20 to 40
In just 20 days, the davidj of davidj.org, me, David Johnson, will be 40 years old. Now, this comes as a bit of a surprise to me, because I don't look that much different when I look in the mirror every morning. But according to that old date of birth, I will be 40 years old in 20 days.
No doubt my parents are just as baffled as I am. 'Our baby boy is 40 years old? How did this happen?'
I have been performing feats of fitness at my employer's fitness center. Quick plug: I absolutely love the place I work and the opportunity to work out at lunch. So, I have been on the elliptical machines, and the treadmills, and using all of the different weights. There are personal trainers that work at the fitness center who help me understand how to use the equipment. That helps a lot.
There are also classes available. Some of the classes are downright hard. I hear people talking as they are coming back from the classes about how beat they were and how amazingly hard the instructor was on them.
For my first class, I chose a twenty minute, twice-a-week stretch class. Because I had been doing 20 to 30 minutes a day of cardiovascular activity, I really felt I needed to learn how to stretch. Besides, I have never, ever, ever been able to touch my toes, and maybe this would help to limber me up to where I could do just that.
Stretch class has been very good, and surprisingly, I feel worked out after it. I feel like I need to stretch more. I have been doing the stretches outside of the class as well.
After about the second week, I got some bad news. I mentioned my desire to touch my toes. The instructor said that after the age of 25, the body loses a portion of its flexibility every year. I was quite surprised and asked if that was reversible through stretching.
No, it just goes away and you can't ever get it back.
I thought back to when I was 25, remembered the impossibilities of touching my toes then, and then portioned it back for every year past 25.
I've lost 14 (soon to be 15) years of proportional flexibility!
From what I gather, I will never be able to touch my toes. I do feel very healthy. Thanks, in part, to a vegetarian lifestyle, focusing on fitness, and jumping around like an idiot with my Wii controller. That healthy feeling must be embraced and cherished, because it will never be coupled with that limber feeling for which I was hoping.
I want to take the yoga class next. Hopefully stretching prepared me for it.
In the words of my Dad, 'If I had known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of my body!'
Submitted by - David Johnson