Learning to Move Again: Health Lessons from My Athletic Sons

I watch my boys play baseball and basketball. They move on the diamond and on the court with what appears to be little effort. They seem to have an endless amount of energy, which I guess isn’t surprising when you’re 16 and 15. They are both very athletic. I smile. They are just like their dad, I tell myself!

Well, kind of. When I would jump in with them the past two years to throw batting practice, hit flyballs, shoot jumpers, or play one-on-one, at some point I would get winded or tired. My mind said go, but my body said whoa! My boys are very athletic, but I guess they’re more like the former me. And I, want to be like the current them!

I’m on the other side of 50 now. And, I’m learning about my body on the other side of 50. One thing I’m learning is that taking care of your body at my age looks very different from when I was younger. What I’ve learned and experienced is that if you want your body to perform and function well as you get older, you need to start with the question: What are you putting into your body?

This question has multiple layers to it. To start though, let’s consider food and drink.

What are you eating? What are you drinking? How does what you eat and drink make you feel physically on a daily basis? Do you track what you eat and drink? What kind of physical shape are you in currently? Right now, are you in good health?

For me, over the past two years, the questions above had to be addressed directly, because I wasn’t in good health. How did I know I wasn’t in good health? By the way I felt physically, mentally, and emotionally most days.

Next time, I’ll share more specifics about how I felt most days and what I needed to change with what I was putting into my body to get myself back on track health-wise.

By: Chris Thompson