Episode 04: Gordon Spence
Training for Your Last Decade – with Dr. Gordon Spence
AIRED: 04/11/2025
Watch the episode
Introduction
How to close the gap between living long and living well
Healthy aging doesn’t begin at 70; it starts right now. In this inspiring episode of Don’t Let The Old Man In, Dr Gordon Spence shares how midlife can become the launchpad for a stronger, healthier, more connected future.
At 48, Gordon realised he’d drifted into the common midlife slump: carrying extra weight, catching colds, sleeping poorly, and exercising rarely. One cruise-ship treadmill session sparked a complete re-engagement with movement. That decision led to marathons, postgraduate study, and eventually a mission: to help others live active, meaningful lives across their lifespan, not just extend it.
In this episode, we explore:
- The critical difference between lifespan and healthspan – and how to narrow the gap
- Why training for your last decade is the smartest investment you can make now
- How negative age stereotypes quietly limit physical and mental potential
- Gordon’s four-stage Health Activation Model: Reflect · Project · Inspect · Connect
- The importance of community, connection and accountability in staying active
- Real stories of reinvention – from marathon runners to dragon-boaters and a 60-year-old who fell in love with fencing
Relevance for midlife listeners
For many of us in our forties, fifties, and sixties, life’s demands take priority over our own well-being. Gordon’s message is a wake-up call:
“You’re already training for your last decade, whether you know it or not.”
Through engaging stories and practical science, he explains how to reconnect with the activities that once brought joy, how to think differently about motivation, and why community is the secret weapon for sustaining health and happiness.
Whether you’re rediscovering running, joining a local Park Run, or simply turning your garden into an outdoor gym, this episode will remind you that movement is less about performance and more about participation, purpose and belonging.
Key takeaways
- Healthy aging is built daily, not deferred until retirement.
- Functional fitness prepares you for the real moments that matter – like lifting your grandchild or climbing a hill with friends.
- Connection keeps you consistent. Surround yourself with communities that move, volunteer and celebrate together.
- Reflect before you act. Gordon’s mantra – “Do the headwork before the legwork” – helps make exercise meaningful and sustainable.
- Challenge self-directed ageism. The limits you believe often matter more than the years you’ve lived.
Guest info
Dr Gordon Spence is a coaching psychologist, exercise scientist, lecturer and author whose work bridges positive psychology and physical wellbeing. After a corporate and academic career, he combined these passions to focus on sustainable active living and healthy aging, guiding individuals and organisations toward long-term vitality.
He is the author of
- Get Moving, Keep Moving and
- 26 Ways to Keep Moving – practical guides to building lifelong engagement with movement.
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