Don't Let The Old Man In

Don’t Let The Old Man/Woman In

As we age injury becomes more a part of our lives.

Thirty years ago, I’d injure myself and the next day I’d be back at it with no pain.

I’m more than double that age now and my body doesn’t work that way.

As many of you know I recently tore two of the three tendons in my hamstrings.

It happened a little over a month ago.

I’m injecting peptides to speed the recovery and stayed away from a few classes at the gym until this week.

One of the things I noticed is how easy it is to give in.

I know you have to take care of yourself and rest some but it was tempting  to baby my injury and act my age.

One of my friends came up to me and said “Rick, don’t let the old man in.”

That’s become a mantra around our house.

At first Kathy could see in my eyes the injury deflated me a bit.

It caused me to be more cautious which isn’t a bad thing but it also damped my desire for adventure.

Not anymore.

But it’s a choice…give in or get the Hell up and move.

I remember when I fought cancer my doctor told me he would destroy cancer cells and injure good cells. My job was to go to the gym after treatment and kick his ass by exercising blood back into those injured cells.

I don’t know if that was true or just a doctor in tune with his patient and giving me the stamina needed to fight cancer.

It worked.

It is easy to settle as we age.

Easy to let the little aches and pains keep us from pushing hard.

I see older folks at my gym that modify but don’t coddle their workouts.

They show up, they put out and they shut up about the pain.

The older I get the more amazed I am by these bodies God has given us.

They are made to do far more than we think.

But you have to use it or you will lose it.

And once gone it’s a lot harder to get it back.

But not impossible. It’s a choice.

Our bodies will tell us when to back off a little but make sure it’s your body talking and not “The old man trying to get in.”