Staying Fit For Business "And For Life"
Staying Fit For Business “And For Life”
This is a reprint from my blog November 2020
I no longer ride a bike due to the dangers on the roads for cyclists but I still pursue fitness with varying levels of commitment.
Huff, puff, cough, wheeze, moan, groan, muscles screaming, sweat pouring. “Why am I doing this?” I ask myself, as another hill looms up ahead. My leg muscles scream in protest as we get to the bottom of the hill and slowly, laboriously creep up the other side. Range after range of tall mountains loom ahead, as far as the eye can see. My riding partner and I moan and groan, we scream into the wind and shake our fists at the mountains towering in front of us.
“I’m bicycling in the Himalayas,” or at least it seems that way. I’m actually in South Carolina on a three day, three hundred mile bicycle ride from Seneca to Tybee Island Ga. The mountains are actually the rolling foothills of western South Carolina and Eastern Georgia.
It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Some friends were going on a three day bicycle ride called SC Ride4Life, It’s an annual ride organized by our local Pregnancy Crisis Center and raises funds for the Center by obtaining sponsorships for the riders.
My rear hadn’t felt the pain of a bicycle seat in at least ten years and it was now about a month before the ride, but I decided to go. “Hey” I thought, “how hard can this be?” I’ll go on a pleasant three day ride through the rural South Carolina countryside, enjoy a little vacation, get some exercise and support a good cause as well.
I hustled down to the local bike shop, got myself a bike and the appropriate equipment. The proprietor happily accepted the large wads of cash I thrust at him and smiled obligingly when I told him I was going to start training for the Ride4Life.
Time flew by and I just never seemed to get time to ride my new bike. By the time the day came I had logged about a hundred miles. Some vague doubts crept into my mind about my ability to do this, but I thought “well I’m not in the best of shape but I’ll just kinda take it easy and I’ll do okay.”
Have you ever spent ten hours on the spear that they call a bicycle seat? If you haven’t, you really need to try it, trust me, it’s an experience you will never forget! Let’s just say that I got intimately acquainted with my seat! That first day we rode one hundred and ten miles in hilly terrain. We were the last of the group to arrive at our destination. The first ones made it in about six hours, we made it in ten.
The second day was much better. We were riding much faster and zipping up the hills with ease. My friend who I rode with the day before had called his wife and on that day we were headed back to Seneca reveling in the comforting softness of the truck seat with our bikes happily riding on the back.
I didn’t ride much the rest of the year. My body had been pushed harder than it should have been that day. It took months for the weak and burned out feeling to gradually disappear.
Ever a glutton for punishment I am planning to attack the ride again this year. Albeit with better preparation. I started riding again four weeks ago and have been riding sixty to eighty miles a week. My body feels sore but it is a good soreness as my body hardens with each time I ride.
Why do I do this?
I actually enjoy going out and riding with friends.
The personal challenge, of pushing myself to the limit.
But there is also the sober realization that as I have entered the middle age of my life, my weight has slowly been creeping up and my body has grown softer from a lack of physical exertion. Things that I could do with ease ten years ago leave me puffing and panting for breath.
Last year after my disastrous ride when I was struggling to rebuild my body, I started, for the first time in my life, taking some vitamins and supplements on a regular basis. It has made an amazing difference in my body, “and no I’m not trying to sell anything!” I take my stuff religiously every day. It took two months before I started really noticing a difference. Vitamins are not like drugs or antibiotics where you can immediately see things happening.
My energy level and overall “feel good” is better than it has been in years. I credit it to taking things that my body was lacking in.
If you have a lack of energy and don’t feel well, by all means see a doctor, but if the doctor doesn’t find anything wrong with you perhaps your body is lacking some important vitamins and minerals. Consider trying some multi-vitamin or health tonic, after all if you don’t have any energy you’re not likely to go out and exercise!
EXERCISE! You will feel much better if you exercise. It is not as important what you do as it is that you simply do it consistently. Something as simple as a brisk walk 20 minutes a day will bring a multitude of benefits to you.
DIET! No I didn’t say go on a diet. In fact I have never been on any kind of strict diet. But at least consider some basic things such as limiting your portion sizes, cutting back on junk food and sugary drinks.
TIMEOUT! Too often we get up in the morning and charge through the day barely pausing to catch our breath. Take about thirty minutes in the morning before you start your day in relaxation and meditation. Don’t think about your daily work and stress during this time. Use this time to consider the big picture of your life. Ponder philosophical questions such as what do I want to do with my life, what is the purpose of my life, what are the important things in life to me. Taking a few moments each day in meditation will help you to keep your priorities in order, be more pro-ductive and focused, and yes you will accomplish more as well. Don’t neglect periodic vacations. Vacations are necessary for our health and well being, as well giving us time with our families. Some of my best ideas and plans for business are born when I am on a relaxing vacation, away from the distractions of the daily grind.
Keeping our bodies healthy is easily neglected however the rewards are great. With just a little care and self discipline we can feel better, look better, have more fun, and yes even live longer. If you are successful in your business being unhealthy and out of shape, you can be even more successful if you take care of your body.
When you talk to me, ask me about my cycling, but please…..no spandex jokes!!