How long will this last?

Now is the time for Pierini Fitness to acknowledge that he's grateful for his upper-percentile and age-adjusted cardiovascular conditioning and strength endurance. These blessings aren’t automatic, though, because it takes dedicated fitness training but the fact that I’m able to slip into my workout clothes, lace up my training shoes and show up are also reasons to be grateful. 

 

Obviously, it won’t always be this way.  As my gracefully aging clock ticks toward the end of my life, at some point my eventual fitness erosion will start to show its ugly head.  There may also be later-in-life health issues I’ll experience that could very well be a game changer for me, bringing an end or a downsizing of the fitness training stuff I’ve been able to do thus far. 

 

Visting my 93-year-old Mom recently in the hospital was a stark reminder that I’m going to get my turn one day. The turn I'll get will likely be different than hers, but nonetheless it’s a turn for which I'm preparing.    

 

When will my day come when I’m no longer able to pull myself up and down on a pull-up bar, or dip myself down and up on my bar dips equipment?  What about the day when I’ll no longer be able to swing my kettlebells like I now do, or do one hundred burpees and have younger people marvel that I can?  Only God knows and He’s not telling me! While I don’t spend a lot of time pondering these questions, today I did, and this is the theme of today’s Pierini Fitness reflection.

  

I recently viewed a video of a fit 72-year-old man who shared that he doesn’t think about how old he is.  Do I?  Generally, I don't but my recent turning age 70 gave me cause for acknowledging I'm an old man rather than a middle-aged man, and has made me think about how old I am. I also recently started collecting my Social Security benefits and know that I need to live to my early 80’s to “break even” in collecting the amount I could have had I started collecting a lesser amount four years earlier at my full retirement age. 

 

Yes, all this makes me ask myself, “How long will this last?” 

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum 

That no longer exists?

I recently read something on the internet, but I can’t remember where.  It asked the question “Do you ever get homesick for a place that no longer exists?”  Not much to my surprise, the rhetorical question became firmly embedded in my mind’s eye where it has remained ever since.

Pierini Fitness is a reflective guy, so the question allowed my reflective being to thrive in full throttle.  Here are some of my rambling reflections when thinking about this question:

Watching the “Adventures of Superman” on our black and white television set, knowing that I would was a sure bet.

Playing outdoors with friends, and riding my bicycle here and there, never afraid that bad people would surface and give me a scare.

Swimming at the YMCA after school and jumping off the high dive, were healthy activities making my boyhood thrive,

Going to the Memorial Auditorium to watch Big Time Wrestling matches cheering for the good guys, and booing the bad guys,

Working after school and summer jobs to save for my first car, then depositing my earnings in the bank and not a cookie jar,

Joining the Army, surviving boot camp and making friends from everywhere, and being confident as a young man to accept a dare.

Meeting my future wife and dancing with her on a warm summer night, knowing she would be my bride, not anyone else in sight.

Becoming a father to a daughter and then a son and discovering that it was a lot of fun.

Starting my career in a profession that’s challenging and rewarding, forty years later it’s only a memory that surfaces when I’m sleeping, 

Family vacations to Europe with my wife and children, all excited as can be, with our eyes wide open, there was so much to see.

Now an old man, I’m living new experiences that’ll one day be dear, but will they be as good as the ones from yesteryear.

So, my answer is yes to the question, “Do I ever get homesick for a place that no longer exists?”

 

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum

BECAUSE I CAN!

I do pull-ups . . . BECAUSE I CAN!

I do bar dips . . . BECAUSE I CAN!

 

I do push-ups . . . BECAUSE I CAN!

 

I do squats and touch my toes . . . BECAUSE I CAN!

 

I do kettlebell workouts . . . BECAUSE I CAN!

 

I slam my slam ball and jump . . . BECAUSE I CAN!

 

I do burpees . . . BECAUSE I CAN!

 

I do sprints and run . . . BECAUSE I CAN!

 

Because getting fat and weak isn’t an option.

 

Sometimes we need to step outside our comfort zone to discover the dormant greatness residing in us.  If we do, it’ll resonate brightly but only if we respond to the hidden opportunities regularly coming our way.

 

My name is Pierini Fitness, and I approve of this message . . . BECAUSE I CAN!

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum

I waited until age 70 to start collecting my Social Security benefits and I'm glad I did!

 

I turned age 70 last month and began a new decade of life as a septuagenarian, a crown I’ll proudly wear, God willing, for the next 10 years of my life.  Today, I received my first monthly Social Security benefit check that was direct deposited into my personal checking account.  It’s been a long time coming and I’m delighted. 

I’m among the six percent of Social Security recipients who chose to postpone collecting benefits until age 70 in exchange for a higher benefit than what it would have been had I started collecting at my full retirement age of 66 years and 2 months.  I didn’t even consider starting to collect my benefits as soon as possible at age 62 or before full retirement age like the 57 percent majority of recipients do.

But it wasn’t easy, at times, holding off for this delayed gratification.  The never-ending “expert advice” in internet articles, unsolicited suggestions from friends and relatives, Tik Tok videos and the like seemed to constantly point out that my delaying wasn’t a smart move.  I beg to differ while acknowledging that it’s different for everyone.

What matters is that I methodically analyzed it, considering my longevity risk and the financial investment risk of collecting it sooner and investing it for, hopefully, a bigger return than the higher benefits I’ll now be collecting.  Those higher benefits are about 32 percent more than what they would have been had I started collecting at my full retirement age.  Time will tell if I made a good decision, but I believe I did.

I also considered that my spouse’s survivor benefit, if I predecease before her, would be higher than it would have been if I had started collecting benefits at my full retirement age. 

My math says I need to live to about age 80 to be at the breakeven point where my total delayed benefits collected will equal the amount collected had I started at my full retirement age.  Again, time will tell if I made a good decision.  I’ll continue reading the obituaries each morning to make sure I’m still here, and if I make it to my breakeven age, I’ll write an article about it.

Again, what matters is that I methodically analyzed my situation, considering longevity risk and investment risk in arriving at my decision.  My message to you is for you to do the same and leave your emotion at the front door when doing this.

What about the constant internet articles about how our benefits will be reduced because the Social Security Trust Fund is going to run dry?  I’m not worried about it, and I suggest you don’t worry either.  Now younger folks might have the worry of their retirement age being increased, and higher-income folks might face the prospect of having more of their earnings subject to the Social Security payroll tax, but they have the likelihood of a longer lifespan and greater wealth accumulation if they live healthy lives and save.  They’re not the Social Security recipients of yesteryear, and neither are we, the folks who retired, lived a few more years, and then died.  On average, we’re all living longer and that’s good.

Besides, our “fearless” elected leaders, while at times casting doubt in our eyes about their wisdom in the decisions they make when casting their votes, are smart enough to know that voting to reduce Social Security benefits is a recipe for their political careers to end sooner than they’d like.  They like their political careers and won’t do anything to antagonize voters who’ll vote to send them back from where they came.

Yes, I waited until age 70 to start collecting my Social Security benefits and I’m glad I did!

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum

It’s 10:00 pm, do you know where your strength is?

"It's 10:00 pm, do you know where your children are?" was a popular question used as a television public service announcement for parents.  My recollection of this question was before the 10:00 p.m. evening news back in the days when our family owned a television, and I’d watch the nightly news before bedtime.  

So, my version of this is as follows: “It’s 10:00 pm, do you know where your strength is?"  Let’s ponder this question for a moment.

What is strength and how is it measured? 

In our gracefully aging fitness, strength is our power and ability to exert force, to support our body weight and lift heavy objects without assistance. Muscular strength and muscular endurance are attributes of our physical fitness. We measure our strength by the amount of weight lifted and for how long, such as repetitions completed or time under tension.

Does our strength decline in our gracefully aging journey? Yes, according to research, it does.

For example, a recent research study last year, one of many, investigated the effects of aging on muscle mass and strength from an examination of twenty-six leg-healthy participants who were examined in a university medical center in Germany. Participants were subdivided into two groups. The first group were younger participants under age 40.  The second group were 40 years of age and older. 

The study concluded that aging leads to muscle mass and strength loss. The decline of the muscle strength of people who were younger than 40 years, in comparison to those who were older than 40 years ranged between 16.6% and 40.9%.

You can read more here if you’re interested:

Strength and muscle mass loss with aging process. Age and strength loss

Not every older person is necessarily weaker than their yesteryear self.  Take someone, for example, who may not have devoted time during their youthful past engaging in physical fitness strength building activities but took it up later in life.  This person would be stronger now than his youthful past.  But keeping everything constant except aging, the evidence is convincing that we lose strength as we age.

But strength isn’t worth a bucket of spit unless we can apply it efficiently.  In physical fitness, training is how we build strength and learn how to efficiently use it. And, Pierini Fitness believes the strength we have should be available on demand. 

Therefore, the strength training he does seldom include significant warm-up activities such as warm-up sets with lighter weights to prepare for the peak heavy lifting that I intend to do. 

One of my recent strength workouts, for example, was using a pair of double 24kg kettlebells to clean and overhead press them for as many non-stop repetitions as possible. This weight was challenging and heavy for me. My warmup was limited to briefly stretching my shoulders getting them ready for the challenge.  I didn’t complete lighter weight sets as a warm-up but, rather, went right for the test weight load and got to work.  

Strength training this way goes against the conventional wisdom of stretching and warming up before engaging in strength training, but it aligns with my belief that my strength must be available on demand for when it’s required for my daily lifestyle living needs. In daily living when our strength is called upon to perform a challenging task or respond to an emergency, we don’t have the luxury of warming up for the strength challenge. 

Strength on demand training is something I’ve been doing for a while and believe it’s serving me well.  Thus far, I’ve been able to remain injury free training this way.  Obviously, I smartly pick my weight loads wisely and only perform the repetitions I can safely complete with good form.

Training this way helps me cultivate my strength on demand performance so I’m able to answer the question: It’s 10:00 pm, do you know where your strength is?

 

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum

Financial fitness favorites

Pierini Fitness is a happily retired old man and has been for almost four and one-half years.  But there was a time when he was in the rat race working hard, providing professional financial advice and other services to individuals and businesses.  Doing this for forty years gave him lots of wisdom. 

Now retired, it seems shameful if he took this wisdom and buried it.  It’s better to share it with others so this reflection will be his first effort doing so. 

Seasoned financial fitness jocks constantly striving to take their financial fitness to the next higher level, and those who have a healthy relationship with their financial resources, live by many of my financial fitness favorites.  

Here’s a brief discussion of financial fitness favorites.  It's not comprehensive or necessarily scholarly, but it comes from my 40 years of professional experience giving advice and observing my former clients’ financial success.

Live below your means

This is easier said than done for many, but it always works.  I've never seen it fail both in good times and bad times.  

Let's say you live 30 percent below your means and the economy goes south.  You experience a 20 percent decline in your income and your living expenses increase by 10 percent.  Despite this double-edged financial sword, you're still even and living at your means.  

Contrast this with someone who lives at their means and now experiences the same financial fate.  Absent any crisis-invoked drastic changes, they're now living 30 percent beyond their means.

Living beyond your means must be paid by depleting your financial net worth by either spending down hard-earned accumulated assets or incurring additional debt.

Once again, live below your means.

Measure and monitor your net worth 

This doesn't have to be a major undertaking, and you don't have to be a financial services professional to do it.  Nor must you prepare a glossy and bound report loaded with pie charts, graphs, and pages of statistical information.  Heck, you can even pencil it out on a bar napkin because doing it that way is better than nothing.  

Have you prepared a 2024 year-end report of your net worth?  If not, prepare one now.  

Consider it a historical "selfie" of your financial net worth for a snapshot moment in time. It's also a moving-forward benchmark that'll help you measure and monitor your financial success efforts.

Prepare an annual budget to guide your future financial success efforts

A budget is your personal financial management tool.  It's not a punitive mandate that takes the fun out of living.  There's no excuse for not having one and preparing it doesn't have to be complicated or time-consuming.     

A simple Excel worksheet or one prepared using inexpensive and popular computer software programs allows you to track and manage your income and expenses. Years ago, doing this was too darn much work so most people didn't.  Now it's easier and still most people don't.

Consider your personal budget as your "MapQuest driving directions" that'll help you efficiently get to your financial destination.

Become debt free 

Sooner rather than later is my suggestion.  For some, this may seem impossible but in the long run, all things are possible. Unfortunately, sometimes an impossible mindset breeds inaction.  Know that a debt-free goal isn't an all-or-nothing proposition.  

Start by adding an extra $100 per month to your next home loan payment, build some confidence and go from there.  You'll be amazed how "addicting" debt reduction is and how, before you know it, you'll be ramping up your debt reduction efforts.  

Read my lips and strive to become debt-free.

Share your prosperity with others

The old saying of what goes around comes around is true.  Some of my former clients who enjoyed peak financial fitness and had a healthy relationship with their financial resources were often the most charitable.  They know they've been blessed and were willing to share their financial blessings with others.

These "others" may be family members, a local charity devoted to helping veterans, or an international ministry working to reduce hunger in third-world countries.  

Almost three decades ago, I had a profound charitable experience that left a lasting impression. My wife and I attended an annual fundraising event for a local charity near and dear to our hearts.  During dinner, she "announced" we were going to make a big contribution to this organization.  It would help them buy an ultrasound machine needed to expand and improve their charitable work.  The amount was, shall I say, financially and emotionally challenging for me.  I "cried like a baby" while reluctantly telling her "OK".   

About one week later, after the financial dust had settled and my numbness wore off, I experienced an amazing epiphany of what we had done and totally embraced our decision.    

Sometimes we need to step out of our comfort zone to realize the dormant greatness residing in each of us.  If we do so, it'll resonate brightly but only if we respond to the hidden opportunities regularly coming our way.

There's so much more I can say but I'll stop for now before you get bored. Thanks for allowing me to share my financial fitness favorites.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum

Gracefully aging journey around our fitness world

Imagine taking a trip around the world and how long it would take to do it.

Chances are it would be an adventuresome journey with multiple destinations along the way.  The driving part might bring you some unexpected delays.  There might be a flat tire or road construction requiring you to take a detour.  

 

Well, your gracefully aging fitness journey has many similarities with a trip around the world.

 

First, it's a long one that lasts a lifetime and takes longer than a trip around the world.

 

Second, it's full of adventure with multiple destinations along the way.

 

Third, if you haven't already experienced it, you eventually will and that's you'll encounter unexpected delays, much like a travel journey flat tire, road detour or accident.  

 

Your gracefully aging fitness journey includes travels to a destination that can be measured by different means.  For Pierini Fitness, it’s measured using cardiovascular-respiratory and strength endurance conditioning measuring yardsticks, along with physical and psychological health and wellness.  

There are many objective measures that can be used, and we decide the ones we’ll use.  They allow us to objectively measure and assess our gracefully aging fitness for today and tomorrow up until the last day of our lives, then, for kicks, we can compare to our yesteryear youthful past.

 

What's most important in our gracefully aging fitness travel journey is having a healthy relationship with our body, mind, and spirit, and being grateful for all our blessings.    

 

It's typical at various times of the year, such as the start of a new year, a birthday, an anniversary, or the end of the year to plan and ponder our gracefully aging fitness, or perceived lack of it.

   

While fitness might typically be thought of in physical fitness terms, our entire gracefully aging fitness treasure chest includes more than just physical fitness; other measures of our gracefully aging fitness can be expressed by measures of faith, family, and economic fitness.      

 

So, let’s be mindful of all this in our gracefully aging journey around our fitness world.

 

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum

Older man fitness motivation sayings

I’ve collected a small list of wise sayings that are my old man motivation on those days when I don’t feel like getting off my behind for some quality fitness training.  They’re the creation of others, and in most cases I don’t know who the author is.  I’d like to share them with you so here they are:

“Fatigue makes cowards of us all.”

 

“Your couch is winning, and it shows.”

 

“Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.”

 

“Don’t let laziness disguise itself as aging.”

 

“Nobody escapes aging.”

 

“Being in shape is the ultimate status symbol and the older you get, the more it’s worth.”

 

“Muscle doesn’t know age, only effort.  It’s not too late to start building muscle.”

 

“The older I get, the better I was.”

 

“The older I get, the earlier it gets late.”

 

“Every day we’re the oldest we’ve ever been, and the youngest we’ll ever be so every personal best is something to be celebrated.”

 

“Old age is a privilege denied to many.”

 

“Hunger makes a good chef.”

 

“A fit body can’t be bought; it has to be earned.”

 

“Success is the result of small efforts repeated day in and day out.”

 

“He’s so lazy that he’s tired tomorrow.”

 

“I’m getting older but that doesn’t mean I feel old.”

This nice collection which I’ve shared with you is one that will continue to grow as time goes on.  For me, they’re my older man fitness motivation sayings.

 Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum