Dirty 30 – Exercise & Aging

If I had a dollar for every time someone older than me told me, “Talk to me when you are 30. It is ALL downhill from there.” Well here I am about to turn 31 and I can safely say I am stronger, faster, leaner, and in better shape than I have ever been in my entire life.

So where does this “it’s all downhill from 30” stigma come from? Is there any truth to it? I am sure there is BUT, here’s the thing…some research says on average our RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) decreases 2-4% every 10 years after age 25. Basically this shows that our ability to burn calories “at rest” can slow down as we age. Ironically another trend seems to mirror this metabolism decrease and that is muscle loss—some research shows 5 lbs every 10 years between the ages of 25 and 65. This is starting to make more sense now.

I am going to go out on a limb here and make a generalization…typically a dangerous thing to do BUT bear with me. We get older, we get less active, we sit all day at work, and our bodies respond worse to the shitty food we are eating. In general we aren’t taking care of ourselves and we lose muscle, we gain fat…if you don’t use it you lose it. If I have the opportunity to slow this process down by doing the food, fitness, and recovery I am GAME.

I went through a few too many injuries in my early 20’s and for a second I thought… “This is it for me; I am getting too old for the fitness.” I didn’t know what was going on…and NO it wasn’t the evil CrossFit that broke me. The voice of reason told me I just need to get “Strong As F$CK.” So I recovered from the bumps in the fitness road and I am on the road to doing just that and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. Turning 30 is not the end for me, it is just the beginning.

Keep your movements pretty, work on your mobility, put happy things into your body, lift heavy weights, do cardio…BE awesome and don’t bury yourself in a hole just because you turned 30 and Mary-Sue told you your life is officially over.

Coach J