Stretching to the Oldies

Am I the only one who feels stiff and sore all the time? If I sit too long, it’s like rigor mortis sets in. My joints lock up like a corpse and when I try to move, it sounds like I’m stepping on old floorboards.

Needless to say, my morning workouts start and end with a whole lot of stretching these days.

I work out six days a week. Hard. I lift heavy for 45-60 minutes and get in 30-60 minutes of cardio — a mix of high and low intensity — depending on the day. It’s a lot, but it makes me feel good … As long as I stretch first.

To be honest, I’m not as good with my stretching as I should be, but I’m getting better. (I’ve even become more disciplined with my active recovery day, taking neighborhood walks with my boo.) The trick, I’ve found, is in the music selection.

To get moving, I need something upbeat but not too upbeat. Think ’80s pop rather than EDM. To wind down, it has to been slower and softer, like old school R&B. Lately, though, I’m all about Motown.

After a grueling workout, stretching to oldies like You’re All I Need to Get By and Midnight Train to Georgia is exactly what I need to calm down. It’s what my body needs.

It’s also what my heart needs.

My dad LOVES Motown, so when I hear it, I think of him. When I was a kid, he used to try to convince me that he was the “Fifth” Top, the extra Pip, and the missing white Temptation all rolled into one — because of his “perfect” dance moves and backup vocals, of course.

If you know him IRL, you know that back in the day my dad looked more like Richie Cunningham from the TV show, Happy Days, than a backup singer for the Temptations, Four Tops, or any Motown group. But in his heart, he was part of the band, and that notion makes me smile.

I’m not usually an overly nostalgic person. But my parents are now in their 80s, and holding on to silly memories like my dad dancing to Can’t Help Myself in my childhood kitchen with its big brown and yellow flowered wallpaper seems more important now than in years past.

I, too, want to dance in my kitchen when I’m 80, so I’m gonna keep stretching to the oldies. After all, it’s just as good for my soul as it is for my aging body.

— LJDT

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