Gelf-Care Day 2: Embracing My Inner Altacocker

Curb Your Enthusiasm stars 'Seinfeld' co-creator Larry David as himself in an unsparing but tongue-in-cheek depiction of his life. Shot in a verite style and featuring celebrities playing themselves, the episodes are improvised by the actors from an outline created by David.

At the risk of sounding like an altacocker (that’s Yiddish for “old fart”), I woke up with a sore knee again. Oy!

I used to do endurance events like triathlons, a century ride (100-mile bike ride) and the NYC marathon despite the fact that I HATE running, so this, as you can imagine, is incredibly frustrating.

Exercise has always been a huge part of my routine. It not only helps offset all the noshing (Yiddish for “snacking”) I do, it makes me feel good and it’s the very first thing I do when I wake up (after brushing my teeth and getting dressed, of course.)

Because of this Gelf-care (self-care) 30-day challenge, I decided to listen to my body and cancel my spinning class. It (pun intended) pained me to do this.

The class I signed up for is one of those where you compete with people in the room and your results are projected on the wall. I love the competition of it. I love that I never get bored and I love how I leave schvitzin’ like a chaza (“drenched in sweat.”)

Instead I took a class that would be less intense and gentler on my body. It’s something I do maybe once a year… if that. Pilates.

I dragged my ass kicking and screaming to class and to my surprise, it flew by. There was a lot of variety, only seven students and it helped strengthen my core, which I desperately need.

My alta(cocker)-ego has been kvetching (“complaining”) about my back for the last year, so that was an added benefit, too. Chhhhhallelujah!

But the best part? I bumped into a woman named Karen who I see at spinning class all the time. We don’t know each other well, but she’s an early bird, too and now we’re going to be workout accountability buddies. It was besheret (“meant to be.”)

So look at all of the mitzvahs that came out of a slight mindshift so I wouldn’t hurt myself more. My Jewish mother would be so proud.

The former endurance athlete in me thinks I’m getting soft, but I know I’m still hard-core. Now, I just need to get a hard core. (You’re welcome.)

Do you usually push through your pain or are you good about being gentle with yourself? Do you take rest days? Do you loathe time off?

Say shalom and tell me below. I’d love to hear from you.