Sunday, May 17, 2015

BB at 57 - Status Report

John Edelson
Me Skiing in Good Health
Jan 2015

Last summer, 2014, I had a strong healthy season.

 I ran a 5K in the spring and was working out with a boxfit aerobics class. I did three sprint Triathalons (2 tris in Key Biscayne, one tri in Boca on Independence day)in the summer (even made it onto the podium once), and tried spending a little time in a boxing ring (one of which got recorded).

So summer 2014 for me was a peak. It didn't last. In the fall, I traveled for 3 weeks which was cool. I went to Greece & Israel. Then I worked and traveled a lot to DC over the winter for family reasons. This adds up to a lot of time NOT spent staying in shape.  In January, I travelled some more but did get a week of skiing with my son (Steamboat Springs, C).

 By Feb 2015, I was clearly  out of shape and had put on almost ten pounds from the previous summer so when my wife took off for two weeks to Cuba, I thought it was a chance for me to focus on my fitness and eating and to really get back in shape. Instead, the first day she was gone, I overdid it by playing several sets of tennis (I hadn't played in a year) and triggered a nasty set of back spasms which left me barely able to shuffle around for ten days. Uhg.

At the start of March, I tried to establish a program back towards good health. This is almost exactly where I was two years ago when my back problems got really bad. That time, I spent six months slowly building before I could work out hard again.  So now, I'm back to do the boring back-building exercises a few times a week, visiting Nicole (Focus Studios)  two times a week to rebuild my intrinsics and improve general core fitness, and very judiciously adding new levels of intensity and new activities. Mostly, I road bike and swim.  I've tried running two times so far and both times, I concluded that it was premature.

My great fear is that I might be entering a new normal. In Feb 2013, I attended my last martial arts class since my hip made each kick into a potential back injury. My concern is that people are now suggesting that I might have to rethink running, jump rope, and even shadow boxing as too hard on my back, given its propensity to spasm.