Grinding For Life
I use keep grinding as a hashtag in my Instagram exercise photos and videos. I’m deep into my sixties and when I refer to keeping grinding, I’m not referring to the sound of my knees. I am highlighting an essential truth of exercise for all of us whether we are forty or seventy. From forty onwards, we are all battling a loss in muscle mass, and we pay a heavy price if we let that loss get a grip on us. I’ve blogged about it a lot, so I won’t bang on at length. But I will repeat that the most effective thing we can all do to extend a healthy life is to exercise regularly. The data are compelling.
And it’s not just a case of exercise extending good healthspan, it’s also about the robustness that fitness and muscle mass can bring to the party. I have been in the ICU twice in eleven months, with 27 fractures, a haemothorax, a head injury, and a punctured artery. In both cases, my recovery has been rapid.
Iron Man
In my first accident, my critical care nurse told me that any one of my injuries tends to be life-changing for people of my age. He was surprised at my rapid recovery, as was my physiotherapist. On my second trip to the ICU, the same phenomenon occurred, and again my physio remarked on my resilience. It’s not that I’m a Robert Downey Jr Iron Man character. It’s simply that my muscle mass and general fitness made me more resilient. I just keep grinding.
My annual medical in 2023 was ten days before my first accident. When I went for my 2024 medical two weeks ago, I related the extent of my injuries to my doctor since I had last met him. He was slack-jawed with shock. The medical went ahead, and the results were positive. I had increased my fat percentage by one point, and even that was a positive for me, given the lack of cardiovascular exercise since mid-April. Other than that, everything else was the same or slightly improved from 2023. Blood lipids, blood pressure, liver and kidney function, ECG test, etc.
Think about that a little. I previously blogged about measuring key areas to track progress. I’ve been to hell and back with two trips to the ICU and a huge list of injuries. But other than a small increase in body fat – and still in the normal range – all else was good.
Just Show Up
As said repeatedly, it’s about showing up. Again and again and again. If you show up and keep grinding, then you will see positive results. I’m an old man. But this applies to middle-aged women and men. Don’t let the loss of muscle mass and mobility get a hold of you. Your healthy life will be shortened; fact not a hollow statement.
But take a measured approach when you have injuries. Don’t keep grinding through injury. At this stage I hold my hand up and say I haven’t mastered this skill yet. But nature is presenting it to me on a massive plate in a way I cannot ignore.
I tore a meniscus in my knee slightly over three years ago. My knee-health hero Ben Patrick – aka kneesovertoesguy – led me back to full health and more. My April 2024 accident slowed me down, and the loss in muscle mass in my quads and around my knees was noticeable. Therefore, it shouldn’t have been a shock when I tore a meniscus in the same knee in July. This presented itself in my right knee not being able to lock out straight.
Build The Scaffolding – Keep Grinding
This time, I listened to people around me, who encouraged me to take my time and – as excellent personal trainer Susie Woffenden told me – “build the scaffolding around your knee.” So that’s what I’m doing. I want to be running ten years from now, and simply pushing through injury is a real threat to that ambition. I’ve been miserable because my cycling days are behind me, and down in the mouth because I haven’t run for a few weeks. I don’t want to hear anyone say “Your running days are over.” That has been incentive enough for me to take a measured approach.
The old saying is “life is a marathon, not a sprint.” I will keep grinding, but do it in a way that sees me grind on and on and on. A virtuous cycle of regular strength and fitness work, enables me to have a better healthspan, and enable me to exercise, which I know is core not only to my physical fitness but also my mental health.
Keep grinding. But don’t be dumb. He said to himself.