Scott Johnson’s message to other middle-aged guys: ‘It’s not over’

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – I’ve never really been much of a country music fan, but a few songs have stuck with me. One is by the late great Toby Keith. I always remembered the main chorus which starts: “I ain’t as good as I once was; I got a few years on me now.”

And with the dangerous combination of apathy and laziness, I really fell into that category. I thought my 20s were so far in the rearview mirror that there seemed little point in heading over to the local gym.

However, like all of us as we age, we come to a few realizations. Good health isn’t a luxury; it’s essential the older we get.

And that became apparent to me as I’ve wrestled with a reality in my family. There’s a family history of a degenerative disease that affects the arms and legs. I frankly don’t want to go too far down that rabbit hole, but I knew one way I could attack that early was to get in shape now.

And some studies have shown the best way to combat what my family has dealt with is to build muscle in my legs and arms.

So I reached out to Teresa Barnett at Stryker Fitness based in Clay County. That was one of the best moves I could make. As I wrote earlier, apathy and laziness are my enemies. Stryker has made sure I’m not allowed to fall back on that.

We started this journey in January and are going to document it over the next few months. We’re planning a big update on News4JAX in May with my progress.

I understand everyone’s fitness journey is different. For some, it’s about weight management, for others, it’s cardiovascular, for me… it’s building muscle.

There’s an added appeal to this lifestyle change for me. If you weren’t aware, I now host the “Going Ringside” podcast, which focuses on pro wrestling, some UFC and even some boxing. I figured if I’m now entering the space occupied by other hosts like Joe Rogan and Pat McAfee, it’s probably best I don’t look like Niles from Frasier.

Not sure how far I’ll get or medically how much muscle I can build anymore, but I’ll just focus on that other line from the Toby Keith song: “I ain’t as good as I once was, but I’m as good once as I ever was.”