An 83yearold Neurosurgeon Who Does Triathlons Has 3 Tips For Younger People Who Want To Be As Fit And Healthy As Him

• Dr. Joseph Maron was so disabled that at age 40 he could barely climb stairs.

• The 83-year-old athlete regained his health decades ago and now competes in triathlons.

• The neurosurgeon offers three tips for young people like him who want to have a fit body.

At the age of forty, Dr. Joseph Maron was so disabled that he could barely climb stairs. But everything changed when a family friend advised him to run after hitting rock bottom.

Maron, now 83, competes in triathlons and still works as a neurosurgeon at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, two decades after most people have retired.

By 1980, Marrow's life was "out of balance," he told Business Insider. A week later, his father died, which meant he had to give up his promising career in neurosurgery to focus on truck suspensions, and he got divorced.

He said: "I was depressed. I didn't want to live anymore. I was 20 kilograms overweight. I couldn't climb a few steps."

When a family friend encouraged her to run away, she was willing to do anything to improve her mental health.

Sport changed his life

"I got a pair of tennis shoes and a surgical gown, went to the local high school track and did it four times. I said, 'I'm never doing this again,' she said. "I was breathing hard, I was in pain , I almost threw up,'" he said.

"But that night was the first night I'd slept well in about four months . So I came back the next day and walked a mile and a quarter. Then the next day I walked a mile and a half. Then two, then three, then five. Miles."

He soon learned to swim and ride a bicycle, increasing distances in the hope that his mental health would improve .

Shortly thereafter, he competed in his first triathlon, and in 1993, at age 53, he competed in his first Ironman triathlon: a 2.4-mile swim followed by a 112-mile ride, culminating in a marathon.

“Exercise pulled me out of depression and back on my feet,” he wrote of his experience on his website, and he was soon able to return to neurosurgery.

“Running on the school track saved my life,” he said.

Marrone has since completed eight Ironman triathlons and placed second in his age group at the 2022 National Senior Triathlon Games. He also has a busy career: He researches and writes books on longevity and healthy living , works as a medical director for WWE and recently spoke at the Global Aging Consortium, a private clinic where longevity experts discuss aging research. .

Maron shared his advice for young people who want to stay fit and healthy with BI.

Start with one step

“You don't have to start with triathlon,” he said. "Just take one step."

Experts agree that starting slowly is the best way to begin a new fitness journey and make lasting changes. “Start with 15 to 20 minutes every day or every other day to give your body a chance to adjust and your mind to adjust,” Adia Callahan, certified personal trainer and founder of See Me Wellness, previously told BI.

Maron says there are many ways to train these days, from triathlons to running on a treadmill or elliptical, so choose the right exercise for you.

Do resistance and flexibility exercises.

In addition to aerobic activities, people should also participate in resistance training and flexibility exercises, says Marrone. She loves doing Pilates, but also recommends stretching, yoga or isometric exercises for flexibility, using bands for resistance training and weight lifting.

BI's Gaby Landsverk recently talked about ways beginners can build muscle, such as rowing, rowing, and weightlifting.

Focus on balance in your life

Balancing work and family responsibilities also played an important role in improving Maroon's fitness.

Before he started taking care of his health, he said: “He didn't know how much I sacrificed everything for work. “You were versatile.”

He says he evaluates the balance between his work responsibilities, family and social life, exercise and spirituality in his life every day, and adjusts to what is best for his health.

This is because “imbalance” causes stress, which puts the body into “fight or flight” mode. He added that this condition is chronically linked to health problems, including the buildup of plaque in the arteries that destroy brain cells and cause inflammation.

And since chronic inflammation is linked to heart disease, stroke, cancer and Alzheimer's, he says reducing stress by balancing priorities is critical to overall health and longevity.

“If you organize your work, your family, your spirituality and your physical life, I believe you can function at a high level for a long time.”

Read the original article on Business Insider.

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