Working out has saved my life more than once during the my 50-year workout streak in-progress, including the past 11 months during recovery of a life-threatening illness. Working out has been and always will be #essential to my life. The word #essential is an abstract concept, open wide-ranging interpretation. What is #essential is dependent on a number of elements including personal worldview, personal experience, what is a basic survival need, what has saved your life, and what is needed to continue living. This is part 1 of a series that explains why working out has been #essential in my life and always will be #essential because working out has saved my life more than once.
I’m working out alone in #TheBasement of the original X Fitness in 3 hours, in the solitude of the basement of my house. I never have and never will have a problem working out alone, in complete solitude. I never have and never will need anyone to workout with even though I have been blessed to have coached more people in the gym than almost anyone on planet Earth. The reason why I don’t need anyone to workout with and why working out is #essential to me is that working out is like #oxygen. I need it to survive. Working out is not just routine for me. It’s more. It’s Second Nature. I need it like I need to breathe.
The primary purpose of tonight’s workout is the same as it has been during my entire 50 year workout #streak – train to stay sane. I don’t train occasionally to stay sane. I train every day to stay sane. Working out has always been a basic survival need for me and always will be. I understand why that concept is hard to understand by those who don’t consider working out #essential. I understand that working out is not #essential to the majority of the world. I understand that working out is not #needed by the majority of the world. I understand that government officials do not consider working out as #essential. But working out is #essential for people like me because working out is a life-saver and a basic survival #need for some of us.
Train to stay sane has been #essential to my life for the past 50 yrs. Working out has saved my life repeatedly starting as a dysfunctional, obese 12 yr old during recovery from a major injury where I had to learn how to walk again. Working out saved my life during my 15-year police career. Working out again saved my life during the past 11 months of recovery from a life-threatening illness that could have had a different ending if I had not worked out religiously since 1969 and if I had given up last April and stopped working out.
One of my specialists who has been and still is instrumental in my full recovery asked me to write about a new minimally invasive surgical procedure that I underwent, my recovery, and their connection with strength training, for the Niagara Health System newsletter, to act as an advocate to help future patients. I will post a series of articles on my blog for one reason – to help future patients as requested by my radiologist who is a brilliant doctor. No other motive.
Here’s my point – I’ve known since 1969 that a lot of influential people don’t get how #essential working out is. I understand that. This is not a political rant. There is no ulterior motive for this article and future articles. My intention is to accomplish what my radiologist requested – advocate. Help others who may go through what I’ve experienced during the past 11 months. And I need to inform Niagara residents that I was blessed to have been treated by a #team of 3 specialists who make our health system a next-level professional organization that doesn’t get enough credit for what they know and what they do.
- continued in part 2
Blessings and all good things
Gino Arcaro
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