A Muscular Lifestyle

Tribute to Moms

Our creative daughter went away to a conference, taking her husband, so the beautiful wife and I looked after the four grandkids for what seemed a week or more.  It was actually just three days.  We thought it a simple assignment; after all we had reared six children back in the day.  Well, we totally had forgotten how hard caring for young children (ages 1 to 9) can be.  We were always a step behind and came home exhausted.

The one-year old is at the stage when he can get walk and climb and is full of the non-stop curiosity that leads to mayhem.  For example:

• He discovered a can of soda in which he somehow created a pinhole leak.  By simply shaking the can he painted most of the bathroom with root beer spray. 
• At dinner he wasn’t loving the sweet potatoes so I added a little applesauce to each spoonful.  Turning to reach the applesauce I let the first container come within his reach and with a surprisingly strong swing he sprayed sweet potatoes over my slacks and the (formerly white) carpet. 
• Getting out of the car he explored the front wheel and got black brake powder on his hands and put them on the Beautiful Wife’s white slacks.  She’s still trying to get those black smudges out. 
• Later, I thought he had injured his head but it was just purple marker ink.  Then I noticed the stains were artfully applied to the back of his shirt and couldn’t figure out how he did that—until I noticed his 3-year old sister nearby with a mischievous smile.

It was three nonstop days of action alien to our usually serene life.  The worst thing was that we didn’t feed them a single healthy meal.  The first night we went to In-N-Out (returning from soccer practice); the next night it was Taco Bell; the last night it was mac ‘n cheese from the blue box.  I know that’s not healthy for the precious grandchildren, but we were tired and the bad stuff is so easy.

The next day at a family dinner I turned to the four young moms and expressed our admiration for how they manage to rear their families, day after day, week after week, without ever a complaint.  Or even a visit to a psychiatrist.

Too Easy?

The Industrial Revolution changed everything—some times for the better, but not always.  It did away with backbreaking labor, for example.  But it also brought a thousand laborsaving devices that each reduced the need to use our muscles.  So now we’re faced with a question that we haven’t adequately addressed:  How much labor is optimum?  How muscular should life be, in the best of worlds?  When do we cancel the lawn service and trash some of those laborsaving gadgets? 

Young moms are pretty strong because they hold growing babies until they can walk on their own.  But most Americans don’t use their muscles enough.  What you don’t use, you lose.  And when you lose muscle, you also lose some of the supporting bone.  We talked about this last year in the post, Be Muscular.  Go back and take another look at the three images showing the amount of fat, muscle, and bone mass in the legs of triathletes and a sedentary person.  The more muscle, the more bone mass.  The less muscle, the less bone mass, and in this case more fat.  Good health requires good muscles.

Be Muscular

So find pleasure in using your muscles, in doing things that are hard.  Using your muscles actually reduces stress and improves mood.  Try doing a few pushups.  Do them regularly and take pride in how many you can do.  When you walk, look for a hill to climb, or some bleacher steps. Be muscular—you’ll feel better and also look better.

Please comment:  What do you do to maintain—and build—muscles.  Have you discarded any laborsaving devices?  Do you feel differently now when you do physical work?

Comments

[Robert Falck]

I bought a reel push lawnmower. I cut it twice (checkerboard) so it looks like Fenway park.
I tried to trim with hand clippers, but got tired of crawling around the yard, grassy knees, and neighbors staring.

[Brooke Reynolds]

I'm glad I read this post so I could hear about all the trouble our sweet baby caused. Mom, I'm sorry about your white pants. Dad, I'm still finding sticky spots in the bathroom. We love you guys!

[Mr Renn]

Great post. I've got four active kids under age 7 and relate much to your comments.
In response to your question of muscle activity, 100 crunches, 10 leg lifts, and 10 push ups
every morning. The alarm goes off, I roll right out of bed and onto the floor. I also decided to never get a riding mower no matter how big my lawn is.