1 important secret I needed to learn for long-term fitness after 40

You know those work safety signs that are like, “Days since the last workplace accident” and then they put the number?

I feel like I could have used one of those for my workout injuries in my mid-to-late 30s.

There were a few reasons for this, not the least of which was a drinking habit that I’m sure was causing untold inflammation in my body and messing with my sleep (thus negatively impacting my fitness recovery).

But I was also dumb.

I continued to push way harder than I should have been, and I just straight up did not listen to my body when it was telling me I needed time to rest and recover.

The end result was a seemingly endless string of injuries, an MS scare, herniated discs in my back, a sports hernia, and a nearly two-year period where it felt like I couldn’t stay healthy for more than a week.

I’m still dumb, but not for fitness reasons (lol).

Over time, I started paying attention to what was working and the silly behaviors that kept putting me on the shelf and keeping me out of the gym.

I adjusted accordingly and now, at 42, I exercise every day and no longer get hurt for my efforts.

Here’s the biggest secret I had to learn.

You must surrender

I used to play in a pickup hockey game once a year featuring adult players of all ages.

When I was in my early 30s, I sort of impressed myself that I could not only keep up with the young bucks 10 years younger than me but actually outskate a lot of them.

As I continued moving into my mid-30s, however, something weird started happening.

I was still skating as fast as them, but I was having to try way harder.

Now? I wouldn’t even bother playing in that game.

That’s because I learned the most important secret to long-term fitness as you age: at some point, you must surrender.

That sports hernia I mentioned up top? I got it in the very last young man’s pickup hockey game I ever played in.

I was skating hard to try and keep a puck inside the blue line on a power play, caught an edge, and went flying into the boards — hard.

When I was younger, I would have popped back up and been none the worse for wear. This time, I had a nagging pain every time I activated my abdominals for over a year.

By surrender, I don’t mean stop exercising altogether to protect yourself.

But you do need to surrender to the aging process we all go through and adjust your activities accordingly.

Now I do bodyweight exercise, cardio on the stairs, yoga, and light running.

High-impact sports are out and, to be totally honest, I don’t super miss them.

Thanks a bunch for reading this post! If you enjoyed it, please give it a clap or two and let me know in the comments!