Physical training for the elderly

Last December, I sheepishly admitted that I had a gaping hole in my nerd cred.

I grew up drawing comics, took AP Art in high school, and have always been fascinated by hand-drawn animation…

but i have NumberNever watched any Studio Ghibli cartoonsNumber!

Studio Ghibli is Japan’s equivalent of Disney, and Hayao Miyazaki is Japan’s Walt: The studio has won multiple Academy Awards for its beautifully hand-drawn animated films, and Miyazaki has been recognized for his work over the past 40 years. These films achieved legendary status.

Luckily, the amazing community on Threads gave me hundreds of supportive comments and helped me decide which movie I should start with!

Since the announcement, I’ve watched NumberAll 20+ Studio Ghibli filmsNumber, NumberFall in love with JapanNumberand developed an endless fascination with Hayao Miyazaki.

(My favorites are Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Whisper of the Heart, and The Wind Rises.).

After watching each movie, I started watching documentaries about Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli because I needed to know more.

Thanks to these documentaries, I gained an interesting insight into Miyazaki’s creative style and the experience of working with his colleagues on these films.

The running joke is that Miyazaki is “the man who never stops” and can’t seem to retire.

There are some things in every documentary that really impressed me:

exist The kingdom of dreams and madness, At one point, the entire Studio Ghibli staff stood up and performed a series of maneuvers and aerobics, as did Miyazaki.

Later in the documentation I observed NumberHayao Miyazaki shows off squatsNumber Has perfect form and needs no help. Do you know how many people over 70 can do unassisted squats!

exist The Man Who Never Ends: Hayao Miyazaki Miyazaki is NumberPhotographed the process of chopping firewood many timesNumber Holding an ax in the backyard of his studio.

and in Hayao Miyazaki and the HeronNow in his 80s, Mr. Mia (as he is nicknamed) is still out chopping firewood, walking in the woods, climbing over fallen trees, doing office exercises and working on filming the culmination of his life’s work movie.

(Yes, I know. Hayao Miyazaki spends almost every minute of every documentary with a cigarette dangling from his mouth! He’s lucky he hasn’t developed lung cancer yet, and I’m reminded that his health isn’t perfect! ).

I ask this question because I think it shows a different side of sport than we usually think of.

Physical training for the elderly

Watch as this Miyazaki doctor remains active and brain sharp into his 80s…

I remembered this NumberGreat post ElizabethNumber (@ThisGirlLifts on Instagram):

As we age, we are more likely to move less, which gives us less energy and makes it harder to find the motivation and flexibility to continue moving. This may prevent us from spending time with family or friends because we are unable to concentrate.

Teddy Roosevelt once said, “We would rather risk wear than rust.”

In other words: use it or lose it, boy.

It’s not hard for me to imagine that Hayao Miyazaki was able to become the “never-ending man” not only because of good genes (and luck), but also because he actively chose wear over rust.

Reflecting on why he chose to push himself to complete another animated film in his eighth decade on this planet, he simply responded that it was the only thing he knew how to do: “I’d rather die doing this. , and don’t want to die doing nothing.

Fitness is not just about losing weight

At Nerd Fitness, we encourage all Rebels to think about their Big Whys:

Why bother exercising, developing new habits, and forcing yourself to improve your life when the couch beckons?

What’s the point of working on yourself and learning to deal with discomfort when retreating into comfort is easier and so tempting?

A really powerful Big Why can help us stay on target, especially when life becomes a dumpster fire or we feel like giving up.

For Miyazaki, he believes that “releasing what’s inside” is a worthwhile use of his time. He finds peace and contentment by creating things rather than consuming them, which means he needs to take care of his body in order to live long enough to do these things!

For my grandma (who NumberI visited the hospital last monthNumber), her purpose is to support her community and help those around her. Staying active keeps her looking like this well into her 90s!

If you’re struggling to come up with a reason why you should do something…

You can do worse things than “train for my old man’s body.” This is the only body you are given and it is the only life you are given, so today is a good day to start respecting your body more.

It doesn’t need to be dramatic either. We can start simple:

• We can take a short walk every day.
• We can stand up and do mobility exercises like squats and swings throughout the day.
• we can NumberStart strength trainingNumber Build strong bones and avoid needing help for as long as possible.

We have a responsibility to keep our bodies active, and wear and tear is better than rust from lack of use.

As a chaotic creator who spends a lot of time thinking about himself, Miyazaki gave me a lot to think about:

I hope that when I’m in my 80s, I’m still writing this newsletter, helping people, chopping wood, taking walks, and spending time with loved ones.

I know I can’t control what happens and accidents happen, there are a lot of things in life that are out of my control, but I will do my best to give myself the best chance to continue to create and wear out and not rust!

I’ll end with a grumpy quote from Hayao Miyazaki at the end of the documentary Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron:

“Stop complaining and take action.”

Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to train for my old man’s body!

-Steve

Attached: The original Japanese title is boy and heron yes How are you doing?. It’s a more interesting (and more appropriate) title for the film; it’s really a distillation of his life’s work, the works that influenced him, and his most profound reflections on the meaning of life.

Polyphenylene ether: Need guidance and accountability to achieve your fitness goals? Nerd Fitness has helped more than 10,000 people over the past 8 years through one-on-one online fitness coaching. NumberClick here for more detailsNumber.