Train like an athlete. Be more like Snoop.

Train like an athlete? Being like Snoop comes later, you'll see why soon.

I welcome and embrace the "old man" in me. I know he is seasoned, wise, proven, tried, trusted, and experienced, and at times gives a couple less $hits. He is the Old Bull.

I recall my dad turning 50 and thinking he was really old. Now that's me plus.

Once we achieve 50, the reality of mortality says "g'day". From this point on, our mindset determines not only the rest of our lives, but also the quality of how that life is lived. 

The age driver becomes mindset, your mindset.

The middle-aged mid-life crisis. Seriously.

Well, apparently.

• We seek balance, meaningfulness, faithfulness, supportiveness, and reliability over unpredictability and adventure when it comes to our partner choices.
• We buy a Porsche 911 (Well 39% of men over 50 do).

• Or a Truckzilla. Partners feel these are safer than a motorcycle. I might be guilty of this.

Who cares?

Regardless of your partner or vehicle choices, good health cannot be bought. If you think a healthy, capable, strong, and independent life is for you, especially as you age, you just might need to train like an athlete.

In 99/100 cases, the athlete option worked out cheaper than the cars and stuff. Just saying.

But why train like an athlete?

Well, we begin our working life being responsible (some of us anyway) focusing on our careers, seniority, office politics, and being a reliable provider.

Then at some stage we realise owning all the coolest stuff in the world means little without good health, and that

a mobility scooter is a lot less cooler than a Porsche.

It then becomes a natural default to prioritise our physical well-being, alongside energy, strength, and vitality. This means primarily exercise and diet, with the underlying default goal or focus on weight and muscle mass. 

So logically, staying active and exercise follows. But to make this sustainable we really need the right mindset.

We start exercising and start exercising more regularly. We may get injured. We start again. We may start to dig deeper into our discipline when it comes to maintaining our exercise and our diet, supplements and preventive healthcare regime.

We might explore new activities, take up new hobbies, and begin to actively talk about and promote mental and physical health. 

Why bother about all this?

Because on average, we don't want to get old. We don't want to lose our "alpha", or as my teen kids call it "sigma".

I want to keep that independence, mobility, health, and above all enjoyment. Don't you? 

Life starts to become easier, kids get older, and we are wiser, but we know this party isn't going to last forever, but can we make it last as long as we can?

3 Key mindset moves. Blah. Blah.

1. Relationships, valuing quality time with family, close friends, and partners.
2. Finances and retirement.
3. A growing self-interest in health.

But we knew all that. We see it ad nauseum.

Life is a bag of mindset choices.

If you don't look after your health, there are risks: Start with weight gain, and a side of increased heart disease risk, joint aches and pains, stroke and cancer risk, with a dessert of increased diabetes risk. Enough?

Good decision, you decide to exercise, but your brain is sneaky, and it goes to great efforts to get you to preserve energy stores and keep you "safe".

I discovered this while training for my first Ironman triathlon. My brain would constantly create doubt before or even during my exercise sessions.

I would go out planning to run, and the little voice would start:

Have you got time for this? Shouldn't you spend more time with the kids? Is it safe to run in the dark, what if you trip? It is cold today, maybe tomorrow is better, or you may get ill.

Recognise this? There are always a million excuses.

Your brain is the master of disaster when it comes to exercise. Think about some recent efforts and experiences. The key is to recognise and manage these alongside your choices. This is the start of thinking, and then training like an athlete.

7 reasons to train like an athlete (NCBI)

• Being driven by goals
• Hard work
• Persistence
• Autonomy
• Commitment
• Intelligence
• Self-control

When it comes to your health, there are no medals, no fans, no sponsorships or endorsements. Zilch. Just you and your health, and we agree the above traits are important factors to attain and retain great health as you age.  

Take a moment. Be like Snoop.

With no medal up for grabs, no adoration from fans. You need to do this for you and be your own fan club. Just you, doing this for you. A great mindset. 

Time to think like Snoop. 

Does Snoop train like an athlete?

Yes, he does. Snoop is 52 and active.

You do You.

And train like an athlete.

Exploring new interests, traveling, and engaging in new learning are all tangible ways to embrace change and find purpose. In othr words new mindsets. 

The process stimulates and promotes challenges, which is the cool part, alongside the opportunity to build resilience and grit. It can lead to a full reboot, massive stimulation, and a rewarding reset experience. But you will need balance, muscle mass, mobility, and energy to get all this done.

Time to let the athlete in, if you can handle it.

Train like an athlete. Nutrition, fuel, supplements, exercise. Set yourself up for success.

• Set yourself challenges.
• Enter something.
• Make a plan.
• Build new connections
• Find purpose.

Above all, just imagine how you will feel when you look even more like an athlete than ever before. 

GET OUT THERE AND TRAIN LIKE AN ATHLETE.

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Written by:

Donny Singe, (Performance Coach), and Jem Bolt (Founder - Old Bull Health).