Why do you lift weights?

Really…why? The most obvious answer is sports enhancement. Rare is the sport or the athlete that doesn’t employ strength training in their preparations.

I remember back when Pete Rose was advocating for weightlifting among baseball players. It certainly seemed to work for him, but at that time, in Major League Baseball, it was considered taboo.

The comment that I recall hearing was that it would make you “muscle bound.” In other words, you couldn’t move effectively. It seems ridiculous now but it was a widely held belief.

Keep in mind, once upon a time, Tour de France riders would smoke on the Tour because they thought cigarettes opened up their lungs. History sometimes does correct itself.

Charlie Hustle (Pete Rose) forever changed the way players trained for baseball. The game later evolved to where big muscle hitters were everywhere, some (maybe many) using performance enhancing drugs. The era of huge muscles led to another era of greater drug testing and huge scrutiny in the game.

Another 70’s era baseball player, pitcher Rollie Fingers, forever changed the way baseball pitchers trained. Rollie advocated for strengthening of the muscles on the back of the shoulder in order to decelerate the pitching arm once the ball was released.

This was initially met with great skepticism. Now, we know that pitchers at all levels need to focus on strength training for those muscles in the upper back and the back of the shoulder.  If you see a dugout with players using an elastic band and pulling forward, they’re missing the point. 

Injuries happen when a throwing athlete cannot adequately decelerate, or slow down, their arm. That and young pitchers throwing too much junk or too many pitches are real problems in baseball.

So, other than for enhancing sports performance, why do you lift weights?

All females should be doing strength training. All of you. Research clearly shows that bone density in females is heavily impacted (no pun intended) by strength training and weightbearing activities. Osteoporosis can be largely prevented by an active lifestyle.

Some of us are using strength training in the pursuit of the Fountain of Youth. Well, maybe that’s too harsh. We know that adults lose ½-1% of muscle mass each year past 28. Unless you do something. Like lift weights.

Having the ability to lead an active lifestyle as we age adds years to our lives and helps us avoid most of the problems senior citizens have. So it’s not chasing the impossible (our youth), but keeping what we have. And staying active.

It would be easy for me to jump in here and condemn those that lift weights just to look good. For most of us, that’s part of it. Although I really don’t seek big biceps (curls for girls—ask a young person), I do take some pride in staying fit and trim.

And when someone says “you look good for a man your age,” yeah, I like that. I do take some pride in that.

But whatever your reason for lifting weights, I commend you. We would all be healthier if we did that. (Although I still don’t understand dropping weights when you lift.)

Old Dogs, New Tricks

I had several people comment about last week’s column.  Few had any idea that I had played the trumpet. I exchanged notes with one reader who had been a professional trumpet player and teacher. She had some really cool insight.

Since retirement, she has pursued a lot of different things, maybe things she always wanted to do. She didn’t say so, but it seems like retiring to a quiet, sedentary life was the last thing on her mind.

My point last week was to encourage your kids to pursue a wide variety of interests. Art, music, theater, and on and on. Being exposed to other worlds through experiences, books, or travel expands the developing brain.

I suggested that it was essential to the growth and development of young minds. That it is as essential as the pursuit of health and fitness. And even as important as good grades in school.

Early this week, I sat with a senior citizen who had a lot of questions about her health and wellbeing. Of primary interest to her was her mental health. She was fearful that she was developing dementia.

Declining mental health is a great fear for all of us as we age. Alzheimer's is a terrible, terrible thing. My mom had no idea where she was the last few years of her life and often didn’t know who I was.

Maybe this lady couldn’t remember someone’s name or has walked into a room and had to think twice about why she was there. Or it could be that she didn’t remember what she had for breakfast this morning. Anyway, medical testing later demonstrated to her that she was fine.

Those concerns are pretty normal for a lot of people at any age. I’m thankful for a calendar on my phone that tells me where I’m supposed to be on any given day. And if I didn’t eat the exact same thing for lunch every single day, I might not remember what I had.

That doesn’t mean that I’m losing my faculties. If you think about it, our brain is a marvelous tool. It is amazing what remains in there. I can still remember the words to songs that were popular 50 years ago. I remember my childhood phone number (458-3177).

But we need mental exercise and challenges to stay sharp. The retired trumpet player? Studying accounting. Playing the violin. Looking for different things to do.

The old saying is “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” Well, I happen to disagree. I believe we can learn all kinds of new things. New pursuits. New hobbies. New sports. And those things will help our mental health.

I’ve talked about pickleball in the past. It’s the hottest growing sport in America. Am I interested in playing? No, I would rather play tennis with my grandson. But it is a sport that you can play at any age. And the geriatric set is flocking to the game. That’s a good thing.

Last fall, there was this really cool downtown festival in Maryville. In one of the booths in the event center on the 2^nd floor above Bill Cox Furniture was this artist exhibiting cold wax oil paintings. I loved her work.

So I chatted with the artist, later took a class from her, and have done about 50 paintings of my own using cold wax oil.  Old dog-new trick.

What better time than when you’re retired to learn something new?  Take up a new instrument. I always wanted to play a banjo. Maybe some day. Learn a new language. A lot of the rest of the world is bilingual.

Enjoy cooking? Take a class to expand your menu. Gardening your thing? You can learn a lot from a Master Gardner. You think it’s too late to join a gym and improve your fitness level?  Nope—it’s never too late. Sign up for yoga classes (I did). You will be amazed at how much it helps everything you do.

Those are the things that will keep us alive and lively.  Things that help make the golden years Golden.

Growing Young Minds

I was at one those events recently where everyone in the room was asked to tell something about themselves that nobody else in the room would know. It’s an ice breaker and conversation starter.

I find it interesting to hear what people choose to tell about themselves. I guess most people might guess I’ll share something to do with sports. Or maybe the outdoors, if they remember that I was a Boy Scout.

This time, I think I surprised almost everybody in the room. I told them that I used to play the trumpet. Like, a lot. I chose the trumpet in the 5^th grade because I thought it was cool. I was in the high school marching band in the 7^th and 8^th grades (I was actually pretty decent and it was a really small school). When I couldn’t do both in high school, I gave up the band, but I didn’t give up the trumpet.

This was the heyday of musical groups like Chicago, Blood Sweat & Tears, and Sly and the Family Stone, who used a lot of horns. I was a decent backup singer so I was in a variety of bands for the next several years. Sock hops (there really was such a thing—shoes weren’t allowed on the gym floor), tiny venues, talent shows, public events—we played lots of places.

Daryl Lunsford was the musical star of most of those bands. Daryl could play anything, but focused on the guitar. In jam sessions, he would move around the room and take other’s instruments and play them better than their owner. He was the one who made a career out of music.

College came along and the trumpet faded into the past and I finally sold it. I later got my music Jones by singing in a gospel quartet called Foothills Vocal Quartet, now defunct.

Here’s the point—we need things like music and art and good books in our lives.  We need theater and concerts and great meals. We need to get outside our comfort zone on a regular basis. It’s how we grow.

And it is incredibly important that our children experience those things. The young brain is still developing. If they aren’t allowed to explore and do those things, then their brain will not be fully developed.

That’s not an opinion, that’s medical fact. Different parts of the brain do different things. In order to be fully developed, we have to use those parts of our brain.

I know that some people, for example, are really great musicians. The part of their brain that controls their musical ability is likely well developed. Same thing for art. And theater.

Reading is another category. Study after study has shown that those that read a lot while growing up become more successful adults. Their brain is expanded by the worlds they explore through books.

I’m sure you know that physical activity is essential and that I believe that sports participation is vital in the physical and personal development of our young people. But to ignore those other parts is a mistake.

I know that parenting is tough enough without all the many activities that your kids want to participate in. Travel ball puts an all new strain on family time and resources. But (and you’re going to be surprised by this, coming from me) that music lesson or school play are just as important as the pitching lesson or time with a personal trainer.

Look at it like this: You only have a few years with your kids and when they hit double digits, your biggest job is preparing them to be good adults. So travel, visit art galleries, attend concerts, hike in the woods. Do all the things.

Do it all. Because before you can blink, they will be grown and gone.

Safe Zones

Safe zones. We all need them. But what are they?

Northwestern University was just penalized because of hazing incidents on their football team.  It happens. It’s been happening for decades. It happens everywhere.

But is it acceptable? Heavens no. I want to make that clear before we go any further.

A lot of organizations, teams, fraternities, even some adult organizations, have some kind of initiation for new members. Sometimes it is something as simple as memorizing their mission statement or something like that.

Sometimes it has a physical element such as being whacked by a paddle, which you then proudly hang on your wall.  It can be a lot of things, maybe just something that is embarrassing.

Rookies in the NFL are known for having to sing their school’s fight song in front of the whole team. Some of those are on social media and are quite hilarious.

The idea is to have you do something that you wouldn’t do otherwise. Something outside of your comfort zone. The intent is to give you a sense of belonging, that somehow going through the same initiation builds a team. Builds a sense of belonging.

I’ve talked a number of times about a trait that I believe is innate to the human existence. I believe that people want to be a part of something bigger than themselves.

Sports teams can be that. The team is stronger than the individual. We are better together. And if there are initiation rites, it can make bonding as a team better.

But when an initiation requires you to do something that is more than simply embarrassing, it could be too much. If it is of a physical nature, there should be boundaries. If it involves alcohol, it’s a bad idea. And if it is of a sexual nature, it should be forbidden.

When it stoops to the level of hazing, it is just wrong. And no one should have to go through something like that to be a part of any group.

Some of the stories about hazing are downright scary. Some are just stupid. I remember a fraternity pledge several years ago that was doing “beer chugging.” Like most of America, we had to be told what that was.

Teams and locker rooms should be a safe zone. They should be a place where you are safe to be yourself, to express an opinion and not be judged, and know that you won’t be harmed. I know that among my favorite places are coaches’ offices. Friendly banter abounds but those coaches always have your back.

A workplace should be the same. A place where you feel safe. A safe place to speak as well as a safe place to listen.

I tell the story about this imaginary coat rack at the front door of your work. When you get to work, you hang an imaginary coat representing all your home stress (and we all have it) on that coat rack and put on your imaginary work jacket.  Then, at the end of the day, you take your work jacket off and hang it on the coat rack while picking up your home jacket.

That separates the stress you have at home from the stress you have at work. That load is a lot easier to carry all day. And you might find that at the end of the day, that other jacket is a bit lighter.

Being a part of a team can do the same thing. A place where you separate. A place where you can grow, prosper, and feel safe. A place where you shouldn’t have to do something very wrong to gain entry.

Four Tales

 This will be four tales in one.  The first one is about me, so let’s get that out of the way.

Lots of people have asked how I’m doing after my little bike wreck. It’s been a couple of weeks now since I had broken ribs, a collapsed lung, chest tube, and hospitalization. Although I’m not quite up to speed yet, I’m a fully functioning adult individual. 

I will be back on the bicycle (soon) but because of the scare that I gave my poor wife, I am being a good patient and not pushing my return as hard as I might. The head says stay off the bike until my lung and ribs are healed up. The heart says climb back on that horse and ride.

My second story is similar in that it is all about the decision to return to sport.  I talked recently with a parent of an athlete about concussions.  Her son has had a series of concussions and, as a family, is considering giving up sports.

To me, abandoning sports altogether is a mistake. However, at this point, with several concussions under his belt, continuing to participate in contact sports is not wise. He’s too young. But sports participation (as I’ve said many, many times) can be a huge part of a young person’s development. The key then becomes to find a sport that is safer.

The third story is about a young athlete that has possibly torn her ACL (MRI results are pending—we may know by now). She has done everything right up to this point. Focusing on strength training and skills acquisition and not just throwing a ball out and start playing. 

But in a game, she got bumped and probably landed awkwardly.  And, just like that, she has an injury that athletes everywhere fear.

What could she have done? Well, that ties me in to my fourth and final story of the day. There is a young friend of mine who is a physical therapist in Austria, working for Red Bull. Before that, she spent three years with the Brooklyn Nets of the NBA, where her primary focus was on preventing ACL injuries.

Part of her training was a Ph.D. in Biomechanics from the University of Delaware, where her studies focused on ACL prevention. It’s fair to say that she is one of the leading authorities on the subject.

But on June 17, 2021, she tore her own ACL playing Australian Rules Football.  Her first reaction was “how can this happen to me?”  She then started self-analyzing and came up with answers that can help us all.

We know that ACL injuries are much more frequent in females than in males. Part of this may be hormonal but a bigger part can be how we prepare for sport, particularly in the weight room.  Athletes need to be stronger but a major component of that strength needs to be functional, basically how we move our bodies through space, how we deal with different playing surfaces, and things like changing direction quickly.

How the foot hits the ground is also a factor. Pronators and those with flat feet may be more prone to ACL injury.  One of the factors that impacted my young friend was that she entered the game already fatigued. Since more injuries occur late in the game, when we are fatigued, that can’t be ignored as a factor.

Dealing with that means working toward a high level of fitness so that late game fatigue is less of a factor.  That’s something you can take care of in your preparation.

All of that just leads me to one conclusion:  That what you do in preparation for your sport can be more important than playing your sport. And it just makes sense that if you’re healthier, you’re going to be better when the game does start.

Rose Colored Glasses

Why play sports?

Indeed, why play sports? With all the injuries, the time involved, the cultural toxicity that seems to be present in some places? Is it worth it?

I’ve been accused of looking at things through rose-colored glasses.  For those too young to understand that metaphor, it basically means that maybe I see only the positive things when I look at them.

OK.  Maybe that’s true.  I’m sure I do like to look at the better side of things, at the better side of people. That rose-colored glasses thing--maybe you might think that I’m oblivious to the negative side of situations but I don’t think that is the case at all. I just choose to look on the bright side, to try and find the good in everyone, to find the positive in every situation.

Yet, I know there is a darkness out there. I know that the gymnastics coach in Michigan did some really bad things to young female gymnasts. He’s in jail for that. It does seem like that soccer coach in Franklin did some really bad things.

I know that those things are out there. I listened to Bobby Knight yell and cuss at whomever was in the room. Players, referees, the media. Everybody. Nobody was spared. I saw him throw a chair when he disagreed with a call on the basketball floor. He may have had some success but he wasn’t a nice person.

I remember an AAU coach that fancied himself a Bobby Knight-type coach, even wearing that red button-up cardigan. I remember he yelled at his 12 year old players, my 12 year old players, every referee he encountered. Even a few parents in the stands. Such a bad example.

I wrote about a flag football coach that laughed in the face of my grandson when he asked if he might be allowed to run the football just one time in their last game. His coach the year before (Matt Miller, for the record) had made sure that everyone got to carry the football from time to time.

I remember one local high school coach that would scream and cuss at his players after every game, win or lose. Every game. The parents of the players would wait patiently in the gym, knowing what their sons were being subjected to. It hurt.

I know there are coaches out there that believe in winning at all costs. That’s just wrong. It’s not why we play sports. I know there are coaches out there that play only their best players—leaving all others to languish on the bench. For young kids, that is irresponsible.

I know that injuries occur.  My son’s football career was ended in a rather brutal injury on the field at Florida State. I saw the heartbreak when a local college soccer player suffered back to back ACL injuries, both requiring surgery.

And yet, the triumph from injury can be the best possible lesson. Through adversity, we gain strength.  By way of the toughest situations, we learn just what we are capable of.

Life does that to us sometimes, but does so uncontrollably. Sports gives us that but in a controlled, monitored environment. Sports allows us to test ourselves, to prove what we are worth, where the worst case scenario is maybe you lose a game or don’t get to play.

Sports are not life but they can be life lessons.

 

Climb back on that horse!

I’ve got quite a story to tell this week. On Thursday a week ago, I had a mountain bike wreck. I was crossing a dry creek bed that I’ve crossed a hundred times when somehow I went down. I came to a stop when I hit the stump of a log with the left side of my chest.

It knocked my breath out and hurt like the dickens but I felt like I was OK. My riding buddy checked on me and we agreed to ride downhill the mile or so to my truck. That wasn’t a fun trip but once I was seated in my truck, everything seemed OK.

I went to Care Today just to make sure I was OK and the PA and I both saw a rib fracture but nothing more so I headed home.

I went to work the next day and did fine, but toward the end of the day I started feeling rotten. I saw my last patient and immediately headed home. Still, not too bad, I had dinner and sat down to watch a movie with my wife.

About 9 PM, I awoke to my wife calling my name. I only remember gasping for breath and that it really hurt. We went immediately to the Emergency Room at Blount Memorial Hospital, where it was discovered that I had a pneumothorax, or collapsed lung.

Dr. Jerry Price, an ER doc that has been at BMH for many years, placed a chest tube in my side and wrapped me up for transport to UT Hospital. For pneumothorax patients, our ER has a protocol and an agreement to ship those patients, once stable, to UT, where a trauma team is better equipped to handle those issues.

I must mention the excellent care that I got at BMH (yes, I know they are my employer). Ryan, whose last name I forget, and Kimberly Stewart were my nurses and could not have been better. Compassionate and knowledgeable, I felt safe in their hands.

And Dr. Price—when he walked in the room, I knew I was going to be OK. I had a sneaking suspicion about what was wrong but didn’t know how bad it was. They put me to sleep and Ryan later told me of the “whoosh” when Dr. Price reinflated my lung. It was then time to move.

Becky and Eric from AMR transported me to UT Hospital where my first nurse Noah, and second nurse Josh, were understanding, competent, and efficient. Over the next few days, as I recovered, many other medical professionals took great care of me (well, there was this one medical resident that was not the best but he was the only one).

I have several points to make about this. Emergency rooms sometimes get a bad rap, but if you have a medical emergency, they know what they’re doing. If you’re sick or maybe have a medical issue that would best be taken care of by better health habits or your primary care physician, you might not have the best experience in an ER. They are always going to prioritize the patients that need them the most—the patients that might need them so as to not die.

So, if you’re sick but not a medical emergency, you might not like the wait you experience while they save someone’s life.

Nurses are essential, important, and your real connection to medical care. I had good doctors and I had good nurses and their teamwork is essential. I appreciate those nurses more than ever.

Hospitals that collaborate on care are doing the work that they are meant to do. I got exactly what I needed at the BMH Emergency Room. AMR did their job, just as they do every day. I got exactly what I needed out of UT Hospital.

I’m still sore but I’m back to work and I feel fine. It might take me a few weeks to get back on the bicycle but I WILL be back on the bicycle.

The bicycle didn’t do this. I did this. And with the help of excellent medical care, I will ride again. Not yet, but in time. I need to heal first. And I will probably wreck again sometime, but hopefully I won’t do the pneumothorax part. That wasn’t much fun.