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Transcript

Howard injures himself... again.

A lesson in load management

Exercise is the risk you take to avoid the consequences of being still.

In the past, I often had issues or injuries related to improper load management, either ramping up too quickly or adding too many activities into a day. Some folks tolerate amazing load rates…, but that’s never been me. I learned many lessons in the past because of these injuries… but I still have some work to do.

My middle son got me into rock climbing a while back. It’s a lot of fun… a terrific challenge… and a great way to maintain full-body fitness.

I monitor my load often… using my watch and a HR strap to record most exercises. But heart rate isn’t a great way to assess the load of a workout or a climbing session.

I ended up sustaining a tear in a tendon of my elbow. And it wasn’t healing— although it’s safe to say I wasn’t allowing it to heal. I ignored it for as long as I could. The red in the US picture is the tendon. The blue is the bone that the tendon should attach to. The yellow is the tear.

I had a PRP injection last week… those hurt ;-)! But in a few months, I’ll be back climbing. Hopefully, with lessons learned about technique, how often I should climb and what positions I should try to avoid.

Built to Move, Born to Heal: Notes on Midlife Fitness is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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