Free The South Beach Diet Supercharged: Faster Weight Loss and Better Health for Life by Arthur Agatston, Joseph Signorile Page B

began working with him. But before I go further, let me put in an important disclaimer. What I did with Luis was baby boomer boxing: Luis held up hand pads and directed me on when and how to punch them. He was not allowed to punch me back!
    What I learned was a progressive choreography, where my skills and fitness improved at a fast pace. Within a few months, I was “floating like a butterfly” around the ring. I was also clearly burning more calories in less time than during my previous long jogs or walks at a steady pace.
    I was thrilled with my progress and improved fitness. But then I made a big mistake that led to injury, pain, and an unfortunate break from exercising. In fact, it’s what inspired me to write this chapter of warning for my fellow boomers.
    At the end of our sessions in the ring, Luis and I would do some classic boxing exercises using a medicine ball. This was fine until I did a repetitive move of lifting, throwing, and catching the heavy ball over my head. Almost instantly, I felt a sharp pain in my left shoulder. But instead of stopping at that point, I disobeyed the advice I always give to my own patients: I ignored the pain and continued with the over-the-head exercise. Over the next few days, the pain in my shoulder got worse.
    When I went to the doctor, I didn’t even have to see him before my problem was identified. His wife, who was assisting him, was recording my medical history. When she heard about my medicine ball escapade, she immediately told me that she often heard her husband advising patients my age (and even those quite a bit younger) not to lift weights overhead—and especially not repetitively. It was now clear to me, even before it was confirmed by the doctor and an MRI, that I had joined the crowd of my peers who had sustained a rotator cuff injury.
    The orthopedist explained that, with age, there is simply less room within the shoulder joint because of normal calcification that occurs as the result of general wear and tear, and this room is compromised even more when we lift weights overhead. The result is trauma within the joint that tears the rather delicate rotator cuff muscles. This injury at least temporarily ended my nascent but promising boxing career. It also put a major crimp in my golf swing and the quality of my Pilates training. Fortunately, I didn’t require surgery, and after about 6 months of regular visits to an outstanding physical therapist, I returned to pain-free exercising.
    As I described my experience to many of my patients, it seemed that half of the men and a third of the women I saw had also experienced rotator cuff problems. Many had required surgery, and almost all had learned the “nothing heavy overhead” lesson. I was really sorry that I hadn’t had that important piece of information earlier, when it could have saved me from my own injury.
    During the time that my exercising was severely limited, I noticed another ailment. My wrist was hurting. Was this arthritis? No. It was carpal tunnel syndrome, a problem many of us boomers and preboomers develop by spending long hours typing on computers. In an informal survey of my patients and friends, carpel tunnel syndrome, like rotator cuff injuries, seemed to be occurring in epidemic numbers. And a quick review of the medical literature confirmed how common carpal tunnel syndrome has become in our postindustrial society.
    I’m not telling you these stories to discourage you from exercising. The alternative is far worse. Being sedentary increases your risk of developing many of the illnesses known to man and woman, including arthritis, cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s. I’m telling you this so you don’t make the same mistake I made. If I had known not to lift heavy objects repetitively over my head, I’d still be boxing today. The problem wasn’t the sport; it was the way I trained for it.
    It doesn’t matter what activity you’re doing. You could be playing tennis, lifting weights,