YOUNGER NEXT YEAR by Chris Crowley and Henry S. Lodge, M.D. is a fun read because it is brimming with good news—we CAN take charge of our bodies and slow the aging process to a remarkable degree. Chris writes from his own experience while Harry narrates the professional viewpoint. Harry is an internist who loves to explain the biological science and statistical research behind his 7 RULES. Chris is a retired attorney in his mid-seventies whose personality just explodes onto the pages as he shares his own phenomenal zest for life as preserved by following the 7 RULES. On Kindle, YOUNGER NEXT YEAR has become a nine book series addressing the unique needs of both men and women.
The tone of YOUNGER NEXT YEAR: Turn Back Your Biological Clock is refreshing, motivating, and amusing. It is refreshing in that the authors are refusing the ageism of our culture and the passivity of many older adults. They redefine the aging process by culling out the avoidable, degenerative diseases and decay we assume “normal.” YOUNGER NEXT YEAR is powerfully motivating because it makes our choices clear, simple, and seemingly quite possible with just 7 RULES. Americans are living longer; do we not want to live better? Finally, the book is so amusing I laughed out loud numerous times. Chris is willing to tell embarrassing stories on himself with which the reader can identify, yet he also tells of achievements that make us want to follow every single rule for the rest of our lives.
What’s not to like? I skipped many paragraphs in which both Chris and Harry expressed rather ardent belief in evolution. They both seem amazed at the resilience of the human body and the emotional well-being generated by good stewardship of our physical and social selves. I, too, am amazed at how “fearfully and wonderfully made” we are, but I do not credit evolution. Thankfully, not one of the 7 RULES is invalidated by belief in God and his account of creation in the book of Genesis. Even though the book is secular, you may find the rules strangely biblical. If Christians followed these 7 RULES, we would have all the energy we need to wholeheartedly love God and one another as Jesus commands us to do. I strongly recommend that you do not start with the 7 RULES, but read the highly motivational book first.
#1: EXERCISE 6 DAYS A WEEK –FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. 
#2: DO SERIOUS AEROBIC EXERCISE 4 DAYS A WEEK–FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.
#3: DO SERIOUS STRENGTH TRAINING, WITH WEIGHTS, 2 DAYS A WEEK–FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.
#4: SPEND LESS THAN YOU MAKE.
#5: QUIT EATING CRAP!
#6: CARE.
#7: CONNECT AND COMMIT.
I CORINTHIANS 9:24-27 MSG You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally. I don’t know, but I am running hard for THE FINISH LINE. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No sloppy living for me! I’m staying alert and in top condition. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself. Relates to Rules 1-3.
ROMANS 13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. Rule #4.
I CORINTHIANS 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. Rule #5.
I JOHN 3:23 And this is his commandment. We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. Rules # 6 & 7.
