Part LXX
Some 35 years ago I decided it was time to get serious about learning how to swim. I already had a hot tub in my house, and that gave me a convenient excuse to be in a pair of swim briefs nearly every evening. This was not only really convenient, but it gave me an excuse to accumulate a lot of the briefs in part because the chemicals in the hot tub tended to give briefs only a limited life.
But actually learning how to swim turned out to be a hassle. I had a swim instructor, but simply getting back and forth to the YMCA pool proved to be a challenge. Plus, at best, I was by no means a natural in the water at all. I learned to float and move around a bit on my back but I struggled otherwise.
Having diagnosed my basic problem was a lack of upper body strength and muscle, I got to thinking about what exercise I could do that would build my chest up without the hassle of having to go to the pool every day. But my biggest problem actually was that I didn’t really enjoy being in the water except for my hot tub where I could simply sit in a skimpy swim brief and enjoy watching the bubbles.
What happened many years ago was that the in-home stationary rowing took over my exercise life as the thoughts receded about swimming regularly. I soon came to the conclusion that a lot of the competitive rowers seemed to be in even better upper body condition than the swimmers were. Turns out that even in stationary rowing you end up building a lot of upper body conditioning and strength and water rowers use stationary machines a lot for training.
Plus, unlike swimming, I could watch a TV show while I rowed. This was no pain whatsoever to do. At some points in the last 35 years I was rowing maybe as much as 2 hours a day. Currently I am doing only an hour a day but there are other things going on as well which I will explain in a bit.
The other interesting “feature” of rowing is that it has its own set of snug-fitting clothing made of Lycra fabrics. One can construct some neat gear using a combination of Lycra-blend running tights or shorts (depending on the time of year”) and a short or long sleeved compression tee. Swim briefs do not work well as running garb except as an undergarment, but jammers can easily substitute for the compression shorts. A wrestling singlet or doublet will work as well.
I enjoy wearing snug-fitting gear of all sorts, but you knew that already. Now I had my convenient excuse to get into my rowing garb every day. The fact that I tend to quickly feel horny when I do this for me is a big plus not a minus. I’ve discovered that for any exercise routine, time goes more quickly if I am feeling it in my groin area. This is something every guy needs to keep in mind.
Then in 2014, when I was 66, in a freak fall I managed to crack the ball of my hip joint and needed surgery. The doctors concluded I didn’t need a full hip replacement as my hip was still aligned but that the bones did need to be screwed back together, which they did the following morning. The next day, still in great pain in the hospital, the doctor wanted me to walk with a walker. He took one look and said “you will be fine. I’m discharging you.” I complained “but I can’t walk unsupported”. So I headed off to the local rehab facility using the walker.
The rehab facility was big on physical therapy. I noticed that they had one of those what I call a rowing-like machines for the elderly where you sit at near chair height. I asked the therapist if I could try using that and she said “sure”. This was much like my home gear. I did good on that and I think the therapist was more than a little surprised given that I was still tied to the walker whenever I needed to walk around.
After a week I had more than enough of rehab and went home still using the walker.
After about 2 weeks I was stumbling around the house without the walker and decided maybe I could get back on my rowing machine. My view is “if it doesn’t hurt, do it.” (It was nice that I had retired a year earlier and did not have to concern myself with the need to go back to work.)
I had a follow-up appointment for a hip X-ray 2 weeks ahead to see if I was making any progress. In those two weeks I spent a lot of time on my beloved rowing machine, and thinking about what else I could do the strengthen my hip.
The one thing that quickly came to mind was a small stationary bike, and I started looking for one that would fit in the left over space in my gym room.
Then the follow up appointment 5 weeks after the accident.“This is amazing. Your hip is completely healed the break. You are free to go back to doing whatever you want.” I placed the order for the stationary bike with the idea of using some time on that from then on instead of just the rowing machine.
So, here I am writing this morning, 5 ½ years later, age 72, 6600 miles on the bike odometer doing 30 minutes (4 miles) a day, still rowing an hour a day (a half hour each on two different rowing machines). In between the rowing and the bike ride I also get a little time on my weightlifting machine.
It’s cold out today. Well not that cold. I’m clad in a snug-fitting compression tee in black, and the new pair of black Tesla running tights I got at Christmastime. The padding I wear underneath is a favorite little pairs of tighty whiteys, (boys size 12). At least as snug as a strap, the tighty whiteys also give me some needed padding on the rowing machine and stationary bike seats. Since it is so cold out I pulled on a pair of sweatpants over the running tights and a looser fitting A shirt over the long sleeved compression tee.
So here is the real deal. Today I feel great down there. I’m wearing the exact stuff I really “enjoy wearing”. And because of that this helps me stay engaged in what would be considered a very strenuous exercise program for anyone let alone a 72-year old. How many guys have ever admitted this connection between what a guy wears and how much a guy exercises? The fact that I usually feel a little horny getting ready to and while I exercise is a great plus not a minus. Sure, I watch TV as I work out. But a major reason why I am able to keep up such a strenuous program at my age is also about the gear I wear and how it makes me feel.
I am all about helping every guy find an exercise program that fits their specific needs and objectives. But I also believe that guys should not shy away from a particular exercise because it is best done in clothing that, well, makes them feel a little horny. How many swimmers out there are there who love the sport in part because it is an excuse to wear a swim brief? The gear is a really fun part.
http://www.mensswimsuitboard.com/for...8&d=1578583757
https://share.upmc.com/2015/07/infog...apes-by-sport/
More to come….