If this is your first time reading FishVitality, I’m Fish, and I am a 59 year old guy. I’ve got a confession to make. Something has been happening to me fairly often recently. I look in the mirror and I see an “older” guy.
It’s really obvious when I get ready to play golf. I pick out my outfit, with help from LadyFish (fashion is not my strength), look in the mirror, and there he is. The old guy I used to get paired with years ago. Now I’m him.
Even though I knew I was looking in a mirror, my first thought was that I was looking at my dad. It still happens from time to time. For some reason I feel like, to others, I still look 35. Maybe because in general, I feel good and healthy. It’s a strange thing when your mind still feels thirty-five, but the mirror politely reminds you otherwise.
I’ll stand there another second. It’s not that I look bad — I just look older. My hair’s thinner, there are a few more lines around my eyes, and somehow my golf clothes look different than they used to. I think about all the older guys I’d been paired with over the years. The ones I assumed had always looked that way. Then it hit me. They probably felt exactly like I do now. Inside, still thirty-five. The mirror just tells a different story.
Another reminder: when I get paired with younger guys, they’ll inevitably ask, “Where did you work, Fish?” I’m still working, but the question makes it clear — I look old enough to be retired. I hope they at least think I retired early.
At 25, I exercised because I wanted to look better. I wanted a six-pack and biceps that stretched my shirt sleeves. Never fully got either, by the way. At 40, I exercised because I knew I should — I could see the pudge packing on at my mid-section. At 59, I exercise because I want to keep living the life I love, and the life I’m planning for. I’m investing time now, hoping I’ll still be enjoying the benefits 10 or 15 years from now.
I’ve realized that to live the life I want, I need to take care of the body I have. It’s the only one I’ll ever get. But fitness isn’t everything. I hope my stories remind you — and me — that there’s more to life than body fat percentage or 5K times. Let’s strive for a balance where healthy eating and exercise play a big part, but we still enjoy the ice cream with the grandkids, or the beer on the golf course.
The other day I caught myself counting the years until retirement. Then it hit me — six years sounds like a long time, until I remember that six years ago we were all wearing masks, wondering what the world would look like. That doesn’t feel very long ago at all.
On our last cruise, I woke up before sunrise like I usually do, grabbed a cup of coffee, and walked out onto the nearly empty deck. The ocean was calm. The only sounds were the waves and a few crew members getting the ship ready for the day. I remember thinking, “I hope I never stop being able to do this.” Not because walking across a cruise ship is hard today, but because I know there may come a day when it is. That quiet morning reminded me I’m not exercising to lose a few pounds. I’m exercising because I want mornings like that to still be possible twenty years from now.
I hope I can wake up on a Saturday and go see LadyFin, wherever she may be, and spend time with her and her future family. I don’t want a small trip to be too difficult to make. If she has children someday, I hope I can make it to every sporting event and school activity they’re part of.
I want to take golf trips with the guys. Not much beats a few days with your good friends, acting like you’re 17 and bragging about all the things you think you can still do. Eighteen holes, a casual lunch, then hanging out grilling and watching sports at night. That’s what I’m training for. Not squats, not biceps — golf trips with my friends.
Soon I’ll enter a new chapter of life, and I want to be prepared to enjoy it fully. To live the life I want in the future, I have to be in decent physical condition now.
My workouts aren’t about looking good or hitting some fitness goal. They’re an investment in myself, so that when I’m 80, I’m still playing golf and traveling with LadyFish.
I didn’t start FishVitality because I have all the answers. I started it because I need the reminders just as much as anyone else. I’m not striving to become an elite athlete. I am striving to roll around on the floor with grandkids, travel without restrictions, and just generally not be an “old guy” when I am, in fact, an old guy.
My three pillars going forward:
Move well — Movement is freedom. The day we stop moving is the day our world starts getting smaller.
Live well — Life isn’t measured only by healthy meals and workouts. It’s measured by the memories we make with the people we love.
Age well — Growing older is unavoidable. Growing older well is something we can influence.
To lay the foundation for moving well, here’s what I try to build into daily life — not perfectly, just consistently:
Lifting weights. Not super heavy, just enough to hold onto the strength I have. Some evenings I look at my dumbbells and try to think of a reason to skip it — the couch makes a pretty convincing argument. But I remind myself I’m not lifting for today’s Fish. I’m lifting for the guy who wants to throw a suitcase in the trunk, carry groceries without thinking twice, and chase grandkids around the backyard without needing a nap after.
Walking. LadyFish and I were out on one of our usual walks not long ago, talking about where we’d like to travel after we retire, whether we’d live close to LadyFin someday, what life might look like if we’re lucky enough to have grandchildren. Somewhere in there it hit me — these walks aren’t really about getting my steps in. They’re about making plans for a future I hope I’m healthy enough to enjoy.
Peloton. Thirty minutes with loud 80’s music is one of my favorite ways to clear my head. It reminds me of the good old days, when I looked in the mirror and looked younger than I really was. Some days I don’t feel like getting on the bike. I’ve never regretted getting on the bike once I did.
Stretching. I’m noticeably less flexible than I used to be. If you want a funny sight, watch me contort my body trying to keep up with a 20-something Peloton instructor in a stretch class.
Eating reasonably well. Key word: reasonably. LadyFish keeps most of our meals healthy. But I’m a sucker for Peanut M&Ms, Whataburger, and ice cream. That’s called living.
Through all of it, I strive for consistency, not perfection. Miss a workout? No big deal — pick it up again tomorrow. I treat my week like the World Series: win four days out of seven, and I’m happy.
I’m not trying to look younger. I’m trying to keep moving for many years to come.
I don’t promise six-pack abs. I don’t promise miracle workouts. I don’t promise you’ll look twenty years younger.
What I do hope is that FishVitality reminds both of us to keep investing in ourselves, so we can enjoy whatever years God gives us. Nothing’s guaranteed — we can do everything right and still get dealt a bad hand with our health.
One day, someone will look at me on the golf course and think, “There goes an old guy.” I hope they’re right. I hope I’m still playing eighteen holes. Still laughing with LadyFish. Still taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Still planning the next trip. And if that day comes, it won’t be because I found the perfect workout or the perfect diet. It’ll be because I kept showing up, one ordinary day at a time.
That’s the life I’m training for.
