They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but what about by its title? When I recently learned about the book Younger Next Year I was clearly intrigued. With all going on in my own life with my health, I just had to take a look at this book. So I bought a copy and made it a priority to read it cover-to-cover.

The copy I acquired was the latest version of Younger Next Year, which was the 15th anniversary edition (clearly I was late to the game on this book and its universe, but I digress). It was written by patient/doctor duo Chris Crowley and Dr. Henry Lodge, and new to this edition were passages on brain health by neurosurgeon Dr. Alan Hamilton.

Younger Next Year is a book geared for men by men, talking about being men getting older. It’s written in a conversational style one would expect from guys talking to each other while sitting in the stands at game or at a local watering hole. Chapters alternate between Crowley and Dr. Lodge, where the former talks in more general terms and the latter provides the medical wisdom and science behind the former. Right out of the gate this format worked for me.

So was Younger Next Year all style and no substance? Hardly, as you can see from a paired down list of my key takeaways from it.

Workout Hard 6 Days a Week – This is pounded through the book, and when not directly stated over and over again it is implied. We not only need to keep moving, but moving to the point we are sweating, gaining muscle, keeping flexible and so on. It’s something I knew as our bodies, which really haven’t evolved much since the caveman and cavewoman days, are not designed to be sedentary. Where I know I need to do this more often, I wish I could. To aid the effort I joined a gym. After a good start I have not kept it up… he types as guilt falls over him.

What We Eat Is Equally Important – This is something I have known and been practicing for years and especially in the last one. You can’t purely exercise weight off. Garbage-in, garbage-out as we say in the computer world applies to our bodies and we’re soaking in ultra-processed, over-engineered stuff to consume that is passed off with clever marketing as food. By eating real food and intermittent fasting I have lost 60 pounds in the last year. As my fellow New Englander Robert Frost said, “… and miles to go before I sleep” and I do have much more to lose. In the meantime I am going to enjoy the extra room I have in an airplane seat among other benefits.

You Can’t Do It Alone – We are warm-blooded animals that have a limbic brain. When I the authors say alone they don’t just mean being with a partner but close friends and acquaintances as well. I would add to this the “right” doctor that truly is going to help you on your journey. The reality there is whatever doctor is likely out-of-network from your health insurance.

Aging vs. Decaying – Where the former will just happen, something can be done about the latter. Each of these is often mistaken for the other. By following the advice in the book, where you will get older, could your body actually get younger?

The only thing I didn’t like about Younger Next Year is that it could get a little too repetitive. However I get it – they are trying to drive home a point, and it did not distract me from enjoying this book. I highly recommend Younger Next Year for anyone Gen X and older, as well as those just behind us as they will be here sooner than they think. There’s also a woman’s version of the book, and I am interested if any of my female readers read a copy of it.

As for whom I am giving this book to, it is going to a good friend who is not too far behind me in years and should know well about the idea of vigorous exercise. It will be good timing to send to him as he has been getting self-reflective lately.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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