Training to take a week-long hike, run a 26-mile marathon, or cycle 3,000 miles across the United States makes sense. It’s what’s necessary to complete the physical challenge. If you enjoy such activities and want to continue doing them throughout your life—even later in life—you need to build endurance, stamina, and strength that sustain these efforts over the long term. Additionally, you need to develop a mindset that helps you continue doing the things you love for as long as possible.
I began thinking about this after watching an Instagram reel by @raquellineswellness. This video discussed a 93-year-old man named Everett who participated in a hike to the top of Half Dome, located in Yosemite National Park in California, which rises 4,737 feet above the valley floor to an elevation of 8,846 feet above sea level. The person speaking in the video said he came for the challenge, but Everette provided a new perspective on why someone would embark on the strenuous hike.
“Are you trying to set a world record, Everett? Do you want to be the oldest man to ever reach the top of Half Dome?”
Everett shook his head. “Keep climbing,” he replied. “Don’t stop, and you’ll be able to do this when you are 93, too.”
In other words, train for the life you want to keep living for as long as you live. If you are passionate about specific activities, train so you can continue doing them for many years to come.
Training for the Later Years
I think about this often, especially after the physical injuries I have had over the last few years. I want to be flexible and strong, so I can sit down on the floor with my grandkids and get up off the floor without help or pain. Plus, I want to be able to continue doing things I love, like hiking with my dog and horseback riding.
In fact, I just restarted horseback riding after a five-year break. I’ve been an equestrian most of my life. During my hiatus, I broke an ankle, dislocated a shoulder, and incurred a hip overuse injury. Often, my hip is tight and painful and my ankle is stiff. So, I am doing lots of strengthening and stretching exercises…and riding once per week.
I see videos about older people needing to be able to stand up without help, especially if they are on the floor. Of course, as we age, we often become weaker and less mobile. But most of us want to avoid that. And we can, to a great extent, if we train our bodies for the life we want to keep living. We work on flexibility, strength, mobility, and balance.
Additionally, we need to train our brains so they remain strong, healthy, and clear. We can do this with Sudoku puzzles, juggling, and learning new languages and instruments, for example. We want our brains to function well later in life.
How to Train for the Life You Want
What kind of life do you want to live now and in the future? Train for that.
Relationships
If you want to have a great relationship, train yourself to communicate well, be understanding and supportive, be grateful and forgiving, grow together, and do things that make you and your partner happy. Yes, you can train yourself to do such things and, as a result, create a healthy, strong relationship that lasts for many years.
Physical Ability
If you want to continue physical activities like climbing mountains, cycling, dancing, running, or playing soccer, keep doing them. That’s part of training…doing the thing consistently over time. And do the other things that help you maintain your activity level, like lifting weights, engaging in calisthenics, and stretching.
Mental Sharpness
If you want to be mentally sharp, engage your mind. Read. Learn new things. Take up a foreign language. Find friends who offer challenging and engaging conversation. Go to the theater, opera, ballet, or museums. Travel. Keeping yourself mentally stimulated trains your mind.
The Life You Want to Live
Visualize the life you want to live now. Then imagine living the life you would love 10, 20, 30 years from now. Or describe it in a journal. Determine what activities you still want to be doing when you are 60, 70, 80, or even 90.
Then, determine how to train for those activities and for the life you want to keep living. Create a training plan.
Possibly your plan simply involves doing what you already do. Perhaps it involves adding new activities to support doing the things you enjoy in the coming years.
The point is this: Level up your training now to keep living the life you want for as many years as you have left. Keep doing the things you love so you can continue doing them when you are older. Then, like Everett, you’ll be hiking to the top of some mountain in your 90s…simply because you enjoy the activity and have the ability to do so.
What will you train for now so you can keep living the life you want? Tell me in a comment below. Please share this post with those who may benefit from reading it.
Image courtesy of carballo.
