Youthful Vitality is Not a Birthright. It's a Decision.

Ah, the promise of everlasting youth.

Since the dawn of civilization, healthy longevity has been the elusive holy grail of physical existence. Recently venture capitalists including Google have invested more than $1.7 billion in funds, hoping to capitalize on the long-term profitability of enterprises whose focus is promoting longer, healthier lifespans.

There is no shortage of prospective takers eager to spin the roulette wheel of products and services that claim to sustain the quantity and quality of days we each may spend on this Earth. Yet the most reliable and long-practiced rituals remain largely ignored by a majority of Americans. While the evidence (not to mention the cost effectiveness), is long-standing and overwhelming, choosing to live a more healthful lifestyle, alas, remains passé.

Why?

After working in the self-managed wellness field for two decades, my conviction is that most of it comes down to two factors that feed each other: Fear and laziness.

What’s to be afraid of, you ask? Exercise is uncomfortable. The mere idea, for many sedentary people, triggers a range of negative emotions such as dread, guilt, uncertainty, feelings of inadequacy, and an intimidating implied goal state that they believe, deep down, they may never achieve.

And there is a powerful inertia to inaction. The less you do, the more daunting the prospect of taking action becomes. We become buried in the endless array of ways we believe our actions can go wrong or wonder whether our work may be wasted. Better just not to take the risk at all.

But here’s the irony: Fear and laziness are choices. They are decisions not to decide, thereby ceding your fate to the natural process of degradation. Ashes to ashes; our bodies were designed to deteriorate anyway, weren't they?

Not so fast.

Have you ever recovered from an illness or injury? Do you know someone who has trained for and participated successfully in an athletic event they were in no condition to attempt at the start of their training period? Perhaps you’ve known someone who has made a miraculous physical transformation in the astoundingly short term of a six week military basic training program.

So it appears we were designed for much more vitality and growth than we may actually acknowledge. Recognizing that fact presents us with both an opportunity and a challenge. Accepting both is the antidote to fear and laziness, and deciding to transcend those emotions with deliberate action is the metaphorical drink from the fountain.

I have two current clients (pictured above) who embody that decision and fill me with admiration and respect. Mark is 66 and Joan is 59. That’s correct. They both have outstanding posture, strength-to-body weight ratios, excellent stamina, flexibility and core stability, as well as each having rehabbed from significant injuries to get into the best condition of their lives past 50. And they’re two of my healthiest clients, routinely doing more in their workouts than most twenty-somethings could manage.

They both have kids (some grown) and both work and volunteer. They have plenty of other things to do with the three hours per week or so that they exercise and could excuse themselves to eat whatever they like at this stage of their lives. But they each make the decision to prioritize both healthful eating and regular, challenging exercise, as well as to engage in stress-reducing activities like yoga and meditation, because they take full responsibility for the influence they each have on the quality of their respective lives.

And, as you can see, they both look great. But that’s not what drives them. After living a good long time (like me, perhaps with more yesterdays than tomorrows), they want to make whatever is left the best it can be. That’s a whole lot more intentional than many I have met that can reasonably expect more tomorrows than yesterdays.

So if, since none of us really knows how long we’ll be around, physical vitality and a passion for life is truly the fountain, it appears that anyone can drink as much as they like.

The only question is, are you willing to walk to the fountain?

Dan Taylor, ACE, NASM-CPT, is owner and head trainer at Pleasanton-based Tri Valley Trainer. They offer personal training and small group fitness solutions and an innovative, medically endorsed web-based group healthy eating coaching program.