Friday, September 19, 2008

A middle-age man


As the self-proclaimed ambassador of middle-age men around the world, my first mission is to define who is a middle-age man, or woman for that matter. I'll use "middle-age man" as a unisex term to describe both.

By way of elimination, I'll start with who is an old man. Instructed by my Dad, who once told me that when he turned age 70 he had to get honest that he was old, an old man is anyone age 70 or older. I'm not an old man yet but hopefully one day I will. "Old" is synonymous with "senior citizen". Once a person I knew about 70 years of age asked if I gave senior citizen discounts. I replied yes and she would qualify when 80 years old. Thinking about it now, she probably qualified for a discount then.

A young man becomes one at age 18, old enough to vote, register with the Selective Service in the pool eligible for military service, and drink alcoholic beverages in many states but not California. I was once a young man. A young man remains one until age 45. Why? Because I said so. I once watched a 23-year young man who was struggling with a set of heavy squats at the gym. He racked the barbell when finished and uttered it was hard because he was getting old. "Old" I responded, "there is lent in my belly-button older than you."

So what remains is a middle-age man, someone more than 45 but less than 70 years of age. I am a middle-age man and have worn that medal of honor for years with, hopefully, many more to go. In the health and fitness world, we middle-age men are only as good as our last workout and we are what we eat. So we must train vigilantly, like a soldier preparing for combat duty. Because in the darkness of the night when caught off guard in a moment of weakness and with nobody looking, our middle-age men bodies will scream that they no longer want to do it anymore - train and eat healthy that is.

Look at any middle-age man who has let himself go, gaining excessive weight and becoming physically unfit. Did they consciously make that decision one day when they were fit and healthy? I don't think so. It creeps up disguised as temptation. The temptation of how much more pleasant it would be to come home after work, put on a pair of baggy worn green sweat pants with a loose drawstring, grab a bag of chips and flop on the Lazy Boy recliner with television remote control in hand, ready to do some serious training and watch Judge Judy episodes or the evening news.

So training and eating healthy is something I do. I know I'm only as good as my last workout and I am what I eat. Why? Because I am a middle-age man.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Pierini, you are a major inspiration. Have you always been like this (dedicated, hardworking, disciplined)? At 26, I am just now making fitness a part of my life.

Pierini Fitness said...

Hello trojan_hearse and thanks for stopping by.

To answer your question, no.

Great that you are making fitness part of your life at the youthful age of 26. You probably have at least 70 years to look forward to having fun chasing and being superfit.