Youth and Vigor

I had to run by the grocery store tonight after the gym. As I waited in line, the man in front of me turned, looked at me standing there in shorts, and said, “You aren’t cold?”

“It’s not so bad,” I said, which I meant -- it was only in the mid-30s outside and there was no wind. I wasn’t cold. Plus, I was also wearing a fleece jacket over a sweat shirt.

“I wish I had your youth and vigor,” he said, adding that he was like an old man, bundled up in layers to protect himself from the cold.

But here’s the thing -- I’m hardly young. I’m 42. And he was hardly an old man. He was 50, maybe.

So what was the difference? I’d like to think it’s my approach to health and fitness. I care deeply about both, and work hard at both. Working out and eating well have become my hobby over the past 10 or 15 years, which means I’ve learned a lot along the way. I’ve learned by training with some of the best -- mainly the folks at Velocity Sports Performance in Manhattan -- and digging through articles and blogs written by some of the sharpest and most innovative minds in fitness, from Adam Campbell at Men’s Health to Alwyn Cosgrove, who runs Results Fitness in Santa Clarita, Calif.

So my thought was that others might be able to learn from what I’ve learned. No, I’m not an expert. But I do know a lot. And maybe people can see things that work for me and give them a try. Or maybe they can be exposed to the thinking of some of these great minds through my training and nutrition.

That’s my goal with this blog. Then there’s the greater goal, which is to never become the old man the guy in line at the grocery store said he’d become. I believe that’s possible. I believe that with proper training and nutrition, you can always have the youth and vigor he talked about, regardless of your age.