Saturday, July 28, 2007

Be Good to Your Body Day

Laura has been making a lot of whiney noises today and walking around the house on all four limbs (which is an improvement over the way she was trying to move last night, let me tell you!)

If you have had a look at The Polyphagous Dragon today, you might think that Laura has been in the kitchen all day, cooking up a storm. In truth, she has been in the kitchen -- but only because that's where her computers are set up.

Laura hasn't cooked any of the things she added to her blog today in ages. She's only been sitting at her computer typing out recipes. Cooking would require Laura's back to be in good shape -- which today it isn't.

(The one thing Laura did "cook" today was a box of soup. I almost got to taste that because Laura had to put the bowl on the floor in order to pour the soup from the box into it before crawling over to the microwave to heat it up!)

I feel badly for Laura's back being poorly, really I do, but the one upside to Laura's being unable to walk today is that I don't have to walk either.

I know that Laura wants me to be strong and healthy -- and walking is good exercise for almost everyone -- but sometimes Laura goes a bit too far. For instance, did you know that Laura's back is messed up because she injured it doing a weight-lifting class FOUR YEARS AGO? She injured her back doing that class. Then, later that day, she went running. The next day, she went running even further. The third day, her back really wasn't feeling good at all, so she ran even further still, then did the weight-lifting class again! After that class, Laura had to call our friend Loretta and ask her to come pick her up, drive her to a drug store to buy painkillers (which Laura NEVER had to take before her back injury) and take her home. Usually, Laura is a very smart person, but she wasn't very smart that week.

So, my message to you all today is this: Do NOT push yourself "way beyond your limits". Going too far isn't anything to be proud of. Going too far is just stupid.

Think it cannot happen to you? Think you're young and strong and invincible? Laura was young and strong and in great shape when she injured her back. She was a regular exerciser who ran with good form and knew how to lift weights properly. And today: Today Laura cannot walk because of a stupid mistake she made four years ago.

Today Laura is also wiser and knows that exercise is something that should be taken in MODERATION. Today Laura knows that you should NEVER EVER push through an injury. (When you work out, your brain releases endogenous opioids and endogenous cannabinoids into your body. These chemicals make you feel good -- but they also block your perception of pain. Not such a good thing when the pain is there to tell you that your body is injured and you should stop doing whatever it is you're doing that's causing your body harm!)

We still hope that Laura didn't learn her lesson too late. We hope that one day her back will forgive her for that mistake she made four years ago. And we hope that you can learn from Laura's mistake now -- before it's too late for you. Exercise moderately for optimal health and well-being, and, when your body needs rest, give it a good one!

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