We acknowledge and we admit: We could not tell the difference between the amazing Simone Biles — the gold medal gymnast — and her lessers. Lessers? Not only we but no one we know could come within one-hundredth of their performance. Strength. Balance. Flexibility. Coordination. Speed. Were those human beings up here on those bars? It hardly seemed possible that we and they were of the same species.
Wannabes. The news out there is that after every Olympics, gymnasia that specialize in gymnastics see a dramatic boost in membership. This year, it’s even higher than usual, apparently due to the amazing Simone Biles and her lessers. We all know that of those tens of thousands of new enrollees in these specialized health clubs and programs, only a few will ever come close to the level of the Simone Bileses and Aly Raismans of the world.
Sort of.
In fact, we can all obtain the benefits of their training because we can all make it our own. It’s not about diets. It’s not about vanity. It’s not about public health (“the obesity epidemic”). It’s not about fear (“you’ll die . . . you’ll get diabetes . . . you’ll have a heart attack . . . unless you take care of yourself”). It’s about feeling good.
It’s about having a bounce in your step. It’s about not falling asleep early. It’s about having the energy to do what you want. It’s about not wasting time and dollars on unnecessary trips to the doctor or the hospital. It’s about: Self-interest. Common sense. Protecting your investment. About, ultimately, loving our most precious gift: our own bodies. It’s about being there for your children; about caring. It’s about The Future.
If it takes an Olympics to get us to focus on the signal importance of regular exercise, so be it. We fear otherwise, however. We suspect that the big jump in post-Olympics enrollment in health clubs is a fad. We need a more long-term, comprehensive solution: the realization that the glory that “little ‘ol me” can get from a distinctly non-record-setting improvement on the weights or in the pool or at the track — or of the golf score or of the tennis stroke — promises more glory than all of the reflected glory of all of the Olympic medal winners combined.
True, care for the body can grow into a form of idolatry. That extreme, however, is far from the basic challenge that faces us all: Exercise!
Copyright © 2016 by the Intermountain Jewish News
