Remembering great dads...and trying to be one.

Sunday, June 17, 2012
It was Father’s Day and who can’t help but reflect on their father and grandfathers and compare those experiences to the ones they’ve been creating with their own children…if they have them.  Well…I do…and somehow I always tie it back to exercise and activity while I’m thinking about how much fun it must be to have me for a dad.  That assumes my children would be interested in exercise and activity, quite naturally, and also assumes having me for a dad would be fun.  The expression ‘he’s a legend in his own mind’ has some bearing here.


Anyway, my dad thought I was a little more than a half a bubble off center regarding exercise.  He spent time in the military and that ended any desire to camp.  Exercise and athletics?  Fuh-get about it…it just wasn’t his thing.  Sadly, I think it led to a diminishment in his quality of life.  He ate poorly and was extremely inactive after his retirement, which led directly to high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and type II diabetes.  Like so many people, he got away with this lifestyle for many years, but when it caught up to him, he was unable or unwilling to make the changes that could have returned some of that quality.  He never did and would spend the final 10 years of his life struggling to deal with simple, everyday tasks.


 My grandfathers were both hard working, physical men who really didn’t need sports or exercise to stay fit…life kept them that way.


Well…my life doesn’t and neither do the lives of any of my children…and probably never will.  There jobs are and will likely be, sedentary.  They could create a lot of opportunities around their homes to have some physical labor, but like so many of us, they’ll probably take advantage of the many and assorted mechanical and electrical conveniences to do the tasks my grandfathers did with old fashioned muscle power. 


So I’ll keep encouraging them to ride the bike, do my Survival Workout, kayak and backpack with me, and head to the mountains of the Adirondacks for some great climbing and quality time.  It’s what I like to do, sure, but it is good for them and then they get to spend time with me learning about life and what’s really important…creating lasting memories with the ones who love them the most.


Survival Workout: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100-150.
Calories burned:  600.