[SB #235] The Timeless Secret to Being Timeless

Hi, I’m Matt, and welcome to Steady Beats. If you like to walk for a better life, and also like Dire Straits’ “Walk of Life,” you just might like this newsletter.

We all know people that don’t age.

Let’s put Sting, age 72, into that category.

Last weekend, we joined 80,000 other revelers staying out way past our bedtimes to catch Billy Joel and Sting together live in Tampa.

Both of their voices carried the same strength they did in 1985, and both singers maintained high energy throughout their sets. The contrast between their personal energies was fascinating, though.

Sting’s energy glides. It’s consistent and graceful, like a speed skater. Billy Joel, same as ever, attacks his work like a linebacker. His energy comes in aggressive bursts: pounding the piano keys, growling through a lyric, or bouncing around on his reconstituted hips.

Different. But powerful and effective in ways true to them.

(By the way: Billy Joel has a new song, “Turn the Lights Back On”, his first since 1994. It’s a welcome throwback to his earlier work—as is the video …)

Anyway, as I said earlier, Sting looks unbelievable. So what’s his secret?

"Two decades of yoga has given me two extra decades of this career. I wouldn’t be able to do it if I was out of shape," he added.

It's not just yoga alone that keeps Sting in peak physical condition - he also swims frequently, walks every day, and crams in stomach crunches to maintain those washboard abs, sharing videos of him doing so with his many social media followers.

There’s a pattern to people that keep their youthful vigor into their 70s and beyond. It’s not any particular “best” workout. It’s that they found healthy routines that work for them—and then they stuck with them for decades. Yoga, long walks, swimming … lots of things work well over the long haul.

Healthy older people understand themselves, their “energy style,” and their interests, and lock into activities that complement that.

And here’s an interesting side note: Sting doesn’t aim for blessed Dietary Purity (take note, Fitness Twitter):

"I drink alcohol. I don't smoke anything legal. I drink coffee. I like chocolate and ice cream. But apart from that I'm really healthy," he admitted in an interview with The Guardian in 2003.

No tricks, no secrets, no shortcuts. Maybe the timeless secret to being timeless is to know thyself, find your fitness thing, and keep going.

Being a rock star who lives in a castle wouldn’t hurt, either. And maybe hair plugs.

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Thank you for reading.

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