5 Ways to Turn Back the Clock of Time, Now!

Every second of every day is time “gone forever.” We have no control over the eternal hands of time, yet there are things you can do to virtually recapture the look and feel of “years gone by.” What I am talking about is “growing younger” – by design and by choice.

Everywhere you turn these days, you can read about how your body gradually decreases its natural production of hormones. Around age 30 – or sooner – nature tells your body to slow down, whether you like it or not.

Once you hit 40 and 50 years of age, oh my! You really, really feel how exercise and proper diet are critically important to overall health.

Regarding exercise, once you hit 35-40 years of age, time is of the essence. You’ve got to get your act together, and fast. You cannot afford to “waste time” with exercises that don’t get you into shape quickly. Not only that, but if you’ve parked your butt on the couch for far too long (my way of saying you’re “sedentary”), you’ve got to be smart about how you begin.

Why jump into dangerous weight training exercises like deadlifts, bench press, and barbell squats? Sure, these can help out a bit, but not without putting harmful stress on your joints (shoulders, knees, and back).

A few years back, I did a seminar in Ohio for a judo expert who was nearly 50 – yet still tough as nails. Only thing is, there were many exercises that he could not do because of shoulder injuries and lower-back pain. I asked him how he hurt these areas so badly. His answer:

“When I first began in judo, I asked the teacher how to train to get stronger. He told me to do two exercises: bench press and squat. Yeah, I got stronger. But I trashed my body in the process.”

Let’s prevent that from happening to you, okay?

So let me give you “5 Ways to Turn Back the Clock of Time, Now”:

1. Work the HILL. To get in shape fast, train on hills. The steeper the better. Begin by walking uphill. As this gets easier, speed-walk the hill. After a few weeks of speed-walking, jog the hill. Then you can graduate to running, then to sprinting. (You may remember that I went into detail about the benefits of hill sprinting in Message  #1333.)

2. Do exercises that simultaneously work a lot of major muscle groups. Hindu pushups, Hindu squats, jumper squats, bridging, reverse pushups – all of these fit the bill. Also, note that hill sprints are working MAJOR muscle groups.

3. Do interval exercises (intense exertion followed by brief periods of rest) that get you winded. Having to “catch your breath” increases the release of Growth Hormone from the pituitary gland. Growth Hormone helps repair tissues and build muscle, supports brain function, increases bone strength, improves the immune system, and raises energy and metabolism.

4. After you train, do not eat anything sweet or sugary for two hours. In fact, if you don’t eat anything for the full two hours, it’s even better. When you train hard, your body naturally releases Growth Hormone. But if you eat sweets, this causes an insulin spike that interferes with the release of it.

5. Do not eat for two hours before going to bed. Sleep time is when your body wants to repair itself with a big dose of Growth Hormone. If you eat late at night and then go to bed, you won’t get the fat-burning, muscle-building benefits of sleep.

Follow my advice and you’ll grow younger. And that’s a promise.

(Ed. Note: Matt Furey is a national collegiate wrestling champion and world champion in Shuai-Chiao, the oldest style of Kung Fu. He has authored several books and fitness courses, including the international bestseller “Combat Conditioning”.)