The 4th Quarter of Life

Youthful Aging

By Tyronne Jacques

Something really funny happened the other day while my wife was out on her morning jog. I am not one for the pain and suffering of jogging but my wife looks forward to putting herself through a 5 mile run each morning as she starts her day.

Normally she would return from her morning run feeling absolutely invincible but this morning something happened in between the time she laced up her sneakers, and her final mile back to the house. I approached her to ask why she had such a long look on her face and she pointed over to the older gentlemen across the track from our home.

It seems that my wife age 37 was just lapped by a man twice her age. For those of you unfamiliar with the term lapped it’s actually a term derived from track and field in which a runner starts the race with you but out paces you to the point that they pass you up.

After trying not to laugh to loud by her disappointment in realizing that age is not an indication of endurance or performance, I tried to comfort her with possible excuses for why she couldn’t keep up with him. I tried everything from maybe he was a great Olympic gold medalist in his hay day, to maybe he had a twin brother and they both conspired against you. As you can imagine nothing was able to soothe her agony of defeat.

Agility, endurance, and overall physical fitness can be achieved and maintained regardless of your age. As I sat in the Louisiana Super Dome and watched Brett Favre at age 40 battle my New Orleans Saints in the NFC Championship game, it really proved to me that age is only a number.

I am not on the band wagon of those calling for Brett Favre to retire. Why should he retire when he just took his team one game from the Super Bowl? Football prides itself in having the best of the best and the strongest of the strongest in the world of sports, so to see a 40 year old guy out there competing says a lot about physical conditioning.

Brett Favre is still in the NFL because he can still through the ball over 70 yards. The runner that lapped my wife on the track was able to compete with someone half his age because he has maintained his physical conditioning and agility.

Sports medicine has proven that your body will respond to physical conditioning regardless of your age. You are the head coach of your body and if you are medically cleared to participate in a regular exercise routine then your body will definitely benefit from the challenge.

No matter if it’s a simple walk in the evenings or a game of tennis with your buddies, I encourage you to get out and push yourself into health and fitness.

The staff of Cenegenics fully embraces the philosophy that there is such a thing as healthy aging. Cenegenics believes that you can accomplish a better you regardless of your age. Life is similar to football in that it’s not how you start, but rather how you finish the game that matters most.

Welcome to the 4th quarter

Tyronne Jacques

Distributed by Image Max PR