Taking my break at work.
I was greeted by Mary this morning who had, somehow, found out about my birthday today and wished me a happy one. She was busily cleaning away in the kitchen. I said thank you, fed the dogs and left. Kinda got in the habit of feeding the dogs in the morning instead of the evening as I was all the way up until a few weeks ago.
This morning, I got to a jobsite with a bunch of meter boxes - they're the boxes that go in the ground in front of your house that the water meter is contained in. There was only one man that showed up and he said in very broken English that there was no equipment to unload that truck.
So, I was busy lifting these rather heavy boxes off of the pallets on the truck and down to him. I was thinking about getting old - one of those things I guess you start to do when you are getting in your mid 40's - and what that would mean for me. I read other blogs of mid 40 somethings that are out for vengeance in ensuring that as they grow older, they don't stop moving. I have the same thoughts, which is why I'm glad, actually, that I have a job that forces me to exert myself physically. Frequently, that exertion is extreme because of the sheer weight of many of things our company sells.
But, I decided that I am going to frequent more my visits to my son's Christmas weight bench and curl bar, and also an attachment for squats and pulldowns. That setup right there is enough in itself to boost my muscles back up after taking - quite a long break - from working out with freeweights.
My dog walks give me a pretty good heart/lung workout otherwise known as cardiovascular - and though I could stand to step it up a little more, I'm really just giving time for the dogs to get in a little better cardiovascular shape themselves. Duke loves the walks, but he peters out pretty quickly. Large dogs have been known to have heart attacks and die when put under excessive physical exertion. I don't want Duke to lay down and die in the South Mountain preserve.
This isn't exactly a mid-life crisis. Actually, I don't think I've really gone through any of that. Too much stuff has happened to me in my 40's to have time to be getting depressed about getting old. It's not a crisis at all, really, I am just getting a view of what condition I want to be in when/if I reach my 50's and the method of how to get there. Freeweights are, in my opinion, one of the best workouts available. I am not a big fan of the machines with the cables. When you are lifting freeweights, you not only have to lift the weight, you also have to control the weight - in other words, you can't just wildly push against the bar however you please as you can with cables, you have to control the bar going up or - the bar is going to fall on you. I have always found it a much better workout.
I am, however, a fan of those stair step machines that basically are the equivalent of climbing up and down mountains. For your heart and air intake, it's an awesome workout. However, I just happen to have a set of mountains not 3 blocks from my house, the real thing is probably no better than the artificial thing, but the views are FAR more entertaining than just sitting there on the machine, unless, of course, there happens to be a member of the opposite - well let's not go there, lol.
That's it, really. I turned 45 today. I feel pretty good. Still walking and still breathing, that's a good thing. Thank you, Lord, for life and health.
ben
8 comments:
Happy birthday! I hope you are more successful than I was at fighting the age. At 45 I felt I was in pretty good shape. At 48 I had both hips replaced due to osteoarthritis. Now, at 52, I'm still trying to get back to my pre-pain shape and it gets harder each year.
Happy birthday, Ben! You have a long way to go before you hit "old." Take it from one who is there already!
Happy 45th....
Keep moving. I know exactly what you are talking about. You are so right bout free weights.
My 45th is in March!!!
Bobby
Happy Birthday!
Have you ever seen a show called X-weighted? The trainer, Paul, says the real thing IS better than machines because of the uneven ground and the way it works your muscles. That guy doesn't believe in machines at all, and recommends outside stairs, bike trails, etc.
Happy Birthday Youngster. I never get tired of saying that almost ALL of the good things that have happened to me began when I was fifty. One of them reads here :-)
If my Continental flight from Honolulu to Guam had left 2 and a half hours earlier, I would still be 49, because my 50th birthday lasted only two hours.
Yacky: Wow - sorry to hear you had to go through that kind of surgery. That must have been a long recovery. Do they replace the hips with artificial things? I'm out of the loop, apparently, I didn't know they could do that.
I have a friend who has weighed 280 plus pounds for the entire 10 plus years I've known him. We have been out of touch until a couple of weeks ago - he lost 80 pounds just by starting to run every day for an hour. I know once you get the weight on, it's a terrible battle trying to get it back off.
Hi Scribbs! I know, but still you start thinking about it - well I have anyway. People sometimes let themselves go and then - when it's gotten out of control, it's like it's too late to do anything about it. I'm just assessing my health goals and hopefully they are realistic. Thanks!
Hi Bobby! Thanks! Keep on moving......1964 must have been a good year, lol.
Kate: Thanks! No, never saw the show or heard of this guy. I started lifting weight when I was 10 years old. Cable machines didn't exist. When they first came out, I tried some of them and they weren't near as much of an exertion or efficient as free weights. I never looked back. There ARE some machines that they have in gyms with weight plates on them that I do like for purposes that they serve very well - but I'm not doing gyms right now, too much money and none are very close to my house.
Fin: Thanks! In your case, the golden years are the best years! Way cool. That's crazy!
ben
Am late but happy birthday Ben.
Happy Birthday, and I wish you many, many more. And may each and every one be withOUT bad tenants :)
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