Your Health, Your Choice: How old do you want to feel?

Your 20s?

Your 30s?

Your 40s?

Perhaps your 50s or 60s?

I suspect not many people would choose to have their extra years in their 80s or 90s.

Why not?

It’s not because we don’t want to live that long.

I think it’s because we want to live those years while still being healthy enough to enjoy them.

Imagine being given an extra ten years of life.

This would be great!

But what if those extra years were not in your 40s but instead in your 80s and you were struggling to walk, unable to travel, needing help with everyday tasks and no longer able to do the things you enjoy?

So whilst we would all welcome more years to live, what we really want is more good years.

But we don't get to choose when those extra years arrive.

What we do have some control over though is the quality of the years ahead of us.

I like to think of it as trying to make your 80s more like your 70s, or your 70s more like your 60s.

Of course, we can't control everything.

Factors outside of our control like genetics, illness and plain bad luck all play their part.

But we can influence our fitness, strength, mobility and general health through the choices we make throughout our lives.

Everything I've covered before can help with this.

Cardiovascular exercise helps maintain the fitness that allows us to walk, cycle, swim and climb hills.

Strength training helps us maintain the muscle and strength needed to carry shopping, get out of a chair and remain independent.

A sensible diet, good sleep and staying socially active all contribute too.

The important thing is that you don't have to wait until you're old before you start thinking about this and it is only you that can make that next step.

And this is why I like the idea of your future self.

The choices you make today are helping to decide what that future looks like.

You can't choose when to have extra years.

But you can do something to make the years you already have left healthier and more enjoyable.

So perhaps don't ask yourself how long you want to live.

Ask yourself, how well you want to live for as long as you possibly can.

If you'd like some help making sure your future years are active, strong and healthy, I'd love to help.

Visit coachpete.co.uk.