This is a very good post. What I am most interested in is the question drewnogal posed: Is there ever a time to just give up?
When does a person give up on their body? When you realize that you are getting older? That you are no longer young? When do you give up?
I say never!!!!! You keep working out and stay physically fit until your last breath.
I was a landscape gardener (in England) in a former life which took care of physical fitness. Since moving to Indoland about 12 years ago I sort of stopped being fit. We run a Lodge for scuba divers so I dive quite a bit but that doesn't really count - the idea with scuba diving is not to exert yourself. And then....me and the good lady bought a cross - trainer and one of those walking machines and we work out 'every day'. Okay not every day, sometimes guest - responsibilities and so on prevent this, but anyway it was one of our better decisions. It takes about an hour a day, 40 minutes on the machines of death and the rest to recover and stop perspiring (it's hot in the tropics...). We also more or less at the same time accidentally more or less gave up alcohol, which also helps! I still smoke way to much Golden Virginia tobacco, but I suppose you can't have everything, Anyway, I would advocate the keeping of fitness any day, and I never thought I'd hear myself say that....I also started writing novels (7 so far and still going) but that's probably coincidence, and as for my general mental fitness, let's say the jury is still out; I'm a crap chess player but as I say.....
