Still Got It
Over the weekend, I, like millions of others watched the Tyson vs. Jones fight. Both of these fighters were beasts in their prime and as much as they perhaps wanted to relive their glory days, us as spectators also wanted to relive our youth of watching Iron Mike and Captain Hook own the ring. The bigger question that everyone wondered was if these two still had “it”. Could Tyson get back to fighting form after being out of the ring for fifteen years and needing to lose one hundred pounds? As videos leaked from his training and sparring sessions over the summer, it looked like he could indeed pull it off. Come fight night, as he controlled the ring and ripped off some heavy body shots to Jones, there was no question that he still had it.
As guys like myself get on in age I think a lot of face our own moment of wondering if we still got it ourselves. Especially as we face off on the court, field or track against our own kids, nephews and younger friends. Do we still have that strength, that speed of our youth that seemed to come so easily and be so ready to put on display at a moment’s notice? For a lot dudes, the body says, “nah.” That hamstring cramps up, knees buckle, shoulders get tweaked. Keeping it real with a lot of you, it’s not the age man, it’s a lack of activity and/or unwillingness to change up old habits.
Tyson is proof that you can get back to where you once were. The three things you need to get there is discipline, dedication and motivation. We see hella clips on IG of seniors out in the world still killing it and we tend to think that they’re freaks of nature or that they must be former pro athletes. In reality most aren’t, but they’re disciplined to working out a moving regularly, dedicated to their health and are their own best cheerleaders in keeping up with it day in and day out. You can have all the fancy gear, equipment and gadgets, but they’ll be worthless without those three things.
After years of working in a gym with a lot senior members, it really changed my perspective about what it means to age and how your quality of life can be from either moving regularly throughout your life or not. We see it enough in our own families – those tios and tias, aunties and uncles that amble along versus those that still have that spring in their step. And yes, of course some genetics do come into play as much as not getting seriously sidelined with illnesses or accidents as to how well we get on in age. But taking that out of the equation, it comes down to choosing this or that? How do you want to age? How do you want to feel ten years from now, twenty years from now? The work you put in, or don’t put in really sets the tone for your future. Just like your 401k, you don’t want to be having to play catch up with your health in ten or twenty years. It won’t be impossible then, but it will be tougher indeed. The time is now to make the move to investing in your health.
It goes without saying that most of us aren’t looking to actually get to a performance level of athleticism like Tyson was looking to do. For him and Jones, they had a target date to work towards, which made it easier to develop a plan around. For me, as much as I love running and competing in races and triathlons, I have no clue when that will happen, so I understand fully about not having a sense of urgency about a target goal or date to hit. But what I do know is that regardless of any upcoming races, I know that I want to be feeling my best and able to still feel fluid throughout my day without any aches, pains or twinges if gotta move quickly. I don’t want to feel burdened with back pain, feel winded from taking a walk around the park with the Mrs. or gassed shooting some hoops with the homies. So it means staying disciplined and doing the things that are best for me, even on those days where sometimes I might not initially want to.
Back to last Saturday’s fight, of course the fight was pared down a bit to make it more age appropriate for our uncles with shorter rounds, less rounds and a smaller ring. Some have argued that the fight was most likely throttled by the fighters themselves lest either one get Robinson’d and seriously hurt. All that being said, I’m ok with that. At the end of the day, risking concussion or brain damage from either one of their fists for the sake of a paycheck isn’t worth it. But I think the bigger take away from the fight was a good glimpse of seeing if two middle aged men can get back to that level of performance. Looking at how well conditioned Tyson looked throughout the fight and even into the post fight interviews, the answer is a resounding yes. The same can be said for you too. You might have been blessed in your youth with your skills. But now as a grown ass man, if you want to keep it, you’re gonna have to work for it more and more. But, if you’re disciplined and put in the work, the results will come.
