46 YEAR OLD MOM

As of 2016, she was ranked the number ONE vaulter in the world; SEVEN-TIME Olympian, considering eighth; 2019 Paris World Challenge gold medalist; mom: Oksana Chusovitina. Watch this video clip from her floor routine in recent years: https://www.instagram.com/p/CN4jQEuH5X9/

When I first began my career in the fitness industry (2004), I’d watch these “old guys”, regulars, in their 50s and 60s pull 500-600lb deadlifts. “Man!,” I’d think, “the advantage of age!”.

Then I’d meet thousands of new members, people in their 30s and 40s, talk about their aching joints and the difficulty getting on and off the ground.

A couple years ago I very briefly worked with a relatively fit 24 year old client who “gave up” because of knee pain and the “impossible” “uphill battle” of “aging”. Lol. Ok? What do you even say to this?

I once saw an Onion headline about a personal trainer being impressed at the dramatic progress in his client’s increasingly advanced and sophisticated excuses. People love to point to time as a magical thief. But the only thing I’ve ever witnessed is how much advantage time has to BUILD athleticism, skills, and wealth. The passage of time is a gift, not a thief. Time passes and people spend their health. That's their choice. Time passes and people spend their skills. That's their choice. Time passes and they spend their finances. That's their choice. Time was busily gifting. People throw away their gifts. No excuse. That same exact passage of time is ripe for building. No theft occurred. 

My joints feel better than when I was 16. And I have made a lot of mistakes beating up my body. I’ve had tendinitis. I’ve had arthritis DIAGNOSED. Right now? Nada. Nothing. Zip. I feel good. Squatted 640 yesterday. French squat 500 x 15. Nonagenarian studies show us that walks make you weaker but even 96-year-olds GAIN strength and muscle size with only 8 weeks of high-intensity strength training: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2342214/​.

Maybe it was the super serum in my Pfizer vaccine last week. Maybe it’s because the age narrative is bullshit. Maybe stop throwing away gifts. Maybe start filling time with improvements in health and fitness.