“If I’d known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.” – Eubie Blake
On the weekend, my eighty-years-young mother Betty pointed me to last Friday’s Toronto Star , which featured a nice article on seniors growing in age to 100 and beyond.
Here’s an excerpt:
Jaring Timmerman credits GEDS: genes, exercise, diet and spirit. He’s 100 and has four world records for swimming, along with 170 medals and awards in a sport he just took up at age 80. He still exercises and swims three times a week and is always looking ahead to the next competition – in this case, the 2010 Canadian Masters Swim Championships in Nanaimo, B.C. next May. Then there are the world championships and new medal platforms to climb.
“There haven’t been any records set yet for 105- to 110-year-olds,” the Winnipeg resident says with a smirk. “Dad, if you just float, you will win,” quips his son, Donald, who lives in Oakville.
… and here’s the article.
Exercise, diet and spirit, eh?
It only shows you that it’s never too late to start. I met a man who started doing yoga at 60 and at 80 was still going strong. I have two clients who are doing pilates at 79 and another who is in her 80’s. We live in a culture of immediate gratification and a lot of people think, “If it takes me 10 years to see results, I’m not interested.” But if you could spend your whole life doing all the things you enjoy doing, why wouldn’t you invest in your future?