Five years ago I was watching the exemplarily fit and healthy musician, Sting, on the David Letterman Show. Letterman asked him why he was having a celebratory 60th birthday concert and party - why not keep his age ‘under wraps’? His answer was that he was in the ‘best shape of his life’. Later Sting was quoted in articles saying, "When you reach a certain age, you realize that life is finite. You can be depressed by that, or you can say, 'I'm going to appreciate every minute to its maximum potential.'"
I was 55 while watching that, about 215 pounds at 6’, with a 38” waist. I was not ‘fit’. It was late at night (The ‘Late’ Show, right?) but it woke me up. A couple of days later I showed up at the local CrossFit franchise and paid them good money to kick my ass 3x a week. I started running, too. Within a few weeks I went from barely making it to the corner to a full mile. It hurt like hell, but I kept at it. A few months later I ran my first 5K.
Several months later I got validation from an impartial source. I ran into someone I hadn’t seen for a while and he said ‘Man, you look jacked!’. He was right. I was 30 pounds lighter, was back to a 32-34 waist, and felt good. That was 5 years ago and I’m still at it.
One morning I questioned myself. ‘Wouldn’t this have been so much easier if I’d started at 45, instead of 55?’. But my body was coursing adrenaline and oxygen, so the answer came quickly: ‘But I could have waited till I was 65, and what would THAT be like?!’
So on March 2, 2017, I say goodbye to my 50s and turn 6-0. And . . . ? And I feel great. In the past 5 years I’ve put back on a few pounds - but now it’s muscle. I’m trim, dress and feel better. I work out 6 days a week. I eat right, sleep regular hours, watch my weight, and know how my body reacts to any lack of exercise, overeating, certain ‘no no’ foods like sugars, too much red meat, dairy, etc., and I have a whole new lifestyle.
How will I celebrate in a few days, on March 2nd? How else? I’ve got tickets to Sting’s Chicago concert this weekend. It only seemed fitting and I will thank him for the inspiration from the crowded auditorium, even if he never hears it. My wife and I are checking into the Drake Hotel for the weekend and we’re looking to behaving like newlyweds with room service and . . . well, everything you might imagine.
More inspiration and full disclosure: I got married at 40 to a woman 11 years my junior. We have 3 kids, 19, 17 and 14, and I have to admit, I’m raging about aging mostly for my ego and my own selfish reasons, but a lot of this is about them, too. I can never accept being the ‘old dad’, nor will I walk my daughters down the aisle while wheeling along an oxygen tank. I’m choosing to live, and be alive, and that’s the lesson I want my kids to get from my example. That’s gotten me through the plateaus and setbacks that come with any diet and exercise regimen.
I can’t choose the number on my driver’s license where it says DOB but I can choose to live each day with energy, vigor and strength. I’m saying goodbye to my 50s, and saying hello to 60: yes, that’s a fact. But I’m choosing to be the me I FEEL on the inside and I’m committed to continue doing something about it.
I invite you to join me. Forget your age, your situation, your circumstances. Choose what comes next in your life and make it happen. After all, I‘m not Sting, no one but him is. He’s inarguably a great example of aging well. Me? I’m just James. But I am the guy who, 5 years later, is able to say, ‘I’m in kick ass shape at 60. I have literally worked my ass off to make that happen and it has all been worth it!’
And if I can do it . . .