17 Comments

This hurts. I feel like I’m trying to play catch up. 39 years old closing in on 40 quickly. Started lifting seriously last year. I’ve seen excellent results but kick myself for not doing it sooner. Shoulda, coulda, woulda I suppose. I’m here now and able to keep up with all my kids and their activities. I’ll keep pushing though. I look at some of the other dads of my kid’s friends and am glad I jumped on my fitness when I did. I want to be around for my grand kids and great grandkids.

Expand full comment

I assumed that your VO2 max went down as you aged, not that it took X times longer to maintain. That's optimistic because we can do something about it. I feel like I hit the wall this year at 43, but I just have to put more effort in to maintain. Thanks Mike!

Expand full comment

Turned 70 three years ago and age is no longer "just a number". Still doing fine, but it's all really different as I'd never before experienced that big a shift in body/mind. That drop off is real.

Expand full comment

Great stuff, Cerno. This one resonated with this 40 year old. Lost a buddy a grade above me a few weeks ago. Similar story. Motivated to keep hitting it especially with a baby girl en route. Thank you as always for the insights, candor, and the balls to say what most “men” wont. Much appreciated, brother.

Expand full comment

Great insight Mike. Have always loved these retrospectives from you.

As a long time reader was wondering if you ever reflect on your own desire to write. if we go allllll the way back seems like there are 1 to 2 year bursts followed by a break followed by a burst:

Crime and Federalism

D and P

Juice website (lesser extent)

Gorilla Mind

Cerno.com

Now the sub

Seems like you always get the itch to go back to long form reading. Is it something you consciously take a break from or something that just calls to you every few years? Or other obviously...

Expand full comment

As a soccer player my whole life, here's what I noticed... you can still do everything you used to do, skillwise, but you do everything real S-L-O-W... at 55, I just had to hang up my boots...it was humiliating!

Expand full comment

Another good one I can relate to. I’ve been using Cerno’s “report card” analogy since I saw him use it on Twitter a few months back b/c it’s so true.

Much like an earlier comment I’m a “best shape of my life” guy only b/c I never pushed myself in my 20’s and 30’s. And I also tell myself “why didn’t you do this sooner!?”

Keep cranking these out, great stuff 👍

Expand full comment
founding

Thanks for sharing!

Expand full comment

Glad you started a substack; compliments your Twitter feed for longer more thoughtful posts, and also enabled followers like me to support you. Politics, mens health/bros, higher thought (religion, philosophy), and of course family Thank you.

Expand full comment

I used to run way too hard.. then I switched to MAF after learning about it from you, thank you! But lately I did one of those LTHR tests to calculate my zones (supposedly) more accurately, and my zone 2 is in the 150s, whereas my maf zone is mid 130s-mid 140s. I don’t know which to aim for… anyone encounter this?

Expand full comment

how many times a week u do hard cardio?

Expand full comment