Plea To The Middle-Aged Athlete

I have a forty-something year old

friend in Park City named Harold.

He is a great ski racer, and a total

maniac when it comes to training

and staying active. A couple years

ago, I saw him at a party. He couldn't

stop bouncing his leg around, so

I asked what was up. He said he

had developed tendonitis around

one knee, and that it bugged him

all the time.

My biological father was a track-star,
a champion, a phenom. In his 20s and
30s, he kept running: 10k races and
everyday training. At age 42, he had
surgery on both knees, and never ran
again. I was a 22-year old athlete at
the time, and this scared the hell out
of me.

You know what I'm getting at.
If you're over age 40, but still train
like you're 20, you've got mounting
physical issues that you believe will
get better if you just stay active. You
might see a sports medicine doctor,
or you might just pop your Motrin
from a Pez dispenser & ignore the issues.
But deep down, you know you're doing
the wrong thing because you've watched
your older friends dropping out, one by
one, for years and years.

(The United Health Care commercial
where the lady reluctantly admits she's
"a runner," and continues to run despite
her failing knees DRIVES ME CRAZY!)

The Chinese say that if you practice
the proper methods, you will be healthy
and live a long life; but if you practice
improper methods, sickness will enter.

Why is it that no one sees Lance Armstrong's
testicular cancer as a result of improper
training ? Why don't people equate the
thousands of hours he spent with his nuts
squished between his legs, and the tiny
bike seat up his DMZ as the CAUSE ?
Bicycling is fun in small doses, but it's
absolutely devastating to a man's health
if he does it too much.

Salt Lake Magazine recently ran a story
about a local runner who ran and ran and
ran; opened a running store; then found
out he had cancer ! The article put him
on a pedestal with Lance Armstrong,
instead of saying the truth--
"He ran so much he got cancer."

Why do people worship the physicality
of Bruce Lee ? THE GUY IS DEAD !
Do you have any clue that Bruce Lee's
insane training regimen gave him the brain
aneurysm ? Look at his posture in the
photo above. Does that look healthy
to you ? Dead, dead, DEAD !

Wake up ! Stop beating on yourself !
Start taking care of yourself !
I beg you !
If you train hard, you know lots of
people who used to train hard but
simply can't any more. Do you really
believe it won't happen to you ?