OLD MAN TALKING ELDER HEALTH IN GYM

An old man, older than me, saddled up on the stationary bike next to mine.

I’ve skipped the bike a while but now training for the prospects of pedaling around Paris.

Together, the old man and I were biking Beaverton from 24Hr Fitness.

My usual question if someone older looks chatty is, “How are things at (whatever their age?)”

The old man was 84 to my 64.

“I’ve getting used to new things,” he said.

“Like what,” I asked in my investigative journalist voice.

It seemed like a made for TV moment when I heard his voice: It had tones of Optimus Prime.

He said he was getting used to Parkinson’s; any mention of Parkinson’s is a real button pusher.

We talked for ten minutes and I heard him say what he misses most is shooting hoops. Once he could pump in seventeen footers all day. He had the look of a shooter.

Now he can’t hit the rim from seven feet. So I told him I was the best rebounder since Dennis Rodman, Wilt Chamberlain, and Bill Russell combined, and to find me when he wanted to take a few shots.

Then I stood up on my pedals and left him in the dust.

II

An old man and a woman I haven’t seen for a while stopped to chat in the gym. I was happy to see them. The woman had once asked me to talk to her husband before he went into cancer treatment.

So I did. I explained why it was important to lie to his wife and say he was fine, and how important it was for her to believe him, which is how to keep the mental fog of cancer off you.

He looked a little beat up, but apparently survived the treatment. Another way to keep the fog of cancer off is let the other person bring it up.

He didn’t, so I didn’t ask. Instead, I told him that gym muscle cells are better than cancer and cancer treatment cells, and he needed to start substituting one for the other.

My big workout tip of the day: I told him he needed to hit the pec-deck and arm curls as well as use the cables to push his hands together under resistance.

His wife listened to me, too.

“Why is that important?” she asked.

I didn’t look at her, instead focusing on her husband and said, “These are the exercises you need to build the sort of muscle that makes your wife feel like you’re back when you hug her, like you won’t let her get away.”

The guy nodded his head like he was making the list:

1. Stronger chest.
2. Stronger arms.
3. Stronger hugs

I smiled at the wife. She smiled back. We fist bumped good bye.

One way to feel young and vital is hang around older people, except when the old man is doing the same thing and doing it better.