By the time the average person gets to seventy they are pretty much finished with the physical part of their life.
Depending on how active a person has been in the previous years this last chapter of one's life can mean a nursing home could be looming.
A feeble state of health means needing help with even the most basic of daily self care.
Often there is absolutely nothing wrong medically and older people can have minds as sharp as a tack, but the poor old body is just up to the rigors of life anymore.
On the other side of the coin there are people running marathons, climbing mountains and still living productive work lives at over 100 years of age.
We may wonder why there can be such a difference in ones ability to remain and live an active life regardless of age.
One person cannot manage even the most basic level of living and others can hike, bike, swim, ski, play tennis and golf and keep up with the grand-kids.
It is a strange concept that proper exercise in a gym is not for older people that somehow it is reserved for young people or athletes.
Yet an older person without basic muscular strength is the one in need of training far more than any young or athletic person.
It is not just by accident that people land themselves in a nursing home and eventually need someone to feed, shower and dress them.
It is a lifetime lived without proper exercise - a sedentary existence spread out over decades that is the culprit here.
Somehow people think that as they get older that they somehow need less exercise.
Well, I have news for you - you need more.
Instead of saying to yourself "oh well, I'm just getting older, I must expect to slow down" imagine being able to say 'what's next?" Instead of winding yourself down ready for a wheelchair and a nurse how about the prospect of starting a second or third career, a new romantic relationship, travel or hobbies and interests that you have never had time for? These things are all possible only if you have strength, energy, vitality, vigor, and of course fantastic health.
Not just 'not being sick' health, but bursting with energy and 'get up and go' health.
The latter one does take some effort though; for starters it will take 2-3 sessions of proper strength training exercise each week.
Your program needs to be done properly with some effort put into it otherwise the results will be disappointing.
Our body's are designed to be strong and active they will not break if you get vigorous and put some 'huff and puff' into it.
In fact your body loves that vigorous activity and will reward you for allowing it to do what it loves in a hundred beneficial ways to your overall health.
Why would anyone want to limit their life by allowing their body to weaken and health to evaporate down the gurgler? A human body when weak is very venerable to chronic killer diseases which are waiting in the wings to pick off the stragglers.
It is up to each of us to protect ourselves by obeying the most basic law of nature - use it or lose it.
This applies to our muscular system first and foremost as this is the very engine of our body.
This is the pistons and rings where energy is created and fuel is burned.
The state of your motor can be likened to a sporty car or an aging old engine that has lost its power.
It is in your hands - you do have a choice - which is it to be for you?