Managing Morbidity & Maintaining Vigor - Beast Over Burden - #506

<div> <p>Learn about managing morbidity - staying active, vigorous, and capable to have as much of a human life as possible for as long as you can. You need to dance with your granddaughter, care for your chickens, and farm your fields.</p> <h3>Managing Morbidity: Memento Mori</h3> <div> <p>We all die, and as lifters this means we all complete our last PRs. There is a day, and you may have reached it or may reach it soon (you will reach it at some point) when you won't hit any more PRs.</p> <p>This is okay. This is part of the deal.</p> <p>At some point, the strength curves bends and then comes down.</p> <p>For Karl, he still thought he might be able to hit some PRs. He moved to a more rural location, felt the heaviness of his 258 pounds, but he still thought maybe if he hit a good stretch of training he could hit another PR.</p> <p>Then he had a stroke.</p> <p>He had a transient ischemic attack (TIA). The word transient is key - he hasn't experience long-term, permanent effects from the stroke. The stroke occurred due a congenital issue - patent foramen ovale (PFO) - an open oval hole in the wall of the heart. Migraines are common for people with this issue.</p> </div> <div>He confronted the reality that he will never hit another PR again.</div> <h3>Managing Morbidity: Staying Active & Vigorous</h3> <p>We don't strength train, though, to just stave off death or sickness or even compress morbidity into the smallest possible portion of our lives. We train FOR something (or multiple things).</p> <p>We train for health. We train to dance with out granddaughter. We train to take care of our chickens. Some train for glory, others to take their medicine, others to compete.</p> <p>It's really a remarkable thing, to walk into a gym multiple times a week, year-after-year-, and fight against iron and gravity.</p> <p>While Karl, now walking around 50 pounds lighter, misses looking like he lifts when he walks around. But everyday activities are easier. Certain things open up to him - such as getting clothes that fit easily o