You Can Grow Younger

Still Drubbling at Age 58

Clio, Michigan's Riley McLincha is still drubbling at age 58. That statement brings three pertinent questions to mind: Who is Riley McLincha, what is drubbling and who cares?

Let's start with drubbling. We know that jogging is a slow run and that juggling is basically keeping three or more balls or other objects in the air while continuously tossing and catching them. Which brings us to the hybrid of these two activities -- joggling, where one jogs (runs) while juggling. Are you with me so far? We are also very familiar with dribbling -- keeping a basketball bouncing on the ground/court by repeatedly pushing it down with one hand as it rebounds up. Drubbling is the dribbling of three basketballs (a form of juggling) while running (jogging).

Now back to the third question: Who cares? Clearly many people do as attested to by Riley's receiving about a dozen invitations each year to drubble at big-time road races (and other events) across the country, including the Boston and Chicago Marathons. This August, Riley will be drubbling the Crim 10 Mile race in Michigan for the 16th consecutive year; the Crim attracts some 15,000 runners each year and is one of the most famous road races in the U.S. Riley estimates that he will drubble this race at a 9:30-per-mile pace. It should be noted that few 58-year-olds, as well as those in their 20s and 30s, can run 10 miles at all -- with or without balls.

Riley has been drubbling since 1992. While there have been a number of jogglers in recent years-- those who juggle balls while running in road races -- Riley seems to still be the only drubbler. As Riley jokes, being the lone drubbler is "a testament either to its difficulty or worthlessness." Since basketball is such a popular sport, it must be the difficulty that has kept others from replicating this skill. Reinforcing this point, Riley gained eight pounds of upper-body muscle when he started drubbling and he has stated that it was the "hardest thing" he'd ever tried to learn. This from the guy who's in the Guinness Book of Records for memorizing pi (the ratio of the circumference of any circle to its diameter) -- that is, 3.14159 .................

When drubbling a marathon, Riley's time is an exhausting 5 hours 30 minutes or so, whereas when just running, he can complete the 26.2 miles in an age-group competitive 3:45. For a 5K he can complete the 3.1 miles in about 28 minutes with the basketballs and 21:30 without the balls, making him one of the better age-group runners.

We tend to think of individuals with unique talents such as Riley's as one dimensional, forgetting that the unique skill they display to the world is just one part of their lives. Riley is anything but a one-trick pony, as he regularly kayaks, bikes and is an accomplished singer and musician among his other interests. His biggest claim to fame, however, is his drubbling, and since seeing is believing, check out this very entertaining video. 

If a man closing in on 60 can dribble three basketballs for the 10 miles that make up the Crim 10 Miler at a 9:30-per-mile clip, when most 20- and 30-year-olds can't -- in their current condition -- conceive of running 10 miles at any speed, then just maybe aging doesn't have to be the unrelenting downhill slide to the grave that has been generally accepted as gospel. Maybe we can continue to excel and outperform those decades younger than we, as Riley McLincha is doing. But will we?

Ed Mayhew is a speaker and the author of the books: Fitter After 50, Fitter for Life and AGE BLASTERS: 3 Steps to a Younger You    Visit Ed at www.YouCanGrowYounger.com and www.FitterForLife.com AND Ask for your F*R*E*E Fitter e-newsletter

Going Strong at 107

Fredericksburg, Virginia's Larry "Curly" Haubner, who celebrated his 107th birthday in June, is in many ways healthier, fitter and stronger than most folks in their sixties. Let's take a closer look.

Whereas more than 70% of Americans 60 and older are either overweight or obese, Larry, standing at 5 foot 8 inches tall, weighs the same as when he enlisted in WWII -- 160 pounds. His blood pressure, blood sugar levels, kidney function, digestion and muscle tone are all "fine" according to his physician, Dr. Robert Prasse. How many seniors can make such a boast? And he takes no medications! The only pills he downs are his multivitamins and maybe some vitamin C and E tablets. In comparison, according to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) almost half of those 65 and better are on three or more prescription drugs. Remarkably, Larry never gets sick. How many adults of any age can say that?

Since genetics has been found to play only a small role in our overall well-being and longevity, Larry's secret to such robust health at his advanced age must lie in his lifestyle. Let's see what we might learn from this exceptional centenarian that we could apply in our own lives:

1. Larry is big into exercise and a self-proclaimed "health nut." He keeps weights and other exercise equipment in his room which he uses daily to work out. Connie Miller, the Executive Director at Greenfield Senior Living (an assisted-living center) where Larry resides, is quoted as saying that she "can't tell you how many tennis balls he's worn out" from the bottom of his walker as he talkes his daily walks. When Larry was younger, 102, he enjoyed cycling around Fredericksburg and was known by the townsfolk as the older man who rides his bike around town. In this light, when asked the secret to his strength and longevity he answers, "Exercise!" and expounds on how we should all get more exercise than we do ...
2. Another pillar that has resulted in his continued excellent health is nutrition. Larry prefers a diet of fruits, nuts and vegetables. In a Washington Post article covering Larry's 107th birthday bash, he's quoted as saying, "Well, I ate the cake, but I don't think cake is a good food."
3. Probably just as important, if not more important than his devotion to daily exercise and good nutrition, is his attitude and mental approach to life. In this regard, Larry was described by one of the staffers at the center as "genuinely happy" and a "morale-boost for the staff." You can see his joy for life in his beaming smile in  photos taken during his recent birthday parties. In one very telling photo he has an infectious grin on his face as he proudly shows off his biceps. See photo here.  In order to stay so positive, Larry, like so many other centenarians, doesn't dwell on the negative. He could, for example, focus his thoughts on how lonely it is living in a world where you've outlived everyone you once knew. Larry never married and has no children or other relatives to visit him. In fact, he's not had a single visitor (other than a couple of newspaper journalists) in the five years he's been at Greenfield. Instead of wallowing in self pity because no one ever comes to visit, he chooses to appreciate the folks around him at Greenfield and bring joy to fellow residents and staff alike with his cheerful buoyant spirit. In summary, Larry chooses to exercise, eat well and focus his thoughts on what is pleasing to him.

No one can really know why one person lives to 107, strong and vital, while others succumb to one thing or another much earlier in life. One thing, however, is clear. No matter how old one gets, he or she can enjoy each day. With a good diet, some exercise and a positive attitude, maybe we can learn to live as well at our age as Larry "Curly" Haubner does at his.

Postscript: Larry may be strong and healthy, but his finances aren't in as good a shape; he's outlived his money supply. If you'd like to help Larry to stay at his Greenfield home with his new friends (his only family, if you will) by giving a donation (or you want to learn more about Larry) visit: www.SaveLarry.org

Ed Mayhew is a speaker (Need one? A good one?) and the author of the books: Fitter After 50, Fitter for Life and AGE BLASTERS: 3 Steps to a Younger You -- You can visit Ed at: www.YouCanGrowYounger.com   www.FitterForLife.com  Ask for your F*R*E*E Fitter e-newsletter

Proof Falling Apart as Age an Option Not a Mandate

Here's yet more proof that falling apart as we age is just an option -- not a mandate. The three individuals you are about to meet, through their athletic feats, give the rest of us hope and the assurance that we, too, can live vibrant vigorous lives no matter our age.

Montana's Bob Hayes ran his first LeGrizz 50 Mile race at age 69. In 2006, now 80, he became one of the elite few to earn the coveted 10 Bears Award for completing ten LeGrizzes. Although in this tenth 50 miler he had outrun 13 of the 71 much younger competitors, Bob was disappointed with his 11-hours-4-minutes-and-3-seconds time because it was slower than the previous year's mark. More recently, in October of 2008, Bob outperformed 15 of the 89 runners, all at least two decades his junior, AND had the satisfaction of beating his time from two years earlier with an astounding 11:00:03. That means an 82-year-old, Bob Hayes, ran just over 13 minutes per mile for 50 MILES!

Then there's Florida's Tamara Savage, who at age 48 weighed in at 233 unfit pounds and had a lifelong cigarette habit. With a goal to get "Fit by Fifty," she deep-sixed the smoking and lost over 100 pounds. To celebrate her new-found fitness, Tamara ran the Javelina Jundred 100-Mile trail race -- a symbolic one mile for each pound she had lost. Now she's 55 and has a new goal: to run a full Ironman triathlon by age 60. As you may know, the Ironman is a daunting test of one's endurance and fortitude, as it consists of swimming 2.4 miles, then biking 112 miles and it finishes with a 26.2-mile run (a full marathon) -- all to be done in under 17 hours. A few weeks ago, Tamara completed her first 70.3 Ironman (a half Ironman) in Orlando, Florida in a little over eight hours; and then, the very next weekend, she ran the Bayshore Marathon in Traverse City, Michigan. That's a combined 96.5 miles of competitive racing in a six-day period -- not bad for someone who just seven years earlier was 100 pounds overweight and smoking one-and-a-half to two packs of cigarettes a day. To read Tamara's story in her own words and see her before-and-after photos, visit: http://BioIdenticalHormoneExperts.com/2009/05/21/BodyLogicMDs-Coo-Tamara-Savage-Is-Featured-In-Age-Blasters/

Finally, let's look at Keith McConnell, PhD. and his age-defying accomplishment. This past May, Keith decided to tackle the McDonald Forest 50K near Corvallis, Oregon. This just happens to be one of the most difficult 31-mile races anywhere due to its rugged terrain and seemingly endless string of steep uphill and downhill sections to the tune of 6700 feet of vertical climb and an equal amount of treacherous muscle-fatiguing precipitous descent. Although Keith has run marathons in recent years, this was his first ultra (longer than a marathon) in 30 years. Using a combination of Chi Running and Chi Walking (special techniques that make locomotion safer and more efficient), Keith traversed this very challenging course in 6 hours 49 minutes and in the process won the 60-69 age group. For most of us mere mortals that would be enough "exercise" for one weekend (probably the rest of the month), but Keith's story doesn't stop there. That night he enjoyed an evening of dinner and dancing and then the very next day he was competing in his weekly game of ice hockey. To read Keith's full story in his own words, and to find out how he withstood and enjoyed this amazingly active weekend with no negative physical repercussions (read that, aches, pains and assorted bodily discomfort), visit: www.ChiRunning.com and click on the current (June, 2009) newsletter.

It looks as if whether we're in our 50s, 60s or even our 80s, we can enjoy the vitality, energy and fitness levels most think are the exclusive domain of the young. Bob, Tamara and Keith and many more just like them (and really just like us) are proving that falling apart as we age REALLY IS only an option -- not a mandate. The question is: Are you going to be part of the proof?

Ed Mayhew is a speaker (Need one? A good one?) and the author of Fitter After 50, Fitter for Life and AGE BLASTERS: 3 Steps to a Younger You  You can visit Ed at: www.YouCanGrowYounger.com   www.FitterForLife.com    Ask for your F*R*E*E* Fitter After 50/Fitter for Life e-newsletter

Low-Cost Fixes for Our Health-Care System

There is no doubt that we need to do something about health-care costs. After all, spending on health care in the U.S. over the last three decades has risen almost three times faster than all other consumer spending -- increasing from 9% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in 1980 to 18% of GDP in 2009. This means more and more of the average American family's budget is being gobbled up by health-care expenses.

In recent days, our politicians in Washington have come up with two plans to fix this problem.  According to the independent Congressional Budget Office estimates, the pricetag for one of the solutions was estimated to be $1.6 Trillion over the next 10 years and for the other, a trim $1.0 Trillion. And the Trillion-dollar package was projected to make health-care insurance accessible to just 16 million or about a third of the estimated 46 million Americans currently without coverage. Obviously, not much bang for our buck there. Since these same politicians, according to some experts, have managed in just a few short months to put us at risk for a national debt of $10 Trillion with their TARPs, bailouts, stimulus packages and pork-barrel-laden budget spending, maybe we should be looking for less expensive solutions. Here, then, without further ado, are my two-cents'- worth of suggestions to deal inexpensively with the cost of health care

1. Have insurance companies and businesses all across America implement a version of the Safeway corporation's health-care plan, which is to have the health-care insurance follow the automobile insurance industry's model of rewarding drivers who have good driving records with lower premiums. Since 70% of all health-care costs are the result of lifestyle choices, in the health-care industry this would mean cutting insurance costs for individuals who choose behaviors that decrease the risk of getting sick or injured. By adopting this approach, Safeway has kept health-care costs constant for the last four years while most companies have seen health-care expenses rise by 38%. This has resulted in an extra $1500 in the pockets of some Safeway employees -- a strong incentive to take better care of one's self and family. Safeway's CEO, Steven Burd, estimates that implementing such a plan nationwide would reduce our national health-care bill by 40%. The price tag to implement this: A whole lot less than a Trillion dollars!
2. Put a cap on medical malpractice rewards and deflate the incentive to sue doctors and hospitals. Right now physicians and medical facilities are paying exorbitant amounts for malpractice insurance and passing the costs on to you and me -- their patients. This is reflected in the cost of health-care insurance. The constant threat of being sued also causes doctors and hospitals to perform unnecessary tests and imagings in order to cover their backsides, which drives up the cost of medical care. On top of this, this subliminal stress probably causes them to make more mistakes, not fewer, as trial lawyers would have us believe. Cost to implement: A lost less than a Trillion dollars!
3. Have literature that doctors, medical centers, emergency rooms and urgent-care centers would give out at each patient's visit to encourage and remind her/him of what s/he can do to stay well and not to come in every time s/he has the sniffles. Also, have incentives for doctors to spend more time counseling on good health practices and less time on dispensing medicines. A recent report found that in central Texas, in the last six years, nine individuals alone had accounted for 2,678 visits to the emergency room. Cost of literature and doctor's/nurse's advice: A whole lot less than a Trillion dollars.
4. Start a Get Fit & Healthy America initiative. Line up famous athletes, movie stars and other celebrities and have them lead workouts in stadiums and on racetracks across the nation. Don't you think people would come out of the woodwork to exercise with Oprah, Kyle Petty, Jennifer and Angelina and even the Pittster himself? The stars would give their time/help free of charge to help our nation, as would the owners of the facilities. At these events folks could be educated in how to stay fit, lose weight and stay healthy. Those who made the greatest improvement in their well-being could be rewarded with a 1-on-1 lunch/visit with their favorite celebrity. You don't think this incentive would get millions of folks losing weight, getting in the best shape of their life? Cost: A lot less than a Trillion dollars!

We may not be able to afford to give the-soon-to-be 50-million-without-health-insurance free health insurance coverage. Do the math. Fifty million times a trimmed-to-the-bone $3,000 each comes to a bankrupting $150 Billion per year on top of all the other money this country has already spent, and is about to spend that it doesn't have...well, we have a problem.

The only solution that makes any sense is to spend a lot less on health care; and the only sane way to do that is to help folks stay well and need fewer medicines and less medical attention. You have just read four cost-effective ways to do this. They are, however, just a launching pad for ideas on how to deal with this issue. What solutions can you come up with? Anything you come up with has to be better than just throwing money (our money AND money we don't have) at the problem, as the politicians in Washington are wont to do. I'm all ears!

Ed Mayhew is a speaker (Need one? A good one?) and the author of the books: Fitter After 50, Fitter for Life and AGE BLASTERS: 3 Steps to a Younger You You can visit Ed at: www.YouCanGrowYounger.com   www.FitterForLife.com  Ask for your F*R*E*E Fitter After 50/Fitter For Life e-newsletter 

Exercise And Your Genes

For a long time we've known that exercise makes our jeans fit better. Now scientists are finding that cardio and strength training can have a beneficial effect on our genes, too! Here's a layman's view of some studies done in recent years showing that a little huffing and puffing may reverse aging at the genetic and cellular level.

In a Canadian study conducted at the Buck Institute for Age Research, 25 men and women 65 and older were put on a strength-training program which consisted of one-hour-long sessions, twice a week, for six months. What the researchers were surprised to find was that this minimal amount of exercise "resulted in a reversal of the gene expression back to levels similar to those seen in younger adults [in this case, a group of sedentary 20- to 35-year-olds who were part of this research project]."

Another study, this one conducted at the University of California, found that a single brief bout of exercise altered the gene expression in pubertal girls. More specifically, these young ladies, ages 8 to 17, performed ten 2-minute sessions on stationary bikes, at 90 percent of maximal heart rate, interspersed with one-minute rest breaks. The scientists concluded that this little bit of exercise induced significant changes in PBMC [Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells -- whatever they are?] gene expression ..." In all, an average of about one-thousand genes related to stress, inflammation, apoptosis, cytotoxicity, Antigen processing ... were changed.

Dean Ornish, M.D., renowned expert in disease prevention and treatment, led a research project where 30 men with low-risk prostate cancer opted for changing their lifestyle over surgery and chemotherapy. In other words, they cleaned up their diets, adopted stress-reduction techniques and started exercising. The result was that the men had changes in approximately 500 of their genes related to disease prevention and cure. More specifically "48 disease-preventing genes were turned on and 453 disease-promoting genes, including those related to prostate cancer ... were turned off."

Finally, out of Germany comes research involving 37 individuals with serious heart failure, who rode stationary bikes for up to 30 minutes per day for four months. The scientists found that this small amount of exercise caused new stem cells to be produced in the participants' bone marrow. These newly-formed stem cells then found their way to the hearts of these individuals, where they proceeded to repair the damage the hearts had incurred. It was also discovered that there was an increase in the number of small blood vessels found in their muscle tissue -- and we recall that the heart is made up of muscle tissue.

In referring to a specific gene that recent research has shown to promote obesity in individuals who have this gene, Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, said that it is "now becoming clear that our lifestyle patterns [a major part of which is exercise] may actually alter our genes and the way they are expressed as well."

This emerging science, showing that a little bit of exercise actually changes us at the  genetic level, makes me want to get up from this keyboard and go to the gym. How about you? Do you now think that regular exercise is worth any little bit of effort involved? As a well-known company logo says -- just go do it!

Ed Mayhew is a speaker (Need one? A good one?) and the author of Fitter for Life, Fitter After 50 and AGE BLASTERS: 3 Steps to a Younger You    You can visit Ed at: www.YouCanGrowYounger.com  www.FitterForLife.com     Ask for your F*R*E*E Fitter After 50 e-newsletter

She's Back And Proving That Age is Just a Number

Last summer at the Beijing Olympics a 41-year-old swimmer, Dara Torres, stunned the world by winning three Silver Medals in a sport where 25 is considered old. Most would think that at her age, we'd seen the last of her as an elite competitive swimmer, but guess what! She's BACK!

Friday, May 22nd, Dara set two new American Records at a senior circuit meet at Texas A & M. Here's how it went down with all the extraordinary circumstances. Dara was scheduled to swim in the 100-meter and 50-meter freestyle races at this competition; however, due to a flareup of bronchitis, she didn't think she had the stamina to swim the 100 and opted instead for the less-stamina-demanding 50 butterfly.

Having not planned on swimming this event and not having trained for it, Dara surprised herself and everyone knowledgeable of the sport, when she swam the 50 fly in the morning preliminaries in a new American Record, 25.84 seconds. This time easily beat Jenny Thompson's six-year-old record of 26 flat. Then in the finals that evening, she reset the record, with a blistering 25.72. Think about it. An American Record that the top young American swimmers couldn't topple in six years of trying, is smashed by 28 hundreds of a second (a huge amount of improvement for a sprint event) by an ancient (by elite swimming standards) 42-year-old masters swimmer.

What makes this all the more astounding are some of the surrounding circumstances:

• First, according to Dara, she hadn't "swum a lick of fly since the 2000 Olympics!!"
• Dara's training had been compromised by her criss-crossing of the country to promote her book, Age is Just a Number, which was just released in April
• She's raising a three-year-old daughter
• In the months since the Olympics, Dara's had surgery on her right shoulder, left knee and left thumb -- all of which have required time for recovery 
• During this meet, her left knee was sore and swollen and she's talking about needing more surgery on it after the World Championships this summer

Dara says that she will continue to compete as long as she is improving, and she does believe that she is "still improving" and that she hasn't reached her peak yet. If a woman in her forties can not only compete with America's best young swimmers, but outperform them and set new American Records in the process, and if that woman in her forties is still getting faster AND is likely to get even faster/better, what does this say about aging?

Whether we're interested in competitive swimming or not -- whether we care a lick about sports competitions of any kind or not -- these performances are important to us! Dara's age-defying swimming feats are important to ALL OF US because they challenge the self-limiting, self-destructive beliefs about aging that we all have to one degree or another and open the way for us to latch onto ever more empowering beliefs if we will but pay attention. Dara is BACK for more. The quintessential question is: Are we paying attention?

Ed Mayhew is a speaker (need one? a good one?) and the author of Fitter For Life, Fitter After 50 and AGE BLASTERS: 3 Steps to a Younger You Visit Ed at: www.YouCanGrowYounger.com   www.FitterForLife.com  Ask for his F*R*E*E Fitter After 50/Fitter for Life e-newsletter

Tony Handler Turns Mega Excuses Into Reasons

In 1982 a 43-year-old Tony Handler had emergency surgery to repair a ruptured stomach. Following the surgery, the doctors told Tony that they had "good news and bad news." The bad news was that he had cancer and the good news was that they'd seen people live as long as two years with this rare form of pancreatic cancer. Tony had been given a ready-made excuse to turn in his chips and call it a life, but instead, he decided to prove the doctors wrong.

While in the hospital recovering from the stomach surgery, he happened to see an Ironman triathlon event on TV and decided that one day he would run an Ironman. To beat "Mr. Cancer" (his name for the big C) and to be able to one day compete in triathlons, he cleaned up his diet, switching from fast foods and fried chicken to a healthier fare that included more fruits and vegetables, and started exercising. These lifestyle improvements, along with adopting a remarkably positive attitude, must have worked, because in the ensuing 26 years Tony has survived and thrived through:

• 16 more surgeries
• Recurring bouts with 6 types of cancer (pancreatic, prostate, liver ...)
• Removal of half his thyroid
• Angioplasty to relieve 95% blockage of a main coronary artery
• An aortic valve replacement
• Hernia repair
• Monthly chemotherapy shots which he will probably have to endure for the rest of his life to deal with tumors currently in his body
• AND the completion of 220 triathlons

That's right. Tony, who has had ample opportunity to make excuses for why he can't do everyday things, never mind compete in triathlons, has been able, since 1985 (the year of his first triathlon), to somehow wedge about nine triathlons a year between all the surgeries, cancer treatments and recoveries. This includes completing his first of two Ironman triathlons (2.4-mile swim + 112-mile bike race + 26.2-mile marathon run) at AGE 61!

Tony doesn't just complete these triathlons -- these ultimate tests of endurance and stamina -- but he excels in them. In October of 2008, for example, at the Masters Triathlon Championships in Orlando, Florida, Tony finished first in the 65-69 age group competing in the Olympic-distance/division. Still going strong more than a quarter of a century after his doctors gave him less than two years to live, Tony plans to run a Half Ironman, a 70.3 miler, to celebrate his turning 70 in 2009. He sees each of his 220 triathlon finishes as defeating "Mr. Cancer" and sees himself enjoying the triathlon challenge as long as his body holds up.

Despite his monthly chemo treatments, Tony typically trains year round by swimming 8 miles, biking 400 miles and running 25 miles each month. While many people spend their lives looking for excuses as to why they can't do one thing or another, this amazing athlete feels it's more important to "find reasons why you CAN do something."

Florida's Tony Handler has turned his seemingly endless string of mega trials and tribulations into reasons rather than excuses. As a result, he is enjoying his life more than the majority of folks who don't have a small fraction of his challenges with which to deal. Because he took charge of his life when the doctors gave him a life sentence of just two years, he is now celebrating 50 years of marriage to the real love of his life, his childhood sweetheart, Narda.

The question is: When faced with your current situation or next challenge(s), are you going to make excuses as to why you can't ... or are you going to use the situation you find yourself in as a reason to charge ahead and live life more fully?

For a video and audio clips featuring Tony Handler, go to www.GrowingBolder.com and find issue #92.

Ed Mayhew is a speaker (need one? a good one?) and the author of the books: Fitter After 50, Fitter for Life and AGE BLASTERS: 3 Steps to a Younger You  Visit Ed at: www.YouCanGrowYounger.com   www.FitterForLife.com  and ask for your F*R*E*E Fitter After 50 / Fitter for Life e-newsletter

What Every American Needs to Know About Health Care

What we call health care in the United States of America is really sickness care. This is because too many of our fellow Americans (not us, of course) are sitting back waiting for their doctors to rescue them with a drug, surgery or other medical interventions each time they get yet another illness. Rather than taking personal responsibility for their own health and well-being, they are looking to the medical establishment to save them every time they get in "trouble" due to repeated poor lifestyle choices. This greatly increases the  health-care costs for all Americans -- both sick and well.

The majority of politicians in Washington seem to think that the answer lies in dismantling our current health-care system and replacing it with a nationalized one. If we allow them to do this, we'll merely be trading one set of problems for another. This proposed solution has a price tag of hundreds of billions of dollars, that we don't have, that will be unfairly passed on to future generations.

There is a better solution. We can dramatically lower health-care costs in America by simply taking care of ourselves -- en masse. Just as we as a nation made going to the moon a major goal, we can make Shaping Up For America a priority. We can deal with this crisis by taking and encouraging personal responsibility when it comes to staying well.

But will it work? You may be wondering if something so simplistic can make a difference. The answer comes from an unexpected source, reality TV. We have three examples from the 2009 edition of TV's Biggest Loser show that illustrate what taking personal responsibility  for one's own health and well-being can do in just a few months' time.

Ron Morelli, 54, started the show weighing 430 illness-promoting pounds. Despite bad knees, a shoulder problem, cardiovascular disease, breathing problems, high cholesterol ... Ron was able to lose 192 pounds. More importantly, this resulted in his successfully eliminating his dependence on three blood-pressure medicines and four diabetic medicines he relied on to stay vertical. Further, after just months of exercise and an improved diet, his blood tests were back in the normal range and he was fit enough to walk a full 26.2-mile marathon despite his "bad" knee.

Forty-eight-year-old Helen Phillips went from 257 unhealthy pounds to a svelte 117. The third oldest participant out of 22 (most were in their 20s and younger), she won the contest by losing over 54% of her weight.

The oldest competitor ever, Jerry Hayes, 64, won the at-home $100,000 prize. Having been eliminated from the ranch (where competitors get support and supervision in their attempt to lose weight) at the end of the second week, Jerry went from 369 pounds to 192 almost entirely while at home. According to Dr. Huizenga, the show's resident doctor, Jerry, who suffered from a host of health problems, including diabetes, gout and sleep apnea, was able to rid himself of five diseases and six medicines. It should be noted that Huizenga stated on the air that one of Jerry's medications was the cause of his collapsing during the first hour of the show's first workout, requiring Jerry to be taken to the hospital to recover. 

Helen, Ron and Jerry show that age should not be an excuse for not taking care of ourselves; they made all these improvements in their health and well-being in a matter of months with just diet, exercise and an improved attitude. The medical costs to do all this were negligible.

Think about the health-care costs for just these three individuals had they remained at their beginning weights and kept their many and expanding health issues. Now imagine the drain on the health-care system were these three examples to be multiplied by tens of millions of other Americans who have allowed their weight to soar and their health problems to escalate! Remember, about two-thirds of Americans are said to be overweight or obese and half of these, or almost 100 million by my math, are obese. These weight-challenged individuals will typically have more and more health problems associated with their being obese and out of shape as they age -- think: 75-million boomers entering their more-likely-less-healthful 50s, 60s and 70s.

Let's turn things around. Now imagine tens of millions of Americans taking responsibility for their own well-being and therefore needing much less medical care. Can it be done? If a reality TV show can do it, then surely America can do it, too. Let's take the solution out of the hands of the politicians who,  in a matter of months, have put us 10 Trillion dollars in debt, and let's put it in our own hands!

Every American needs to know that by each of us taking more responsibility for our own health and well-being, by being models of it, and by encouraging others to do the same, we can create an army of super-healthy Americans united to bring health-care costs under control. Will you help make Shaping Up For America a grass-roots movement that makes America once again fiscally, physically and mentally the healthiest country in the world?

Ed Mayhew is a speaker (Need one? A good one?) and the author of Fitter After 50, Fitter for Life, and AGE BLASTERS: 3 Steps to a Younger You Visit Ed at: www.YouCanGrowYounger.com   www.FitterForLife.com  Ask for your F*R*E*E Fitter After 50/Fitter for Life e-newsletter    

 

The One Place You Need to Visit For All Your Age-Defying Needs

WARNING: Stand by for a little shameless self promotion and crass commercialism (in the end, all for your benefit, of course!)

The one place on the internet you really need to visit if you're serious about slowing and reversing aging is the new and vastly-improved www.FitterForLife.com. That's where you will find Ed Mayhew's (that would be me) special deals on books and CDs about how to stay youthful and vital for years and decades to come.

Ed Mayhew (tooting my own horn AGAIN!) is THE expert on growing younger naturally by virtue of his studying and researching (and interviewing) hundreds of mature men and women who are redefining what it means to age. These individuals, ages 40 to 80 and better, with their age-defying athletic feats of endurance, strength and speed, are proving that we can have more energy to enjoy life than most young people. By regularly out-performing athletes a decade or two their junior, these folks are pointing out that "falling apart" as we age is an option -- not a mandate.

We have found that there are three things that separate those who are biologically much younger than their age from those among us who are aging the fastest. In my recently released book, AGE BLASTERS: 3 Steps to a Younger You, I've taken these three attributes of the masters of aging I've studied and transposed them into three simple steps we can all take to easily slow and reverse aging. For those time-crunched individuals and those who would prefer to learn by listening, my team of professionals have created the Age Blasters Audio Series ( a set of CDs that complement the book).

When you trot over to www.FitterForLife.com you can pick up the AGE BLASTERS book and a F*R*E*E* Age-Blasting CD of YOUR CHOICE for a mere pittance (to be precise, that'd be 20 green-backs) AND that INCLUDES Shipping and Handling. You can't get this deal anywhere else on the planet. You get to choose from three empowering age-smashing CDs:

• Age Blasters All-Stars
• Running WELL Past 40
• Mastering Weight Loss (note: we're not suggesting you need to)

AND you are encouraged and allowed (by decree) to download the audio to YOUR MP3 or other portable listening gizmo (but not the whole neighborhood's).

But that's not all, by a long shot. There's an AGE BLASTERS Club Special where you can get the book and all three life-transforming CDs for just $37. That's more than a 50% savings over the cost of purchasing these four items separately.

Then there's the coup de grace -- The AGE BLASTERS Mega Club Special where you get all of the $37 package PLUS two exclusive interviews:

• The info-packed interview in which the octogenarian cyclist extraordinaire, Bill Anderson, tells how at age 81 he can out-cycle all but the most elite young bikers and how you can use his unique techniques to slow your aging
• The not-to-be-missed interview of Michigan's Tamara Savage, who lost over 100 pounds in her early 50s and then went on to run a 100-mile race in 95-degree desert heat. She'll tell you how she did it and how you can have her boundless energy, too!

PLUS you get an  AGE BLASTER T-SHIRT to tell the world that over-the-hill you're not -- ALL this for just $77 -- a savings of $63 over what you'd have to pay for these game changers if you bought them separately.

Of course, while you're roaming around www.FitterForLife.com you can sign up for Ed Mayhew's F*R*E*E* secrets-revealing Fitter For Life/Fitter After 50 E-newsletter or tap the Blog Button to head on over to  www.YouCanGrowYounger.com where you'll find a host of articles to start you Growing Younger Naturally.

Is this not an awesome site for those of you wishing to stop Father Time in his tracks? Well, you'll not know if all this blather is just a bunch of hype to sell ice cubes to Eskimoes or if it's a bona fide good place to begin your journey to a younger, more vibrant you for years and decades to come unless you giddy-up over there right now... come on, giddy-up -- you can do it -- we're waiting to serve you at www.FitterforLife.com

Ed Mayhew is a speaker (need one? A good one?) and the author of AGE BLASTERS: 3 Steps to a Younger You, Fitter After 50 and Fitter for Life and the creator/producer of the Age Blasters Audio Series CDs You can visit him at: You guessed it, www.FitterForLife.com AND Ask for your F*R*E*E* Fitter After 50/Fitter For Life E-newsletter and why not get a book and/or CD while you're there -- you know you want one --

Can AGE BLASTERS Really Slow How Fast You Age?

Can Ed Mayhew's new book, AGE BLASTERS: 3 Steps to a Younger You REALLY slow your rate of aging? That's a question well worth exploring if you'd like to slow or reverse aging and grow biologically younger.

AGE BLASTERS offers 3 steps to a younger you. In a world awash with hype, is this just more of it, or is this the real deal? Rich Benyo, Editor of Marathon and Beyond magazine and author of Running Past 50, says that AB really does deliver when he wrote, "[Ed Mayhew] ... promises that it is possible to retard and even reverse the ravages of aging, but then he fills the second half of the book with proof positive that it can be done by introducing readers to people just like them who have taken control of their lives ..."

The first step to slow and reverse aging, according to Mayhew, is to believe it is possible and worth the effort to feel and perform like someone a decade or two his/her junior. By introducing the reader to 77 men and women, ages 40 to 80 and better who are documented to be in better shape (and biologically younger) than most 20- and 30-year-olds, AGE BLASTERS challenges one's self-destructive beliefs about aging, making room for more empowering, age-blasting beliefs. You can't read about all these age-redefining individuals without releasing those beliefs that are tearing down your body and making you literally fall apart.

To substantially slow aging, and even reverse it for a period of years, one needs to develop a self image that supports this more youthful version of self. This revised self image in combination with an emotional trigger, is, in a nutshell, what step 2 is all about. AB gives the reader a technique he can use to do this easily and powerfully. No change, whether it's losing weight and keeping it off, starting a youth-enhancing exercise program, stopping smoking ... can last without an enabling/supportive self image. Without a corroborative self image and its accompanying burning desire, the best of intentions cannot be sustained.

The final step is to develop a plan of action that leads sub-goal by sub-goal, step by step, to your goal and a younger you. This book gives all the components needed to do this. Enabled by one's new, empowering beliefs, a potent self image and a burning desire, you can completely transform your life, like the masters of aging profiled in AGE BLASTERS have proven can be done.

Can AGE BLASTERS really slow how fast you age? The 77 men and women in AB, who have slowed aging to a crawl, are proof that it can be done. The AGE BLASTERS 3 steps are based on what the author has learned from studying and questioning them. Here's how Pam Reed, American Champion ultra-runner and two-time winner of the 135-mile Badwater ultra-marathon (all accomplished in her 40s) sees it: "If you wish to look, feel and perform like someone years, even decades younger than your chronological age, then you need to read Ed Mayhew's latest book. It's replete with inspiring stories of men and women, like myself, who have done this. Get Age Blasters today and start growing biologically younger tomorrow."

The masters of aging, such as Pam Reed, presented in AGE BLASTERS, show that by taking the 3 simple steps they've all taken --

1. Develop empowering beliefs
2. Create a supportive self image and an accompanying burning desire
3. Design a workable plan of action

-- you, too, can significantly slow how fast you age.

Ed Mayhew is a speaker (need one?) and the author of Fitter After 50, Fitter for Life and AGE BLASTERS: 3 Steps to a Younger You  Visit Ed at www.FitterForLife.com (Ask for your F*R*E*E* Fitter After 50 newsletter)   www.YouCanGrowYounger.com    www.AgeBlasters3.com