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gardener · 09-02-2003, 01:32 PM

My goals?
First, since I'm in my late 60s, here's where I've been. From age 25 or 30, my life was in steady physical decline, with a multitude of horrible habits. I avoided exercise whenever possible. I stuffed myself with starches and sugars. I was almost a professional smoker. Eventually it all caught up with me. I escaped a stroke or heart attack, but I did come down with lung cancer. I finally got smart, and never smoked another cigarette. Last spring my pulmonary doctor said I could now skip the six-monthly chest x-rays and office visits. There's been no sign of further malignancy and the touch of emphysema I had had has now disappeared.

Three years ago, however, I was still a couch potato when suddenly it came into my head that hey, exercise might be a good thing. I've been working out for the past three years, the last year with a trainer. Strength, stamina, appearance, posture, everything else has improved enormously.

My only specialized activities are kayaking and walking, especially on the beaches near my home. I also garden, often in a fairly strenuous way. (This weekend I used loppers and saw to remove 85 old, dried up, 30-foot, 2-inch in diameter, canes of bamboo, which is a terrific workout for chest, shoulders, and upper arms.)

I don't bicyle much. I don't swim. I don't climb mountains, and anyway there aren't any in the NJ coastal plain. I leave running to my sons, who are good at it and have kept it up right into their 40s.

I want to spend my next two decades in as good a shape as effort and commitment can achieve. I do not want to go gentle into that good night, but I don't want to rage against the dying light, either. I want to continue to lift my grandkids until they're old enough to lift me instead. I don't want to slouch or stoop. I want to be able to go to Wal-Mart, watch everyone else my age, and say honestly, well, finally, I'm in a high percentile of fitness among my contemporaries.

And when I'm 90 and I'm asked at the grocery store checkout if I need help getting everything to the car I want to say, thank you kindly, but I'll tend to it myself.

09-02-2003, 01:32 PM	#3 (permalink)
gardener Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: southern New Jersey Posts: 3,183	My goals? First, since I'm in my late 60s, here's where I've been. From age 25 or 30, my life was in steady physical decline, with a multitude of horrible habits. I avoided exercise whenever possible. I stuffed myself with starches and sugars. I was almost a professional smoker. Eventually it all caught up with me. I escaped a stroke or heart attack, but I did come down with lung cancer. I finally got smart, and never smoked another cigarette. Last spring my pulmonary doctor said I could now skip the six-monthly chest x-rays and office visits. There's been no sign of further malignancy and the touch of emphysema I had had has now disappeared. Three years ago, however, I was still a couch potato when suddenly it came into my head that hey, exercise might be a good thing. I've been working out for the past three years, the last year with a trainer. Strength, stamina, appearance, posture, everything else has improved enormously. My only specialized activities are kayaking and walking, especially on the beaches near my home. I also garden, often in a fairly strenuous way. (This weekend I used loppers and saw to remove 85 old, dried up, 30-foot, 2-inch in diameter, canes of bamboo, which is a terrific workout for chest, shoulders, and upper arms.) I don't bicyle much. I don't swim. I don't climb mountains, and anyway there aren't any in the NJ coastal plain. I leave running to my sons, who are good at it and have kept it up right into their 40s. I want to spend my next two decades in as good a shape as effort and commitment can achieve. I do not want to go gentle into that good night, but I don't want to rage against the dying light, either. I want to continue to lift my grandkids until they're old enough to lift me instead. I don't want to slouch or stoop. I want to be able to go to Wal-Mart, watch everyone else my age, and say honestly, well, finally, I'm in a high percentile of fitness among my contemporaries. And when I'm 90 and I'm asked at the grocery store checkout if I need help getting everything to the car I want to say, thank you kindly, but I'll tend to it myself. __________________ "It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in an argument." William Gibbs McAdoo. US Vice-President under Woodrow Wilson.