After a quick internet search I found what I was looking for. A few miles from where I was staying was an outdoor fitness park with a playground next to it.

This was perfect as my daughter quickly gets bored with my workouts.

Walking up to the park I noticed a thin but well muscled man repping out pull-ups.

I struck up a conversation. He is 76 and just had knee replacement surgery 4 weeks prior.

Curious, I asked him what he did to stay in shape and feel young. As a retired Marine, his answer was straight forward “I workout out here almost every day and I don’t eat garbage food”.

He finished his workout and left; I started mine.

As I have gotten older, the reason I train has evolved.

I want to be athletic. I want to look and feel good. I want to keep my youth and mobility. I don’t want to feel like an out of shape middle aged guy who’s athletic days are behind him.

How do I keep feeling young?

I looked over at my daughter playing with some new friends on the playground. Answers came to me.

Do things that kids do. Kids make games out of everything. They are also continually challenging each other. “Can you jump and hit the board?” “I bet I can throw this further than you.”
Meet new friends. Building a community of outdoor fitness enthusiast is energizing. Staying young is about keeping that energy going through new friendships and connections.
Sprinting is something I did all the time as a kid. Then I stopped. I brought sprints back into my training a few years ago and I am hooked. I am more explosive and have better conditioning than when I was in my twenties. The feeling of running full out is intoxicating and keeps me coming back for more.
I used to try and jump up or over anything that looked like it could cause me trouble; physically or just plain trouble. Then I would bet my friends to try. If it was real dangerous, I would bet my friends to try first. A favorite parts of my outdoor workouts is finding natural features to jump up or over. Now I call it plyometrics. It is still just as much fun.
Constantly make up games to challenge yourself and others. Last week we timed our sled intervals. We all pushed a little harder and went faster than our previous efforts.
Control your body. Kids climb, swing, flip and do other movements that take great spatial and body awareness. To get that control and awareness back, I started incorporating gymnastic movements into my training. My favorite gymnastic movement right now is skin the cat (see title picture). Some other ideas are front levers, handstands, planche progressions, and anything where you flip yourself over.
Don’t eat junk. I always feel much better and more energized when I stick with whole foods. Single ingredient foods are also less inflammatory and more satiating than the creative junk made in factories.
Sleep. When I am training hard and challenging myself I need my z’s. I shoot for 7-9 hours a night. Less than 7 and you are not performing at your best.
Pick up a new sport or revive an old one. This is great for the mind and body and yet another way to put some athletic competition back in your life.

I can’t stop time from making me older, but I can control the youth of my mind and body. Take action, build youth and be forever young!