I’ll be turning 51 in a few weeks. It’s been an interesting year. A year that has taken me by surprise.
Birthdays with zeros in them are traditionally moments in our lives that invite reflection, or can even be a catalyst for crisis. So, Fifty, no big deal. Luckily my life is pretty much ok. I have a happy family life, we are all healthy, life is not too tough, and by and large, I enjoy the work that I do. Of course, I have stresses and worries and annoyances; but on the whole life is good. So, Fifty, no big deal. Or so I thought. As the year went on I found myself thinking more and more about my life - what it was, what it is now, and crucially, what is it to be in the future? So like any good Scorpio, I wrote a list;
What I have learned from the last 30 years, and what I want from the next 30 years.
I won’t bore you with the details of the list, but I will share with you the “wants” part that concern my physical aspirations. They consist of the following:
•To train for muscular size •To be lean •To be fit •To eat with more control •To eat more healthily •To increase my longevity •To love/live the bodybuilding lifestyle
The basic gist of that list, and the key to my physical future, consist of two very important words - “health” and “longevity”. And now, much to my delight, I have found a word which perfectly describes those two ideals:
HEALTHSPAN!
I was reading the Saturday Times (whilst eating my Greek Yogurt with peanut butter combo and drinking my “protein coffee”) when an article caught my eye.
Scientists feast on the prospect of young blood ‘elixir ‘ Turns out that a certain Professor Partridge, from UCL’s Institute of Healthy Ageing, has been carrying out research that involves blood’s revitalising effects. “A series of mice experiments strongly supports the idea that blood transfusions from the young can help maintain vitality. Conversely, the blood of old mice caused ill health in the young.” I love her next sentence, she says that, “We are really beginning to understand how malleable ageing is.” Prof P. (my hero!) goes on to say that, “I want children born today to suffer as little ill health at the end of their lives as possible. I want them to stay healthy until death, and when they do die, to die of something unexplained in their sleep.”
And her beautiful new word for increasing life expectancy, and health expectancy, is now my (and I trust your) favourite word. HEALTHSPAN