For some strange reason a few of my colleagues have this notion in their minds that once they leave the job, the need to workout ceases to exist. Nothing could be further from the truth. While this article is mostly directed toward those that have pulled the pin, the concepts and principles contained herein apply to both current and retired cops.
I recently read on Officer.com that a 41 year old South Carolina deputy collapsed and died from cardiac arrest. God rest his soul and bless him for his service. The article mentioned that he had retired from the Army after 20 years, so he was well aware of the need to stay healthy and fit. Some might say that the officer was getting old and that heart attacks occur with greater frequency as we age. I challenge that statement; getting old is called aging and it happens to all of us - it's normal. What happens to some of us, those who aren't proactive about their health and fitness, is that decay begins to set in and that is not normal.
What happens when we age? Well, lots of things: our hair gets gray (or falls out); our max heart rate begins to decline each year; our skin loses elasticity, and speed and strength diminish, to name just a few. All of these things take place whether we want them to or not - we have no control over any of them. But even though we all must get older, none of us has to look old or feel old. There is a huge contrast between a vibrant, energetic older person and one that has succumbed to their own perception of what old means. If your conception of old is that you can now sit back in your rocking chair and read the paper or tell stories to your grandchildren, let me disabuse you of that notion right now.
Our bodies start to switch into a "decay mode" somewhere in our forties or fifties - again that is normal aging. Through my own observations, experimentation, and research, I have learned that this decay process can be ameliorated through exercise, nutrition, and a healthy emotional state. While all of these components are important and essential, the most important of them is exercise, and here is why: we humans have evolved over millions of years. Our ancestors didn't get into their SUVs and drive to McDonalds for a burger and fries when they were hungry. They didn't eat unless they were hungry; they only ate when their bodies needed food. When they did eat, it came as a result of having to hunt and then kill their meal. That meant walking, running, sometimes for days, then killing and carrying that meal back to their family unit. Every element of their survival involved moving, which we now call exercise.
What happened to our ancestors when they encountered things like drought, famine, or injuries that precluded them from their normal activities? Their bodies began to decay. Muscles atrophied, systems shut down, and they were ostracized from the group; their self-worth and sense of usefulness diminished. The same thing happens to us: our bodies slip into the decay mode when we fail to keep them in tune through exercise, nutrition, and maintaining healthy emotional relationships. When we overeat, or eat the wrong things, don't exercise, fail to get enough rest, allow stressors to influence us to the point of abusing alcohol or drugs, these things send a signal to our bodies for the decay process to begin. Disease gets a foothold in our bodies and the whole decay process gathers speed and momentum like a snowball rolling downhill. A common result from decay is that our bodies develop depression. Our ancestors experienced depression too; each winter when food was scarce and staying warm was paramount for survival, depression was a normal reaction. Depression also signals decay, and until springtime arrived to get our ancestors back on their feet and back in the hunt, they were sedentary. What is your reason for being sedentary? Truth be told you have no reason.
So the bottom line is this: you don't want to decay, you want to grow. How do you grow? You exercise - six or seven days a week - hard, serious exercise. It doesn't matter if you are in your twenties, thirties, sixties, or seventies - exercise every day! Sound radical? It probably does, but why? Because society has inculcated us with the notion that no one should feel uncomfortable or should have to work hard for anything. Everyone should be equal - everything should be fair. Well folks life is not fair. Some of us have it better than others, and some must work hard just to stay afloat. Work is good, work is healthy. Consider that exercise is work; place a priority on it as you do your work. Just as you work every day, so must you exercise every day. Get rid of pathetic excuses about why you cannot exercise: "I don't have time," or "I have to drive the kids to school," or "I have a bum knee." None of these have merit. Think of our brothers and sisters who have lost limbs, or sight, or any other infirmities resulting from war or violent encounters. What they wouldn't give to have your four limbs and relative health. I see them out there in wheelchairs, on prosthetic legs, running with a guide runner. Get over your weak, pathetic self and get moving.
What happens when you exercise? Your muscles send a signal to your body during exercise (vigorous exercise) for your muscles to grow, not atrophy. Your muscles are broken down and replaced three times per year; blood cells every three months, and your bones every two years. Without exercise this process does not take place, decay begins. With exercise comes muscle inflammation, which is good because it triggers repair and thus new growth. Without growth the decay signals become dominant and we begin the slow trek to the grave with its attached reduced quality of life.
One last thing of import to convey to those of you still on the fence about the need to exercise every day: Since 1918 the leading cause of death has been cardiovascular disease - heart attacks. The misconception that abounds is that heart attacks have everything to do with the heart, but nothing to do with the circulation. False! The coronary arteries leading to the heart fail due to blockages or clotting. They become weak and inflamed, white blood cells invade the walls knocking off particles of plaque that travel to smaller arteries and block circulation. Combined with a high fat diet, the white blood cells attract the fat and attach to the arterial walls causing plaque - this kills about half of us. Exercise does little for the heart, that muscle works 24-7-365, but the key is what exercise does for circulation. Keeping your circulation healthy, free of plaque, with the ability to deliver blood and oxygen deep into the muscles is the key. Without good circulation we die. Ever hear of hardening of the arteries? It's real and it's deadly. Keeping arteries flexible, healthy, and free of plaque and debris is the key to not only long life, but to quality of life. It means the difference between using a walker or being out of breath after walking up a flight of stairs when your 75, and being spry and limber into your 80s and 90s.
To those of you that are dreaming of the day when you can just sit on your butt and collect your pension: forget about it, you're living in a fantasy world. To you younger folks that think that everything else is more important than exercise - things like your job, hobbies, girlfriend, drinking and partying - get over it. Go to a nursing home or retirement home and take a look at people in their 60s and 70s that look like zombies because they led sedentary lifestyles. They allowed decay to take place rather than aging. Maybe then you will get the message. I hope so.
The good news is that it's not too late to start the growth process and reverse the decay that has begun to take place. If you haven't exercised today to the point of sweating and raising your heart rate, get out there now. Live long my friends; stay safe brothers and sisters.
