Invest in long-term needs, not short-term gains 

If ever there was a time to bring together a diverse set of stakeholders to help identify their most urgent needs and weigh in on spending decisions, this is it.   

I started going to the gym regularly in my early 30s, when I realized that if I was going to stave off the inevitable spread that happens to men as they age, it wouldn’t be enough to play basketball a couple of nights a week — I needed a regular exercise routine. That’s when I began to wake up at 5:15 every morning to spend an hour doing cardio and lifting weights. I’ve never been anything close to a power lifter, but it was satisfying to stack a little more weight on the bar every month. Plus, it was nice to see the results when I looked in the mirror. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to look good as you get older. 

By my early 40s, though, my back and my knees were telling me to stop playing basketball. So, along with my gym routine, I started practicing yoga, which soon had me bending, stretching, and balancing in ways I never knew I could. And that’s when I finally grasped what the fitness experts are always saying: The most important thing is to strengthen your core. A strong core doesn’t feed your vanity. It doesn’t show off your fitness, the way big muscles or a drive to the hoop can. Rather, it’s the foundation for everything else you do to stay fit. Now that I’m over 50, I’ve learned that while middle-age spread is, in fact, inevitable, it can be managed. And while I still jog and lift weights, it’s the yoga — my daily core work — that matters most to my health.