Brother to Brother
Guys, I’m talking specifically to you this week. Recently, I’ve had a spate of family and friends of friends who have had male family members passing away suddenly from various ailments. It hits close to home because all of these guys were like me, all in their mid to late forties, in what should be their prime. Instead, they’re gone far too soon and leave wives and children wondering how and why. We men need to do better in making sure we’re putting our health more in the forefront of our lives. So I’m doing a check-in with you to see how you’re doing.
If it’s been some time, go see a doctor, get your blood work done and get yourself checked out. Face the music and see what’s going on with you; make sure your cholesterol, sugar levels and blood pressure are all looking good. If you’re on meds for any of these issues, what can you do to get yourself off of them? Too often we’re paying more attention to how our cars are driving than our own health. It just ain’t cool no more to tough it out and hope it goes away. It’s not cool to just accept it for what it is. Make them changes. You got a family that is depending on you and needs you around for the long haul. If something doesn’t feel right with yourself, be a proponent of your health like your car needed new brakes! I mean you’re paying for health insurance, go utilize it!
If it’s been years since you’ve worked out, don’t compare yourself to what you used to do in high school or college. Realize that it’s going to take time to get back to even close to where you once were, just as it took time to get away from it. Open your mind up to new ways of working out that benefit you. Yeah we all want to walk around looking like Adonis, but forreal, are you really willing to put in work to get there? Be real with yourself; be honest with where you’re at now and what a realistic goal for you is. Find ways to be more mobile, more agile. Get yourself to stretch! I’m not talking yoga pretzels here, but I promise a lot of aches and pains can be alleviated from just foam rolling and stretching. I mean, it don’t get more simple than that. I know it don’t sound glorious, but man not having back pain is dope! Being able to keep up with my God kids and friend’s kids at family parties is worth the exercise.
Don’t feel like you have to shoulder your health all on your own. Find help and support from your family, friends and fitness professionals. Put your ego and pride aside and ask for help. Look, most of us don’t tackle remodeling our house, managing our 401k accounts or rebuilding a car engine on our own, right? We know a guy, have a cousin or friend that can do those things and do it right! So don’t treat your health any different. Ask for the help. Don’t worry, I won’t suggest you start asking for directions too, because I know you know a short cut.
Your family, kids and community all need you. I know you want to stick around for a good long while. I know you want to watch your kids grow into adults. I know you want to see some grandkids someday. You’ve made it this far. Don’t take it for granted. It’s time to start making more deposits into your health bank. It’s time to eat better, drink less, sleep more, and be more disciplined with you. Make more healthy decisions than not. Gravitate towards the things that really make you feel better long term and not just for the moment. Bubble guts and hangovers just aren’t the move anymore. I know you know and I know you can do better. I’m not saying give it all up completely, because I definitely like to indulge and imbibe. But brother, it don’t gotta be a regular thing. There’s a better way.
If you know me, you know I used to get down hard with the late nights at the clubs and bars and could put down my fair share of alcohol. You also know that could eat like a horse and hang with the big boys at the all you can eat buffets. Chalk it up to youth, my careers at the time, and enjoying life. And while I’m still a night owl, can still eat and drink my fair share, I’ve slowly transitioned away from that being a regular part of my lifestyle and found a better way to channel my energy through endurance sports. Now I’m not asking you to run marathons and go spend hours on the bike. I’m a realist and know that endurance sports aren’t for everyone. I totally get it. I get tons of close one asking me why I chose to do these races, but hey, to each his own. But what I am asking is can you do more for your health than what you’re currently doing?
If you’re reading this, perhaps this doesn’t resonate with you because you realize all this and are keeping your health in mind and in check. I salute you! You know firsthand it isn’t always easy to juggle work, to take care of your family and still making time to get a workout on, but you see the benefits of getting in that workout. That blood work from the doctor’s office is coming back all good and you’re feeling all right. But I know you know someone who needs help. We all do and it isn’t always an easy conversation to have with your brother, your cousin, your friend. Maybe they’re not ready yet to ask for help. I encourage you at least extend a hand to them; let them know that you care and that you’re there for them. If they’re like my friends, they’ll probably snap back with a joke or two and ask why you’re getting all soft. But after that, maybe they’ll actually listen and open up with you. In this era of dudes “giving their flowers to one another while they’re still here,” the time is right to put down the bravado and snaps for a moment, get real and do what we can to make sure we have one another around for decades to come to still share a beer and a joke or two with.
