Bird Legs

This week I'll divert away from the TSFL (Take Shape for Life) book. Today's subject is "bird legs". My grandfather is 80-something years old. He's a thin guy and never had issues with being heavy. A couple of months ago he had trouble getting out of his favorite chair. He had a few falling episodes and couldn't stand up on his own. He went to the doctor expecting some kind of nerve damage or other complication. During the exam, the doctor poked, prodded and examined my grandfather. When the exam was complete he told my grandfather, "I think I know what the problem is....feel down here [gently grasping my grandfather's thigh]". The doctor continued..."there's no more muscle".

I've attached a photo of a friend's legs taken only 10 days after his knee surgery. He is flexing his legs, however you can see that his right leg (the one on the viewer's left) is smooth and lacks muscle definition. My friend said he lost this muscle after only 10 days of inactivity!

This is what can happen to us as our bodies grow older. Our muscles slowly deteriorate to the point that we can't do things for ourselves. I don't want someone to assist me in the bathroom when I'm an old man!

Yesterday I spoke w/ an elderly woman at work. She told me how she and her husband have felt increasingly vulnerable as they've gotten older...vulnerable to sickness and vulnerable to possible violence or muggings when they're in public. Sadly, today an 80-year old man, who's wife died 2 years ago, said, "I'm just waiting to die".

On the flip-side, I routinely talk w/ some "tough ol' guys" that are out fixing their wire fences and putting in new stove pipe at 80+ years old! What is it that separates these men (and women) from those others that are either "waiting to die" or simply don't care about their health? I think it's about living a healthy and productive life with purpose. To get out and use our minds and our bodies to their full potential. When we eat junk that clouds our minds and makes us tired, or when we give up and don't take care of ourselves after an injury, we aren't living up to our potential. TSFL (Take Shape for Life) is all about living up to our potential and it offers the tools to get us there. Of course there are many roads to the end. I believe that TSFL is one of those nice scenic "roads" that can extend our joyride.

For those of you that are at the phase of adding exercise into your routine, feel free to call or email me and I'd be glad to send TSFL clients a free copy of my MoJoe Fitness DVD, "122+ At-Home Exercises". You can see a preview of 8 of the exercises on YouTube (there's a link on the homepage of my website, http://www.mojoefitness.com/).

I know this week's update was a bit deep (and late). I just had a crazy day at work a few nights ago in downtown Portland w/ a gang shooting where one person died (I'm a deputy that responded to the scene). So it sort of got me into a contemplative spirit about the lives that we live.  Joe