Writing Through the Aches

I knew I should have stretched before writing this.

You see, I’m what you’d call an older dad. Having been married once before, almost two decades ago, I remarried in 2014. For reasons I won’t get into, we didn’t have kids right away. Then COVID hit and, like many other married couples, we got the surprise of a lifetime that a bouncing baby girl was to be expected in January 2021.

The joy of youth

So, having a kid at age 44 was both exciting and physically challenging, given my past. Ever since I was young, I participated in sports. Mostly, I ran track and played tennis in junior high and high school. During college, I picked up basketball and played almost nonstop for roughly 16 years (three to four times a week for about two hours). For about five years sandwiched in, I played flag football with little to no break between seasons.

The past catches up

With age and married life, I played less and less basketball. I recovered less quickly and found that my joints and knees weren’t responding like they used to. It was harder to keep the weight off with each passing year.

When 2021 hit, I was the heaviest I had ever been at about 190 pounds, roughly 15 pounds over my typical “playing weight.” I never realized how much even 15 pounds could affect my getting around and handling a baby. On top of that, so much damage had been done to my knees and other joints that the constant bending down and bending down and bending down was now giving my back the fits.

Unlike professional athletes, I had really no recovery plan after playing in the paint for two hours against a guy as big or bigger than me (I’m about 6’2”). And because I was usually the biggest guy on the court, I had to defend the other biggest guy on the court. I was also a natural rebounder, so I was constantly getting hit and pushed around with guys trying to dislodge me from my position. Even after an hour of playing on a Saturday, I was feeling it already and had to stop for the day before the rest of my week became ruined.

The aching of a new day

Fast forward to today and I’m still bending down, but not as much since my daughter is older. The aches and pains are still there, though not as constant. But I’ve paid the price and now it seems it’s time to collect.

So trying to sit and write for an hour or two at night after sitting for almost nine hours at my regular job is the last thing my body wants to do. Out of sheer desire to want to be healthier for my family and not feel so bad when I’m writing, I realized it was time to get serious about my health again.

If nothing else, I wanted my body to stop sounding like a bowl of Snap, Crackle and Pop, or my wife to stop asking,” Was that your knee/neck/back/entire skeleton?” every time I get up from the couch.

The weight of it all

If you’re like me with these same struggles, there is hope. Now, this may not be for everyone, and I think legally I have to say that I’m not a licensed physician, but lifting heavy weights has been a game-changer and lifesaver for me.

There are many benefits for both men and women to lift weights (my wife has been doing it for the last six years and finally convinced me to do the same). Especially when hitting the 40-year mark, weights provide so much benefit to the body. Keeping your body fit with weights will also help keep you from going over that cliff later in life as you age.

While my reference link here is from Men’s Health on the impact training can have on men over 40, women can also find similar benefits to lifting weights as well.

Years ago, I read a book called Bigger Leaner Stronger. For a beginner to weight training, I found it easy to follow and no-nonsense. Needless to say, I didn’t keep up with it as I kept playing basketball, and while I maintained a good weight, I wasn’t really toned, just lean and ever-so-slightly doughy in the middle.

Now that I’ve been lifting weights since March following the program in the book (this is not a paid ad; the instructions and philosophy in the book just work), I’ve seen a good change in my body physiology and an increase in energy and less back pain.

Nearing 50, it will take more than consistent weight lifting, though. I also need a healthy, consistent diet because the weight is harder to keep off the older you get. To me, that’s tougher than finding the motivation to work out. I’m a snacker, and because of my years of playing basketball, a high metabolism and lean frame, I settled into the mindset of “I can eat anything and keep the weight off.” Not so much as I got on in the years.

How it helps me write

Writing at my desk after sitting for eight hours is more doable and feels like it’s less stress on my body. My mind feels clearer, too. On top of weight training, I also incorporate the following into my healthy writer routine:

Sit/stand desk to change up my posture and get the blood flowing.
Walking
Taking a fair amount of breaks, but not too many to break the flow of writing.
A balance board from Fluidstance when I feel like getting a little movement in to recharge my body.
Intentional (not just a little twisting and turning) stretching exercises to keep myself limber as I can be at my age.