Beware what the fitness gurus tell you: the body has its limits. Perhaps that’s why orthopaedic waiting lists are so longam preparing for an anaesthetist to sink a hypodermic needle into my back at a busy London hospital ahead of a scheduled surgery to replace my knee. Knowing this might be painful, I ask a fellow patient how he got his mind around the jab. “Two spliffs of good dope worked for me,” he confessed.
But I think there is another reason for these soaring figures: I blame the fitness gurus. Joe Wicks and his ilk, with their fashionable shorts and bulging quads, all promise we can become leaner, sexier, more athletic versions of ourselves if we just follow their workout programmes. To achieve this dream I was told by coaches I had to push my body to near-breakdown levels. Vomiting after hard winter track sessions was the norm. These sessions were often so gruelling I felt as if my eyes would pop out of my head. They were sometimes followed by blinding headaches. My mother, a state registered nurse, deeply concerned, advised me against such physically damaging endeavours; that there would be a price to pay in later life.
Of course, it would be wrong to suggest “fun runs” in moderation will result in the kind of physical breakdowns I suffered. Indeed, much of the evidence on exercise and musculoskeletal health points to running having a beneficial impact on the joints in later life, not to mention the mental health benefits. But pushing yourself past the point of pain is not good. And the simple truth is that as the body ages, you can’t continue to do what you once did.