My Name is Hope

I am the possibility of fitness in your fifth decade of life. The kip-ups and cartwheels and handstand walking, and heavy weightlifting are not the point. The point is that you do not need to live in pain or fear. That you do not need to age into decrepitude. That you can enjoy the freedom to keep playing into your retirement years. You can still live in a body that you enjoy.

It's Not About Genetics

My example proves that it doesn’t require good genetics. I didn’t start out life fit or athletic, and my family history of chronic lifestyle disease includes the full list of ailments: heart disease, obesity, diabetes, mental illness, cancer. You name it; it runs in my family. I’ve watched it all unfold up close and personal. Some relatives just threw up their hands and said, “Nothing I can do about it, it’s just genetic.” I went the other route, determined to squeeze every minute of health and enjoyment out of this body that my DNA would permit. So far, so good. I’ve had a good run.

Broken, But Not Defeated

But it didn’t start out that way. By age thirty, in 2002, my body was hopelessly broken after 20+ years of judo competition and bouncing in bars. I was in chronic pain all the time. The physiotherapist had given up on my shoulder, telling me it would never be the same without surgery. My doctor warned me that based on the condition of my spine, I could never lift again. Foam mattresses, corrective insoles, and endless appointments with chiropractors, RMTs, sports medicine doctors, and physiotherapists could not alleviate my suffering. I was broken, brittle, and fragile.

Choosing a Different Path

Until I resolved that I would not accept this as my fate. It has been a long, 20+ year journey of relearning how to live in my body. The first few steps were faltering, and there have been more than a few setbacks. A lot of trial and error.

But now, in my mid-fifties, my body feels better than it did in my thirties, and I have less pain than in my forties. I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t, and I’m continuing to learn how to optimize this high-performance machine that I have been blessed with.

After a decade hiatus from contact sport, I have shifted from CrossFit competition back to judo and BJJ and kickboxing and have only recently begun contemplating a triple sport return to competition at the 2032 World Masters Games because there should be something to look forward to about turning sixty.

Be Your Own Beacon of Hope

You don’t need to go do combat sports with young twenty-somethings, you don’t need to go compete at world-level events, and you don’t need to do the crazy shit that I like doing, but not doing those things should be your choice, not a necessity. You should be able to enjoy living in a body that is capable of playing the way you like to play for the rest of your life. That is what I am here for. To set an example of what is possible. To be your beacon of hope. Let’s learn how to age better together!