So here I am at the gym again. It is summer in Florida, about 97 degrees outside, and this is not a terrible place to be. Up north, the gym served the same purpose during freezing winters. Sometimes the best workout is the one you can actually get done.
I Would Rather Be Outside
I have almost always preferred outdoor exercise.
Biking, paddling, hiking, climbing and even running back when that was part of my life all felt more natural than working out indoors.
Outdoor activity gives you scenery, changing weather, fresh air and a reason to keep moving. It does not always feel like exercise because you are going somewhere, exploring or doing something useful.
But I also learned that you have to do whatever it takes to stay in shape.
Cardiovascular exercise, strength training and resistance work are not optional forever. If you stop moving, sooner or later you pay the price.
The Gym Is Worth It
The gym has always been worth the money to me.
For about thirty dollars a month through a health-plan benefit, I can use many different gyms. That makes it easy to get a workout wherever I happen to be.
One of the things I like most is seeing so many other people there doing the same thing. Everyone has different goals and different limitations, but they are all putting in the effort to stay healthier.
Eating well is a huge part of health, but diet alone is not enough for me. If I do not get regular exercise somewhere, I feel the difference.
When Daily Life Was the Workout
There were years when I hardly needed a formal gym routine because normal life kept me active.
When I owned my last home, I could spend fifty hours a week outside doing maintenance. There was the pool, trees, brush, leaves, lawn mowing, power washing and endless repairs.
That work took a huge amount of time, but it also kept me moving.
The same was true during the years I worked outdoors. Fieldwork involved lifting, carrying equipment, walking difficult terrain and spending long days in heat, cold and water.
I got plenty of exercise simply by doing my job.
Almost Seventy and Still Responsible for Myself
Now I am approaching seventy, retired, and no longer required to be anywhere at a particular time.
That freedom is wonderful, but it also means I have to deliberately make exercise part of my day.
Nobody is sending me into the field. Nobody is requiring me to lift equipment or hike into a work site. If I do not choose to stay active, it becomes very easy to lose strength and endurance.
For me, the gym fills that gap.
It gives me a reliable place to work on cardio, strength, balance and resistance training, especially when Florida heat makes outdoor exercise less appealing.
Starting Over After the 2002 Accident
The strongest lesson I ever learned about fitness came after my 2002 car accident.
The crash shattered my left acetabulum and caused multiple pelvic fractures. After surgery, I spent about three months largely confined to bed in a nursing facility.
During that time, my conditioning disappeared.
When I was finally able to begin rebuilding, I knew that returning to my old field position would require much more than simply being able to walk.
My job involved hard physical outdoor work. I had to recover enough strength and endurance to lift heavy equipment, work in difficult terrain and pass a demanding functional-capacity evaluation.
Six Days a Week
I began going to the gym about six days a week, taking only one day off for recovery.
I performed endless physical-therapy exercises, strength work and conditioning routines. The facility also had a swimming pool, sauna, steam room and whirlpool.
After long workouts, the heat and water helped soothe sore muscles and made it easier to return the next day.
I did not understand as much about nutrition then as I do now. I was not consistently taking in enough protein after those long workouts, so I may have made the rebuilding process harder than it needed to be.
Still, I kept going.
I Refused to Spend My Career Indoors
After the accident, there were possibilities for me to move into computer, GIS or information-technology work.
Those jobs were important and probably would have been easier physically. But I could not imagine spending all day indoors while working for a science agency as interesting as the U.S. Geological Survey.
I wanted to return to field science.
That meant I had to meet the physical requirements again. I needed to pass the functional tests, lift substantial weight and demonstrate that I could safely handle the job.
So I did what it took. I put in the time, repeated the exercises and slowly rebuilt my body.
Getting Back Is Harder Than Staying There
That experience taught me how quickly the body can lose conditioning.
When injury, illness or inactivity forces you to stop, strength and endurance can disappear much faster than expected.
Getting them back is difficult.
But difficult is not the same as impossible.
People can rebuild at almost any age if they begin carefully, remain consistent and accept that progress may be slow.
Whatever It Takes
I still prefer a paddle, hike or bike ride to most indoor workouts.
But some days it is 97 degrees outside. Other days it is freezing, raining or simply not practical to spend hours outdoors.
That is when the gym matters.
It is not always exciting, but it is reliable. It gives me a place to work on the strength and endurance that make everything else possible.
I hope everyone finds some way to do the same—walk, swim, lift, paddle, bike, stretch or use whatever equipment is available.