What You Think About Aging Determines How You Age

I firmly believe how you think about aging is just as important as your heredity and genetics in determining the way you age . Everyone will age, but not everyone will get old.  Ever met someone who seems to be ageless?  They could be in there 90s but are as full of life as any 30 year old.

There is no longer any doubt that what happens in the brain influences what happens in the body. When facing a health crisis, actively cultivating positive emotions can boost the immune system and counter depression. Studies have shown an indisputable link between having a positive outlook and health benefits like lower blood pressure, less heart disease, better weight control and healthier blood sugar levels.(1).  Read the entire article here

Your Health, Strength, and Fitness Doesn't Have to Decline With Age

My name is Darvis Simms, and I am a personal trainer.  Over the last 24 years, I’ve helped hundreds of people get and stay healthy, strong, and fit.   I want to help you realize your fitness potential by sharing some of the things I do and have learned about getting and staying healthy, strong, and fit as I age.

As I mature and my client base matures, I’m beginning to specialize in fitness over age 40.  I'm writing this post to show you that your health, strength, and fitness level does not have to decline as you age.  I’m in my late fifties so I understand the challenges you face as you fight the aging process.  I am stronger, more fit, and feel better than I did in my twenties and you can be too.  Click here to see the entire post...

Change the Way You Think and You Transform Your Life

A good mental practice is just as important and I believe more critical to your overall well-being than physical exercise alone. For, you are always creating the circumstances and conditions of your life via your thoughts and beliefs. What you believe to be true will always manifest in your life as a condition or circumstance. Behind every condition and circumstance in your life is an underlying thought and belief.   For example, if you truly believe that you are weak and sickly, then you attract conditions in your life to reflect that belief. On the other hand, if you believe you are strong and healthy, you attract conditions in your life to prove likewise.

If you want to know the sum total of your thoughts and beliefs, just look at the conditions and circumstances presently in your life. This is a very sobering exercise, but you must accept it if you want to create the life that you desire.

Most people allow their mind to aimlessly wander and so they allow random thoughts to be planted in their mental garden. Some of these thoughts are constructive and they bloom into constructive conditions, while others are destructive and they blossom into undesirable conditions. Consequently, most people believe the conditions and circumstances of their lives just randomly happen. They get some things that they want and other things they don’t want.

Thoughts are things and when you give a thought your attention you give it energy by allowing it to be planted in your mind. The more attention you give the thought the more you nurture and energize it until it becomes a belief and blossoms into a condition in your life. You are always thinking, and thus, always creating something and herein lies the problems and the solutions in your life.

You have the inner power to create the life of your dreams. The key to accessing this power is mastery of your mental activity and you can only do this through a conscious effort to filter which thoughts you allow to take root in your mind. I do this by a spiritual practice of sitting in silence periodically during the day and monitoring the thoughts that come into my mind. I allow the constructive and uplifting thoughts in, and I discard the negative and destructive one. I urge you to try this mental exercise for 30 days and see how your life is transformed.

Three Keys to Staying Forever Fit and Firm

 

A while back, I spoke to a group of people at an Active Adult Community about the mental and physical requirements of staying healthy, fit, and firm over the age of 50.  I explained that they had to incorporate the following three things into their lives to do so: a positive mental attitude, a fitness program built on strength training, and a healthy diet designed around balance and moderation.

I feel as though I’m qualified to speak on the subject because I’m an ACE certified personal trainer with over 20 years of experience in the health and fitness industry.  Most importantly, I’m 57 years old, and as healthy and fit as I have ever been.  So, I can speak on this subject not only from scientific facts, but also from my experience (proof in the pudding).

 

A Positive Mental Attitude

I think a positive mental attitude about aging is the first and most important step to staying healthy, fit and firm as you age.  I believe the mental vision you have of aging is what you become.  Your body renews itself every 11 months, and that means every cell in your body is replaced.  I think that if you visualize yourself as becoming weak and frail as you age, your body conforms to this image over time.  Contrarily, if you imagine yourself as healthy and strong as you age, your body continues to renew itself according to this vision.   I always visualize myself as healthy and strong.

 

A Fitness Program Built On Strength Training

I believe strength training is the most important form of exercise you can do to stay healthy, fit and firm if you are over the age of 50.  Beginning in your 40s you naturally start to lose muscle mass, and if you don’t do anything to combat this process you can lose as much as a pound of muscle each year.  This is not good because muscle is that active component of your body that burns most of the calories you consume.  Also, muscle is what gives your body that fit and firm look.

Strength training has been proven to minimize and in some cases to reverse muscle loss due to aging.  Therefore, I recommend that you build your fitness program around strength training.  A good strength training program should consist of exercises that target all the major muscle groups and should be performed 2 to 3 times each week.  I’ve been weight lifting all of my adult life and I’m as strong and muscular as I’ve ever been.

 

A Healthy Diet Built Around Balance and Moderation

I was asked by one of the attendees if they could eat fried chicken?  I responded by saying that you can eat anything you desire if you do it in balance and moderation with everything you eat. 

 

I believe balance and moderation in your diet is the best solution to long-term weight management.  If you balance the amount of protein, carbohydrates and fat in your diet and practice portion control you can eat what you want.  Fad diets don’t work in the long-term because they are too restrictive as to what you can and cannot eat.

 

To practice balance and moderation in your diet you have to know the following two things.  First, how to classify foods into their basic source of protein, carbohydrates, and fat.  Secondly, how to calculate your serving size.  If you master these two things then you can eat healthy anywhere.

Renew Your Mind and Renew Your Body

Every notice how some people never seem to age?  I call these people ageless because you can't tell their age by looking at them. Then you have to ask the following questions, why do some people age faster than other?  Is it genetics or is it something else?

Age is defined as the length of time a person has lived or a thing has existed.  Then what does age have to do with mental and physical degeneration other than what you believe it does?  I think that what you believe about the aging process has more impact on the way you age than genetics.  You simply become what you believe.

In my profession as a personal trainer for over 20 years, I have noticed that people who have a positive mental attitude about aging are the ones who become ageless.  You never hear them complain about growing old and consequently they stay healthy and strong throughout their lives.  On the other hand, the people who complain about the aches and pains of aging seem to attract the very conditions they speak of into their lives as they get older. This leads me to believe that the mental and physical decline  associated with the aging process is mostly about how you think about getting older.

Every cell in your body is replaced and renewed every 11 months.  That means you have a completely new body every year.  I believe whether your body is renewed with strong and healthy cells or with weak and unhealthy cells is all in the way you think about aging.

My grandmother was 92 years of age when she passed from this earth.  I never remember her being ill a day in her life other than a common cold every now and then.  She remained mentally sharp and physically fit throughout her entire life and I never heard her complain about getting old.  That's a testament to the effect that a positive mental attitude has on aging.

I believe where your mind goes your body will follow.  If you have any doubts checkout this video of me leg pressing over 1200 lbs at the tender age of 55.

Mental Mastery Part 2, You Are the Thinker

This is the first truth you must realize in your quest to control your mind. Most people feel powerless as to the thoughts they entertain. However, you are the thinker before the thought and you have the power to scan every thought and choose whether or not you will allow it into your mind. In other words, you are the gatekeeper to you mind and thus you choose which thoughts you let in and which thoughts you keep out.

This is not an easy task, but it is necessary if you want to change your life. Not only are you the gatekeeper for the thoughts you allow in your mind, you have to examine your mind for the false ideas that have already taken root and are producing fruit in your life now. Some of these false ideas you got from your parents, grandparents, and other loved ones who taught you the things about life they learned. While well-meaning, some of the things they taught you may now be causing some of your biggest limitations in life. These ideas are hard to let go of because you have trusted and believed them to be true for so long.

If you are having any recurring problems or conditions you can’t seem to overcome it may be that you have a deep-rooted belief that you are unconsciously aware of in your mental garden. This belief was probably planted in your childhood by some well-meaning people in your life, or it could be a result of some deep hurt you have experienced. However, you must get rid of this false idea if you are to change the condition. For example, when I was a child my older brother was very outgoing and I was completely the opposite. Consequently, my brother got all the attention at my expense and I was deeply hurt. As a result, I learned to guard my heart and not to let people get very close to me. This belief carried over into my relationships as an adult and I could never let anyone get really close to me no matter how hard I tried. It wasn’t until I realized that subconsciously I was still carrying the same belief from my childhood that I could change my relationships. I had to uproot that old belief before I could let people get close to me again.

You also allow false ideas to subconsciously enter your mind through conversation with friends, things you read, and what you hear in the news. You have to be vigilant of what you consciously allow to be planted in your mental garden, for a thought will always produce fruit in the form of conditions after its kind.

The above information is from my new book called Balanced Life Living Life From Within. It's available for purchase on Amazon.  Click here to review and purchase a copy.

Mental Mastery, Part 1

After twenty years of working one-on-one with people trying to help them improve their health and fitness level, I have realized that no one ever rises above what they think they can accomplish.  Thus, one of the first things necessary to help people transform is developing a healthy mental outlook.  In the next series of post I will touch on the subject of improving one's mental attitude, not only about health and fitness but also about life.

Out of your mental world of thought is born the conditions and circumstances that populate your life. Entry to the spiritual realm of harmonious living can only be attained through conscious control of your thoughts. Until you realize that thoughts are what you give life to, you will live under the false idea that you are a victim of circumstance with very little control over what happens in your life.

To master your mental plane of existence is to gain control over the circumstances and conditions of your life. In order to master your mind you have to realize three very important things. First, you are the thinker before the thought, and thus, you are the gatekeeper to the thoughts you allow to enter and dwell in your mind. Second, you are a creative being and you are always creating something via the thoughts you allow to take root in your mind. Third, you are never and have never been a victim of any circumstance or condition in your life.

The above information is from my new book called Balanced Life Living Life From Within. It's available for purchase at: Lulu Press, Inc.

Who Says You Get Weaker With Age?

People seem to think that once they reach the age of forty, their bodies start to deteriorate, slipping down the slope into old age. They blame their lack of energy, their pudgy appearance, and their aches and pains on “getting old”. Most of these symptoms are however the result of years of negative thinking, lack of exercise, and poor dietary choices. The key to keeping your body fit and firm as you age is making healthy lifestyle choices on a daily basis.

It’s a proven fact that people who make healthy lifestyle choices live longer and have a better quality of life than those who adopt unhealthy habits. So, deciding to incorporate healthy habits into your life is the first step to getting and staying fit and firm with age. The next step is choosing those activities that are the most beneficial in your quest to stay fit and firm.

Those, including myself, who stay fit and firm as the years pass find that a positive state of mind, and a proper mix of strength training, cardiovascular exercise, and balanced nutrition is fundamental to getting and staying healthy as you mature. People, such as Al Beckles, and the late Jack LaLanne are examples of the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle.

Al Beckles is a legend in the bodybuilding world. At the age of 55, Al placed second in the Mr. Olympia competition. The Mr. Olympia Competition is the premier bodybuilding event which thousands of competitors from across the world dream of winning each year. Al Beckles competed into his sixties because his physique was still phenomenal and better than competitors more than half his age

Jack LaLanne was a living icon to the benefits of healthy thinking, eating, and exercise. Over the years he performed amazing feats of strength and conditioning on his birthday. Jack worked out well into his 90s devoting one and a half hours each day to strength training. This is a true testament to the value of strength training as you mature.

While I don’t place myself in the same class with Jack LaLanne and Al Beckles I can tell you the value that healthy lifestyle habits have in my life. I am in my fifties and I keep my body fat at 10 percent or less. My fitness program consists of four strength training sessions each week followed by 20 minutes of cardio. I can chest press 100 pound dumbbells for 10 repetitions and leg press more than 1200 pounds neither of which I could do in my twenties.

Watch the following video if you want to see the results of making healthy lifestyle choices in your life. I've heard it said that you get weaker with age. I don't think so.

Counting My Blessings

Yesterday I had one of those days where nothing seemed to go right and I let the events of the day darken my outlook on life. The weather was damp and dreary, I was stood-up for a very important appointment, and I snapped at my wife, who understandably got upset with me. By the end of the day all I could see was what was wrong with the world. I let myself become a victim of negative thinking.

This morning upon waking I realized how much I have to be thankful for. I started mentally counting my blessings such as, my beautiful and loving wife, my wonderful family, my successful business, the books I have written and published. Then I started thinking of the things I had taken for granted such as, I have a house to live in, a car to drive, and plenty of food to eat.

After a few minutes of being thankful for what I have, the dark cloud that seemed to envelop me yesterday is gone. I am no more a victim of circumstance. I have wrestled the reigns of control in my life back by counting my blessings. I now feel bright, full of energy, and ready for a great day. It's amazing how such a simple thing as being thankful can change your attitude and outlook on life.