In 1955, the year that I was born, the average life expectancy in the United States was 68.2 years. In 2015, my 60th year, it will be 79.12. Ready or not, barring some accident, I will easily live another twenty years.

The reasons we live longer now are manifold, and pretty simple. Dupont wasn’t just being clever when they promised “Better Living Through Chemistry”. Advancements in the fields of medicine and pharmaceuticals make it easier to treat and control infectious diseases and chronic conditions. Smoking cessation, better diagnosis and treatment of heart disease and stroke, more and better coronary units, changes in diet, all contribute to the steady rise in longevity.

Ironically, many of the same factors that increase our longevity also contribute to our poor health: Technology, chemicals, urbanization, and income, both having it and not having it. We can live long lives, even if we’re not healthy. Watch enough television, and you can compile a long list of drugs to ask your doctor about. With the right chemicals, technology, and enough money, we can survive, if not thrive. We can buy quantity of life.

So, if you’re fifty, or almost fifty, or, like me, almost sixty, and you’re looking at another twenty to thirty years of life ahead of you, what can you do to maintain a high quality of life? You can do something pretty primitive. You can get stronger.

There are probably a dozen studies that show stronger people live the longest. Allow me to offer that they live long lives easier than, um, the others.

Strength is usually defined as the capacity to do work. Aging is often illustrated by the inability to do work. Simple tasks, such as opening a jar, climbing stairs, rising from a chair, or placing an object on an overhead shelf, are all markers of strength, and losing the ability to do them reduces independence. Lose your independence, you might as well die.

Getting strong is simple, doesn’t take much time, and guarantees independence. You’ll become a freedom fighter. You’ll be taking care of yourself.

If you’re fifty, or approaching fifty, there’s a good chance you’ve thought about your remaining years, what they might hold, and how you might spend them. You’re planning retirement. No matter the size of your portfolio, or the climate and tax rate in your state, if you really want to retire well, you need to be strong. Freedom fighting, mid-century modern strong.

If youth is indeed wasted on the young, then living well is truly the best revenge. Being strong is the best way to live well.

So, muscle up, fight for your freedom, and live well.