10 Secrets of Healthy Aging

The 10 secrets of healthy aging (they are really not secrets):

1. Mythical age or “perfect age”-If you did not know your birth date, how old would you think you are? (mine is 28)

2. Diet-should be balanced with a 40% complex cards, 30 % proteins, 30% Fat, distribution in your daily diet. “Eat to Live, not live to eat.” Always be mindful of your genetics, what did your parents eat and how did it affect them? Remember, you cannot change your genetics but you can control them through lifestyle discipline.

3. Exercise-a good aerobic exercise (keeping the heart rate up for a minimum of 20-30 minutes, 3-4 times per week) is plenty. Anything above that is for something other than exercise, i.e. Ironman training. This is also a good time to release anger or go into exercise meditation. Anger is part of life but must be released in some healthy form, exercise is an excellent way.

4. Mental exercise-this involves spiritual and being true to yourself, sense of urgency, having a hero or two, a mentor, a role model, etc.

5. Active sex life-WOW thought I’d never get to this one. Just read some interesting thoughts on this by Napoleon Hill. He says, “That sex desire is the most powerful of human desires. When driven by this desire, men/women develop keenness of imagination, courage, will-power, persistence, and creative ability unknown to them at other times. “He also calls it, “the mystery of sex transmutation.” Obviously a deep subject, but we must move on.

6. Balance in life activities or moderation in all that we do-this is probably one of the hardest to maintain since we all want to do what we enjoy and put off what we don’t. But in this process we tend to get very narrow. Balancing the EGO should be in this category, since we can achieve many great things with our ego, but letting it go wild can create great damage in our lives.

7. Passing through life transitions positively-“ask not what another 10 years can do TO your life, but what it can FOR your life.” AS we go through the 10 year increments of life we must view them as what can be accomplished with our new experience and insight. We must be willing to go out of our COMFORT ZONE to achieve our goals and not view aging as growing old. There is a big difference. Or learn to make Plan B plan A, if necessary.

8. Prevent holding grudges-be able to forgive and forget, mend bridges, don’t burn them. Do not let yourself be pulled into others control dramas that you have no control over and in the end can cause lasting hard feelings.

9. Passion-not to be confused with #5, but simply a passion for life and living life to its’ fullest. Our passion can be directed towards our love life, our vocation, and our avocation. Passion is a must!!

10. Embrace adversity-my favorite scripture comes from the book of Job. WOW what a story! Job embraced adversity, overcame it, and moved forward with it. One thing that is interesting to do is to go to the last chapter and the last few verses and you see that through his willingness to embrace his adversity and advance through it he was blessed by God with double what he had in the beginning.

Now you know the “secrets” of healthy aging, which really are not secrets at all. There are probably 20 secrets, if you know more that should be added go for it!!!

Mike Greer

Annual Physical results

When it comes to supplements to me the truth is in the pudding, and sometimes this is just hard to figure if these things are good for you or not. However, my proof in the pudding came when I got back my annual physical blood test results. It turned out that everything on the list was within the normal readings and there were no alarms going off or scores into the danger zone. There was one reading that was of particular interest to me and that was my PSA reading. On my 2009 results the PSA had gone up from 2.1 to 3.4 and 4.0 or below is desired. But the problem is that it had gone up since the last year so it was a tad bit of concern to me. Even though I know now that the PSA results are not as creditable as it once was, it is still a warning measurement for possible prostate cancer. So, what I did for 2009, after having the reading of 3.4 was to search out a new prostate over the counter supplement that had Zinc in it. The results in 2010 showed a new reading of 2.1 down from 3.4 the previous year. Also, the always “ huge” finger test by the doc agreed with the PSA reading that nothing was going on strange with that little walnut. The over the counter product that I bought is call Prosta-Strong, manufactured by Irwin Naturals and it contains all of those ingredients that are supposed to be good for the prostate. You can find the product at most alternative drug stores or even the traditional drug stores that carry both prescription and non-prescription. Also, make sure that saw palmetto, pumpkin seed are part of the list of ingredients.

mike greer

The Question??

Well I am in Dallas to run the Rock N Roll half marathon on Sunday. This is no big deal but everyone I run into insists on knowing what I am going to run it in. The truth of the matter at this point is that I have a high fitness level but not necessarily for this distance, at this time. My training is based on the time of year and centered on swim, bike and run. So, I am really not truly trained for a rode race of half marathon distance; however, I will get through it and still stand at the end of it. My long distance running has decreased on the past two years simply because the human body has a way of saying, enough is enough. After 65,000 miles of running, 44 marathons, who knows how many half's and many, many 10 milers and below, my enthusiasm for long slow runs has diminished. Not to say that my minutes per mile have increased and what use to feel good at 7:30-8:00 pace is now feeling the same at 10-12 minute pace. So, as I see people here at the race expo and packet pick up everyone will ask me, "what are you going to run it in?" Rather than say, well maybe somewhere around 2-2:30 hrs. I just have them revisit my personal best, while in my prime at 41 years of age(30 years ago) and that equates to a very swift 1:38:31. The rest of the story is that I still got beat by my most favorite training partner by 16 seconds. Ironically I am still trucking along and he has not run in years, so even though my pace is much slower now a days I am still very thankful I can chug along at any pace. So, when you ask my my pace or how fast I will run something in you will get the run around answer.

My real point here is that we should consider our current fitness level as the most important time of our life, since it is now and forward that we should be most concerned about. When I am ask my secret to healthy aging, I explain to 20-30 something year olds that there are no secrets. My comment to them is they must be preparing themselves NOW for the day when they approach their 60's and beyond and not wait until then to began taking care of themselves. A few weeks ago I took my annual physical and everything came out very good, my doctor even suggested that he would trade my test scores with his any day of the week. That made me feel good, but I also know I must really take care now since the body parts have been here a long time and they need daily care and attention. As I look around me I found very few things that are 71 years old and still functioning, i.e. my automobile, my television, my electric razor, by running shoes, my typewriter(now replaced by the computer), etc., etc. So, let's do things in a moderation level that equates to our state of fitness and attitude. If a person walks every day(which is really the best kind of exercise) then keep that routine up and not be obessed with other kinds of exercise that might stress the body too much. Not every one is built to go many miles on their feet, butt(bicycle) or swim. My friend Shanna Armstrong can go many, many miles as a truly ultra-endurance athlete(she warms up for Ultra-Man with an Ironman distance race the week before); however, the same type of training and racing for me would destroy my body. I know what my body can stand and I am satisfied with that level of exercise and competition. Bottom line here is that I will go my own pace tomorrow in the half-marathon and be a happy camper when I cross the line. Will I check to see how I did against the other 70-74 year olds in my age group? Well of course since I am still competitive driven but not really obsessed. I want to be doing what I do everyday at the level that corresponds with my bodies ability.

Remember, prepare for aging NOW because it becomes your partner in life way quicker than you can imagine.

greer