The only four deaths in my circle of friends in our 50s have been men who were athletic. Two cancer, two heart attacks. Yes it’s good to exercise, but hubris is bad. You aren’t in control of all health outcomes.

This. I have six siblings. We are all boomers. Two of us have died, one before age 20 in an accident. But the other one, the most athletic of any of us (ran and walked miles every day) died a few years ago at age 66 from cancer. None of us saw that coming. He did not smoke or drink and ate healthy.
His death has really broken us, but the one thing he taught us is that we should not put things off. His last words to me were "enjoy your life".
You just never know. We all thought he would be the one to live to 100.

Anonymous wrote:Exercise doesn't mean you avoid health problems. In fact if I wasn't exercising as aggressively I probably wouldn't have arthritis in my shoulder.

I guess it's time for water aerobics for me.

Switch to gymnastics rings. They made a huge difference for me. I don't know your gender but if you are a man avoid stupid exercise like the bench press shoulder press etc. These exercises are not joint friendly for older folks like us.

Exercise doesn't mean you avoid health problems. In fact if I wasn't exercising as aggressively I probably wouldn't have arthritis in my shoulder.

I guess it's time for water aerobics for me.

Anonymous wrote:Why do people ignore the best return on investment?

You can find a gym membership for $50/month. You just need to work out hard 3 to 4 times a week and you will give yourself the best chance to stay healthy

Yet people just don't work out. It amazes me.

Instead folks have million saved, but with a bucket filled of drugs, knees done, hips done, back done...how do you enjoy your money in old age if you are not in good health?

The ones with millions saved and still having health problems, have health problems that money cannot fix.

I think this is a great point.

Anonymous wrote:Why do people ignore the best return on investment?

You can find a gym membership for $50/month. You just need to work out hard 3 to 4 times a week and you will give yourself the best chance to stay healthy

Yet people just don't work out. It amazes me.

Instead folks have million saved, but with a bucket filled of drugs, knees done, hips done, back done...how do you enjoy your money in old age if you are not in good health?

It's not just about having a gym membership. A lot of people pay for gym memberships but struggle to find the time or make the effort to work out. There are even those who have free access to gyms but still don't take advantage of it.

It’s about investing our most precious resource: time.
Some people have super busy lives, while others are just lazy.

I always thought the best return on investment was with education and your career pursuits. But I get your point. Part of me feels that being active and physical begins in your youth. I played outside growing up and did youth sports then athletics in high school. Intramurals in college. From that basis, physical fitness has just always been a priority. My diet is fair and I know you can't outwalk a bad diet, so that is a focus for 2026. If you get out of the routine esp older, very difficult to resume even moderate activity.

I'm 66 and retired last year. I started feeling changes around 50. By 58 I was in chronic pain. I am okay on a day to day basis, but I wish I took better care of my health. Exercise is part of the preventative regiment. Diet, mental health management etc are all important. I did not put any effort into those. All I did was work work save save. Will I have financial issues in the years to come? Hopefully not. I did my best to prepare that.

My only advice to anyone is that if you are under 50 and have never exercised please start tomorrow. Once you get to 50, it's downhill from there.

I was born with ulcerative colitis. I have had 3 bowel surgeries.

If it were not for bodybuilding, I would have been on disability by now. As bad as my chronic illness is, had I not dedicate myself to consistently working out for the past 25 years, I would have been unemployed.

There are no guarantees in life. But I truly believe that working out gives you the best chance to stay healthy. If you are healthy, you remain employable.

For me, the question is, how do I stay healthy but also not live past about 75?
One of my parents was very difficult but at least she had the decency to leave us at 72.
My father is easier but is 80, and intends to live forever. He doesn’t have much money so he costs my siblings quite a lot in support (I do the oversight part, take him to drs or clean). No one is particularly attached to him. He is the health nut however. I don’t want to be like him.

Anonymous wrote:The only four deaths in my circle of friends in our 50s have been men who were athletic. Two cancer, two heart attacks. Yes it’s good to exercise, but hubris is bad. You aren’t in control of all health outcomes.

The people I know who died before 70 were overweight and led a sedentary lifestyle.

The only four deaths in my circle of friends in our 50s have been men who were athletic. Two cancer, two heart attacks. Yes it’s good to exercise, but hubris is bad. You aren’t in control of all health outcomes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The $50/month cost isnt the issue. Its the amount of effort it is for some people to make it to that gym consistently enough to get the health benefits.

Imagine you have to manage child care, or you work long hours and have a long commute, and no energy or time at the end of the day.

Or you have anxiety over trying to access equipment when the gym is crowded (thats the main reason I stopped going).

Sure it would be easy to make this happen if you have an hour or two free each day AND you aren't a human being who has a lot of demotivating factors in your life.

In the middle of my medical specialty training, I still found time to exercise despite small kids, long work hours and long commute. I would wake up at 4:30 and hit the gym from 5-6 before returning home to shower and head to work. It’s not motivation that keeps you going, it’s discipline. It’s understanding that despite the fact that your tired right now, you will feel better later (later today, later this year, later in life) if you go even when you don’t want to.
I strongly believe any time you spend now in improving your health, is the single best investment you can make in overall quality of life. But as a physician, I am surrounded by people who suffer from often preventable illnesses. It’s a constant, daily reminder of why prioritizing my overall health is important.

Discipline doesnt come out of thin air, it needs motivation to even begin. When i was in my 20s I worked out religiously doing strength workouts and ran a couple marathons. I got married, had kids, and now in my 40s gained some weight and am very inconsistent about working out. What changed? I lost motivation because in my 20s I wanted to be attractive and have a social life. In my 40s I want to invest money and enjoy time to myself relaxing when im not sitting in bumper to bumper traffic or in the office. Even though maintaining my health is more critical than it's ever been, I have less motivation and hence discipline than I did 15+ years ago. I always say I would probably need to experience a heart attack to convince myself to work out consistently again because I just dont feel like it most days.

Anonymous wrote:The $50/month cost isnt the issue. Its the amount of effort it is for some people to make it to that gym consistently enough to get the health benefits.

Imagine you have to manage child care, or you work long hours and have a long commute, and no energy or time at the end of the day.

Or you have anxiety over trying to access equipment when the gym is crowded (thats the main reason I stopped going).

Sure it would be easy to make this happen if you have an hour or two free each day AND you aren't a human being who has a lot of demotivating factors in your life.

In the middle of my medical specialty training, I still found time to exercise despite small kids, long work hours and long commute. I would wake up at 4:30 and hit the gym from 5-6 before returning home to shower and head to work. It’s not motivation that keeps you going, it’s discipline. It’s understanding that despite the fact that your tired right now, you will feel better later (later today, later this year, later in life) if you go even when you don’t want to.
I strongly believe any time you spend now in improving your health, is the single best investment you can make in overall quality of life. But as a physician, I am surrounded by people who suffer from often preventable illnesses. It’s a constant, daily reminder of why prioritizing my overall health is important.

Anonymous wrote:I don't know anyone who has millions and is sick or overweight because they don't exercise.
Every single sick and overweight person I know, and many have already passed, are fairly poor.

This is true. I am fat and poor. I have skipped many Dr visits because I couldn't afford it.