Train for your old man’s body

Last December, I humbly admitted that there was a big hole in my nerd confidence.

I grew up drawing cartoons, took AP Art in high school, and have always been fascinated by hand-drawn animation.

But I had .He has never seen a single second of any Studio Ghibli cartoon.!

Studio Ghibli is the Japanese equivalent of Disney, with Hayao Miyazaki as the Japanese Walt: The studio has won numerous Academy Awards for its beautifully hand-drawn films, and Miyazaki has built a legacy of making these films over the past 40+ years.

Luckily, the amazing community at Threads gave me hundreds of supportive comments and helped me decide which movie to start with!

I watched it after I posted that ad .All 20+ Studio Ghibli movies., .He fell in love with Japan.and was endlessly fascinated by Hayao Miyazaki.

(My favorites are Ghostly Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Whisper of the Heart, and The Wind Rises.)

After watching each film, I went to watch documentaries about Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli because I needed to know more.

Thanks to these documentaries, I got an amazing view of Miyazaki’s creative style and the experiences he had in making these films with his colleagues.

The running joke is that Miyazaki is a “man with no end” and he doesn’t seem to be retiring.

There was one thing that stood out to me in each documentary.

in Kingdom of Dreams and Madness, At one point, the entire staff at Studio Ghibli got up and moved through a series of movement drills and calisthenics, including Miyazaki.

Later in the document, I observed .Miyazaki shows a very deep squat. Perfectly and without any help. Do you know how many people in their late 70’s can do an unassisted deep squat!?

in The Infinite Man: Hayao Miyazaki It’s Miyazaki. .He carved wood many times. Ax in the backyard of his studio.

And in Hayao Miyazaki and HeronNow in his 80s, Miya-san (his nickname) is still chopping wood, hiking in the forest, climbing fallen trees, doing his office practice, and working hard on his life’s work. .

(Yes, I know. Miyazaki has a cigarette in his mouth for nearly every minute of every documentary! He’s lucky he hasn’t had lung cancer yet, and I remember he’s not the picture of perfect health!)

I bring this up because it shows more physical activity than we normally think.

Train for your old man’s body

Keeping active and brain sharp in the 80s by watching this documentary of Hayao Miyazaki…

I remembered this. .Wonderful post from Elizabeth. (@ThisGirlLifts on Instagram):-

As we age, it becomes easier for us to move less, which gives us less energy, and makes it harder to find momentum and mobility to move. This can prevent us from spending time with family or friends as we cannot concentrate our energy.

Teddy Roosevelt once said, “Let us run the risk of weakening rather than shutting down.”

In other words: use it or lose it, bub.

It’s not a stretch for me to speculate that Miyazaki’s ability to be an “infinite man” is not just due to good genetics (and luck) but because he chooses to weaken rather than shut down.

Reflecting on why he chose to push himself to finish another animated film in his 8th decade on this planet, it’s simply the only way he knew how to do it: “I’d rather die doing this than die doing nothing,” he replied.

Fitness is more than weight loss

At Nerd Fitness, we encourage all rebels to think about a “greater cause.”

Why bother practicing and developing new habits and leveling up your life when the sofa is squeaky?

What’s the point of learning to adapt and deal with discomfort when retreating into comfort is so easy and so appealing?

A strong “big why” can help us stay on target, especially when life turns into a dumpster fire or we feel like giving up.

For Miyazaki, he decided it was worth using the time to “bring out what was inside me.” He found peace and satisfaction in creating things rather than consuming them, which means he needs to take care of his body to live long enough to do these things!

Grammar for me (who .I visited the hospital last month.) Her goal is to support her community and help those around her. Being active allows her to do this well into her 90s!

If you’re struggling to come up with a reason why to do something…

You could do worse than “training for my old body.” This is the only body and the only life you will get, so today is a good day to start treating your body with a little respect like everyone else.

No need to be dramatic either. We can start with simple-

• We can take a short walk every day.
• We can get up and do mobility exercises like squats and arm swings throughout the day.
• we can .Start strength training. To build strong bones and get rid of those who need help as long as possible.

It is up to us to keep our bodies active, and it is better to be tired than to be inactive.

As a chaotic creator who spends a lot of time in my own head, Hayao Miyazaki gave me a lot to think about.

When I’m in my 80s, I’m still writing this newsletter and helping people, chopping wood and going for walks and spending time with the people I love.

I know that I can’t control what happens and that accidents happen and that a lot of life is out of my control, but I do my best to give myself the best chance to create and weaken instead of closing myself off!

I’ll leave you with one last curmudgeonly quote from Miyazaki that closes the documentary of Haya Miyazaki and the Hero:

“Stop crying and move.”

Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to train my old body!

– Steve

PS: The original Japanese title b The boy and the stork is it. how do you live. This is a more interesting (and fitting) title for the film. It is a summary of his life’s work, the people who influenced him, and his deep thoughts about the meaning of life.

PPS: Need guidance and accountability to reach your fitness goals? Nerd Fitness has helped 10,000+ people with 1v1 online fitness coaching over the past 8 years. .Click here for more details..