[Otterhound]

Originally Posted by Pitar

A few years ago I was of the same opinion but realized I was asking myself to lose my hands, not save them by doing that. So, I worked them harder and can say I was right. When heavy work is not a routine it will seemingly bring the pain of conviction that heavy work should be curtailed. Not so. Bring that heavy work as a routine because as we age our toning begins to atrophy and keeping fit requires much more work than when we were younger and more resilient. Every morning I wake up by wielding two 15 pound dumbbells in a manner that keeps most of my upper body toned, including my hands, for 15 minutes. Been doing that since 2003. I'm not interested in putting on muscle. I just want to keep what I've got.

Last Saturday I brought down a large palm tree growing too near my house. I dug around it with pick, shovel and hatchet to sever the roots. Then I used a pressure cleaner to jet away the sticky soil causing a suction around the root ball. I lassoed the top of the tree with a heavy rope and with a steady pull the tree came down pulling the root ball out of the ground, as planned. None of that was easy work but because I was toned I didn't suffer a bit from it. Sunday, the next day, I hand trenched the ground in the front of my house to lay in a French drain. Twenty-five feet long, 15 inches to 20 inches deep; no problem. I'm 64. That night I played for a couple hours without any soreness in my hands.

Use it or lose it.

Unless some real physical issue takes place , we all become sedentary by choice .