnut won’t hurt” or “I’ll start eating healthy tomorrow”