A Question for Year End…Are You in Good Physical Shape? It is a rhetorical question…no need to answer.
I have a tradition that I started about 50 years ago…I run ten miles on New Year’s Day every year. Used to be fun and it kept me from drinking too much the night before. However, since I have not had any kind of a drink in about 35 years…and since I am now 77 tears…I mean…years of age…it is not as much fun as it might sound.
Truth is…I am not in good shape. Maybe I am for a 77 year old, but compared to any other year in my life…not so much. I have lost strength, endurance, flexibility, balance and speed. Other than that, I am just fine.
How did this happen to me? Well, I earned it. I quit working out on a regular basis. That will do it every time. By working out I mean, lifting weights, stretching and running/swimming/biking for cardio at least four times a week…every week.
I have three things going for me…I weigh what I weighed in high school…so that is a positive, I am currently uninjured and I do walk at least two or three miles and swim in the ocean at least four times a week or more. I guess there is one more thing I have going for me…I recognize that I have gone to heck in a hurry…and I do not like it. I also know that gardening, chores around the house and a once a month spin class do not really do the job…I need to lift, stretch and do some cardio on a very regular basis.
So, I am stepping up my game. I started lifting, stretching and cardio work a week or so ago. I will make it through my ten miler for sure. It will not be pretty. I will do it well before dawn because it gets hot in Hawaii once the sun comes up and because I would really like for not one person see to me as I stumble around the Big Box parking lot, looking for loose change on the ground and listening to music in me ear phones…turned up to 11. And “running” will not be exactly accurate…let’s call it running and walking…better yet, walking and running…and the running will be pitiful. But…I will get it done.
Here is what I know for sure about working out at my age…or at any age if one has not been working out on a regular basis and starts up with a new workout routine…you can hurt yourself in a hurry…pulled muscle, turned ankle, pain in your shoulder (that always happens to me), knee swells up, blisters…you know the list. So, I am going to build into a decent workout routine very very slowly…but on a regular basis. I found myself doing curls with twenty pounds of weight…shameful at any other time in my life, but I would really like to get back in some decent shape without injury. So…ego aside…start slow…build gently…get er done.
Take that last paragraph seriously. I have an old friend who was President of Allstate Personal Lines many years ago, Bob Gary. He was a heck of a runner and always in great shape. Long after we both retired, I called him and asked him if he was still running. His answer…”Absolutely…in between injuries.” And that is the way it is when you age and try to take on too much too quickly. Slow and steady counts. Trying to beat your all time high bench press record…hey, that was for another time in your life.
Here comes a personal opinion from someone filled with personal opinions…you get the best out of your life when you put in the work to keep you body working at its best all the way to the finish line. The mother of one of my oldest friends, Bill Bryant, shared the same day of birth with me…and I called her each year so we could catch up and wish each other a happy birthday. She always had me call at the same time, because she had tennis in the morning and did not want to miss it. I think she was 98 when we had our last call…and she had played tennis that morning. Mrs. Bryant set the standard for me. Now it is up to me to live in it.
So…give all of that some thought and have at it. We will all get old and feeble some day…but let’s save that for our late 90’s or early 100s. In the meantime, let’s all do a better job of taking care of ourselves.
End of rant.
Aloha and an early Happy New Year.