The other night I was talking with some business associates, and the subject of my cycling came up. When I mentioned that I had put in 50 miles on Saturday, you would've thought I told them I pedaled to the moon. Most of these people were old enough to be my parents, but I've gotten similar responses from people my age or younger.
Because of my weight loss, some of these same people have come to me to ask about getting in shape. I'll half jokingly tell them they should get a mtn bike and come ride the trails. Well geez, you'd think I told them to take up BASE jumping or mtn climbing. Even though I'm joking, the responses are serious...and to me, quite disturbing. The most common response is, "I'm too old for that ****." Granted, many of the people that tell me that are in their late 50's and 60's, but an alarming number of them are in their 40's and early 50's. They're constantly saying how they're getting old...it's almost as if they revel in it.
Here's where I'm gonna get Anthony Robbins on you.
That "old" talk is, to me, a bad philosophy. Aging is a part of life, getting old is a mental state. How else can you explain how some people are so active well into their 80's and even 90's? I remember reading about the guy who started one of the big ski resorts out in California, and he's in his mid to late 80's and still skis and mtn bikes.
Some might argue that genetics plays a big part. Genetics does play a huge role in making it possible for a 50yr old like Ned Overend to stand on the podium at a mtn bike race against people half his age. The great thing is, you don't have to be a Ned Overend...
I guess what I'm getting at is that if you don't tell yourself at every turn that you're "getting old", you lead a healthy lifestyle, and stay fit, there's no reason that one can't be active well into their 70's on up to their 90's.
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