“I’ll worry about it when I have to.”

I’ve heard people say that about their health and physical abilities for years. And I understand it. When nothing hurts and you’re managing your everyday life, taking care of your physical capacity might not feel particularly urgent.

But here’s my question:

How will you know when you HAVE to?

When your knees start bothering you on the stairs? When getting up off the floor becomes a whole production? When an afternoon in the garden leaves you too tired to enjoy the rest of your day?

We often assume that because nothing is wrong, there’s nothing we need to be doing.

But feeling fine isn’t necessarily the same thing as being prepared.

Sometimes, We Don’t Know What We’re Working With

Prefer to watch? Join me on YouTube to watch Feeling Fine Isn’t the Same as Being Prepared as we explore the difference between prevention and maintenance—and what it means for the things you want to keep doing.

In more than 20 years of teaching movement, I’ve noticed that people often don’t recognize changes in their physical abilities until something makes those changes obvious.

Sometimes, that something is simply a little information.

During a research project I conducted involving grip strength and bone health, several women were surprised when we measured their grip strength. Their numbers were lower than they expected.

They hadn’t necessarily noticed a problem. Grip strength simply wasn’t something they’d been paying attention to.

Once we measured it, they had a starting point. I developed a wrist-strengthening protocol for them to practice, and some began showing small improvements within a week or two. By the end of the project, every participant had made marked improvements. Those who practiced consistently five to seven times a week generally improved more than those who practiced two or three times a week.

These women were surprised twice: first by where they were starting, and then by what they were able to improve.

Measuring their grip strength didn’t create their potential to improve. It brought their attention to an ability they hadn’t been deliberately working on.

Then they did something about it.

This was their experience in that project, rather than a promise about anyone else’s results. But it illustrates something valuable: an ability can deserve attention before we notice it becoming a problem.

Prevention and Maintenance Have Different Jobs

We hear a lot about prevention: preventing disease, preventing injuries, preventing the things we associate with getting older.

Prevention matters. But it isn’t a guarantee. You can take excellent care of yourself and still experience illness, injury, or changes you couldn’t have prevented.

Maintenance asks a slightly different question:

What am I doing to support the abilities I already have?

Your strength. Your balance. Your mobility. Your endurance. Your ability to handle the physical demands of your everyday life.

The trouble is that we tend to treat these abilities like permanent possessions. Because we can do something today, we assume we’ll still be able to do it next year—or ten years from now.

But your body doesn’t maintain physical capacity simply because you used to have it.

Think about what your life regularly asks you to do.

When was the last time you got down on the floor because your life required it? Carried something heavy? Climbed several flights of stairs? Walked for an extended period?

If those demands rarely show up, you may need to create opportunities to practice the abilities you want to keep.

What your life requires of your body today may not be enough to prepare you for what you want to do tomorrow.

What Do You Want to Keep?

I’m 55. I’m not particularly interested in trying to prevent every possible change that might happen to my body over the next 30 years.

First of all, that’s impossible. Second, I have better things to do with my time!

But I AM interested in maintaining the abilities that allow me to live the life I want.

I want to travel. Spend hours working in my yard and still enjoy the rest of my day. Carry my own stuff. Get down on the floor and know I can get myself back up.

And when life suddenly asks more of me than usual, I want some physical capacity in reserve.

That’s what I’m maintaining: the body I have now, for the life I still want to live.

Not every change that comes with aging is preventable. But that doesn’t mean every loss of physical ability is inevitable, either.

We can’t control everything that happens to our bodies. We can influence some of it. And that’s a pretty good reason to pay attention.

Start With Something in Your Actual Life

Think of one thing you can do today that you want to still be doing ten years from now.

Something you enjoy or value. Gardening. Hiking. Exploring new places. Getting down on the floor with your grandchildren. Managing your home and taking care of yourself.

Now ask:

What does my body need to be capable of doing to make that possible?

Take gardening. It can involve bending, squatting, kneeling, lifting, carrying, reaching, and spending time in different positions. Keeping gardening available to you means supporting the strength, mobility, balance, and endurance it asks of your body.

That leads to the next question:

Am I giving my body regular opportunities to maintain those abilities?

If the answer is no, you’ve found a place to begin.

You might practice getting down to the floor and back up with appropriate support. Build strength for lifting and carrying. Gradually increase your walking endurance. Give your balance some attention.

You don’t have to do everything at once.

Choose one ability that matters to you and begin giving it regular, manageable attention.

And If Something Is Already Difficult?

You haven’t necessarily missed your opportunity.

The women in my research project started in different places and progressed at different rates. Every participant improved, but that doesn’t mean every limitation can be reversed or everyone will respond the same way.

It means your starting point isn’t automatically your finishing point.

You can work with the body you have and explore what progress is possible from here.

You don’t have to wait until something goes wrong to start doing something right.

Maintain Before You Have to Reclaim

Your body deserves attention before a diagnosis, a crisis, or the moment something you love becomes difficult.

That doesn’t require spending your life worrying about what might happen. It requires recognizing that the physical abilities you value deserve support along the way.

Maintain before you have to reclaim.

And if you’re already working to reclaim something, start there. Recognize where you are and what you can do next.

That’s what being an EveryDay Athlete is all about: understanding the demands your everyday life makes on your body and building the capacity to meet them.

Because your sport is your life. And that’s worth training for.

Discover What Your Life Asks of Your Body

If you’re wondering which physical abilities matter to the things you want to keep doing, try my FREE EveryDay Athlete Decoder.

You tell it an activity you love, and it helps you identify the physical capacities involved. It’s a starting point for understanding what might deserve more of your attention.

Start with your life. Get curious about what it asks of your body.

And remember: Maintain before you have to reclaim.