Fitness for Birding and Photography

Guest blogger, Bill of Wellness Reality and MGB Strength

Back in April, while I was on a birding trip at Clifty Falls, my brother, Bill, wrote a guest post for me on fitness and birding. Bill is a personal trainer, a fitness motivator and a wellness advocate, and he is very good at what he does, so check out another guest post by the very talented and funny, Bill…

Hey All You Birders!

I recently came across an interesting post on the web site Professional Photographer. The title of the post was “The Healthy Photographer: Injury Prevention Optimizes Business Success.” It is an excellent article, and a good reminder about how physically demanding both birding and photography is.

As some of you know, Kelly (aka “Peanut”) is my sister. I have learned quite a bit about strength training from trying to work around her various injuries. She does not talk about it much, but she was quite the athlete in her youth, plus a fall in the Black Forest of Germany did not help things. Anyway, I wanted to take a minute to remind everyone that now is a great time to begin focusing a bit more attention on your physical conditioning. (BTW – My first post to Kelly’s blog, “Will your fitness training enhance your birding experience today and tomorrow?” only received 6 comments. It’s OK, I didn't take it personally. My writing is not quite as captivating as Kelly’s, and I didn't have any cool photos. The article was posted on April 16, 2009 if you want to review it.)

I would like to share a story. Some time ago a gentleman in his early to mid thirties called me to get some information about my gym. He sounded nice enough and after we talked he said he needed to think about it. Some time passed, and he contacted me again, asking pretty much the same questions. It did not take long for me to realize that there was something he wanted to share with me, but for some reason he just could not. Eventually, I was able to convince the gentleman to come in, and just check it out.

One of the very first things I have people do when they start training is write out 10 reasons why they want to exercise (btw, “losing weight” never counts as it is too easy!) The gentleman started a routine and we were making progress, but he was having difficulty completing his top 10 list. I’d ask every session, and he would say “I’m working on it, almost done," etc….. I finally got to the point where I had to let him know that there was no way I could do my job unless I knew what he wanted to accomplish. After some thought on his part, it came out. It started with “I would like to be able to do ______________ again." That’s it!! That is what I am looking for--the emotion. In my opinion nothing ever starts or stops until an emotional attachment or detachment is made. This person was no different than any of us. A few years of sitting behind a desk, eating fast food and managing the stresses of everyday life had eventually taken away one of the life activities he enjoyed. He could no longer physically do it without pain and fatigue and the underlying feeling of sadness and failure.

I’m happy to say that this individual is now back doing what he enjoys when he has the time. The emotional connection is back, and his physical condition allows him to participate. The reason I write this is because what would you do, or how would you feel if you could no longer “bird” or photograph the birds you love to see? I’m sure a part of your identify is being a “birder.” If you take that away, you will have lost a piece of yourself.

If you’re not currently involved in a strength training program, now is the time to start thinking about it. It does not have to be super strenuous, just something that helps you maintain your muscle mass, flexibility, balance, and cardiovascular fitness.

One of the easiest locations to judge fitness is mountain hiking and birding, and if you add on a camera, multiple lenses, a tripod, and other accoutrements, you are really talking about a physical challenge. So, if any of your future adventures require climbing to higher altitudes to get a glimpse of a special bird, start planning now. It would be a shame to miss out on a lifer because weak quads or lack of stamina force you to stand at the bottom of the hill and tell everyone, “Go on without me. I have to sit this one out.”

Good Luck, and always, if you need any tips, please let me know.

Bill

Thank you, Bill!!! You're such a good brother!

Bill has a blog called Wellness Reality.

If you have any questions, feel free to email him.