When I originally started my fitness journey, I had a constant partner. He served as an inspiration to exercise. He is a co-worker, and as I’ve mentioned before, the majority of my workouts occur during my lunch hour. This gentleman is in his late-50′s, and has made a lifetime of physical fitness a priority. From what I’ve been told has used his lunch hour for exercise the majority of his career.
Photo Credit DBKing
Over the last two years, that has changed. Two years ago, he was diagnosed with spondylosthesis, a condition where the disks in the back slip (in his case, anterior to each other), causing persistent back pain. This is the same condition that caused Andre Agassi to retire from tennis. For what its worth, he believes it to be genetic, as his father has the same problem. At any rate, his doctor told him that running would cause the condition to worsen and he should stop. He did quit, which lead to some level of depression for him, as running has been a large part of his personal identity for much of his life.
Prior to this change, he had started swimming with me, one day each week, in addition to the running. He decided to increase his swim training, with the goal of competing in the Senior Olympics in 2009. His training was going well in the freestyle when he decided to add the backstroke to his repertoire. Unfortunately, he increased his training too quickly, and developed tendonitis in his shoulder. As a result, he had to lay off swimming for nine months.
Shortly after this injury, he brought his bike to work. In the face of many obstacles, he’s making an effort to stay active. I’ve been out with him once, and plan to continue. He’s made regular exercise a priority in his life, and if he can do it, I’ll do my best to hang with him.
