Forgotten Benefits of Fitness

It is 10 days since I had major oral surgery. I had my front 4 teeth extracted and implants put in the side two (the front two are now a bridge). It was fairly major surgery although I quite enjoyed it as I opted to take a mega dose of Valium and be conscious but stoned the whole way through.

Today I had my check up visit and the stitches out. The dentist asked "Did you have any swelling, or bruising? Was/is it very painful? Are your gums still tender? Have you been able to eat? Any bleeding? Can you brush your teeth?"

Let me tell you that aside from a bit of discomfort I was up and about the following day picking Shelley up from the airport. We went out to a show that night. The day after (2 days after surgery) I was back in the gym.

No swelling, bruising, pain, tenderness, or bleeding. I can eat normally [ha! normally ... um I can eat like a normal figure athlete in comp prep] and I have been brushing my teeth since the second day.

The dentist shook his head - "That is amazing - you are so tough. I have never had a patient recover so quickly before. You must be super healthy".

He is right. The benefits of fitness go way beyond just looking and feeling good. Your body functions in optimum health. You don't get sick as often, you don't need as much sleep and any damage to your body is healed quickly. I also suspect that we have a higher pain threshold than 'normal' folk because we embrace pain almost every day.

So next time you are debating whether all this effort is really worth it [after all - who really cares what you look like?], remember that great food, supplements, physical exercise and a conscious connection with your body will guarantee that every last cell of your body can function the way it was designed to.

Makes you almost feel invincible ...