Beaten To The Punch - Twice
Have you ever come-up with a brilliant idea or made an observation that you thought was a world's first, only to find that someone had already been there and done that-beaten you to the punch, if you like? This happened to me the other day-twice.
I was recently people-watching a group of fellow participants in the ageing process.
The scene was a gym and the people were engaged in what could best be described as weight-training.
The people seemed to be enjoying themselves and seemed to realise the importance of fitness in adding years to life and life to years.
Then, seemingly out of the blue came this brilliant insight.
Could it be that we have misunderstood the phenomenon of ageing? Have we fallen into the trap of associating ageing with a loss of muscle mass, bone weakness, and sometimes a loss of mental function and similar degenerative effects? Traditionally, we've been 'encouraged' to think that ageing causes bone weakness (bones lose density, become more brittle), as if there was a one-way relationship possibly brought about by hormones (females start experiencing osteoporosis after menopause).
Perhaps the reverse is also largely true: loss of bone density and degradation of the health of the bones also causes ageing.
Stress to bones under a weight-bearing load, for example, can contribute to anti-ageing, and lack of stress to those bones can cause ageing.
Some exercises can be as much about stressing the bones as they are about strengthening the muscles.
All we have to do is make sure that the stress is acute (rather than chronic), and is followed by ample time for recovery.
Could it be that the ladies in some countries who spend a lifetime of head-loading water and other weights enjoy the added benefits of health and excellent posture? Maintaining fitness is essential to living a longer, better life (it's one of my 5Fs, the others are Food, Friendship, Future and Finances).
And weight-training plays an important part of that process.
Our focus, however, needs to be on lifting heavy objects, and that doesn't need to include using gym machines, although the contact with others has lots to recommend it.
Over time, life expectancy has increased because of a combination of many factors-sanitation, penicillin, life-saving surgery, some medical treatments (not all medical treatments make us live longer), a reduction in crime, weight-training, and so on.
Imagine my excitement, thinking I was the first person to realise that we have misunderstood the phenomenon of ageing.
I headed straight to the library to make sure that my observation was as original as I'd hoped it would be.
Imagine my disappointment to find that Gerard Karsenty and others had beaten me to the punch and published their findings in the journal Nature back in 2003.
And then I came across a similar observation to mine in a book I happened to be reading at the time (Nassim Taleb's Antifragile).
Woe is me.
Anyhow, the experience has driven-home to me that, while growing old (senescence) might not be avoidable, there are some pretty straightforward things we can do to slow that process.
I was recently people-watching a group of fellow participants in the ageing process.
The scene was a gym and the people were engaged in what could best be described as weight-training.
The people seemed to be enjoying themselves and seemed to realise the importance of fitness in adding years to life and life to years.
Then, seemingly out of the blue came this brilliant insight.
Could it be that we have misunderstood the phenomenon of ageing? Have we fallen into the trap of associating ageing with a loss of muscle mass, bone weakness, and sometimes a loss of mental function and similar degenerative effects? Traditionally, we've been 'encouraged' to think that ageing causes bone weakness (bones lose density, become more brittle), as if there was a one-way relationship possibly brought about by hormones (females start experiencing osteoporosis after menopause).
Perhaps the reverse is also largely true: loss of bone density and degradation of the health of the bones also causes ageing.
Stress to bones under a weight-bearing load, for example, can contribute to anti-ageing, and lack of stress to those bones can cause ageing.
Some exercises can be as much about stressing the bones as they are about strengthening the muscles.
All we have to do is make sure that the stress is acute (rather than chronic), and is followed by ample time for recovery.
Could it be that the ladies in some countries who spend a lifetime of head-loading water and other weights enjoy the added benefits of health and excellent posture? Maintaining fitness is essential to living a longer, better life (it's one of my 5Fs, the others are Food, Friendship, Future and Finances).
And weight-training plays an important part of that process.
Our focus, however, needs to be on lifting heavy objects, and that doesn't need to include using gym machines, although the contact with others has lots to recommend it.
Over time, life expectancy has increased because of a combination of many factors-sanitation, penicillin, life-saving surgery, some medical treatments (not all medical treatments make us live longer), a reduction in crime, weight-training, and so on.
Imagine my excitement, thinking I was the first person to realise that we have misunderstood the phenomenon of ageing.
I headed straight to the library to make sure that my observation was as original as I'd hoped it would be.
Imagine my disappointment to find that Gerard Karsenty and others had beaten me to the punch and published their findings in the journal Nature back in 2003.
And then I came across a similar observation to mine in a book I happened to be reading at the time (Nassim Taleb's Antifragile).
Woe is me.
Anyhow, the experience has driven-home to me that, while growing old (senescence) might not be avoidable, there are some pretty straightforward things we can do to slow that process.
Source...