If you read in a book or a story that a character is middle-aged, don’t you just see the slump in his shoulders, the frown on her face?  The baggy clothes and general air of despair at the middleness of it all?  No one wants to admit to being middle-aged, and I don’t blame us—the way our culture sees it, you might as well be saying you’re old.  And the way we see “old” in our culture?  Don’t even get me started.  Because I’m not gonna want to be old when I’m old.  Oh, I’m not planning to wear short shorts at eighty.  But I refuse to have slumpy shoulders and baggy clothes and an air of despair, even when I’m old.  I’m sure as hell not going to have those things today.

Today, you see, this subject matters to me quite a bit.  Because today I am turning forty.  Not twenty-nine for the eleventh year in a row, but really and truly, right in the thick of the plot, staring at the middle of the Oreo forty.

For the past couple of years and in a variety of situations, I’ve made the following statement flirtatiously, earnestly, comfortingly, defensively.  Now I’ll make it plainly:  forty is not old.

In an effort to revamp the concept of middle age, someone came up with the sporty slogan that forty is the new twenty.  Meaning, I suppose, that forty has energy and verve.  Forty has get up and go and then get it done.  Forty might have bunions and back pain, but she’s got it goin on—she can shake it ’till the break of dawn.

Is that what he or she meant, this inventor of the sporty slogan?

I doubt it.  He or she was probably trying to sell something—the idea of eternal youth, of constant reinvention, of never needing to admit that the middle is not the beginning.  I’m not buying (or selling) that idea, not for a minute.  I’ve worked too hard for my bunions and back pain to pretend they don’t exist.

When I was twenty, or twenty-five, or thirty, and I’d reach a limit with something—my frustrations with my own limitations or the brokenness of the world or the ways in which people can hurt and disappoint one another (meaning, of course, the ways in which I had been hurt and disappointed)—my mother would say, “Wait ‘till you turn forty.”  I didn’t know what she meant by that, exactly, but she seemed to be implying that my frustration would reach a breaking point, or that I would somehow be freer, or that I would understand things better.

Now that I am forty, I think she meant all of that, and more.

Forty is the age at which, if you haven’t already done so, you get over the b.s. of it all—your own and everyone else’s.  In fact, you get over the idea that everyone and everything is supposed to be free of b.s.   You begin to accept the imperfections in yourself, others, and the world at large.

What a beautiful thing.

It is only by accepting imperfection that we can begin to improve upon it, however imperfectly.

I’m not saying that you get perfect at this—the acceptance of imperfection.  Far from it.  But you do find a way to be okay with the fact that you are not perfect at anything at all—in fact, no one you know or have ever known is.  And you know what?  Sometimes that fact is downright endearing, whether you’re dealing with yourself or a loved one or the state of the nation.  At forty, the vulnerable flesh of the world’s mistakes seems less incomprehensible and more palpable.

This, I believe, is because by the age of forty, a person has had enough experience to be able to define both joy and pain through physical and emotional memory.  Sometimes there are scars—physical ones—that you can point to and say, “This is from that time in my twenties…” and then you either tell the story or you don’t, depending on your audience.

Sometimes the scars are deeper, and invisible.  By forty, there have been things that you don’t know how to accept, and you’ve accepted them anyway.  There have been things that you don’t know how to overcome, and you’ve overcome them anyway.  That is the nature of life, and of the human spirit.  Stick around long enough—get to the middle—and you’ll find that you know more than you thought you did.  Also, you know far less than you thought you did.  You live in the middle of the contradictions, every day as you go about the tasks of living, and you carry this awareness with you in your bones, your muscles, your tear ducts, your lungs.  Things are not perfect—things will try to break you.  So far, they haven’t.  That’s more than a good thing—that’s a reason to celebrate.  That’s joy right there—being here, today.

Here.  Today.

By forty, you can measure things in hunks of years—it will take me five years to come to terms with this, you can think.  Or you might think of your children and realize that you only have a decade before they’re grown.  It is impossible to say only a decade when you are twenty.

These measurements—the increments of joy and pain, played out upon our skin and our hearts—these are the marks of age and experience.   They will claim you sometimes, and you will claim them sometimes.

I’ll admit, there are things about forty—about aging—that aren’t my favorite.  The bunions and the backaches are no day at the park.  And it will be quite some time before I’m ready for my hair to be all silver gray and dignified, no matter what my hair has to say on the matter.  (Though I will keep my wrinkles, every one of them, as they appear.)  There are days—sometimes many of them in a row, so many they add up to weeks—when the palpable quality of the world’s mistakes, and my own, becomes too familiar, too constant.  There are days when I wish for the just-washed, baby blue faith of a morning in my twenties.

I might say it plainly or with resignation or ten other ways on ten different days, but I’m bound to say it now and then:  forty isn’t young.

So today, I want to give myself—and anyone else who’s turning forty, about to turn forty, recently turned forty, will someday turn forty, or turned forty a while ago and is now contemplating a new milestone—the gift of redefining the middle as not the beginning, not almost the end, but the bona fide, honest to goodness, smack in the middle middle.  In fact, I’d be happy if we could redefine chronological age as a number and not a state of being.

Sometime between today and the day I let my hair go silver gray, I plan to master yoga.  This is because the yogis say that the secret to youth is a flexible spine.  They believe that a well-cared for body and soul holds chronological age more fluidly than a body that is not stretched, exercised, rested, and connected to peace.  And I think they’re right.

As I journey toward an age that is no longer in the middle, I intend to seek a state of being that not only accepts age, but celebrates it.   As long as age doesn’t have to include slumpy shoulders, an air of despair, and throwing out half a perfectly good cookie, I’m on board.

Who’s with me?

I don’t have health insurance, so I have a big investment in staying healthy.

And so I did a little research today — I found the top causes of death, then created a spreadsheet for the controllable risk factors for each.

Some things can’t be controlled (your age, family history of diseases, gender). But others can. And those things aren’t a huge surprise — you already know not to smoke, drink too much, or eat crappily.

It’s interesting, though, how all of the major diseases are caused by the same things: smoking, diet, exercise, alcohol and stress.

Below I’ll list the top habits you can change, and a simple method for changing them.

The 8 Habits of Healthy Living

1. Stop smoking. This is by far the most important habit, as it affects almost every single one of the leading causes of death. It’s also the hardest of these habits to change. It’s not at all impossible — I quit six years ago next month (read my tips).

2. Lose weight (if you’re overweight). This is not exactly a habit — the best habit to form to lose weight is to eat less. Or eat more of things that don’t have a lot of calories, like fruits and veggies. Being overweight is just below smoking the worst risk factor for many diseases.

3. Exercise. You don’t need me to tell you to exercise, but listen to this: lack of exercise is a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke, colon & rectal cancers, diabetes, breast cancer, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. If you don’t exercise, you’re just asking to get a major disease. It’s almost a magic pill: do a bit of exercise every day, and you get healthy. You don’t need much — start with 5 minutes a day in the morning.

4. Drink only in moderation. Heavy drinking is one of the worst risk factors for many diseases. That’s more than 2 drinks of alcohol a day for men, and more than 1 drink for women. A glass of red wine is a good thing, but too many and you’re greatly increasing your risk of disease.

5. Cut out red & processed meats. Eating red meats, and processed meats like sausages, bacon, canned meats and so on, is a risk factor for colon/rectal cancer, stomach cancer, and high cholesterol, which in turn is a leading risk factor for coronary heart disease and stroke. While this won’t sit well with many people, the overwhelming mass of research supports this. I recommend going vegetarian.

6. Eat fruits & veggies. This is obvious, but it’s amazing how few veggies most people eat. Eating fruits and veggies reduces your risk of several leading diseases, and it’s one of the easiest habits to form. Eat a salad (without heavy dressings, bacon or other meats, croutons or cheese), add veggies to soups or veggie chili, cook up veggies as a healthy side dish with dinner or lunch. Eat fruits with breakfast and as snacks.

7. Reduce salt, and saturated/trans fats. Salt and saturated or trans fats are in so many processed or prepared foods, and they increase risks of high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which increase risk for heart disease and stroke. Despite what the Weston Price Foundation and other people on the Internet tell you, saturated fat isn’t healthy — read the sources. Note that this isn’t a controversy in the medical community, but the “harmlessness” of saturated fats is perpetuated by the diary and meat industries, and lay writers like Gary Taube. Cook your own healthy meals instead of eating out or eating prepared foods.

8. Reduce stress. Stress is a risk factor for heart disease and high blood pressure, which is itself a risk factor for stroke. Simplify your workday so that you’re not overly stressed, and exercise to relieve stress.

How to Form the Habits

This might seem like a lot to change, if you’re not already doing these things, but let me share something with you: I changed all of these in the last 6 years.

In 2005, I was incredibly unhealthy. Then I learned to change my habits, and slowly I:

• Quit smoking.
• Started running.
• Became vegan.
• Lost 70 lbs.
• Cleaned up my diet and got rid of unhealthy stuff.
• Simplified my life and reduced stress.
• Cut drinking down to 1-2 glasses of red wine a day.

I did it, and so can you. I changed one habit at a time, slowly, in tiny tiny steps, and it wasn’t hard. Don’t try to change everything, and don’t make it hard on yourself. It’s actually very easy if you’re patience and if you just start.

Here’s how to change these habits:

• Change only one habit at a time. It doesn’t matter which habit you choose. Just choose one. You’ll want to do more than one, but don’t.
• Create positive habits you enjoy. Read the last word again — if you enjoy it, the habit change will be easy. Replace smoking with positive habits you enjoy that fulfill the needs that smoking now fulfills (stress reduction, social lubrication, boredom relief, etc.). Replace red meats with healthy foods you enjoy.
• Start as small as possible. Just do 5 minutes the first week, and try to be consistent as possible. Then do 10 minutes. Small change is by far the most effective method I’ve used for changing habits. Slow change lasts.
• Make it social. Find a partner or group to change the habit with you, so you’re more likely to stick with it.

These work. I’ve done them many times, and every time I stick to these principles, I’ve changed a habit.

Healthy living isn’t impossible, or even especially difficult. It’s just slower to come by than most people care for.

Today is a special day. Today is the day that my brother Jeff turns 40.

Now I reached that inevitable milestone a few years ago so, as any big brother would do, I need to pass out some advice on turning 40.

———————–

Turning forty is a time in our lives when we really don’t quite know how to feel. Think about it…

When we were 20 we tried to act like we were 30.

When we were 30 we acted like we were 25

When we turn 40, is it time to start to act more age appropriate?

They are saying that 40 is the new 30. I am not really sure what that means but it does give us permission to act any way we want when we hit the big 40.

Yet, try as we might, the affects of 40 years on this earth are not easily avoided. Denial will not hide the fact that there are extra hairs growing from your ears and eyebrows.

As 40 is upon you, here are 7 things to keep in mind

1. Your reaction time might start getting a bit slower.

I know that is hard to believe but try this. Go play basketball with the local college team and see if your first step is as affective as it once was. Now for the real test, try to play defense.

2. The Mirror Lies

I find it very interesting that I am the only one who does not look my age. I am sure I could pass for a 30 year old. In fact, looking at my wedding pictures I don’t think I have aged much at all. Oh ya, the Mirror Lies.

3. Your dream of becoming a professional athlete should end

In case you have not noticed, there are not many professional athletes who are 40 or over. In fact, 35 is considered an old man in the sports world. So if you still have aspirations about signing up for open try-outs with your local professional sports club, you might want to put that one to rest.

4. Your dream of staying in shape needs to be in full swing

Just because you may never play left wing for the Calgary Flames it does not mean you cannot be an athlete at 40 and beyond. My father is 72 years old and was so excited to show me the new computer he bought for his road bike. It keeps track of his speed, mileage, cadence and even the temperature. I guess he plans on doing some cycling this summer.

5. Your brain needs to exercise

We have all heard about the need to exercise our bodies, especially as we hit middle age. But did you know that your brain needs exercise too. Read, play sudoku or try to do anything to stimulate your brain cells. Just so you know, watching movies all evening does not exercise the brain.

6. Bi-focals and hearing aids might be right around the corner

As we age, our bodies do wear out. The great thing is that we live in a time and place where hearing and vision loss, while inevitable, does not have to inhibit our quality of life. Imagine 100 years ago where you had to endure bad hearing and poor eyesight. Not any more.

7. Your loved ones will still love you

No matter your age or how you are feeling, those who care for you will always care for you. This seems to be unconditional.

Many people have a hard time moving into the second half of their lives. How have you / are you dealing with this time of transition?

This last year I chose to change careers a bit and decided quality of life was more important than an absolute dollar amount or someone else’s notion of prestige . . . I doubt I would have been as comfortable with these new priorities when I graduated college.

I don’t quite feel 10 years shy of 50 . . . but I guess I have a few years to gear up for that one

Let me start at the beginning.

For my 40th birthday, I had a birthday party. I have family and friends around. My husband, son and 2 step daughters (kids are 7, 15, & 17 respectively) were also with me. I had a great time and really found myself embracing the 40 year old syndrome. I am reasonably active after work, but during the day, I have a day job and sit at a desk all day.

So, after my birthday, I continue with my life, but a funny thing started to happen, I started to feel more confident. It was like a revelation one day. I felt like I gave off an aura of confidence and I felt sexy!! I felt more sexy at 40 than I did in my 30′s. Maybe because I could flirt with younger men and know I could get away with it. (no sexual innuendo’s just flirt). Maybe I was embracing the cougar in me. I felt more comfortable in my skin. So, life is good…

Well then I started noticing little things, my size 8 shorts didn’t fit.. uh-oh I went to a size 10…o.k. I wanted to get back into the gym more often. I started doing the workout that I did at 37 and –oh my the size 10 shorts are getting..umm snug..I also added modifying my food intake–diet for all of the non-dieters–which is something i didn’t do before.

So I went to the doctor yesterday for my yearly appt. After that appt, I felt like I need to start applying to nursing homes. The doctor meant well but when I asked about the weight gain, she told me that it is normal and now we have to work extra hard to get rid of the fat and it is much easier for us to gain weight. (no –really–wow thanks for that info).

My aura of confidence has vanished, my sexiness–GONE—(and to top it off I am PMS’ing). I feel fat, horrible, old, and want to eat a box of Whoppers but can’t because I will gain weight in the middle.

So, I guess I better eat vegtables, fart like an old woman, and know that I will not wear a t-shirt that says spoiled rotten on it (the dog might though

Wow, the Big 4-0.

I am more than likely about half-way through my time on this side of Heaven.

Age is something that haunts me. I remember being terrified of turning 15. 15 can you imagine? I have no idea what was so scary about it now, but I was really scared. I am not talking about being a little nervous about it; I had full blown depression over it.

I look back at 15 now and think – Wow that was the beginning of a great couple of years for me.

I was in high school. I did a lot of traveling with band and girl scouts. I had a great group of friends and really enjoyed life.

As I am facing 40 soon, I am starting to get a little nervous again. I can only hope that as I move closer to that date, I can see that it will be a great time in my life.

Currently I have a great group of friends in my life, and I have been doing a lot of traveling in the last 2-3 years.

So instead of letting it haunt me, I am going to try to look forward to having a great couple of years and really enjoying life.

Stacy

via Me & The Boyz: Aging.

When I was a child, I thought 30 seemed old. That age came and went without any issues at all. Turning 40, though, seems like jumping into a bottomless abyss or something. Once I take that step off the edge, I”ll have no control over what happens to me and no way to stop the fall.

At 40, my life is more than half over, statistically speaking. This first half of my life flew by! Will I be 80 just as quickly?

My parents are both gone. My mom had a stroke at 71 and my dad died from cancer. My mother didn’t suffer much but my dad lingered on a little while. They lived long lives and made an impact on those around them, but in just a few generations, no one will even remember they existed. I don’t want to be lost to history.

My mother-in-law is still living. She’s 83, or somewhere around there. She doesn’t own a computer, just got touch tone phone service a few years ago and still drives around on Saturday mornings to pay her bills. I’m afraid of falling behind the times as she has done and being lost in society.

If she gets a letter from her bank, she always calls my wife and asks her to come explain the letter. I’m afraid of not being able to understand the tasks of daily life or make decisions on my own, as seems to be happening to her. Oh, she’s all there mentally, she just doesn’t understand the “modern” way of doing business.

I don’t like the idea of turning 40 at all. I see older folks around me having a hard time keeping up with the times. I see them suffering through financial hardship with no chance of ever getting out of it. All they’ve worked for seems to have gone up in smoke. What’s the point of it all?

My children are 15 and 17. I’m kind of looking forward to them being out on their own because my wife and I had children early and didn’t really get the chance to enjoy being a married couple. At the same time, though, I’m afraid of not being needed anymore.

Can you tell this is really, really bothering me?

Written by Barryo

For many, turning forty is a dreaded day. Somehow a stigma has been associated with it that has resulted in some individuals spending days in mourning. Thousands of men and women each year allow the marketing industry to impress a depressing anticipation into their attitudes and actions. That being, that turning forty is a dreaded moment that influences all the days to follow in a negative manner. It has even been reported that on occasions, depressed individuals have resorted to alarming measures.

This book is about life, and a part of life is accepting the fact of aging to be ingrained within the process of living. The time that is spent in living is an investment. We can choose to make this investment with growling and complaints or we can choose to make it with grins and compliments. Regardless of which path we choose to travel, of this we can be certain – Time Is Never Regained.

In Facing Forty (or any age) Forthrightly, author Dan Jarrard presents 5 areas that will greatly assist in making the life-journey more successful.

Take Time To MEDITATE: it is the PATH TO VIRTUE
Take Time To Be HEALTHY: it is the SECRET OF YOUTH
Take Time To LAUGH: it is the MUSIC OF THE SOUL
Take Time To Be FRIENDLY: it is the KEY TO FRIENDSHIP
Take Time To DREAM: it is the HITCHINGPOST FOR BALANCE

Turning 40 carries the weight of “oh my God, I’m getting old.” We realize we are not, after all, invincible. The three glasses of wine we used to be able to drink now dwindles down to one. The eyesight we had so sharply now becomes dimmer (yikes…trying on those reading glasses in the drugstore is an exercise in humble). The body needs more work. The skin needs more powerful products (and possibly procedures?). The spirit starts to clamor for past passions and dreams. We realize this is our life. We better really start doing something about it.

Of course you’ve heard the stories “Once I turned 40, my rear headed south and didn’t stop.” “After 40, my energy just dropped.” “Getting old sucks.” All true. It happens. It doesn’t skip anyone. Some are more affected than others, but we all are affected. There is some solace in that fact. We are united in the aging process. It’s what we do about it that separates us.

Some let the downhill slide begin and never make an attempt to stop it. Some go a bit overboard and start heading to the docs for Botox well before hitting 35. There’s a happy medium in there somewhere, but it does take effort. If you are set on aging well, you need to work at it. It does not just happen.

Naturally your diet needs to be healthy. Of course you need to exercise (definitely start doing weight training if you haven’t). Your body has always needed this. Get yourself to a good dermatologist to assess a skincare program (washing your face with whatever’s in the shower just won’t cut it anymore). However, it’s what happens inside that makes the entire process so darn interesting.

You look in the mirror and see someone older, maybe a little tired with a bit less spark. However, upon closer inspection, you also see a full-grown woman with wisdom, clarity, sense of self and even confidence. It’s those inner changes that totally make up for the loss of girlish glow you might experience. While we still want to look youthful and attractive, we somehow know that giving up that rather naive look about our eyes for the deeper, slightly more crinkled look is absolutely worth it.

There are women who would probably say they’d give up the wisdom to have the youth back. But if they really thought about it, would they? Would they, if given the choice, want to make those same past mistakes again? Deal with those toxic people long ago cut out of our lives? Work in that awful dead-end job while trying to make something of ourselves? Deal with the diapers? Date out-of-work musicians and cocky guys who never did call? Worry about the rent? The roommates? The uncertainty?

If you really think about it, the youth factor is overrated. Sure, you can exist on three hours of sleep, eat what you like without worrying about sagging, not have the responsibilities of your current life. But, like in the old Twilight Zone episodes, the price may be too steep. Nothing is free.

These days turning 40 is completely different than when our mothers and grandmothers turned 40. We aren’t necessarily deemed matronly and doomed to skirts below the knee and sensible shoes. We can wear tight jeans, super high silly heels, body-hugging jackets and even hair extensions. We can look 30 (or maybe 35) as well as be smart, sexy, confident and self-powerful. If it’s done right, it’s done well. If it’s not, it’s just a sad clinging to a younger time. It’s finding that line between that works for you.

As a 40+ year old woman, I know it takes work to look and feel good. It takes more than some and less than others. As always, it’s a work in progress. I relish the work ahead. As a woman facing the same, be careful what you spout to others coming up the age ladder. We should sing the praises of becoming a more self-evolved woman and let them that face it later, dare I say, even look forward to the prospect?

K. Moehr is an author and marketing consultant. Her book, Top Sellers Tell, can be found at http://www.amazon.com Visit her direct sales power marketing site at: http://www.isellmoretoday.com

Calling all 40 and Fabulous Women: Be a part of our next book project! Tell your story about turning 40 with your own personal interview. Contact K. Moehr to learn more: kmseller@aol.com

Your familly is growing. Work is stressful. And it gets harder and harder to hit the gym. Its when we hit the age of forty is when we really begin to see our bodies begin to change, again. Above the surface it may seem that there is no significant change, but underneath there are some dramatic changes. Below are some facts from Inside The Living Body that illustrates some of the changes we all encounter.

• By our mid- to late 40s, our skin begins to lose elasticity, becoming saggy and wrinkled. Years of exposure to the ultraviolet rays of the sun have worn down the collagen that binds our skin cells together. We do not regenerate the cells as quickly anymore.

• Our eyesight is also not the same. The inner lens cells — the same ones we were born with — stiffen and don’t focus light as well. The lens cells, heart cells and some brain cells are the only ones our body never replaces.

• Even though we may exercise, our body shape changes. We lose around 6½ lbs. of muscle each decade of our adult life — and put on more fat. Women tend to put fat on their hips, men around their waist.

• But fat is much more than an extra inch around the waist. Bright yellow fat deposits find their way into every available cavity within our body, even inside our blood vessels. Inside the Living Body In extreme cases, the fat builds up so much that it blocks the vessels completely, causing heart disease — the leading cause of death in the western world.

• The stress of working and raising families causes premature aging of the cardiovascular system. The outward signs include sweaty palms, shortness of breath and dizziness. Inside the body, adrenalin and cortisol flood the bloodstream, our heart pumps faster and our muscles and arteries contract.

• Stress accelerates the aging of our blood vessels. High blood pressure damages cells in the artery walls and they become stiff and thick, especially in our biggest artery — the aorta. Arteries with stiff walls restrict blood flow. That means as our blood pressure rises, our heart works harder. It’s a vicious circle — the more we get stressed, the more we damage our blood vessels, and the more we damage our blood vessels, the less able we are to deal with the effects of stress.

• For women, menopause triggers a dramatic chain reaction in the body. Eggs or the hormones estrogen and progesterone are no longer produced, and as a result, women suffer from insomnia and hot flashes.

• In our lungs, shallower alveoli (air sacs) mean we’re more easily out of breath.

• Our brains have shrunk by 10 percent, which could explain why some of us get confused and forgetful.

• We become hard of hearing — we can no longer hear quiet sounds because so many of the sensory hairs in our cochlea (inner ear) have been destroyed.

• Our once-clear eye lenses are now stiffer, turning a yellowish-brown color and even cloudy — as crystals form in the lenses — the result of a lifetime of exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays.

• Our skeleton is also dramatically affected by aging. Bone cells are destroyed by hormonal changes faster than new cells can be rebuilt. Our bones, therefore, are more brittle and we suffer from osteoporosis.

• Every day, cells clone themselves in the billions to battle wear and tear on our organs. The DNA inside each cell gets copied. The old cells die off and the new ones take their place. But the copying system isn’t perfect. Any imperfections in our DNA are also duplicated. Over a lifetime, we make so many copies of our cells that even the tiniest defects accumulate. It’s like Inside the Living Bodyusing a photocopier. Copies made from copies degrade in quality. In our faces, we have totally replaced the bone every 10 years since we were born. Our 70-year-old face is a seventh-generation copy of our baby face. The imperfections are exaggerated with each copy.

• Another reason for aging might be the air we breathe. We need oxygen to live — but throughout our lives, it slowly poisons us. Inside each of our cells, our mitochondria are like tiny power plants, combining food with oxygen. They create the energy we need. But, just like a power plant, they also generate pollution. In this case, the pollutant is oxygen. The mitochondria change the molecules into unstable forms called free radicals. Over a lifetime, free radicals slowly suffocate the mitochondria and damage our cells.

They love the game, they love the camaraderie, they love the money. So why stop?

Major League Baseball has more 40-somethings on rosters than at any time in the last half-century, and that’s even without 44-year-old right-hander Roger Clemens, who is deciding whether to play this season.

While every franchise searches for the next young box-office hero, it’s the sport’s senior citizens such as John Smoltz, Jamie Moyer, David Wells and Moises Alou who still play for postseason glory.

Some of the biggest names in the game are on the far side of 40, such as Barry Bonds, Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine. They remain well-conditioned and well-compensated. Together, those five have more than 55 million reasons for continuing their careers in 2007.

“The carrot that dangles before them is bigger, shinier, more valuable and richer,” Atlanta Braves general manager John Schuerholz says about why more 40-somethings commit to stay in top physical condition and continue sacrificing family time. “The next year they play might mean another $10 million or more.”

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, 24 players 40 or older played in the majors in 2006. This season, 25 players who will be at least 40 during the season were on opening-day rosters or teams’ disabled lists. From 1962 until 1980, there were never as many as 10 major leaguers 40 or older.

Beyond money, relationships in the clubhouse and the lifestyle are other motivating factors.

“The financial blessing is obvious,” says Braves ace Smoltz, who will turn 40 in May. “But at a certain point most guys have the financial freedom to do what they want. I think it’s about the ability to (say) that I’m still good enough, somebody still wants me and I enjoy doing it.”

“My experience is that most players never want to stop playing baseball. But the players (who) are still playing in the big leagues who are over 40 are special people,” says Jim Bowden, general manager of the Washington Nationals. “You have to keep yourself in tremendous condition, and you have to have tremendous character and desire and a passion to play.”

Detroit Tigers reliever Jose Mesa, who’ll turn 41 in May, plans on a heavy workload. “It’s a beautiful game,” he says. “You don’t want to quit. The hardest thing is to do a lot of running and a lot of lifting. I think the knees are the first thing that bother you.”

Forty-somethings and their teams generally know their limitations.

“As long as you can hit, you can stay around this game,” says Alou, the New York Mets’ everyday left fielder who turns 41 in July. Alou, one of three 40-or-older Mets, signed as a free agent this winter. He was leading the National League in hitting last season until he suffered an ankle injury.

“I’ve had my share of injuries but have been able to battle back,” he says. “This team overlooked the things I don’t do (as well at 40) and still wanted me to come and help them win. I think I can still hit the fastball.”

Conditioning key

But can he hit a changeup? Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Moyer, at 44 the oldest pitcher in the majors, is not only a master at changing speeds but a master of caring for his body.

“My theory is that today guys take better care of themselves,” says Moyer, a 21-game winner when he was 40. “I can’t prove any of that, but guys seem to have more concern for what they’re eating and their offseason conditioning. It’s the way this generation has gone about things.”

Moyer’s program includes working with a conditioning coach to strengthen his body’s core to handle the repetition factor involved in pitching. He’s also become an advocate of spinning (aerobic exercise on a stationary bike). It helps that his wife, Karen, operates a spinning studio in Seattle.

“The question you have to ask is: ‘How do I manage myself to do what I do and stay healthy for the duration?’ ” Moyer says. “Everybody feels good when you come to spring training. Then the bell rings in April and the marathon begins.”

In recent years, the best example for baseball life after 40 has been Clemens, whose conditioning has paid off in Hall of Fame numbers. In 2005 he led the NL with a 1.87 ERA but was burned out in the postseason after 32 regular-season starts. Last year Clemens joined his hometown Houston Astros for the second half and compiled a 2.30 ERA in 19 starts.

“We talked about the scenario of a player in his mid-40s when we considered the whole concept of bringing Roger on board for the second half,” Astros general manager Tim Purpura says. “The one constant we’ve seen is that at that age you need more rest and probably less workload.”

Clemens hasn’t said whether he’ll make a second-half appearance this year, but this spring he prepared himself to pitch a 24th season. Jeff Bagwell, in his first year as an instructor with the Astros, watched Clemens work out in Kissimmee, Fla., with a degree of envy.

“I had to stop playing because of my shoulder injury,” says Bagwell, 39 in May. “But Roger, at 44, is still pitching at the highest level of the game. That’s a gift.”

Paying attention to body

Smoltz’s career has been anything but normal. He has gone from Cy Young Award-winning starter to bullpen ace, back to the top of Atlanta’s rotation, working through Tommy John surgery to replace torn elbow ligaments in 2000.

Such procedures and advances to diagnose injuries and speed recuperation have promoted being able to play longer. But staying in shape to compete against younger players is a given. “Ten years ago, it was no big deal, gaining 5 pounds,” says Glavine, 41. “You’d burn that in your sleep. The older you get, that 5 or 10 pounds is a little harder to get rid of. I’ve adjusted my eating habits a lot.”

Glavine also adjusted his workout regimen.

“I really don’t take any time off in the winter anymore,” he says. “You pay attention to what your body is telling you. If the knees get a little bit sore, your ankles get sore, you back off the running and ride the bike. … But I don’t know that a player is any more likely to get hurt when he’s 40 than when he’s 38.”

“I used to buy into what everyone else was saying — that I was getting old,” Smoltz says. “I don’t buy into that anymore. I feel young, (although) I work my butt off to get to this point.”

Teammate Chipper Jones, 35 this month, doesn’t envision Smoltz retiring anytime soon. “He has an unbelievable passion to compete. There’s nothing you can play him in and he’s not good at. … You watch him throwing in the bullpen, and it’s like clockwork. He’s throwing with pretty good stuff for 40 years old.”

Nor is Smoltz ready to retire.

“I still enjoy playing,” he says, “and that’s going to be the indicator for me about when I get out. It’s not going to be a number or an age. It’s going to be that I’m tired of working out. Right now, I absolutely love the competition and preparing for it.”

Families, numbers play roles

How old is too old? Sometimes that answer is determined physically. For others, it comes down to family.

“My body might say I could go five more years, but I think my wife would kill me,” Glavine says.

“The way I’m taking it is one year at a time,” says Moyer, who has six children. “I signed a two-year contract (with Philadelphia), but my family is in Seattle. The last six years, I played at home, slept in my own bed. Now I’m all the way across the country.

“We have a freshman in high school, three in middle school and two that aren’t even in school yet, so it’s not easy. Those are things that I’ll also have to assess from the family side.”

Numbers can also play a role in deciding when a player ends his career. The San Francisco Giants’ Bonds, 42, is closing rapidly on career home run leader Hank Aaron. The Arizona Diamondbacks’ Johnson, 43, is the career strikeout leader among left-handed pitchers. Houston second baseman Craig Biggio, 41, hopes to get his 3,000th hit this season. Glavine is nine wins shy of 300.

Some numbers have more cachet than others. Some players put more effort into chasing them, and others are realistic. Alou collected his 300th homer and 2,000th hit last season. He knows he won’t be around long enough for 400 or 2,500, respectively.

“Milestones, honestly they don’t mean a lot,” Smoltz says. “They’re neat, and they’re nice. If they happen, great. But I don’t pitch for milestones. There are a couple things that mean more to me than anything else.

“Me? I’d love to have the real World Series ring on my hand again.”

I poll everyone about aging. Children, Safeway clerks, ancient relatives, psychoanalysts, New Age friends, garbage men, the whole gamut of humanity. Children say, “40 is old. Duh, stupid-head.” Everyone else says some variation of, “40 is young! Age is just a number! Besides, it’s better than the alternative! Wait till you turn 50! It’s all about attitude!”

Only the psychoanalyst spoke the truth: “40 is the beginning of an endless slide into decay, culminating, mercifully, with death.”

That seems about right to me.

I wasn’t happy about turning 30, either. I felt like the era of blissful irresponsibility was folding. The world forgives you for walking off a job at 25, but at 35 it’s sort of unbecoming. Actually, you can do anything at 25 — bounce checks, move every two months, stay out until 4 a.m., eat nothing but popcorn and never exercise. I mourned the end of that life, deeply.

To cope, I went to the city on my birthday and drank so many vodka-cranberries that I passed out until I was 33. When I came to, I had a husband, two kids, a house, a Subaru station wagon and a 100-pound dog.

I still have the kids.

They’re actually the ones making me feel especially decrepit right now. The other day I asked a male friend, “Do I look really old and unattractive?” He squinted at my hopeful face and said, “No! Not at all. You just look … uh … tired.”

I raced to the mirror and stared at the Samsonite bags under my eyes, the Grand Canyon-like wrinkle between my eyebrows, the accordion lines around my eye sockets. Boy, am I tired! I’m tired because I had to get up at 6 a.m. to make three lunches, three breakfasts, find six matching socks, six shoes that might or might not fit, locate last night’s half-completed homework and get the munchkins to school before the “tardy” list is in.

Then it’s off to work, praying the newspaper industry lasts another day, then the nightly race through traffic to retrieve my children before getting billed the $1-per-minute late fee at Happy Time After Care. Then it’s dinner (assuming there’s food in the house, otherwise it’s another night at Sparky’s Giant Burger), homework (crapshoot), baths (rarity) and, if God is smiling on us, bedtime before 10 p.m., no default notices from the bank and no bloodshed.

Of course I have wrinkles! It’s a miracle I’m not institutionalized. But the thing is, I don’t want wrinkles. I don’t want to get old, and I really, really don’t want to turn 40.

When I was a kid, my dad had a clipping from New West magazine on his liquor cabinet. The headline was, “Things I Have Learned After a Half Century of Living.” No. 1 was, “Liquid shoe polish doesn’t work.” No. 2 was something about staying mellow.

I thought, maybe I should make a list of “Things I Have Learned in Four Decades of Living.” I sat down at the dining room table with a pen and paper.

No. 1. Parking tickets do not go away if you put them in the glove compartment. In fact, they multiply.

No. 2. Stay away from anything big and stupid (i.e., horses).

No. 3. Expensive coffee is worth it.

No. 4. Um … um …

I actually have learned very little in four decades of living. When I was about 28, I knew everything, but alas, much of it proved to be untrue.

When I was 28, I thought it was better to “age gracefully.” I thought people who dyed their hair were failing to embrace the full spectrum of life, and worse, buying into the sexist myths of a youth-obsessed culture.

That was before the Grand Canyon grew between my eyebrows. Now I can easily envision myself as one of those frightening 80-year-olds with jet-black hair, crimson lipstick and a face immobilized by plastic surgery. Smug 28-year-olds will circulate my snapshot around the Internet.

Meanwhile, I’m not sure what I’ll do on Wednesday. Lock myself in a broom closet, possibly. Start lying about my age. Self-medicate. Discover Jesus. Let myself go. Weep.

I can guarantee one thing, though: I will not be going gently into that good night. There will be a lot of Botox before it’s over.

E-mail Carolyn Jones at carolynjones@sfchronicle.com.

Most of the time I can get past that though, and focus on myself and not my dad. Long ago I noticed that men in their 40s do as well in races as (and in many cases better than) men in their 30s or late 20s. That always surprised me until I was in my 30s and had 2 (and then 3) kids. I was never able to get enough sleep and time for training was at a premium, particularly once the kids outnumbered the parents.

But now things are moving in the right direction. Our older daughter is almost 9 and is a big help with the other 2, freeing us up more of the time. My wife is pretty good about trying to free me up once or twice during the week for runs and I try to get out early both Saturday and Sunday mornings. The Lindsay pool has lanes open for adults from 9 to 10 on Monday and Thursday, so I try to get in after the kids go to bed.

Yes, life now seems to be about finding balance, although I suppose that is true at all ages. But this year I hope to re-write my PR times at most distances. I have had trouble shaking off the leg injury I developed at the beginning of July, unfortuantely. I guess taking longer to heal is part of getting old(er).

Life is good.

I get a lot of flack from my siblings each year. I am the youngest. I’ve taken to reminding them that they’ll always be older than me and then ask them if they want to race.

I’m always somewhat melancholy around my birthday. It’s lingered on this year.

It is just a number. Getting older beats the alternative.

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