The following is proof that Gammas can delude themselves about literally anything. It’s a screed against self-improvement through exercise, if you can believe that…
I'm in my 40's, once you have lived as long as me and experienced as much as I have you realize that Self Improvement with pointless EXERCISE is an absolutely massive psy-op. Self Improvement with a SKILL is the most important thing you can do as a man. Here are some of the main reasons why.
All of your friends who "Bodybuild" "Powerlift" "Treadmill" "Jog" for fitness do pretty well in their late Teens, Throughout their 20's but massively start to deteriorate in their 30's and 99% have become an absolute wreck by their 40's.
Why?
Because they are doing an unnatural repetitive movements, over the span of many years. These people all have blown out knees, backs, elbows, lumbars, joints, constant sciatica pain.
Some are born lucky with the genetics to keep this up throughout their 40's and 50's, but it's a pointless pursuit, it is basically a narcissism/masturbation form of self improvement.
Alternatively, you will notice your friends that were Craftsmen in their teenage years. People who worked on cars, motorcycles, welded, general contracting (carpentry, plumbing, drywalling, electrical), appliance repair, re-carpeting houses, machining, etc...
These friends, if they had even a halfway decent head on their shoulders (even just 95+ luke warm iq) are still fit, strong and most importantly, earning a large income off of their craft.
A good percentage of them, probably something like 15%, will be doing this on their own, without a boss or manager to report to. These guys typically also start falling apart physically in their 50's and are a wreck by their 60's. But being a wreck in your 60's versus being a wreck in your 40's is a big deal.
Plus the craftsman who developed a skill has a lifetime of stories and can teach the younger men in his family, the trade, to bring in income for life. What does the exerciser pass down?
First, this is a false dichotomy. Exercise takes about one hour a day in your 20s and 30s, and 30 minutes per day in your 40s and on. You can exercise and do anything else that you want to do. Second, this is just absolutely false! I’m halfway through my fifties, most of my friends lifted weights and exercised in their twenties - to the point that nearly all of us had that vertical vein in our biceps that you get when you lift and you’re lean showing - and precisely two of them have any issues at all, and both are knee-related, one serious and one minor. Also, the more serious injury isn’t from working out, but from playing high-school soccer on terrible artificial turf.
Third and most important, lifting weights and maintaining cardiovascular fitness is what keeps you not only looking good, but feeling good and capable of everyday tasks as well. Now, I was an elite athlete, having been an NCAA D1 sprinter for a team that won four conference championships, but I’m nowhere as elite as an acquaintance of mine who played professional European soccer, won two league titles, and several Champion’s League games.
We’re the same age. He’s vastly more skilled than me. It’s not even close. But ten years after we both agreed we would try to play five more years, I’m now arguably more effective on the field simply because I exercise more regularly than he does and have maintained a higher level of fitness. And it’s even easier to see the difference in the men who stop playing in their early 40s and the men who don’t, because the men who keep playing are in observably better health and fitness than the retired players.
In fact, when I went in to the hospital after hyperextending my knee during soccer practice a few years ago, the young doctor asked to see my Fitbit, which I’d been wearing during practice. He got worried after seeing how high the peak BPM was, which was significantly in excess of the maximum for my age, and called in an older colleague. The older doctor took one look at me and asked if I was a soccer player. When I confirmed that, and mentioned that I was there for my knee, not my heart, he laughed and told the younger guy that “the age maximums don’t apply to these veteran players.”
My regular doctor has encouraged me to play as long as I possibly can simply in the interest of maintaining my general health. My original goal was to play until 50, then 55, and now I’m shooting for 65. As long as I can hold down my wing, protect my defender, and get a few crosses in to the attackers, I’ll keep playing. And at least for now, I can still run past defenders and score the occasional goal.
No doubt playing soccer is an activity at which the Gammas would sneer for being a complete waste of time, even though they desperately crave the sense of accomplishment, acceptance, and approval that a man who plays sportsball is provided by his teammates. But deriding the activities and accomplishments of the high-status men is how low-status men cope with their inability to do anything, be accepted, or find approval for their own.
Don’t listen to the Gammas and their cope. No matter what your age, you can improve from where you are today. Hit the weights. Walk 30 minutes a day. Cut your carb-intake. Stretch every day. Father Time is going to win in the end, but you don’t have to spend your old age being weak, infirm, and overweight.
Im less than 365 days until the big five oh - you bet your ass I get after it 6 days a week, 11 months a year and race competitively with the kids to stay sharp. As much as you work out also remember recovery time is more important with age.
I'm 60 and all I know is that getting a lot of (low impact) exercise and lifting weights makes me feel better. Sedentary career, so need to make time to exercise...when I don't exercise, I feel miserable, when I do, I feel great.