The "world's fittest man" writes his first column for GeezerJock

Almost as far back as I can remember I have been a competitive athlete. First I swam, then I ran a little track, then it was on to water polo, triathlons and cycling. I finally found my true calling back in 1981 when I set the first of the more than 30 world records, performing 52,003 situps in just over 32 hours.

For almost 20 years I made my living as a professional "nut case," doing things no one else could (or wanted to for that matter) do. I became the Guinness Book of Records original Fittest Man in the World. And that, my friends, is quite a difficult title to live up to. But I have to say that for almost 40 years of competing in sports and setting all those records, it took a little boy to teach me how to compete.
     
One of the missions of GeezerJock is to not only cater to fit people who are over 40, but also who compete in sports competitions for fun and recreation. And I can't tell you how many people out there exercise, eat right, stretch, and DO NOT COMPETE!

Why? I think for some people the reason is fear -- fear of failure in their own eyes, those of their peers, their families, friends, strangers they don't know and may never know. We almost never live up to our own expectations of ourselves, no matter how well we do. The doubts creep in and gobble us up. Remember back in school how you felt before the big exam? I bet very few of us were calm and confident, went in and did our best, and went home relaxed in the knowledge we gave 100 percent and there was no more to give.

Yet if you did study, slept the night before, ate a good breakfast, and relaxed through the exam, that is exactly how you should have felt!                                  

As a boy I remember not sleeping the night before a big swim meet, yawning incessantly just before the meet, and often getting sick to my stomach just prior to competing. I'm quite sure I didn't like any of those feelings, but they seemed out of my control. Nonetheless, I did enjoy the races and the fairly frequent winning through my high school years.

In college however, I never won a race. I put more and more pressure on myself, got tighter and tighter, tried harder and harder, didn't do any better. Worse yet, I derived precious little satisfaction from my performances. Same for me as a triathlete where I did Ironman Hawaii way back when, training like a demon to the point of almost constant injury, pressing myself to do better and better and squeezing just about all the fun out of it.
     
Setting records was great, very demanding physically, mentally, and emotionally. (How many of you have cried on national TV on numerous occasions? Doesn't do much for the macho image you know.) I was quite good at it over more than 20 years, but I still was too jacked up beforehand -- unable to sleep, nervous stomach, etc. And then my wife Leslie and I had Alex.
     
It's a parents job to teach their children -- right from wrong, algebra, look both ways at the corner. But maybe you, like me, have also learned from your children. From the age of 3 Alex started to play soccer, because my wife took him to a kid's class and he loved it. Then she started to racewalk (Leslie is a two-times Masters national champion in 5k and 10k), and Alex came with us to her all comers track meets in Los Gatos, Calif. He wanted to compete also. So at age 4 he started with the 60 meters, 100 meters and long jump and soon added the 200 meters and 400 meters. The more, the better -- because it was so much fun. No pressure, no nerves, just the wind in his hair and a smile on his face.

I have watched Alex win and I've watched him lose and I could never tell the difference afterwards. He has never been told he had to compete in anything; only asked if he wanted to play or race to which his response has been a resounding YES! And that's how it has remained. He added basketball and swim team and road racing and he loves them all. And he's still only 8!
    
How is it that a little boy has got his values and priorities so straight and we adults and other kids often do not? Perhaps a low pressure environment where Alex is only asked to do his best and not compare himself to others? Perhaps his unique personality makeup where he can channel his energy in a strictly positive way and leave all negative thoughts and inhibitions out of his mind. Maybe he's just a bit more relaxed than the rest of us? I'm not sure what it is, but I have tried to copy his attitude and it's worked for me.                     

Last year at age 50 I won half a dozen or so running races for the first time in my life. It wasn't so much the winning, but the ability to run easy and relaxed and actually look forward to the competition. It has been tremendous fun for me to get up on weekend mornings and go out with Alex and Leslie to go race, have fun, and do our best.
     
So what did Dad learn from Alex? To release the bondage of self-imposed pressure and just have fun! Watch kid's play-young kids 8 and under -- maybe your kids or your grandkids. They don't care who wins and who loses -- they just play. You don't work sports (or at least you shouldn't), you play sports. It should be fun, exciting, social -- competitive yet relaxed and pleasurable.

There is only one winner in every race or game, but that is only in the literal definition. In reality, if you play you win. if you compete, you win. Races and competitions are just measuring sticks for progress. They allow us to cheat Father Time and to be kids again.

Grab some friends next time you are going to a race and have them join you. Or make new friends at your next event. Keep the messages in your head positive and simple. Mine are breathe big, relax, and have fun. It's what Alex and I do, and it might work well for you too.