Weeks three and four on my quest to be in the best shape of my life by my 67th birthday were not optimal. In fact they were very disappointing. But then I sat down with God and talked to Him about it, I found peace in what I realized.
The problem with setting goals, be they work related, relationship, or fitness goals, is that those plans don’t involve the unknown, obviously, because the unknown can’t be predicted. Life will happen, and when it does, things sometimes need to change. I developed a minor back injury, a pulled muscle because I didn’t warm up and stretch sufficiently. Rather than hit the pause button for a couple of days and rehabilitate, I kept training hard despite the pain. After an especially inspired leg day, I woke up the next morning and made the foolhardy decision to put on a pair of pants. My back spasmed, and I had to grab the dresser and hang on for dear life, unable to stand up, or sit down, or breathe without causing severe pain.
I got the hint.
I started to rehab the injury with Epsom salt baths, partial movements combined with mild stretching, and I made good use of a tens unit, my wife’s capable hands and elbows to massage out the evil, and I drank an obscene amount of water to flush toxins and fully hydrate so as not to aggravate the situation. I had planned on being laid up a couple of days, but my back had it’s own ideas and the shenanigans persisted for the better part of two weeks.
And so this week, refreshed and renewed, I started all over again but smarter this time.
Day one involved warming up with very light partial reps, and enough of them to make the muscles in my lower body and torso burn. In between sets it was slow stretches in a number of different directions then rinse and repeat until there was no discomfort when I moved.
I accepted that I won’t reach my goal of being in the best shape of my life for my 67th birthday, but that doesn’t mean I should give up on the process. It’s just a setback. This whole idea was never about reaching some mythical goal no one cared about other than my own ego and pride. I always stay in good shape, this was about doing the exceptional. It was meant to be a fun challenge that I had hoped to inspire someone to do the uncomfortable thing and adopt a lifestyle that includes fitness training and healthy eating. I hoped that if I could pull it off at sixty-seven years of age, someone else would feel inspired to make a healthy change in their life.
I’m not trying to cheat death nor am I in denial about the aging process. Each day, I am one day older and one more day closer to death, like all of us. But I see no value in working to expedite the process and diminish my quality of life by gaining a bunch of weight, eating foods and drinking things that are not good for my body, weaken my immune system, and cause my body to become sick fighting toxic food ingredients so I spend my time visiting doctors rather than spending my time serving God and enjoying an active life with my wife and children.
As long as I am breathing, my cells are metabolizing nutrients, and my body will adapt to hard work by becoming stronger, along with increased endurance, flexibility, and mobility. If I feed my body foods that enhance function and performance rather than toxic foods that my body has to fight with then my quality of life will be much better.
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
God gave me this body. The Holy Spirit lives inside this body with me. I have a responsibility to obey His direction and, to respect and care for this body. It’s not always easy, it’s not always convenient or fun, but it is my responsibility to do it in obedience to God, and to teach my children to do the same.
Today I took the time to warm up, stretch, and prepare my body for the workout I had planned. Like I should have done before I got the back injury. Then I went to work, trained hard and quickly with very little rest in between sets. It felt really good to put in the work, and it was just enough to make progress without being so sore that I can’t train tomorrow.
And that is the process. Make a plan, train, recover, and evaluate, then do it all over again the next day. Setbacks may come, and if they do, make a plan, train, recover, and evaluate, then do it all over again the next day.
It’s about fitness and health becoming the way we live our lives, rather than something we do for a while to reach a goal.
