I thought I’d revive this thread by @Coach.Jeff.H because:
- It contains pure Gold
- Personally it, and the concept of Antifragility, is shouting loud and clear to me right now.
GOLD
@David.McQuillen.KoS’s response and experience will not be a surprise - many of us would have experienced it already (no matter how subtle) and many who haven’t will in the future. Being aware of it is key. For me the SUF Strength programs really brought it to the fore. As per Sir David it was the single-leg balance and lateral lunges that opened my eyes. And like Sir David I got better - quickly.
As a surgeon I am very fortunate to care for many “elderly” patients - many in their 80’s, quite a few in their 90’s and a handful over 100. Without a doubt movement is the key to healthy longevity. And in an anecdotal and very unscientific way I have noticed that:
- Walkers that follow mountain trails and walk through forests navigating exposed tree roots and traversing rocky rivers are in better overall condition than those who do the same distance walking on paved city paths or park tracks. Despite the latter group being more focussed on it for their health.
- My patients in their 80’s and 90’s (yes, 90’s) that play tennis are simply unbelievable! Truly!
ANTIFRAGILITY
Right now I’m a week post surgery with a lengthy recovery/ rehab period up ahead. It’s been a ‘tough’ year, part of which, when I thought things were back on an even keel, I wrote about here:
Well, 2 days after writing that I fell - minor slip on wet decking. And I felt my dominant shoulder tear as I fell - a horrible unzipping. As it unzipped I clearly saw the surgery and rehab coming my way. Sometimes you just know. (And we lost one of our beautiful goats (not laser) - Timmy - and a few days later our beautiful Cracker dog. Talk about kicking a man when he’s down!)
In true Sufferlandrian style I started the KoS Prep plan the following day (ever hopeful and naturally with just one hand on the bars), saw a sports physician the day after and as “luck” would have it (for my knighthood quest) an initial ultrasound underdiagnosed what an MRI 2 weeks later would show as a near complete tear of my supraspinatus at its insertion requiring surgery. Cleared the quest with my surgeon and had the surgery a week after.
Here’s the thing: no driving/ work x 6 weeks, no cycling at all for a few weeks and outdoor probably not for 3 months +, no classical guitar (another pastime to keep me sane) for 6-8 weeks etc. Despite having recently felt fitter than I have since my 20’s and seldom feeling much older than 19 (now 53) gee did I now feel FRAGILE. So I read up a bit on Taleb’s Antifragility and the first page I landed on started with this quote:
“How can you think yourself a great man, when the first accident that comes along can wipe you out completely.”
Euripides
Here’s the link for those that want to read more: 10 Principles to Live an Antifragile Life
So, while in the greater scheme of things (and having always been cognisant of having many different facets to my life) I think I tend to fall more around the resilient/ robust part of the fragile to antifragile continuum, I think there’s some work to be done to be firmly placed on the antifragile end. Already I miss GvA with a sense of longing rather than the initial one of despair and I’ve agreed I’ll apologise to my surgeon for how on Day 1 post-op I was already begging him to let me back on the trainer earlier. I’ll rehab well, ease back in with core and stability and lateral movement strengthening, and then get back on the bike. And I think I’ll hit the pool again. And play frisbee more.
And then #IWBMATTKYT