Around two months back, I got into an argument with
someone whom unknown to me at that time, ended up being someone who would mean
something to me. Our argument reached a point where I got so worked up that I
felt I needed to physically remove her from the system and so, I ended up
trying to pull my body weight until my arms were ready to come off and then I discovered
sprinting. Basic premise of sprint training is that you pelt it down as fast as
you can for around 20 to 30 seconds, rest for about four minutes and then you
repeat for another four to six times (I usually stop at about three).
This was a miraculous discovery. There was something
about being able to shut out the world and focusing on that singular goal of getting
to the end as quickly as you can push yourself. Your heart-rates goes through
the roof as one can see from mine after one session:
There’s one downside to the exercise, especially if you’re over 40 – namely the fact that your risk of injury increases. So, the second quarrel with the same person resulted in my hamstring getting inflamed over the weekend.
When I talked about starting sprinting, I suddenly got
inundated with advice. A director in the company told me that at “our age, we
shouldn’t sprint and just stick with brisk walking.” Several months later, one
of my cuddly toys told me “Eh – nearly 50-years old so old, cannot do intense
exercise.” Then three nights ago, I met a young man who suggested that I should
just do low impact exercises.
All these guys mean well and I know they have my
interest at heart. However, when I am told “at your age,” it’s a sign that I
better do more of whatever I was doing. Sure, there’s no denying that I am
getting older. I’m turning 50 next year and there’s no denying that at 50, the
body isn’t what it was at 22. Let’s face it, back in national service, doing
chin-ups was standard. These days, I stick with doing sets of “girl-chin and pull
ups” (also known as Australian pull ups) and hopefully one day I’ll be able to
drag my 90 plus kg up the bar.
However, whilst I am getting older, I’m not dying and
if today’s statistics are anything to go by, I’m not likely to die for another
30 odd years. Which means, I need to be in decent enough shape to get through
that marathon called life and I don’t want to be a burden on Kiddo. So given
that I am an overweight middle-aged man, what can I do but to do the things
that will give me that wonderful sensation of looking for someone better hiding
inside me. It’s admittedly tough and I usually do this at night when the body
is warmed up rather than first thing in the morning where, well, things don’t
seem to function quite so well.
Now, what I’m saying about doing an intense exercise
can be applied in the job market, where we have a class of people in their late
forties and fifties who need to be in the job market to pay off things like
mortgages and to get kids through school. The job search is inevitably screwed
by the fact that age trumps everything else.
I think of my account manager who is over 60. The man
is highly qualified, having once been the financial controller of a huge
company. For him, accounting is like drinking water. However, the fact that he
knows what he’s doing and doesn’t need to be trained is of secondary concern.
The fact is, he’s over 60 and that’s a turn off.
However, the point that many employers forget is that
the guy is just over a certain age. He’s not dead and there’s no reason why he
can’t be used, especially when he has a record of being very useful.
This should be something that gets looked at. We have
an aging population but our costs are rising. These people are still useful and
can be utilized. We need to let them pay off their expenses and get by and not
treat them like they are dead.
So, what do we need to do? Well, employers need to
understand that people are just getting older and not dying. As long as the guy
is useful and willing to be useful, the employer should use him or her.
As for those of us over 45, we need to understand that
we are just older and not dying. There are ways of surviving beyond the standard
nine-to-six gig. We need to understand that we have skills that can be sold and
we live in a world where the internet allows to do work across borders. We’re
not dead, just older.
I am by no measure of imagination fit. However, I’m
still going to push myself ever now and then so that I can be something better.
I need a generation of 20-somethings who have grown up sitting behind a desk
and never leaving the house to look at me and say “if that geezer can still
push himself – why can’t I?” Living like your dying is not an option for yourself
or the people who look to you for guidance.
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