I have been working for many years to insure that I pushed back on the hands of time, by which I mean, I have been exercising and eating well. It’s more than that, though. It seems that to push back those hands, you have to push really hard. So you have to exercise more than you used to, but then it takes longer to heal and be rested enough to keep pushing. Balancing that resting/healing cycle with the active cycle is tricky when you are trying to push the envelope.
I often read articles about people who “accept” their age, and gracefully relax into aging. So far, I’m not one of them. I’m in the “use it or lose it” category and figure that I have to do stairs to be able to do stairs.
Last week I did two things. 1) I broke my foot, and 2) I came down with Covid. From a certain perspective, it’s not a bad thing that I was down with Covid for the first week or so of my broken foot. Chances are I would have done something stupid and made my foot worse, but I had a lot of time to think about my approach to fitness and ageing. No circus for 6 weeks, no work for 6 weeks. Where would I find the opportunity in being laid up. I made a plan: crunches, and all my ab work every day (did you know there are exercise videos on YouTube for people with broken feet?) and pushups and planks from the knees. But, since I still need to practice, I thought I would give my arms and shoulders a break from circus activities so no pull-ups and only hanging for stretching.
But, what about thinking – what did I conclude? I’m exercising and working out because I love to do it. I love to be physically active and expressive with my body and since I’m not a dancer, this is the most satisfying way to do it. Circus provides strength, flexibility, creativity, stamina and artistic expression. Sounds perfect to me. And, that pushes back the hands of time