What Being a Hockey Mom Has Taught Me About Over-40 Fitness

Being a hockey mom was not something that I ever expected to become.

I had been to exactly one very cold high school hockey game, and zero professional hockey games before my oldest son at age 5 begged to join a hockey team.

Um, how about a nice warm sport, I thought, like swimming or basketball? Not a chance. Nick was instantly bitten by the hockey bug the first time he saw hockey players at our local rink. For the next eighteen years, Ed and I were hockey parents.

We traveled to at least a thousand hockey games (no kidding) in the midwest, the northeast, and Canada. We drank bad coffee by the quart while shivering and cheering for our sons.

Not wanting to appear totally ignorant, I attempted to learn a little bit about the game so I could cheer without embarrassing my boys.

I became good at recognizing when the puck was iced, when someone was offsides and when cross-checking occurred. One thing that puzzled me was the so-called two-goal-curse. This is when one team has a two-goal lead.

How could a lead of any kind be a curse?

The curse of the two-goal lead is when a team is up by two goals and lets up on playing defensively. The other team is hungry to score, and the team with the lead must be focused and ready to defend that lead.

The two-goal-curse is better explained as a two-goal attitude-fail.

The team with the lead can get un-focused and over-confident. This often leads to icing the puck. When icing is called, the offending team cannot change-up the players.

Those players are often exhausted because hockey is a sport of sprinting and finesse. Fatigue leads to carelessness. The energy of the game shifts as the leading team backs off on their defensive strategies.

Mistakes are made largely due to a lack of focus and fatigue, and very often the game is lost. Hence it is called a ‘curse’

For women over 40, fitness plans that promise fast results can produce a similar situation.

The initial wins on the scale, in the absences of habit training, can often lead to a false sense of security. (just like the two-goal-curse) Careless choices are made in tiring situations that lead to setbacks and a defeating attitude.

This happens because people who rely on quick results (a quick two-goal lead) lack the tools to manage fitness long term. (play defensively) It is just like the hockey team that gets lets up on defending the net with that two-goal lead.

These setbacks do not have to be part of a solid fitness program.

Achieving and maintaining fitness requires a set of tools. These tools are not scales or measuring spoons. These important tools are consistency, patience and time.

What does this mean? This means becoming fit and maintaining it are a long game, a marathon. We have to abolish the mindset that we can get lasting results after a short time.

True fitness, is achieved and maintained with consistent workouts that are right for your phase of life.

Eating habits that fuel your body without starving or stuffing are equally important. This is the exact opposite of what the diet industry and “get fit quick” workout companies preach.

You will be far better off when you learn to invest in your fitness in a way that is similar to investing in your finances.  Make your fitness habits effective and consistent, start early in life, and be patient.

While it is true that the best time to begin a fitness program was in early adulthood, the next best time is now.

Life is a marathon (hopefully), and for your sanity, be patient. Nothing worth having was ever achieved quickly.

If you are interested in learning more about staying fit for life and feeling better in your skin, apply to work with me online or in-person here

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