The sport of aging

The other day I wrote that it may be easier for some people to achieve fitness goals because they are involved in an activity where improved fitness is beneficial.

I mentioned two activities that I’ve been involved in over the years… golf and kung fu.

In both of those activities, my performance improves when I am stronger and more mobile.

Many people do not regularly participate in such activities.

However, we ALL participate in the most difficult sport of all… the sport of aging!

There is no other sport where improved strength, mobility and cardiovascular health is needed most, particularly if we are lucky enough to reach 70.

If our goal is to live independently for as long as possible, then it is critical that we train ourselves in all three of these areas.

With that in mind, training for strength is THE most important of these areas of fitness to focus your attention, because it also has more of a positive impact on the other two areas than what you can get from the other two.

Yet it seems that it is the one activity ignored by most people over 50, and even more so as they advance in years.

Strength and conditioning helped my recovery from surgery

As many have read here, I recently underwent surgery to remove a portion of my colon.

The day before my release I was visited by a physical therapist who put me through a few tests to be sure it was safe for me to go home.

These included walking up and down steps, getting in and out of bed, sitting down and standing up without using my hands, and picking up an item of the floor (in this case, a rubber glove).

There was one more test where she stood behind me and held up fingers.  I had to turn to see how many she was holding up.

This all went quite easily for me, and I was released the next day.

After I left the hospital, I never took any more pain medication for any pain associated with my surgery.

I did take Tylenol for a minor headache, and then my Ubrelvy for a migraine a couple weeks after surgery.

Since then, my recovery has gone well.

I am convinced that my strength and conditioning work in recent years contributed to making this a much easier recovery than I anticipated.

A couple days ago I went into the garage gym to get through a few dumbbell exercises and I did some push-ups from my knees.

At this point, I still must wait a few more weeks to do any exercises where the core muscles are engaged, as I still need to wait for everything to heal up.

Thus, regular push-ups are off the table, as are any barbell exercises, ab work, etc.

This year I turn 60, so I feel like I’ve lost some ground going through this surgery, particularly since it came on the heels of a ten-day vacation to Italy.

While my weight is starting to rebound, I am still a bit below where I was prior to the surgery and I’ve lost some muscle mass.

I also haven’t done any conditioning work since at least mid-November.

With all this in mind, I am itching to get back into training to compete in the sport of aging!