Peter Horgan is a long-time customer of ours which I thank him for. I chatted to him about life, the universe, and his health journey. This is his story.
Name: Peter Horgan (Horgs)
Work: CEO (AUNZ)
Where: Omnicom Media Group (OMG)
Lives: Sydney (North Shore)
Age range: 55-59
Uses: Old Bull Protein, Old Bull Greens powder, Testosterone & Immunity Formula, and Stress & Cognition Formula.
Peter has been a user, and supporter of Old Bull Health since launch, and has embraced the product range, which he still uses today. He is also in great shape, energetic, sharp as a tack, and an excellent example of a human, especially one over 50.
I chatted with Peter about health, mental and physical well-being, and why he uses our products. For a media man, did I mention he is in great shape?
Peter features in the media regularly, as the CEO of OMG, and Chairman of the Media Federation of Australia, he is always in the news discussing the future of media, but now for the first time ever, he is talking not about media, but about health, and how he maintains great shape, form, and good health in general.
How do you stay in shape?
Firstly, I cycle about 30 km per day, mostly in zone 2, and in a self-enforced Lycra-free zone.
I commute to work and back on my bicycle.
When I’m at the office, if I can get to local meetings (within 3-4 km of the office) I do, using a Lime Bike. From a safety perspective, I have been fortunate enough to date but have learned the hard way not to boast about this at BBQs, or my incident-free days rapidly end.
The worst fall I have had was down the South end stairs of the harbour bridge, in the wet, no cars, in fact nobody else involved, just me. It wasn’t good. I also learned that day not to do things I could do with ease when I was younger, like ride down concrete stairs.
Secondly, I surf. I started a bit late in life, in my early fifties, but rather late than never I say.
I got moderately competent with the assistance of COVID lockdowns and now enjoy surfing so much that I’ve started investing in surfing holidays to Indonesia. I call them investments, as they are a critical investment in my health & well-being.
Finally, I believe muscle work is crucial. I start the day by making a coffee for my dear wife, who then tries to ignore me while I do my workout, which includes:
- 40 press-ups (Push-ups, Horgs calls them press-ups, I explained to him only the British call them press-ups, but he insisted).
- 40 lunges.
- 40 dead bugs (Move opposite arms and legs up and down while lying on your back).
- 8 side plank reps.
Have you always exercised?
I started exercising more over the last 10 years or so. I had achieved the unwelcome milestone of weighing 100 kg and started to get a little back pain, as well as feeling I was losing some flexibility.
That was how my cycling started, and exercise just grew from there.
Why cycling?
My cycling is my commute, and part of my daily routine, firmly built into my day.
I have to get to the office anyway, so my transport of choice is a bicycle, and the commute by car takes just as long in my opinion. There are worse things in life than cycling over the harbour bridge every day.
What is the biggest health challenge we face as men over 50? (In your view)
We lose that inherent fitness as we age, and it only gets harder as we get older.
A bit like the frog in the pot over a fire story, the water gets warmer, but the frog doesn’t notice and exit the pot until it’s too late. I feel the same about aging. It just continually creeping up on us and we aren't noticing until it's too late.
If you don’t get ahead of aging with exercise, it will catch up with you, so the sooner you get active the better for your health and fitness.
Work, however, and other things can easily get in the way of exercise, and our health in general, and exercise is the easiest to drop when the pressure is on.
So how do you fix that?
Easy. 2 things:
- Start regular exercise sooner rather than later. Start today.
- Make exercise a part of your routine. Build it into your day.
At one stage I tried swimming at lunchtime, but something would inevitably come up, and the swimming would give, and there was also the added friction of traveling to the pool, showering, changing, etc.
With cycling, if I don’t commute, I don’t get to the office, simple (I keep my car parked at the office), and I don’t get to spend my day with the fabulous folk at Omnicom. So, unless I’m traveling, it’s there, built into my day, and a part of my routine.
From time to time I do try different things, outside of my routine. Now and then the weight starts to creep back up, and I have to knock it on the head with a shock to the system (Peter didn’t elaborate further on what that meant, sorry)
The Why?
I can feel the old man creeping in. If you don’t exercise, you are allowing him in.
Age can get away from you quickly and accelerates over time.
So, add some exercise into your routine, build better habits, and stay active as you age.
Nutrition
I'm not a breakfast person; Old Bull products became a good way to look after myself as part of my routine. Now I start the day with a protein shake using Old Bull protein, of course, mixed with Testosterone & Immunity Formula, Old Bull Greens Powder, an ice cube, and a banana.
I use the Stress & Cognition Powder separately.
It's hard to put a finger on the benefits on a daily basis, but it works for me, and I feel good, it is a firm non-negotiable part of my routine.
The stress formula definitely calms me, and things that normally get me upset don’t, so I am happy with that too. I enjoy the simplicity of powders, just mix and drink, which I am good at.
Any Last words.
There are no instant results, just routine.
Cheers Horgs, great chat, and thanks again for your support. Another inspiring health story.