We Are All Warriors Here

Staying spry and active while older is more than a feeling. It is longevity. And it is work.

I was a runt.

Throughout my life, I usually held the distinction of being the shortest male in my class, from grade school through high school graduation. I did not compete in sports or even attend many sporting events at my West Michigan high school. I was undersized, puny, a nerd of the first order. I dabbled in theater, government and debate, although I cannot say with authority that I was at the top of my class in any of those pursuits.

While I never felt bullied or belittled for my diminutive stature — all of about 5’3” and 125 pounds soaking wet — I talked myself into thinking that I could never be athletic or someone that girls could be attracted to. I was intimidated by myself, not by others making fun of me but by my own sense that I was not up to par physically. I compensated with wit and an unconventional outlook. I shirked from going to prom or any casual form of high-school dance where I’d have to ask someone to go with me. I was much too cool for that. So I thought.

As I got older, I want to say I got wiser. But I took decades. After my daughter was born in 1996, I looked at photos of me holding her. I was paunchy, tired-looking for someone approaching 40, an ant and not an Atlas. But by then I was busy slaying dragons as a journalist working for a weekly newspaper. I was truly unconventional in my line of work, an iconoclast who would question everything, including myself. But I also felt like I was getting old before my time.

Then came some health scares. High cholesterol in my 30s and 40s, high triglycerides throughout, my blood pressure mounting like a dam about to burst. Then, of course, a heart attack at 57.

Then a change of direction, one that possibly saved my life.

I bring this up as a word of encouragement to those who think they are too old for change, either physically or mentally, or that their bodies or minds would wear down with a shift in course. Our old, but not wise, brains like to tell us that we’ve already lived that full life of activity, that now we should be content to relax because we are too old to move quickly or to do any form of exercise that may strain our bodily ecosystems.

Let me tell you: There is plenty of evidence that those who retire and have nothing to do with their time risk shortening their remaining years. No less expert than the American Medical Association (AMA) cites research showing that regular activity increases longevity by as much as 20-30 percent. Combining aerobic, strength and flexibility training after age 60 is especially beneficial, not only in becoming a more confident, stronger senior but also in helping with mental stimulation and alertness.

The American Heart Association journal Circulation cited the AMA’s groundbreaking 2024 study and concluded that one cannot age out of exercise. The journal wrote that “While younger people tend to choose vigorous activities more often, older adults choose moderate levels of exercise. Yet there was no evidence to show that one was better than the other in older people compared with younger folks.”

In other words, more intensive exercise should not be viewed as a cardiac hindrance. The AMA study concluded that “long-term vigorous physical activity in generally healthy older adults can be an effective means of improving health.”

So there you go. Yet, we seem to end up talking ourselves out of activity the way I used to talk myself out of being fit when I was younger. Talk is cheap. Action is expensive in time and effort.

You don’t have to be an athletic superstar. Just try. Lord knows, while I’m fit for my 68-year-old self, I’m not going to win any races (maybe in my age group but who knows) or bench press 200 pounds. But I feel good about myself for talking myself into effort. It has become routine. Resistance is futile.

You can listen to an old Chinese proverb when you exercise, the one telling us that the bamboo that bends is greater than the oak that resists. Or, since baseball season has begun, you can listen to this sage advice credited to Babe Ruth: “It's hard to beat a person who never gives up."

Use your mental strength to make it work for you. Provide yourself with positive thoughts. When I started running in my early 60s, there was pain. I dealt with sore calf muscles, a pulled, purplish hamstring, ankle sprains, a tight back. But I told myself that the effort was worthy of that mild agony.

Others in my running club in Cleveland would tell me that an achy body was a badge of honor for them, as it was a sign of improvement. I felt stronger knowing that my soreness was not exclusively an “old man” problem. Plenty of runners in their 20s and 30s were equally prone to the same issues. But we all kept going — and it led to me running more than 20 races in this decade of life.

Now, my goals are more focused on the gym, building that aforementioned strength and flexibility that we all need the older we get. To quote science one more time, a recent publication from the National Health Service (NHS) in England recommends older adults to take on at least moderate activity daily. If you are prone to falls, work on balance and flexibility. If you can’t carry grocery bags, work on strength. If your cardio need work and you are out of breath, get on that treadmill or at least undertake a vigorous walk. In fact, a mix of cardio and strength is most recommended.

The NHS writes that adults aged 65 and over should aim to:

• be physically active every day, even if it’s just light activity

• do activities that improve strength, balance and flexibility on at least 2 days a week

• do at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity if you are already active, or a combination of both

• reduce time spent sitting or lying down and break up long periods of not moving with some activity

Moderate activity can mean pushing a lawnmower. Or doing water aerobics. Or taking a nice hike. Or even going dancing once in a while. By to me, the best form might be working in a gym setting with a trainer who can prescribe the best program for your fitness needs.

Don’t let that negative self-talk get in your way. And, certainly, don’t wait for a medical emergency to get started. Your body commands you to be around a lot longer.

Don’t just listen to me. You can go to a source of wisdom like Don Rickles, the long-lasting king of the insult comics. When talking about comedy, he said that many younger artists would ask him for the secret to an extended career. “There is no secret - just stay around,” he wrote. “Longevity is the most important thing.”

You can win the mental battle to keep moving until it becomes habit. You can be a gladiator who doesn’t think twice about returning to the ring. That gladiator craves the thrill, the feeling of the audience cheering him on and of his own physical prowess on display.

We are all warriors here. We don’t have to be the strongest, the fastest or the fittest. We just need to work.

Joe Pryweller is a longtime fitness advocate who has finished close to 20 half marathons, a full marathon and a Hyrox competition in his 60s and has worked with others on their fitness journeys. He also survived a heart attack in 2015 and has used that experience to motivate himself and others to reach fitness goals. He is working toward a Certified Personal Trainer license through the National Academy of Sports Medicine and is setting up a motivational and exercise coaching business called Next Chapter Strength that will be accepting clients in summer 2026. Joe also is a professional journalist who writes articles on fitness-related topics.

You can email Joe at Next Chapter Strength LLC.