Exercise and Work
Now that we've gotten some spiritual grounding to start the New Year, thanks to Bishop Fulton Sheen, let's turn from our spiritual well-being to our physical well-being. The importance of attending to our physical well-being should be clear by simply remembering that we were created by God soul and body. We might also add that we Catholics understand that our bodies are "Temples of the Holy Spirit." So first thing to note: our spiritual well-being and our physical well-being are not mutually exclusive. With that in mind, here are some suggestions about how we might build and maintain that temple. We'll see that, while some of us must exercise to properly execute our daily tasks at work, all of us should consider some form of physical exercise. Let's start with those of us who must exercise.
The most obvious example of those of us who must would be professional athletes, of course. These days professional athletes train in season and out. Their exercise regimes include the latest and greatest advances in exercise science and sports medicine. Add to these those athletes who don't make a living at their sport, but pursue one or more sports as an avocation. Having such an athlete in the family, I've learned a thing or two about fairly sophisticated training techniques - certainly as compared to what I knew growing up. "Exercise" doesn't quite capture the impressive strides made in this area.
But it's not only athletes who must exercise in order to perform their work. Let's turn to those of us who aren't athletes, but have fallen into the "must" exercise camp for various reasons. I'll share a personal story to illustrate this.
It all began the year I was married. I had just finished doing the weekly grocery shopping at a local supermarket. Since I was earning my living as a musician at the time, I was home some weekdays while my wife worked. While putting items from my cart onto that moving belt at the check-out register, an incredibly intense pain caused me to freeze. The pain extended from my neck more or less down my left shoulder and upper back. I literally couldn't move. Now I'm no hero when it comes to pain, but I'm also not a baby about physical discomfort. But this pain was far beyond anything I've ever experienced before or since. Not only was I unable to reach for the groceries in the cart at first, but after figuring out how to contort myself to do so, I didn't know if I could carry the bags to the car and load them in. Any slight movement caused deep stabs of fiery pain. Only extraordinary self-control and fear of embarrassment prevented me from shouting out. In any case, I did manage to get home and get the groceries up to our second floor walk-up apartment. But that left me with a further dilemma.
As I mentioned, I earned my living as a musician at the time and it was Friday during "busy season. "During busy season my weekends were booked afternoon and night with gigs on Saturday and Sunday (weddings, Bar Mitvahs, etc.). The deal was you didn't get paid if you didn't work. Being a guitarist who played what was probably the heaviest electric guitar on the market, I realized right away I couldn't strap the thing over my shoulder - no way. Even without that heavy guitar dragging down on my neck and shoulder, I still had intense pain simply standing, sitting, or lying down, that was - no exaggeration - crippling. Having never had any serious illness or injury, I was kind of in a panic. What to do?
With the help of a chiropractor, I was able to get myself back up and running in short order after missing a whole weekend of work. Over the coming weeks and months it became clear that the pinched nerve that caused the pain and virtual paralysis would likely come back again and again. Regular chiropractic treatments got me through the first months, but weren't a permanent solution. Indeed, at one point, during a recurrence of severe pain, I almost couldn't drive my car, essential, of course, to my getting to my gigs. I eventually realized that some form of regular exercise would be essential. And so lifelong pursuit of exercise - out of necessity - began.
Without getting into the details, I've explored various and sundry methods of exercise that over weeks, months, years, and decades, have slowly, but surely, helped to minimize the incidents of debilitating pain. Again, I'm no expert, and have no professional credentials, but necessity drove me to learn all I could about the benefits of jogging, running, weight-lifting, stretching, cross-training, yoga, etc. Some worked better than others. Depending on the results achieved from one or more of these, I would change my routines. For a period of time flair ups caused me to miss a day or work here and there, but I've never been out on disability, or even close to it. I'm still learning and experimenting but, thank God, the really bad old days seem to be behind me. It took a lot of dedicated study and practice to find exercises that minimized the flair-ups and allowed me to pursue my work without having to take time off.
So there you have an example of someone who must exercise in order to work, one of the fundamental duties of my state of life. While not all of us must exercise to get on with our lives, including being able to earn a living, next time we'll look at why all of us should consider some form of exercise.
The most obvious example of those of us who must would be professional athletes, of course. These days professional athletes train in season and out. Their exercise regimes include the latest and greatest advances in exercise science and sports medicine. Add to these those athletes who don't make a living at their sport, but pursue one or more sports as an avocation. Having such an athlete in the family, I've learned a thing or two about fairly sophisticated training techniques - certainly as compared to what I knew growing up. "Exercise" doesn't quite capture the impressive strides made in this area.
But it's not only athletes who must exercise in order to perform their work. Let's turn to those of us who aren't athletes, but have fallen into the "must" exercise camp for various reasons. I'll share a personal story to illustrate this.
It all began the year I was married. I had just finished doing the weekly grocery shopping at a local supermarket. Since I was earning my living as a musician at the time, I was home some weekdays while my wife worked. While putting items from my cart onto that moving belt at the check-out register, an incredibly intense pain caused me to freeze. The pain extended from my neck more or less down my left shoulder and upper back. I literally couldn't move. Now I'm no hero when it comes to pain, but I'm also not a baby about physical discomfort. But this pain was far beyond anything I've ever experienced before or since. Not only was I unable to reach for the groceries in the cart at first, but after figuring out how to contort myself to do so, I didn't know if I could carry the bags to the car and load them in. Any slight movement caused deep stabs of fiery pain. Only extraordinary self-control and fear of embarrassment prevented me from shouting out. In any case, I did manage to get home and get the groceries up to our second floor walk-up apartment. But that left me with a further dilemma.
As I mentioned, I earned my living as a musician at the time and it was Friday during "busy season. "During busy season my weekends were booked afternoon and night with gigs on Saturday and Sunday (weddings, Bar Mitvahs, etc.). The deal was you didn't get paid if you didn't work. Being a guitarist who played what was probably the heaviest electric guitar on the market, I realized right away I couldn't strap the thing over my shoulder - no way. Even without that heavy guitar dragging down on my neck and shoulder, I still had intense pain simply standing, sitting, or lying down, that was - no exaggeration - crippling. Having never had any serious illness or injury, I was kind of in a panic. What to do?
With the help of a chiropractor, I was able to get myself back up and running in short order after missing a whole weekend of work. Over the coming weeks and months it became clear that the pinched nerve that caused the pain and virtual paralysis would likely come back again and again. Regular chiropractic treatments got me through the first months, but weren't a permanent solution. Indeed, at one point, during a recurrence of severe pain, I almost couldn't drive my car, essential, of course, to my getting to my gigs. I eventually realized that some form of regular exercise would be essential. And so lifelong pursuit of exercise - out of necessity - began.
Without getting into the details, I've explored various and sundry methods of exercise that over weeks, months, years, and decades, have slowly, but surely, helped to minimize the incidents of debilitating pain. Again, I'm no expert, and have no professional credentials, but necessity drove me to learn all I could about the benefits of jogging, running, weight-lifting, stretching, cross-training, yoga, etc. Some worked better than others. Depending on the results achieved from one or more of these, I would change my routines. For a period of time flair ups caused me to miss a day or work here and there, but I've never been out on disability, or even close to it. I'm still learning and experimenting but, thank God, the really bad old days seem to be behind me. It took a lot of dedicated study and practice to find exercises that minimized the flair-ups and allowed me to pursue my work without having to take time off.
So there you have an example of someone who must exercise in order to work, one of the fundamental duties of my state of life. While not all of us must exercise to get on with our lives, including being able to earn a living, next time we'll look at why all of us should consider some form of exercise.
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