I did the first unassisted pull-up of my life at age 37. From a still hang.

Sugar, I just wrote a post about weightlifting, but I didn't say the part I've been meaning to say to your post on falling apart.  I guess I think two things.

Thing the first:

I fervently believe that your body loves you and wants to carry you strongly and comfortably.  I believe that it is never too late, that it will always respond to you.  It will forgive any amount of neglect or abuse, and it will always, always respond favorably and predictably to doing the things it needs.  It needs good fuel.  It needs to be used, along the whole range of intensities.  It needs sleep.  It needs daylight.  It needs touch and (for many people) sex.

Your poor body.  It is mute and it is trapped there with you.  It can't say what it means.  It can only send you signals, sensations that your bossy, dominant mind can ignore.  Your mind wants other things, like information to chew on or distractions.  It will find them while your body tries to get attention.  It sends lethargy or a pounding heart to tell you you didn't eat what it needs.  It sends an ache to ask you to please twist and bend and lengthen it in more directions.  It sends joint pain to say that you've gotten out of alignment, please come back to your spine and work from there.  It gets weak when it wants you to know that you should fight your limits.  As soon as you do, it will rejoice by pushing those limits away and teaming with you to charge down the new limits.

As soon as you are moving in the right direction, you have no greater cheerleader than your body.  It LOVES you.  It is SO EXCITED to do things with you.  Your body wants to go on walks with you.  Your mind is seeing things and whirring through the details of the day.  But your body will send you rhythm between your legs and your breath.  Your body will give you pink cheeks, or that delicious sweatbreak.  Your body will thank you for sufficient nutritious food within a day, with a steady grateful energy that makes the Diet Cokes unnecessary.  Your body CANNOT WAIT to pick that up, and here your mind should urge it to go a little slower, focus on technique.  Because your body is JAZZED!  It loves hefting things!  It floods you with euphoria after!  It begs you to throw that heavy thing around afterwards!  Then jump over it!  Maybe roll on it!  It all feels good!  Do more!  Your body is sort of a golden retriever puppy.  It has no sense.  But it loves you and it wants to bound.

Thing the second:

Neglecting your body is sad, because it is a mute creature that is at your command.  We should tend our bodies as we would tend any creature under our control.  It is sad because it the feedback is so immediate; the signals come as soon as we move in a direction, healthy or neglectful.  It is a shame to pass up that source of gratification.  That said, I know it is hard to fit it in and the world is full of distractions from the pleas of your body.  I fully think that working out as much as I do is a selfish treat.  I'm lucky to be able to do that because I don't have other strong demands on my time.  I don't know how I'll balance it when I have a family with equally good claims.

If you can make time, I think you should.  If you are basically healthy, you can repair your body and bring it to whatever state you want it to be in.  After a lifetime of rolling my ankles in sports, they are now fixed, by strengthening and a lot of painful massage that realigned my legs.  You can make your body stronger than you dream, or fast or bendy or springy.  The ways to do this are known; your body will react in predictable ways.  You just have to make that What You Do for a while.  It takes a pretty wholehearted focus (which is fun, when it is fun).  It is never too late.  I see people at my gym make drastic turnarounds, to become glowing and pink and proud of themselves for doing things they dreamed they could.  Your body is on your side.  If you do this, it will give you every help and encouragement it can.  It will send you good sleep; it will crave dark green foods; it will breathe deep and full; it will grow strong; it will be euphoric; it will wake and feel alive.  It loves you, and you will feel it.

Comments

[Kelly]

This post was directed at Sherry, but it gives me hope for my aching body. That perhaps it is not too late. Thank you.

[ironrailsironweights.wordpress.com]

That's excellent about the pull-up. One of the very best exercises.

Peter

[Megan]

Peter, I know. I was soooo excited when it happened. I worked on it for about two years.

Kelly, yes. Your body would come back for you, if you are kind to it.

[Cara]

soooo cool that you did a pull-up. What do you think is the best way to train? It's always been a goal of mine to do a pull-up.

[Megan]

We trained that for a long time.

Started with pull-ups inside these great big rubber bands. I was in two of the thick ones at first. They got smaller and smaller until people were laughing at my symbolic single thin rubber band.

Then I did jump-pulls. With the momentum from the jump, I could finish the pull-up.

Then one day, an old guy at the park came over to comment on my pull-ups, because men just HAVE to comment on my pull-ups and told me not to jump. I started to show him that I couldn't lift myself out of the hang. Leaned back to pull with my lats and got up to half-way. I was worked from the set of jump-pulls, but that night I went to the gym and did two single pull-ups. It was fun and everyone gathered to cheer for me. It is a big day when someone first does a pull-up.

[dgm]

Thing the first: congratulations on your pullups! I love pullups and pushups.

Thing the second: this is one of my favorite posts because it articulates what I try to tell my friends who say they ache and get sick a lot and they hate that "age" makes them fatter. And supposedly I'm "lucky" because I'm the exception. Lucky, I say? I lift 6x/week, run hills and sprints and distance, do hot yoga, surf, and will soon have my first stand up paddleboard lesson. If I had my perfect day, it would include spending it doing physical activity, then getting a good deep tissue massage. It's not luck. It feels great to be in my body and to see what it can do. If you listen to your body and treat it kindly and exercise it like you would a pet, it will love you and be good to you and help you live a happier life.

Thanks, Megan, for this post.

[snowqueen]

What a great post - I particularly enjoyed the insight about our body as a mute creature - to be treated with compassion and making the effort to understand its needs. About 4 months ago I realised that I had to look after my body - my hip is becoming arthritic and was made worse by taking up running last year. I decided to lose weight and take up walking instead - I've now dropped two dress sizes and the pain has reduced and I feel healthier than I have in years.

[Jeff]

Congratulations, Megan.

[Noel]

This is a fantastic post. And, congratulations on the pull ups!

[Megan]

Thanks, y'all.

[Zarah]

I love this post! Whenever I start to think negatively about my body (not thin enough, etc.), I think of all the amazing athletic things it can do, and I give myself a break.