My Journey With Health And Fitness – The Aches And Pains Of Aging

Yesterday I did my normal 10km walk at 7am and quickly realized it was quite chilly. Now I do tend to layer clothing this time of year so had on a long sleeved t-shirt followed by a fleece pullover and then my reflective jacket. I also had on gloves and my reflective toque. However, I just had on my normal walking pants and my legs got pretty cold quickly. And so seeing that it was going to be really brisk this morning I want and bought a pair of leggings (which were on sale quite cheap) and this morning set off wearing those under a pair of sweatpants. Boy was I glad I did that because it was at freezing level. I also changed out my gloves from being a light pair of magic gloves to a thick pair. While my face was still pretty cold the rest of me was good.

Yesterday I got to the gym and realized that I had what felt like a stich on my left side. I figure it was likely because I had slept in an awkward position. Despite the slight pain I still managed to get through the class and actually pushed myself a bit. But then I got to thinking about it and realized I often have some sort of pain particularly in my joints. Don’t get me wrong, I have lived with having pain in my bad knee for more than 3 decades. Then of course is the spinal stenosis which manifests in my shoulders. And now I have that whole ankle issue happening. But there are different aches and pains going on.

Today was Power Hour which is one of my favourite classes. At one point we were doing high pulls and I all of a sudden recognized that my left elbow hurt when I did that movement (I switched to shoulder presses). In thinking of it I acknowledged that this wasn’t the first time I had felt that pain. As a matter of fact I sometimes feel pain in most of my joints. I’m not sure with this one if it is tendonitis or maybe more arthritis (I know I have arthritis in the bad knee as well as in my shoulders). But then it hit me, I’m actually getting old.

As of last Sunday I am 14 months away from turning 60. I guess I have to deal with the fact that I am heading towards being a senior soon. Whoa, not sure how that happened. But knowing that I am not 18 anymore I realize that I am likely just having the normal aches and pains that come with aging. Are they going to stop me from doing what I am doing? Hell no! I truly believe that if I keep moving it will stave off even worse pain. Moreover, I like the idea of being a super fit senior.

And so I will just keep doing the moaning, groaning and creaking every time I get up. I will also keep going to my fitness classes and walking because those are the things that tend to make me feel good.