The Zombie Dance vs. 92-Year-Old Sol

This post is another from my good friend, Marlene Harris.

Marlene’s Note: The following discussion is, in the usual fashion of the author, Phil Kaplan, a little “in your face”, so consider yourself warned. Phil has been involved in the fitness industry for decades, and has transitioned from trainer, to health club manager, on to health club owner, to trainer of trainers, and currently on to championing the virtues of exercise, healthy nutrition, and good life habits to the medical community. He’s doing this in hopes that they will begin to embrace and include what these vital aspects of living have to offer their patients in terms of reduced medical care, reduced pain and grief, and reduced medical expenses. I’ll let his dialogue speak for itself.



The Zombie Dance vs. 92-Year-Old Sol . . . Who’s the Winner? 

By Phil Kaplan



Every day I experience some shift in awareness, and with each shift my desire to learn increases.  This clearly defines me as the eternal student, but in that role I can also become a better and more empowered teacher. 

Friday was an interesting day.  I worked out at 5:30 AM and enjoyed a word exchange (that means conversation, face-to-face, nothing to do with IM or text) with Sol, a 92-year-old man who I see at the gym every time I work out early enough.  He shuffles a bit, one eye is sort of lazy, and he pauses sometimes between sentences . . . but . . .  his 15 reps on the Hammer Strength shoulder press with 50 pounds appears athletically perfect.  A few sets of 15 and he shuffles off to the Free Motion bicep machine where he concentrates on every repetition.  As Sol and I talked over the course of 15 minutes, I noted his wit is sharp, his memory is solid, and he hasn’t failed to get at least 5 days of exercise in any given week since he was 70. 



He does have a running joke that gets old after you’ve heard it 50 or 60 times, but it might be couched in fact. Whenever somebody comments on Sol’s dedication, he faces them, asks them how old they are, and then dismissively says, “I have socks older than you” and moves on to his next exercise.  Maybe he could use a new joke, but when it comes to health and longevity, I’d say he’s got things figured out. This is not as rare as it may sound.  Everyone knows at least one octogenarian (80-something+) who has come to appreciate (and exemplify) the virtues of regular exercise and healthy living. 



After the gym I went to the Hilton Suites. They have a great breakfast with a master omelet maker and I enjoy the food and people watching there.  At the next table a couple, I would guess were in their 60’s, sat down.  Slowly.. They barely looked at each other. They didn’t speak. As soon as they were seated, the woman reached into her purse and pulled out some containers. She methodically, ritualistically, sorted out capsules and tablets. Together, as if they were in some weird seated zombie ballet, they each took their respective glasses of orange juice, and began the dance; pill in hand, hand to mouth, insert, sip, swallow, repeat. I looked at the time on my phone, it was 7:44. Mesmerized by the slow zombie hand-to-mouth ballet, I was amazed. She finished first at 7:48. He didn’t swallow his last pill until 7:50.  Then, she reached back into the purse and pulled out some little packet.  She poured half of the powder into his remaining juice, the other half into hers.  She mixed vigorously, and they both drank without any sense of expression. Then, they got up to fetch their breakfast, and returned . . . with pancakes, bacon, and muffins. They didn’t smile. They didn’t joke. They didn’t talk about socks. They just performed their ritualistic pill progression and then topped it all off with empty calories, highly refined carbs, and processed saturated fat.



Being I can’t just sit there and observe without inviting myself into conversation, I asked if they were from up north. Long Island, they said. We spoke about snow, about their new villa in Boca Raton, and . . . about health.  I wound up sitting at their table. Doug has been on statin meds since he was 45.  Today he’s 54!  Just one year older than me! I honestly thought he was well into his sixties. I didn’t ask his wife her age, but . . . we spoke about their pill ritual.  “This one’s for cholesterol, this one’s for blood pressure, this one’s for anxiety, this one’s for . . . “  I wanted to scream.  I wanted to vomit. I wanted to help. I wanted to do something . . . but I listened . . . and wondered how many pills 92-year-old Sol took every morning.



I haven’t seen Sol again yet, but “how many pills” will be the first question I’ll ask him when I do. Thankfully, with my attention now tuned to the differences between pancake-eating pill-takers and committed exercisers, I was happy when a short time after breakfast, my father’s old army buddy, now 79-years old, called to ask if I’d like to meet him for lunch.



At lunch time I headed to one of my favorite, healthy South Florida lunch spots and Jerry was already there. I took note. Jerry must weigh within 10 pounds of what he weighed when I first met him, 40-something years ago.  He’s sharp, witty, and full of stories.  He travels, studies, and attends classes to continue to learn.  Of course we got to discussing exercise.  He runs every day, did four miles that morning, and is healthfully addicted to tennis.  The differences between avid exercisers, (especially those who enjoy a healthy lunch), and resigned pill swallowers is so striking, it almost accounts for a 25-year difference.  Not chronologically, but biologically.  I mean, show me a multiple-pills-as-appetizer 54-year-old resigned to the zombie ballet, and I‘ll show you an exercising 79-year-old who can (literally) run circles around him, and barring other calamity, will likely continue to do so.



As I work with the medical field to drive acceptance of exercise and eating interventions as curative, every new insight leads to greater validation of the power we have to affect the aging process in the face of the hazards of living in this 21st century “civilized” world.  

Marlene’s Concluding Note: As famous success expert Jim Rohn has stated (paraphrased), we’re all destined to suffer one of two pains in life; the pain of discipline, or the pain of regret. He continues that the difference is that the pain of discipline weighs ounces, while the pain of regret weighs tons.