You never know when you’ll perform your last heavy deadlift

I was going to title this post “You’ll never know when you’ll lift your last sailboat” when I realized that it’s the functional impact of my recent health news that will hit much harder.

What’s the health news? I’ve been diagnosed with a hiatus hernia–see here for what that means. It’s also called hiatal hernia. They’re the same condition.

I’m trying not to be dramatic about this, given that in the scheme of things the health news could have been much worse. I’m aware of that since some of the diagnosis involved ruling out the much worse things that could have been causing my symptoms.

What the diagnosis means for me, among other things, most immediately, is no more heavy lifting or intense efforts on my bike.

I think of myself–and this matters to me,  perhaps more than it should–as a strong person. I know that’s connected to feeling good about my size.  I’m large but I’m large and very strong.

I am all about lifting heavy things and intense efforts on the bike. Power and speed are my go-to fitness places. Rawr!

But no more. No more heavy lifting and no more racing. I feel like my entire fitness personality will need a rethink!

The pamphlets on living with a hiatus hernia all talk about the importance of exercise for weight loss and emphasize that low-intensity activities are just fine. You can still do lots of gentle movement, they say reassuringly.

Gentle movement!?

That is not at all reassuring.

Readers may know how much low-intensity exercise bores me. And you know for sure what I think about exercising for weight loss.

I’m giving myself some time to pout and mourn, but it’s very clear my life will need to change.

I won’t miss planks and crunches. They’re on the no-go list along with heavy weights and intense efforts. There’s also to be no more pull-ups, and lots of yoga poses aren’t recommended either. No cobra or camel but chair pose is okay.  Fine then.

I don’t know yet how bad it is and if surgery is called for (most likely not), but I’m not really writing today to talk about the medical issues. I have an excellent family doctor. I feel very well cared for by the Canadian health care system. I’m lucky. And to be clear, I’m not looking for medical advice. I’m writing mostly to share the fitness impacts and the way I’ll need to adapt my fitness story.

Tracy has blogged about entering her 60s and changing her thinking about fitness. For Tracy, it’s now more about walking and yoga, less about racing, and more about sustainable fitness that will see her through the decades ahead. I confess that hasn’t been my plan. With my big knee surgeries behind me, I wanted to get back to fast cycling, heavy lifting, and intense efforts. Now that won’t be happening, and I am trying to come to terms with it.

Swimming seems to be fine according to most things I read. All my swimming is slow swimming.  Maybe this is the thing that finally gets me into the pool. I have a month free membership at the Y that starts today.

There’s always aquafit. I did aqua yoga Saturday morning. And there’s seated bicep curls. (Yawn. ) Long slow bike rides are still good. We’ll know more as I track what does and doesn’t aggravate my condition. There’s also physio to help with a hiatus hernia. I might try that too. See the video below.

In addition to all the movement advice, there are some serious food impacts. I have already given up afternoon coffee (all coffee in fact except for one in the morning), carbonated beverages, and chocolate for dessert. I’m moving on to eating smaller meals and not eating late in the evening. The medication I’m taking requires 3-4 hours between meals. It’s also recommended I eat a few hours before exercising. (And I know the fussy eating regimens are familiar to many of you. Not me. I’ve always been able to eat a normal sized meal and hop on my bike. But no longer.)

Anything else to worry about? There’s also some worry about tightly fitting sports bras and any clothing that fits snugly around the waist. I guess I’ll be switching to bib shorts for the bike.

Sorry if this sounds a bit dramatic.  I know slowing down with age is normal.  I’ve been siding with team “it’s normal but not necessary,  you don’t have to slow down” and yet here I am,  now deliberating slowing down.

It feels like a lot right now.

I’m giving myself time to get used to this news.

By the way,  my family doctor was surprised I even went to the website the specialist recommended and read the exercise section.  Most people,  he said,  just ignore that and keep doing what they’re doing.  Just take it easy,  he did,  but keep moving.

He makes it sound so simple.  But he also seems like not an over-thinker.

Wish me luck!