I was at a banking conference recently; one I have attended for the last twenty years. It covers a niche area of lending, so I’ve gotten friendly with many of the regulars I see every year.

At the awards luncheon, I was taken aback when someone I had known for two decades, and who has always struggled with his health and his weight, got up to receive a lifetime achievement award. Let’s call him Geoff. I hadn’t seen Geoff in a few years and assumed he had retired, or worse. I was shocked to see him bound up to the stage for his award, fit and vital, svelte and relaxed in his casual clothes.

A total transformation!

I caught up with him later. He had improved his diet, embraced regular exercise, and importantly, shifted his focus from putting career first, to making health a priority. He had reached an inflection point, he told me, and realized he had limited time to alter his negative trajectory. He began with incremental changes that compounded over time. Now, at 59, Geoff was beginning a new venture as a consultant.

Many of my fellow attendees have reached this same turning point. I certainly did in my early fifties. We are an aging demographic of folks who have been in the business for many decades. Over the last several years I‘ve seen two trends.

Geoff’s success illustrates the opportunity we have in mid-life to evolve our identity, reframing the dreaded mid-life crisis into a period of renewal. Rather than declining, both physically and emotionally, in our fifties or later we can actually get in the best shape of our lives.

Chip Conley, founder of the Modern Elder Academy, describes this phase, roughly between 40 and 60 as a midlife chrysalis and metamorphosis. Chip introduces the concept in this brief video. Chip focuses on the social and psychological aspects of healthy aging through his workshops and retreats, guiding elders toward a fresh perspective on career and values. Chip has built an impressive organization which grew out of his own midlife malaise.

Physical renewal is a necessary component of successful improvements in other areas of our lives. Modern medicine will keep us alive far longer than ever before. But to thrive, we need our physicality.

And the good news? A this stage it doesn’t matter if we were athletic or not in our youth. We’re all starting fresh with an equal opportunity to become athletes in the “sport” of healthy aging.

The metrics shift over fifty. We’re now training first and foremost for longevity.
We’re optimizing for healthspan, not for elite performance in a specific sport. Our goal is to be fit enough to maintain a vital and active life. We want to develop and preserve basic human functional movements: hinge, squat, lift, push, pull, hold, carry and rotate in a manner that is biomechanically sound. In practice this looks like carrying groceries, mowing the lawn, getting up off the floor, lifting grandkids, getting in and out of a boat or a bathtub, catching ourselves when we trip or continuing to play golf or pickleball with friends.

Once we become fit enough, we may choose to undertake more rigorous and targeted sport-specific training, having safely prepared our bodies for the added stress. But there is no requirement or expectation to go beyond this basic maintenance, and basic maintenance should prepare us to embrace the years ahead. Armed with a functioning physical foundation, we can better embrace the task of rethinking and adjusting our midlife priorities.

It’s open enrollment again for becoming athletic! And the high school quarterback has no advantage over the math geek!

So, on to building that foundation!

Mobility is job one. Let’s get started…

Here’s a fundamental stretch for the muscles in the front of the thigh and hip. All of us have chronically tight hips from so much sitting. Improving range of motion in this area relieves strain and tightness in the lower back, thighs and knees and leads to better posture and overall improved movement. Newbies and advanced exercisers benefit equally from the Couch Stretch. It deserves regular rotation in your mobility program.

The below video demonstrates how to do it. See the title image of this newsletter for a simple illustration of the three levels of intensity.

Here’s a link to the SecondFifty Mobility Kit I reference in the video.

Too intense?
- Don’t step your front foot forward—keep the front knee on the ground to start.
- Scoot your back knee a few inches away from the wall/couch, or keep your torso slightly leaned forward and rise up gradually.

Want more?
- Move your back knee closer to the wall and reach the same-side arm overhead, adding a slight side-bend away from the back leg.

Cranky Knee?
- Add extra padding or re-adjust position. Muscle soreness and discomfort is normal. The stretch should feel uncomfortable, but not painful. And, always remember, joint pain is an immediate red light. Joint pain means stop.

As a newsletter subscriber you have access to my six part Mobility Reboot Series, which is comprised of static, long hold stretches to get your body aligned and moving well. The password is: “mobility!”/

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this newsletter, please help me grow our community by forwarding it on. Please email me with questions, comments, topics you would like to see covered and ideas for the newsletter. I read them all and they help me understand what topics resonate and which ones miss the mark.

Who Sent this Newsletter:

I’m George Harrop, founder of SecondFifty — an online resource for people who want to prioritize their health and fitness by taking a common-sense approach to living a vital and fulfilling second fifty years.