They Do It Anyway

When I biked across the US some years ago, one of the guys on the tour was a cancer survivor. He was in early 50s and had bone cancer in his leg 20 years earlier. This was second time riding across the US. One of consequences of the cancer treatment was he had a metal rod in his leg. This meant he could not stand up on climbs. Being able to stand up is very important for most riders, especially when climbing in the mountains. Another consequence was when riding on a bumpy road, he told me it was liking having a tuning fork vibrating his leg.
Your body is going to hurt either way so you might as well do something.

Years ago I doing a week long bike tour in North Dakota and one day while riding a century [100+ miles in one day] rode with another person from Fargo. She was in mid-30s and worked in medical research. Over the 100+ miles we talked about our lives. Getting towards the end of our day, I said it seems like I missed a couple years of your life. She said yes and then told me she had been working in construction a few years earlier and was hit by a vehicle and ended up with a broken back. Her recovery took about two years off with the first one in a traction. After the accident she finished college and obtained her current job. She worked out and biked. Even though she had worked with a pain management clinic, she still had daily chronic pain and was on a daily low dose of morpheme.
Your body is going to hurt either way so you might as well do something.

I had a friend in Montana who had been battling cancer for years. He finally died from it. But before that he continued to pursue his passion for the outdoors one of which was backpacking in the mountains. There were times he would have chemo, do a backpack trip in the mountains, then return for more chemo.
Your body is going to hurt either way so you might as well do something.

I have played golf with golfers who had knee or back problems, but did stop them from playing golf. I started playing pickle ball earlier this year. One of my first matches, my partner and were playing against a two people with a combined age of at least 170. Both limped on to the court and then rolled over us. I not sure we scored three points. They did not have much range, but what they got to ball it was money.
Your body is going to hurt either way so you might as well do something.

I have had kidney inflection for over 24 years. I learned a long time ago, my body was going to hurt a lot of the time. It did not matter if I did something or not. One of the side affects of the infection was always being tired, but I continued to do bike tours in the summer and cross country ski in the winter. If fact, training for the tour in May thru July gave me something to look forward to in August. The first five years of the inflection were pretty ugly and my doctor in Fargo, who was brilliant, sent me to see the specialists at the U of MN. They could not believe I had done a 450+ mile bike tour a few weeks earlier.
Your body is going to hurt either way so you might as well do something.

All of the above examples were active despite the pain or discomfort. They knew they were better off physically and mentally by being active. Being active can hurt, but being in active can also hurt for much longer time period.

A recent CDC study found that more than 60 percent of U.S. adults do not engage in the recommended amount of activity. Approximately 25 percent of U.S. adults are not active at all.
Note: The CDC defines regular sustained activity as 30 minutes 5 times per week of any intensity.
There are very few people who cannot go for a walk of 30 minutes or longer five times a week.

Some may say their body hurts and they cannot be active. I get it, There are times when I have been there. I would suggest listen to your body and your health care professionals. Also know the difference between impossible and possible with some discomfort. And remember impossible today can be possible tomorrow.

Finally, activity today with some discomfort can not only mean better heath today, but for tomorrows going forward. Your body is going to hurt either way, so you might as well do something.

Your body is going to hurt either way so you might as well do something.