Body repair

This is not about auto mechanics or my suki talyer which can fix any bangga and make the car look like new. This is about the human body which, much like an automobile, has it knicks and knocks after running non-stop for so many kilometers/years and needs a tune-up or an engine overhaul.

The human body is said to have between 206 and 213 bones, the smallest of which is only 2-3 mm (the stirrup in the middle ear) and the longest can be up to 50 cm (the femur in the upper leg of an adult). Aside from bones, we have the nervous system, internal organs, blood vessels, skin, muscles, connective tissues (tendons, ligaments, etc) and fat (oh yes, fat). The body functions non-stop from the time we are born, so for someone who has been around as long as I have, that’s quite a long, long time for this amazing machine. So I finally had to admit this old body needed some serious tune-up.

It all started when I came back from my recent China trip with a limp and pain in my right leg, the result of all that walking (we did 18,000 steps just on the first day!). I went to an acupuncturist for some relief and she did wonders; I was walking without pain after just one session. Two more sessions to clear up some minor kinks and Dr. Kim told me that was all she could do for me, and I had to build muscle in my legs or the pain would keep recurring every time I did extended walking or even standing.

I consulted my niece Stef, who is the only LPGA-certified golf coach in the country, and she minced no words: “You have zero muscles!” Having said that, she got me in touch with her friend Coach Do, a strength coach (didn’t realize there is such a thing), a pleasant young man, not at all intimidating as I imagined those hyper-buff gym trainers could be. There were all these questions by way of assessment, and a few show-me exercises to, I guess, gauge my level of fitness (probably in the negative range, although he was too nice to say so). He got me standing and sitting, extending my arms and legs, making room for an injured shoulder that’s not as flexible as the other. There was kwento thrown in (he’s had two knee surgeries that ended his basketball playing days, and he makes really mean Halloween costumes, from Edward Scissorhands to Disney villains, blood and guts and all) and a lot of encouragement; “good job!” and physical movement do not usually go together in my case.

Before I knew it I had completed not just my assessment but actually my first session! And I could still stand, and walk, and even smile!

The next day the soreness came on, but Stef was encouraging: “That’s where the muscles are building.” Coach ChatGPT was equally encouraging, telling me I was totally entitled to a rest day after actually starting an exercise program, and to go slow when I decide to resume exercising. So I went down to the cardio room in my condo to do seven easy minutes on the stationary bike. I ran into my neighbor Paolo, a fitness buff, who was so gung-ho he invited me to join them in the weights room. Those three guys there lift really serious weights, so thank you, but I think I’m nowhere near ready for that.

As I write this, I’ve done three of the 10 sessions I’ve committed to do, and I’m proud to say I’ve been able to do all the exercise Coach Do has thrown at me – without complaining or whining at that. I’ve even asked Coach Do to give me “homework” – a simple exercise routine I can do at home to keep the momentum – and my commitment – going. I’m mindful of putting more emphasis on the left leg and not always favoring the right. The post-exercise soreness has become hardly an issue; maybe those muscles really are building.

A couple of things I’ve learned to accept: squats are not fun, but they’re a reality – and necessity – of life and, cruel but true, if you don’t use it you lose it, and it’s darn difficult to get it back. So yes, I’m keeping at it, squats and all.

But before anyone gets too excited, let me temper expectations. I’m not aiming to run a marathon or join any of those masochistic events where you’re supposed to push beyond your limits (and keep running even when you’re hit by food poisoning, as that racer in Beijing did). I don’t intend to lift colossal weights or do pushups and planks or compete in senior powerlifting.

My goals are simple: I want to be able to keep mobile through the days and years, to enjoy leisurely travel (none of those bags outside your hotel room at 5 a.m. tours), to stand in the kitchen and cook without my back giving out and, most important, to be able to walk without pain, with a reasonable amount of gracefulness and poise, and go a good distance…maybe just not 18,000 steps in one day.