Please Be More Physically Active
Alright, I’ll admit I am the least qualified person to talk about this. But as a mediocre white guy in tech on the internet, I’m going to share my experience.
A bit of backstory
I don’t work out. I should. All of my doctors agree on that point. In fact, all of those doctors would be pleased if I just started walking a little each day. But my brain is bad, and it thinks that taking a walk is the equivalent of summiting Everest. Everytime I consider any form of physical activity, my brain goes “Ew, no.”
In a previous career, I spent lots of time pushing boxes, climbing ladders, regularly lifting 20lb lighting fixtures over my head, and this type of activity kept my body in pretty okay shape. Was I the most fit? No. But at least i was moving. A lot.
Moving over into the Web Dev space, I stopped moving. Like, pretty much entirely. This was/is my downfall.
A year+ ago I went to see a physical therapist (PT) for the first time. My wrist was always in pain, and I figured it wouldn’t hurt to talk to a professional (let’s be honest) my wife told me to go see her PT. We worked through some stuff, the wrist got better, cool. Then, other things started to hurt.
Reality sets in
The way my PT at the time explained it to me was this: Most people end up in physical therapy because they have over-extended something. They’ve done too much. And in doing so, they’ve hurt themselves.
However, There is also the other end of the spectrum, where someone does absolutely nothing at all to the point where the body starts falling apart (not literally, I hope). This is where I am, and let me tell you, it sucks.
Whatcha gonna do?
This is where I’m supposed to be inspirational and stuff, right?
“Just lift one thing at a time!”
or maybe:
“No one ever regrets working out!”
Most platitudes don’t work when your brain won’t cooperate. I genuinely have no idea what I’m gonna do, nor do I have any life altering advice I can give. The only thing I can tell you is what I get told by everyone:
“Please, just move more.”
Don’t let your body fall apart.