![Breaking but not Broken]()
4 tips to help 40-somethings stay in the game.
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The injury bug just won’t leave me alone. It seems like forever since I’ve worked out without having to scale it back for some nagging injury.
First it was epicondylitis of each elbow/forearm, then the shoulder pain, the torn hamstring and now, the phantom knee injury which currently has me recovering from my first knee surgery.
It never seems to stop…
“Why, oh, why me?,” I say to myself over and over again. I silently yell to the demon in my head, “I’m Alan Bishop for Pete’s sake! Don’t you know that I help people to Uncover Their Better? Don’t you know that I practice what I preach?…”
Or do I?
I’ve tried my best over the last 6 years to Uncover My Better, and to do it while tracking my every move. It’s not easy being a human petri dish, but these injuries can sure get a man down. I don’t know which is worse — the physical pain itself, or the mental anguish of attempting to stay positive while heading back to square one yet again.
“In the practice of tolerance, one’s enemy is the best teacher” – Dalai Lama
I’m finding myself adopting the attitude of “getting old sucks,” and that’s a BAD sign.
Then the last month inspired me to start thinking more seriously about my longevity, and I’ve had some insights that I felt worth sharing.
So without further ado, here are my 4 tips to help 40-somethings stay in the game (whatever “game” it is that you choose to stay in).
1. Understand and accept which side of the fence you’re on. Question your body history.
Maybe the biggest insight I’ve had over the past year and especially in December was that I’ve abused my body for 30 years.
Abuse is a brutal word to use but in my case it’s true. I’ve pushed myself HARD since I’ve been 15 years old…
Boxing, Golf, Martial Arts, Soccer, Baseball, Rock Climbing, Road and Mt.Biking, Mountaineering, Hiking, Ocean and River Kayaking, Adventure Racing and CrossFit. I didn’t just dabble in these things – I IMMERSED myself in them, pushing my body as hard as I could to get better, stronger, quicker and more skilled.
And partying…
When I was a teenager I was a train-wreck. From 13 to 18 years of age I did more drugs, smoked more cigarettes and drank more alcohol than anyone should do in three lifetimes. The drugs and smoking stopped before my 20’s, but I’ve continued to drink, In my 20-30’s it was social, but in the last few years my drinking has been more related to managing my stress, pain and sleep (and I also happen to love red wine).
All of this has put me on one side of the tracks — the damaged side (more about this in a bit).
The other side of the tracks is where the 40-somethings sit who’ve led a more relaxed, sedentary and less impact-ridden existence with their body. I’m not saying people on this side haven’t exercised, drank or had the occasional wild streak in them, I’m just saying that on this side of the tracks “abuse” is more the exception than the rule.
Photo Credit – Ales Krivec
These two tracks are incredibly important when understanding how you can stay in the game once you’re over 40.
The awakening in my mind of the lifetime of abuse that I’ve subjected my body to hit me like a ton of bricks. It finally made sense to me why my body keeps breaking down.
It had reached it’s capacity.
It wouldn’t and couldn’t take any more.
Shame on the body for breaking down while the spirit perseveres. – John Dryden
No matter how bad I wanted something,
No matter how fit or strong I could manage to get my body,
No matter how mentally tough I was,
The fact is I’m on the damaged side of the tracks, and my body will shut me down.
If you fall on this side of the tracks as well, I suggest you do some serious soul-searching and self-awareness work to understand this concept.
Understand it for YOU. Learn what you need to do from this point on. Learn how you’re going to train and push this body of yours into the next decade and beyond.
If you’re on the other side of the tracks — LUCKY YOU! You can — with the proper training, coaching and development — set out to master almost anything. Yoga, CrossFit, P90X, Jiu Jitsu, Paddle boarding, Tennis, Ironman’s etc. — because your body doesn’t have the years of trauma accumulated in it.
2. STOP the moment you feel something wrong.
This tip is as good for under 40’s as it is for over 40’s, but in our case it’s essential.
Everything can be going great. You’re in FLOW, the downward dog is perfect, the ease in which the barbell is moving up and down, the body position perfect in the forward lean of the run as you pass the 5k mark and then all of a sudden…
SNAP, CRACKLE and POP!
Something’s gone wrong. You’ve rolled your ankle, felt a hamstring quiver or tweaked your knee.
How could this happen? You were in FLOW! Everything was going great!
Now the mind kicks in. It’s ok. You were warmed up. You can”run it off.” “Pain is just weakness leaving the body” — that’s one of my favorites.
This is what your mind says to you because you don’t want to STOP. Heaven forbid you STOP, but…
YOU HAVE TO.
If you’re over 40 you must learn to recognize the subtle distress calls your body sends out in order to protect you from yourself. Don’t try to stretch it out, run through the pain or roll out the muscles once the workouts finished.
Just STOP and fight the good fight another day. You’ve earned the right to do this. Remember you have WISDOM on your side. RIGHT?
3. Mobilize. Move your body in new ways
I can remember back in 2000 when I was near the end of my adventure/expedition racing career when one of my teammates invited me to go to yoga with him. He was a big, strapping, German Navy Seal who seemed more out-of-place in a yoga studio than an Eskimo would in the San Diego sun.
I’ll never forget him saying to me that yoga would be good for my body.
I didn’t go with him on that day, and since then I’ve had a love/hate relationship with yoga. I love it for the meditative qualities and the feeling of heat it generates throughout my body, but I have to say that up until now yoga has hurt me more that it’s benefited me. After a 90-minute Bikram (hot yoga) class I tend to LOVE it, but the next day I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck.
My learning thus far has been that if I’m going to feel like I’ve been hit by a truck I might as well be throwing barbells and kettlebells around, so that’s what I’ve done (revisit tip number 1 to understand my mentality around this). I wanted to be good at yoga, so when the instructors say, “Push Yourself — way back, far back, fall back” — I went as far as I could go… and ended up paying for it the next day.
This however has not deterred me from my knowing that yoga will be good for me. I just have to figure out how to make the movement matter for me. It’s something I still need to uncover.
Photo Credit – Joshua Earle
I’ve been a huge fan of “Movement” ever since I first heard of Erwan Le Corre and “MoveNat” and I’ve engaged in various practices over the years.
“All human beings should be able to perform basic maintenance on themselves.” – Kelly Starrett
I found Kelly Starrett and his amazing blog at MobilityWod almost immediately into my CrossFit journey back in 2007. His teachings and movement drills not only floored me from an athletic perspective but also from a Living a Better Life perspective. Let Kelly introduce you to the “Pain Face” and the joys that a Lacrosse Ball can bring.
It doesn’t matter what movement you choose to do — Tai Chi, Ido Portal, Gymnastics, Warrior Yoga, Moving Meditations — the point is you just have to MOVE.
Move differently. Move unusually. MOVE MORE.
4. Uncover Your Better: What’s right for you?
The journey that I’ve been on since founding The 365 Effect back in 2009 is what I’m now claiming as Uncovering My Better. It’s been this amazing journey towards the better me. I’m not there yet but I do know my roadmap — or at least, I’ve got a much clearer vision and action plan.
Here’s the thing. EVERYONE, me included, is going to try and sell you something that will change your life. Don’t believe me? Click here.
It’s not that people aren’t well-intentioned, it’s just that whatever they’re selling comes from their motivation, not yours. It might be because they need to hit their membership quota to receive a bonus, or maybe they get off on being the person that connects other people. Maybe they just want to share with you their secrets for living the most awesome life ever.
It’s not wrong, but it just might not be right for you.
Uncovering your better is about trying as many different things as humanly possible until you can truly say that you’ve stumbled on that secret formula that’s just right for you. It might be “The 365 Effect,” or it might not be… but I do think my system rocks.
It might be CrossFit or Warrior Yoga or a combination of both. It might be daily meditation or blaring classic rock while you Powerlift. It might be Paleo or it might be The Mediterranean Diet.
The choices are limitless. You have to explore, test, taste, touch and feel your way through this world.
Uncover Your Better so you can live longer, love more and be the better you.
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Hey you! Yeah, YOU.
Please share a comment below or hit me up on Twitter with your top tip for staying in the game, and use the Hashtag #uncoveryourbetter.
I’d love to hear what you think. Who knows? Maybe your tip is the one tip I need to take my game to the next level. I’ll let you know how it works out.
As always, I welcome all comments and thoughts.
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Photo credit: courtesy of the author.
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