Shocking: Dragged and Beaten
I was SHOCKED when I walked into his house last night.
My Dad was sprawled out on his living room floor, short of breath, and pleading for help.
It looked like he had been repeatedly dragged from a chair and beaten for nearly 30 minutes.
It turns out that's exactly what had happened.
My almost-two-year-old had been instructing -- her 68-year-old Papa to sit in her toddler-sized chair only to immediately pull on his shirt until he fell to the floor.
The thud of him hitting the floor was only muffled by the hearty and contagious belly laugh from his assailant.
After a brief scrap on the floor, in which my Dad was no competition for his laughter-fueled granddaughter, he was instructed to get up and sit back in the chair.
This had been on repeat for nearly 30 minutes before I arrived!
Aside from being concerned that my daughter is already a bully and brute...
Witnessing moments like these is particularly special and cool to me for a multitude of reasons.
But one in particular...
Since 2012 my brother Brendan and I have been coaching people over 40.
Since before 2012 my Dad has been our guinea pig in the gym.
With a Rheumatoid Arthritis diagnosis...
Bad knees from high school football and a couple of motorcycle accidents...
A weekly travel schedule (at the time) for work...
And thick enough skin to survive the experimentation and critiques from his TWO twenty-something-year-old sons/coaches at the time...
There was really no better candidate.
Like most others first seeking a coach, he gave us some standard, surface-level goals to start. They were probably something like:
Lose 10 lbs.
Tone here and there
And have more energy
Over time his individual goals have changed and become more refined, but his "why"...
To continue doing the things he loves with the people he loves for as long and well as possible...
Has stayed the same.
It's no secret that he does not have the same maximal strength or endurance in the gym now, at 68, that he did in his early 50's.
After all, aging is an uphill battle.
We can slow the effects but we can't completely stop them.
It's even less of a secret -- although he'll often deny it -- that he's frustrated when he feels like he can't keep up in weight or pace with people two decades or more younger than him.
That includes Saturday mornings when he works out with me and my brother before opening.
And while I understand his frustration to an extent...
Moments like the one I described above between him and my daughter are proof that all of his hard work continues to pay off fulfilling his "why".
Neither he nor his granddaughter will remember how much he trap bar deadlifted in April 2025...
Or if he had to skip a set to let his heart rate come down in some random workout.
But they WILL both remember that he was able to participate and make memories with her, not just watch them from the sidelines.
And that's why we do what we do at Peak City Gym.
We help busy people over 40 build muscle, lose fat, and take control of their health even when they feel frustrated by previous attempts or injury...
So that they can continue to do the things they love with the people they love for as long and well as possible.
So...
Are there activities that you enjoy that you would like to get back to doing?
Are there daily tasks that could be made easier with some improvement in strength and endurance?
Will you be able to roll around on the floor playing with your grandchildren at 68 years old?
Do you want to be able to?
We can help!
Click HERE to check out some of our programs and services!
Click HERE to check out our YouTube Channel full of FREE content!
Comments
Post a Comment