Hold old are you?

Ok...this one is going to seem a little redundant.  Well, maybe a whole lot redundant.  It's just that toward the end of January, commitment to those resolutions is beginning to wane and gym participation is dropping off like a dropped rock.

So some reminding about why we need to sustain those promises and resolutions seems in order.  I guess when you're in your 20's, good health is taken for granted and living a long life is presumed.  Once you hit your 30's, maybe mortality becomes a bit of an issue.

So some friends and I played a game recently, sort of.  You might call it the Satchel Page game. Page is widely quoted as asking the question "how old would you be if you didn't know when you were born."  In other words, how old do you feel?

 I admit that there are days after Steve Bright has kicked my butt all over the countryside on the back of a bike that I feel really old.  Like 63 or something.  Other days I feel like I can take on the world. 

But in this game, it wasn' t my choice.  Others in the group picked your age for you.  I won't admit what age the others came up for me but let's just say that I might hang out with some pretty delusional people.

We've all been taught to "act your age" but if you didn't know your age, does that mean you wouldn't know how to act?

So here's the lesson for the day:  Live your life in such a way that the candles on your birthday cake really don't matter.

Don't be pigeonholed into being "middle aged" or "really old" or any other handle that others might hang on you.  How do you do that?

Here comes absolutely no surprise--you've got to exercise.  A couple of weeks ago, I talked about how you need to throw some balance activities into your exercise regimen, especially as you get older (which, by the way, is pretty much everybody).

You've also got to eat better.  I'm convinced that means decreased carbohydrate intake.  Fats are not the culprit that we used to think they were.  Eat simply.  One word foods.

Build better relationships.  We are the accumulated product of those we choose to live our lives with.  Choose wisely.  And love unconditionally.  Research clearly indicates that healthy relationships improve not only the quality of our lives but the quantity as well.

Live in the moment as often as you can.  I read a study recently that tied unhappiness with thinking about something other than what you are doing.  Sort of a "be in the now" attitude. 

Think about it.  If you allow yourself to be distracted, if you worry about things all the time (particularly those things that you can't do anything about), you aren't going to be at your best.  Unhappiness most surely then will follow.

Think young.  I don't mean dress in torn blue jeans. But I've got friends my age that dress and act like they're...well let's just say that they look they're 20 years older than what they are. 

I've said for a long time that aging is a matter of mind over matter.  If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.

The Power in your Words

I was privileged last week to attend the 89th birthday party of Coach Bert "Chig" Ratledge.  Coach Ratledge was my high school football coach and a huge influence on my life, but more on that later.

Attending this event was the glitterati of Loudon High School football.  Bruce Wilkerson, UT All-American and former Green Bay Packer.  Marlon "Bubba" Brown, in the Clemson Football Hall of Fame.  My teammate and friend Lonnie Hawkins, who looks like he could still play.  Gordo Watson and Jackie Lefler, stars from the 60's. 

I looked around the room and I wondered to myself "what am I doing here, among all these football legends?"  I mean, I played football and all and I was pretty decent but I didn't belong in this group. 

But I knew all along why I was there and why I seem to be one of Coach Ratledge's favorites:  Nobody in that room took more away from the game of football than I did.

Nobody there learned the lessons that the game provides so abundantly more than I did.  The rewards of hard work. The dedication that it takes to be good at something.  The persistence that pays off if you maybe aren't as talented as the next guy.  What commitment truly means.

The pursuit of excellence.  The willingness to extend yourself, to go beyond what you think you are capable of. 

All of that and more.  And I took those lessons and built a life and a career on top of them.  Every success I've had can be linked directly back to my football days.  And Coach Ratledge.  I know that sounds a little over the top but it's true.

I was an underachieving high school sophomore with absolute zero self-confidence when Coach Ratledge told a practice visitor that "he can be a good one if he works at it."

He can be a good one if he works at it.  That has been my life's mantra. 

Not really sure what to do with myself in college (it was enough to my parents that I simply attended college), I had knee surgery, met my first physical therapist, and dedicated my college career to becoming a physical therapist.  Hard work ensued with more than a few all-night study sessions.

I opened a private practice in 1981 when that sort of thing was almost unheard of.  Again hard work, persistence, and dedication were necessary ingredients to develop what became Appalachian Therapy Center. 

An over-riding desire to be good at what I do coupled with confidence in myself has helped me be pretty good at being an athletic trainer and physical therapist.  Those lessons were learned on the football field.

So here's what I hope is the take home message from all this:  Teachers, coaches, youth ministers, scout leaders...pretty much anybody that comes in contact with teenagers...never underestimate the power of your words. 

Be forevermore positive, uplifting, encouraging.  Help those young people learn that it is OK to reach for the stars.  The "real world" approach isn't to squash those dreams but it is essential to teach them the ingredients to success--hard work, sacrifice, dedication, persistence.

Thank you for my dreams and happy birthday, Coach Ratledge.  You had a heavy hand in any positive influence I might have been in my life. 

Why do we have rules?

I was asked an interesting question last week.  "Why do we have rules in sports?"  It was even suggested as a topic for this space.  You can't say I don't listen to my readers!  Anyway...

I think the first reason is to make the game safe.  I know for a fact that most of the rules that have been implemented in football for the past several years have all been about making the game safer. 

I guess if you think about it, a lot of the rules for a long time have been to make the game safer.  Clipping.  Grabbing the facemask.  Late hit.  Cut blocking. 

Concussions are obviously the big issue right now.  We simply must make the game safer at all levels.  A lot of the major rule changes in the NFL are to address the concussion issue.  Moving the kickoff line forward (lots of injuries occur on kickoffs),big fines for shots to the head, those sorts of things.

Other NFL rule changes are also intended to make the game safer--making all chop blocks illegal and creating the horse collar rule.

Rules are also necessary to level the playing field, to make things fair.  Look at college athletics.  If there were not rules governing recruiting, the schools with the most money would always win.  They could put more resources into the process.

There would be no Western Michigan or Appalachian State in the bowl games like there are this year.

Athletes at most levels have limits on the amount of time that they can be required to practice.  Think about that one.  Without those rules, practices might go on and on.  Except for those few that play professional sports, most athletes are also in school. 

Now I'm not naive enough to believe for a minute that football players from Clemson or Alabama spent too much of their focus on their academics last week, but limits on the amount of time that a team can practice gives some balance to the student's life and allows some focus on the academic side.

Without rules our games would have no structure.  They would be chaos.

While I was an undergrad, we used to meet regularly to play a version of volleyball that we called "jungle volleyball."  Oh, the basic structure of the game was about the same but the rules that make volleyball fair and beautiful were largely ignored.   And yes, it was chaos at times.

Rules are necessary to make sure the game is the same in different locations.  Imagine a soccer team that passes really well and makes the best use of the entire field.  Now make that team play on a football field, which is certainly smaller than a regulation soccer field.  Is that quite fair?

Or a basketball team that is really tall and/or jumps really well.  Would it be fair for their opponent to raise the goals to 11 feet?

The bottom line is that rules are necessary to our sports.  Sure, there will always be those that stretch the rules, break the rules, or ignore the rules.  There should be consequences for those. 

Just like in life.

Keeping It Real

Gyms everywhere are packed right now.  I heard one report of a two hour wait for a treadmill (not really).  I suppose it's all those New Year's resolutions that I dismissed so quickly last week.

The truth is that January is the busiest month in most fitness centers.  In an attempt to finally lose that 20 pounds that you needed to lose for so long and finally get in shape and eat right and all that, you might have joined a gym and started sweating.

OK.  Whatever it takes.  But remember--the key is to make the DECISION to change your health habits.  My point last week is that it ISN'T a resolution but it IS a conscious decision, a dedicated commitment to change your life.

So this week, I want to make it real.  I want to give real life advice about how to take that committed January and make it a do-able project to change your lifestyle.

First off, it's OK to miss a workout.  That's a concept that I had trouble with for a lot of years.  Keep in mind, I usually exercise 7 days a week.  It's built into my schedule.  I have a routine that I've followed for a long time. 

Bike rides on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday.  Intervals on the trainer on Wednesday.  CrossFit workouts on Monday and Friday.  Some stretching/yoga  on most days.  A little extra core strengthening when I can work it in.

Lately, I've added some balance training to my regime.  I'm 63 but feel a whole lot younger.  But a little incident at our office Christmas party where I stumbled and fell against a wall (long story and I was stone cold sober) told me that my balance was deteriorating.

All that was confirmed when I watched a video of the Polar Plunge group that jumped into the Townsend Wye on New Year's Day.  At the back of the group was this old geezer, carefully stepping into the river.

Oh...and that old geezer was me.  Ain't what I used to be for sure.

If the candles on your birthday cake resemble a small bonfire, it's probably time for you to work on your balance too.  It doesn't have to be terribly sophisticated.  Stand on one leg.  Close your eyes.  Swing your arms.  Switch it out.  Stand on a soft surface like a pillow.  On one leg.

Through the years, I've come to realize that it's OK to miss a workout.  I missed a big ride last weekend in order to attend the birthday party of a grandson.  I'll make that trade any day.  The way I figure it, my plan is to exercise 365 days a year.  He only turns 7 once.

Goodness gracious, make it fun.  Sometimes you have to train and sometimes you have to hurt but if you dread each and every workout, you won't stick with it.  Find what it is that you can enjoy and build your fitness regime around that.

Plan for it.  You plan to eat.  You plan to sleep.  You set your clock in order to get up in time to get to work on time.  Then plan for your exercise program.  Know when you go to bed tonight when you are going to get in your workout tomorrow.

While you're at it, plan what you're going to eat.  It's a proven fact that doing that keeps you from overeating and eating crap.  And you don't have to buy expensive, all-organic foods.  Just buy stuff that has a single word name and you'll be fine. 

Getting fit doesn't have much to do with a big biceps or riding 70 miles or any of that stuff.  It has everything to do with just moving. 

Changing to Grow

New Year's Day.  New beginnings.  A fresh start.  New Year's resolutions and all that.

I've never been one much for new year's resolutions.  It's been a long time since I've felt like I needed huge changes in my life. 

Oh, there was a time when I decided I wanted to dramatically change who I was.  I was a sophomore in high school and I had ordered an outfit from a catalog to wear on the first day of school.  Plaid bell-bottom pants, sandals, a turtleneck shirt.  Doesn't sound too radical today but in that era, at my school,  it was definitely out there.

I wanted to be the new, cool Joe Black.  Stylish.  In today's terms, maybe edgy. Mostly it was about attracting girls. I don't think it worked.  Ok...it definitely didn't.

Anyway, one of my football coaches (now Dr. Gary Dutton) took one look at me and said "are you kidding me?"  That was it.  I couldn't wait to get home and put on my normal uniform of jeans, sneakers, and t-shirt.  Such was the respect that I had for him (still do).

Jump ahead a couple of years and I head off for college and for the first year I did everything possible not to let college change me. I went home every weekend.  I sort of "visited" college.   I missed a lot of opportunities for growth by doing that.

What I didn't realize at the time was that growth required change.  It was only when I started really experiencing college that I really began to grow. 

Never a great student, I found that I really could do college work.   I realized that nobody cared what I was wearing, where I was from, or even where I was going.  I hung out with people that were quite different from me.  I took a complete stranger out on a date.  Just walked up in the school cafeteria and asked her out.  I went to concerts and plays and college events just because they sounded interesting and because they were, well, free.

I learned to appreciate classical music.  I tried lots of new foods thanks mainly to Harold's Kosher Deli.  I learned how to really listen to poetry.  I developed an undying love affair with art.

I learned the personal responsibility that comes from living on your own and working two jobs to pay the bills.  I learned that working hard paid off both in the classroom and on the playing field. 

And after trying way too hard for way too long, I found a girl who really seemed to like me.  We've now been married for 40 years. 

What am I trying to say here?  That true change doesn't happen because you make a resolution to transform yourself.  True change comes when allow yourself to grow, to experience things-many of which are going to be outside your comfort zone.  True change often happens when you least expect it. 

True change requires a commitment, not a resolution.  True change only happens when you completely embrace it.  When you do that, nothing will get in your way.

Try this: What one thing about yourself most NEEDS changing?  It's not your looks.  You're stuck with what you have.  Your clothes?  Lots of stores to help you there.  Those are superficial.

But if you want to change your life, go for it.  Lose weight.  Quit smoking.  Exercise more.  Eat better.  Call that a Resolution if you want to.  To me it's more of a decision.