Don’t let the old man in.

I’m currently reading Red Sky Mourning by Jack Carr, the seventh installment in the James Reece series. These books are phenomenal—once you pick one up, you won't be able to put it down. About halfway through the book, James meets a 90-year-old billionaire who shares some wisdom. This old man, in remarkable shape for his age, attributes his vitality to one principle: "Don’t let the old man in." This statement resonates with me deeply and crosses my mind almost daily.

Letting the old man in is akin to giving up. How often have you encountered someone from high school and thought, "Wow, they really gave up". It’s a mentality that sets in during your 40s or 50s, convincing you that you're done, that you can’t do what you used to do, so you might as well give up.

We need a perspective shift. Recently, a statistic stated that 1 in 2 people will be obese by 2030. Obesity isn’t just being overweight or chunky; it’s a serious health risk. How did we get here? Sure, convenience and processed foods play a role, but I also believe many of us are simply giving up as we age.

A friend once said to me, “I don’t need to be in shape, bro. I’m married. I don’t have to impress anyone anymore.” I was shocked. Shouldn't your partner, your family, the people who rely on you, be the ones you strive to impress? Shouldn't they look at you with admiration? You are the role model for your child.

I'm not suggesting that your loved ones need to brag about your abs. But being a healthy, happy, fit, and useful Dad is something to be proud of. As Socrates allegedly said, “It is a disgrace to grow old through sheer carelessness before seeing what manner of man you may become by developing your bodily strength and beauty to their highest limit.” Whether he said it or not doesn’t matter, it gives you something to ponder. The modern equivalent might be, “Bro, do you even lift?”

The moral of the story: Stop letting the old man in, or don’t even start. Cling to your youth no matter what. Do things that defy your age. Ignore those who say you’re too old—you’re not. Do what you love and outrun the old man. Be the Dad that never gives up.

DAD SPOTLIGHT: MEET matt

Head over to www.theforgelife.com and read about Matt Borque.

Exercise forever.

Someone recently asked me what exercise I would do forever if I had to choose, and my first response was “CrossFit, of course”…but, they meant what single movement I would choose if I had, to do forever. Like, if I just had one. So, clearly, I had to ask if I choose a movement do I get to do all the variations of that movement? For example, Deadlifts…can I do conventional, Romanian, sumo, dumbbell variations…etc, because this would change my answer. Reluctantly, they agreed…So….

Squats

Squats suck, for the most part. They really are the burpees of the barbell variation. But, that means they are hands down one of the most beneficial things you can do and with so many different variations, you could change things up so much and not just have a focus on the legs. Have you ever done a max out 20 rep squat set to near failure? If you don’t feel a crazy pump in your upper back, you are not going heavy enough.

But this also got me thinking…again. What would be the best bang for your buck exercises or movements? I came up with…

Sled Pushes

If you’ve ever pushed a sled until failure, I know you will agree with me. If I had 10 minutes to workout and wanted to just destroy myself, I would push a sled until my legs and midline turned into jello, and it wouldn’t take 10 minutes. Back in my CrossFit Affiliate ownership days we would push the sled at the end of a big workouts on Sunday. The gym was 100 feet long and the goal was - I go, you go - for full lengths. Most days, we would start with about 10-12 people and about 2-3 lengths in we were down to 3 or less.

There really isn’t many movements that make me feel the way a sled push does. You push to near exhaustion and then try to stand up…the key word being “try”…bang for buck, sled pushes are the top of the list for me.

Wanna weigh in? Let me know what really messes you up and what you would choose in a time crunch to get the most amount of work in.

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