Risk vs Reward
Everything carries some amount of risk from standing at your sink washing the dishes to doing a box jump. Recently, the latter led to a life changing event that I never expected. While demonstrating a lateral box jump, my left foot (landing foot) missed the jump, went under me and broke my tibia and fibula. It wouldn’t surprise me if you thought I was being reckless. Trying a move I’ve never done or one that I wasn’t capable of achieving. Maybe you’re wondering why I’d be trying this “risky” exercise with a client. Well, the truth is I’ve performed tons of box jumps of all kinds, was jumping with my stronger leg and had made the “box” a height that I knew not only I could achieve, but my client could too.
The reality is that on February 5th I missed the jump. Regardless of how many times I’ve successfully jumped, that Monday I was unlucky. Some may be afraid to weight lift or take part in other types of exercise programming like Cross Fit and Hiit precisely because of the risks. What they fail to understand is that when it comes to strength training, or really exercising in general, the rewards are worth the risks. As we age our bones and muscles deteriorate. This deterioration increases significantly for premenopausal to post-menopausal women. I’m 37, active, strong, had a clean break and emergency care just blocks from my home. The pain was immense and my recovery time is estimated at 4-6 months. I can’t imagine what this would’ve been like had I broken my leg at 65 after falling.
Without engaging our bones, muscles and joints with some sort of resistance training, the chances that they will be strong for us in our later life is slim to none. On top of that, your chances of developing arthritis, osteoporosis and other joint diseases increases. But it’s not just about the bones and muscles. Just as important is our ability to stabilize and balance our bodies, to catch ourselves when we are falling. If we do things right, most of the time we’re going to fall and get right back up. Other rewards could include the ability to lift our grandkids, sit and stand up from the toilet, dance, hike, feel less pain, and live a longer life without assistance, you name it! People often think that strength training is about aesthetics in our younger life. The truth is strength training throughout all of life is our ticket to ensuring that we can continue to do all the things that we love and take for granted in our younger years.
I don’t regret doing the jump or showing it to my client. For a lot of athletes, lateral jumping is important, and works on agility, ankle strength and balance. My client is a professional cyclist, who runs in the mud up hills and jumps over barriers with a bike slung over her shoulder. The ability to jump in different directions and have the ankle strength to protect her from injury is key in her sport. And just like she takes risks when in a cyclocross race, she takes risks in the gym. These are calculated risks but almost always worth taking to keep pushing, keep learning, and achieve goals. And though she races now, she understands how important strength training is for her life’s longevity. She’s willing to take the risk not just for her sport but for her life.
I won’t lie, doing a box jump will be a little scarier than it used to be for a while. But, this doesn’t mean I won’t be doing them myself or showing them to others. It doesn’t mean that they are too dangerous to perform or not worth the risk. Every time I jump, it will get less scary and I will get stronger and more confident. And while I hope this will be the only time in my life that I experience breaking a piece of my body, I will have no doubt that as I age, my body will be able to handle all that life has to offer.
