How To Exercise Safely? A List To Consider, Especially For Older People!

Hi folks,

Having studied one sport after another and injured much of my body through foolishness, with additional injuries that I attribute to ‘bad luck,’ it appears to me that there is an optimal way to train or exercise, irrespective of your age, skill, or athletic goals. I actually scratched out a diagram of my thoughts, below:

Round and round you go. Drawing by FitOldDog!

1. Inventory.
2. Resolve.
3. Awareness.
4. Balance.
5. Goals.
6. Technique.
7. Nutrition.
8. Workout.
9. Repair.
10. Coaching.
11. Reward.

I also generated my first attempt at a logo for my business (top left of figure), but my artist friend, Andy, rightly took that apart and pointed out that it looked like two spoons, instead of a fat guy becoming a fit guy, or a sad ass becoming a bad ass, or a lard ass becoming a hard ass, which was my intention.

Drawing of the box containing the sheep (lamb) that the Little Prince desired. From: http://goo.gl/x47mE

Then I worked on version number two of my logo, much like the pilot drawing the ‘mouton’ for the Little Prince, by Antoine De Saint-Exupery. Here is his drawing, with which the Little Prince was very happy. This was an extremely creative approach to the problem, as it turned out. I wonder if I can achieve an equally satisfying result with my logo. I am also modifying the list, above, with respect to prioritization. The goal is to maintain motivation, avoid injuries, slowly push the boundaries of your fitness, and have fun. I’ll post that, when it is finished, and see what Andy has to say. It is good to have friends who say what they think. No older athlete is an island.

Keep thinking, avoid injuries, and enjoy your training.

-k Your Medical Mind