Fit At 75: 75 Is the New 50... If You Want It to Be!

By Douglas Malewicki

FIT AT 75, tries to answer the question, "WHY at an advanced age of 75, are some healthy, mobile and happy, and others are not?" Is it inherited longevity genetics or their lifestyle choices over the preceding decades that effectively forestalls so called "normal" age-related body and brain deterioration?

Is it possible to identify what these FIT AT 75 people are doing differently and have in common that keeps them as healthy and fit as the average 50 year old? There have to be some reasons why they don't need to take any prescription drugs; or have to use canes or walkers; or have required knee or hip replacements or back surgeries.

Self proclaimed geezer, Doug Malewicki is honest in his assessment of what he has figured out over the years about staying healthy and being mobile. He firmly believes the key is "Stay active to remain capable of being active". Anyone who gets and stays as active as he is will indeed age more slowly than those who don't follow his simple fun recipes.

75 is the new 50... If YOU want it to be!

Malewicki is one of those FIT AT 75 people. He practices strange rituals such as celebrating his birthday by running-his-age (most recently a 76@76 in 3 days, which is something he has been doing since his 70@70 for that earlier birthday). Another of his pagan-like rituals for the last 6 years has been starting each New Year morning by running-the-year in the local mountains with friends (20.10 miles in 2010 though 20.15 miles in 2015).

Doug's book sums up his real life, anti-aging experiences for the reader with interviews of several other fascinating FIT AT 75 people along with visual proofs, a touch of irreverent humor and many useful links. Doug has proven that age is just a number. The book radiates the joy of being alive and active that he hopes will inspire and entertain the reader.

Doug is an anti-sedentarianism-ist. He and his wife are also apprentice Hara Hachi Bu-ists.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: May 22, 2015
• ISBN: 9781483554945

Book preview

Meet these healthy 75+ year old seniors and learn what they are doing differently than the average person their age.

WHY…NO canes or walkers, NO knee or hip replacements and NO back surgeries?

Doug Malewicki

Tony Colangelo

Chris Laing

Hans Schmid

Katherine Beiers

"Life is great because I have so many healthy, crazy friends!"

Copyright © 2015 by Douglas Malewicki All rights reserved worldwide

ISBN 978-1-4835549-4-5

I have presented my information and pictures with added links to tell a story and answer the question - WHY, at an advanced age of 75, are some of us healthy, mobile and happy; and others not? I have always preferred visuals over pure text to convey my ideas. That means some of the pictures I used were gathered from the Internet for that purpose. In a few cases, I could trace ownership of copyright and get permission. As you will read, I gave photos I used full credit and while emailing back and forth for permissions made some new friends. I do not want to infringe on anyone’s copyrights. If I have inadvertently done that, I will be happy to give you similar proper credit or remove the photo. I’m easy, please contact me first before you sic some expensive, hairy, fang-toothed, greedy, drooling lawyer on me. Thanks.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

FORWARDS

1. Dean Karnazes

2. Mark Kelly

3. David Kekich

4. RoyWallack

5. Michelle Barton

6. David Whiting

7. Baz Hawley

CHAPTER 1 - Who is this Doug Guy?

CHAPTER 2 - What Qualifies Doug to Talk about Fitness for 75 Year Olds?

CHAPTER 3 - The Main Point of the Book

CHAPTER 4 - Doug’s Definition of Geezer

CHAPTER 5 - Doug’s Geezer 3.7 to 10 Fitness Rating System

CHAPTER 6 - Some of the Science

CHAPTER 7 - Here Come the Goats - Get Their Beers

CHAPTER 8 - Sportsman of the Year

CHAPTER 9 - Planned Adventures for the Rest of 2015

CHAPTER 10 - Adventures on Doug’s Bucket List

CHAPTER 11 - Geezer Skin

CHAPTER 12 - How I Lost 25 Pounds in 14 Days

CHAPTER 13 - Happy Hours and Hara Hachi Bu

CHAPTER 14 - Blood Work Numbers

CHAPTER 15 - Resting and Maximum Heart Rate

CHAPTER 16 - Doug’s Interval Training History

CHAPTER 17 - Blood Pressure and Resting Heart Rate

CHAPTER 18 - Exercise Regimen

CHAPTER 19 - Sitting is the New Smoking

CHAPTER 20 - Steps

CHAPTER 21 - Nutritional Supplements

CHAPTER 22 - How Limber Are You?

CHAPTER 23 - Fun Mind and Body Fitness Tests

INTRODUCTION TO PART 2

CHAPTER 24 - The Four 75+ Year Old Fit People

CHAPTER 25 - Tony Colangelo - age 77

CHAPTER 26 - Chris Laing - age 76

CHAPTER 27 - Hans Schmid - age 75

CHAPTER 28 - Katherine Beiers - age 82

CHAPTER 29 - Your Name and Story in the Next Edition

CHAPTER 30 - Summary

CHAPTER 31 - Conclusion: Be Happy

CHAPTER 32 - References

APPENDIX - Doug’s Background and List of Inventions

1.   The Early Days

2.   Apollo Man to the Moon - Structural Dynamics Engineer

3.   Cessna Aircraft - Flight Test Engineer

4.   Evel Knievel’s X-1 SkyCycle Canyon Jumping Rocket

5.   The California Commuter - Held Two Guinness World Records

6.   B-2 Stealth Bomber - Specialist in Advanced Composites Manufacturing

7.   Robosaurus - The Fire Breathing, Car Eating, Transforming Monster Robot

8.   50th Anniversary Special Edition of Doug’s 1965 Nuclear War Game

9.   SkyTran - Doug’s MagLev Personal Mass Transportation System

10. 152.2 MPH Land Speed Record Pedal Bicycle

11. Improved Rocket Powered JetPack

12. Mini-Micro-Missile

13. KiteCycle

14. Turbine Jet Powered Dragster Motorcycle

15. Some of Doug’s Technical Publications

16. Technical Presentations

17. The Malewicki Equations and the DOUGumentary

FORWARDS

1 - Dean Karnazes - Ultrarunner, Author, Businessman

Doug Malewicki has proven that age is just a number. His seemingly superhuman acts are a result of his passion and never ending curiosity. Doug’s an intrepid explorer, both of the mind and the body, and embraces new challenges and new adventures with open arms. His youthful demeanor and commitment to lifelong learning are the pillars on which he’s built a life worth living and inspired others, including me, to do the same. Long live Doug Malewicki, in body and in spirit.

Dean Karnazes is an ultrarunning legend and NY Times bestselling author. He ran 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 consecutive days; won the world’s toughest foot race - the 135 mile across 120 degree Death Valley Badwater Ultramarathon - plus placed in the top ten 5 times; finished the famed Western States 100 mile race 11 times in under 24 hours; and ran 3,000 miles across the United States from Disneyland to New York City in 75 days - running 40 to 50 miles a day with daily progress TV interviews on Live with Regis & Kelly. Dean is also the author of five books including his inspiring NY Times best seller UltraMarathon Man: Confessions of an All Night Runner. Time Magazine named Dean as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in the World. www.ultramarathonman.com

2 - Mark P. Kelly - PhD Exercise Physiologist, CSCS

It is hard to know where to start with the topic of the Doug or this book! I met Doug in a coffee shop years ago. I was there because I had finished teaching a morning boot camp and wanted to get some paperwork done. Doug was there because he had just run the trails and hills in the back country near this coffee shop. I witnessed this guy’s incredibly defined musculature on his legs. It was only too obvious he was a runner - and a serious one at that!

The conversation started because he was wearing his ever-present patellar tendon knee bands, which is still swears by today. I was questioning their effectiveness and asked his opinion. He in turn inquired what I did and I informed him that I was a Ph.D. exercise physiologist. He said Great, you would love chatting with our geezer gang.

I soon learned the gang had the brain power that would rival any think tank in Silicon Valley or Washington! The regulars included an engineer/inventor with over a 160 patents to his name that also flies acrobatic airplanes; Doug himself with extraordinary inventions; a Ph.D. from Cal Tech - who heads an advanced electric power conversion company; a retired chemical engineer from DuPont; a retired US Marine Major; a retired Lt Colonel US Marine JAG attorney; and on and on. Within minutes I was hooked. As often as I can, I join them for their weekly run; the bagels and coffee after; and the conversation with Doug and his gang. Meeting and becoming friends with Doug, is one of the high points in my life.

I recently made a presentation in Hong Kong on aging and exercise. One of the themes I stressed was living a younger life. The normal trend for humans and almost all biological species is to decrease function with age. The rate of this functional decrease is dependent on many factors. For humans, the greatest single factor to slow down functional aging is exercise. The more we do, the less we age.

When I speak of age in that last sentence, it implies that age automatically means a decrease in function. This does not have to be the case. Also, when I mention age, I am also referring to the mental, spiritual and emotional aspects, as well as the physical aspects. Doug is a prime example of someone who is mentally, physically, and emotionally young! He thinks, feels, and acts like a much younger person, thus he becomes one. Aging is not a bad thing. There are many advantages to it. Losing function and not being able to do what you want to do in life, however, IS a bad thing and should be avoided at all costs.

Doug’s FIT AT 75 book sums up his real life, anti-aging experiences with lots of visual proof and humor. Also the numerous pictures in his book make it an interesting read; much more so than the professional, dry, tedious research papers and texts on aging I studied when I was working on my PhD. 1

Mark P. Kelly, Ph.D., CSCS and proud to be the Geezer’s Photoshop body double!

Mark Kelly is the owner of Principal Centered Health. He has been the healthy sales person/educator in several health product infomercials. He is an instructor at Santa Ana College Mark consults for worksite wellness companies; writes health and fitness content for various publications; and lectures at health conferences internationally.

(CSCS means Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.)

3 - David Kekich - Longevity expert, Author of Smart, Strong and Sexy at 100

Last summer, I met Doug Malewicki. I couldn’t believe my eyes…or my ears. I knew he was 75, but I was expecting to see someone who actually looked 75. Had I not known, I would have sworn early 60’s MAX. Then when I heard and read about the ultra-marathons and trail races he routinely runs at incredible elevations, I was even more impressed. And it didn’t stop there. He’s an amazingly sharp and prolific inventor too. We discussed diet, nutritional supplements and lifestyle at length, and Doug is the whole package. Follow his advice. He walks the talk.

David Kekich is CEO of the Maximum Life Foundation that focuses on cutting edge anti-aging research. Go to the link. Read every page. Download his free books. MaxLife.org is loaded with information you must read - if you care about enjoying a long, healthy, vigorous life. Ponder his simple statement: Every life form fights for survival. That’s how each evolved. Therefore…The Purpose of Life is, and always has been…To Delay and Avoid Death.

Doug agrees and adds "Death sucks! Not doing anything about death, sucks worse!

4 - Roy Wallack - L.A. Times fitness columnist and author of Run for Life: How to Run to 100 and Bike for Life: How to Ride to 100

About ten years ago, I wrote an article about an up-and-coming athlete named Michelle Barton who was putting in an amazing number of miles per day and winning local races. Remarkably upbeat and lively, she explained that her cross training with mountain biking and swimming allowed her to do her exceptionally high running mileage. Frankly, despite her explanation, I thought she was a freak; few people can get away with running, so much, so often. She obviously was born with an odd, inherited endurance gene.

Not too soon after that, I met Michelle’s dad Doug, and my suspicions were confirmed. Doug is a freak. He passed on his strange and wonderful endurance, optimism and love of life to his daughter. And through his book, he’s trying to share a little of that exceptional DNA with the rest of us. For a long time, I had no idea that Doug was so accomplished professionally. He’d rather talk about running. He radiates a joy of being alive and active that is an inspiration to us all.

Roy Wallack is a Los Angeles Times fitness columnist and a contributor to many publications, including Outside, Men’s Journal, Runner’s World, Competitor, Bicycling and Mountain Bike. A former editor of Bicycle Guide and Triathlete magazines. He is the author of Bike for Life, How to Ride to 100 and The Traveling Cyclist: 20 Worldwide Tours of Discovery. Along with competing in innumerable running, cycling and triathlon races, Roy has participated in some of the worlds toughest endurance events, including the Eco-Challenge, La Ruta de Los Conquistadores road and mountain bike races, and the TransRockies run.

5 - Michelle Barton - Professional Ultrarunner

Doug Malewicki is my dad. He is intelligent, energetic, fun, ahead of his time, hard-working and the coolest Dad and Grandpa. He has always been active for as long as I can remember. On the weekends, he would knock on my bedroom door around 6:00 AM to wake me up to go for a bike ride with him as he ran. In 1986, when I was 15, we did a 2 day bike ride from Seattle to Vancouver to visit the Canadian World’s Fair Expo. He and two neighborhood friends had a tradition on Father’s Day to run a half marathon from his house in Irvine to Laguna Beach. I would bike along as they ran. Afterwards, the three families would have a big Fathers Day picnic and party at the beach. I got to do things that other kids my age never did. I always felt special and that he was always there for me and proud of me.

My best and most vivid childhood memories are being with my Dad in the mountains of Yosemite. As a result, I believe my love for running, biking and hiking far was ingrained in my blood very early. I was getting used to challenging hikes and being comfortable with being uncomfortable. If it weren’t for my Dad exposing me to mountains and trails. I don’t know what I would be doing in life. Would I have ever discovered running and mountains?

When I had my daughter Sierra in Jan 2000, my Dad and I would go on 6 mile walks and throw in some running - all with baby Sierra in the baby jogger… Eventually I signed up for a trail race with my Dad. He beat me, I came in second to last!! LOL!!! After that race, I was fired up to do better, worked as hard as I could to get 1st place. I eventually did just that and as time went on - did it over and over again.

My Dad and I have competed in the TransRockies 120 miles in 6 days stage race across the Colorado Rockies six times. He has always been the oldest guy running in each of those years. How many 75 year old Dad’s can run 20+ miles a day for 6 consecutive days, let alone up those mountain trails in the thin air? Everyone loves my Dad. He is always positive and happy. Most of his training partners are half his age and he still keeps up with them.

If I can be doing the running that he is doing when I turn 76, that will be incredible. It is certainly not easy to run 76 miles and for him to do it just for fun on his birthday is monumental. I see it in his smile. He is the definition of role model to me and many others who he has inspired along the trail of life…His book FIT AT 75 seems to be his honest assessment of what he has figured out over the years about staying healthy and mobile. Do I dare say that at 75 he rocks? I also believe that anyone who gets and stays as active as he is will indeed age a lot less than those who don’t follow that simple, fun recipe.

Michelle Barton is a professional sponsored ultra runner. She has compiled some 60 first place overall women wins. Out of those wins, 35 were NEW women’s course records and 7 of them were records where she was the OVERALL winner (CHICK’D all the ultra boyz). Over the years she has been the cover feature on the three 3 USA ultrarunning magazines; had numerous interviews on blogs and TV; and written and been the subject of chapters in books. She is an articulate speaker and photogenic sports model. Her sponsors love her, especially her trademark - that long, flowing red hair. Read about her latest ultra running record of two weeks ago in Chapter 30 of this eBook. She beat the previous woman’s record by over 3 hours at the May 3, 2015 Badwater Salton Sea 81 mile race.

6 - David Whiting - OC Register Columnist, Adventurer