‘Stop exercising, you’re killing yourself.’ Not really, but more nurturing, less abuse

One day my left foot hurt for no apparent reason. I got up to relieve the pain and repair my right Achilles tendon, so I headed to the medicine cabinet, bent over like a chimpanzee from a stiff back.

Actually, I lied.

It was not one day. It’s great every day.

None of this is serious or serious, and I’m not complaining at 72. I’m just wondering.

Did my exercise routines, which were intended to keep me from collapsing, slow down my death, or hasten it?

What better time than the start of a new year to get an answer? In one poll, the top New Year’s resolution for 2026 is more exercise. And in between the top six resolutions are eating healthy, improving physical health and losing weight, so good luck to all you dreamers, and I hope you last longer than I have with similar resolutions.

Instead of a resolution, I have a goal, which is to find the sweet spot – if there is one – between exercise and pain.

Maybe I’m asking too much. I’ve had two knee replacements, a torn posterior cruciate ligament, torn Achilles scar tissue, a loose left foot, a right shoulder that feels like it needs an oil change, and a pacemaker that keeps moving.

But I decided to get some expert advice that might be helpful to anyone who has entered that glorious stage of life where they can pull a muscle while taking a nap, or squeeze a vein in their neck while brushing their teeth.

And I knew who to call.

Cedars-Sinai orthopedic surgeon Robert Klapper hosts an ESPN radio show called “Weekend Warrior.” This renaissance man, surfer and sculptor in his own time, also hits the airwaves with “Klapper Vision” – clear eyes that take in all kinds of twisted, pulled and broken body parts that elite athletes and curvy asses like me suffer from.

On “Weekend Warrior,” Klapper might be talking about knee replacement surgery one minute, comparing it to Michelangelo’s rendering of the human form, then insisting that a sandwich isn’t a sandwich without peperoncini. Not that everything is connected, but it doesn’t matter.

When I emailed Klapper about my aches and pains, he quickly replied that he had written one book on the waistone to the knees and the third is in the works with the following title:

“Stop Exercising, You’re Killing Yourself.”

No, he’s not saying never get off the couch. In a phone interview and later in his office, Klapper said the subtext would read, “Let Me Explain.” He makes a point about what kind of exercise is harmful and what kind is helpful, especially for people my age.

I told him that my daily routine consisted of a two-mile morning walk with my dog ​​followed by a 30-minute swim or stationary bike ride.

So far, so good.

But I also play pickleball twice a week.

“Listen, I play pickleball for a living now,” Klapper said. “Exercise is good, but it comes in two forms.”

The other is raising, which I call “agercise” to my people.

One is offensive, and one of Klapper’s examples is pickleball. With all the starts and stops, twists and turns, reaches and lunges, the pickleball is attacking the Medicare bank, several million dollars’ injury risks each year.

I know. The game seems to be very low key, even though it was recently banned in Carmel-by-the-Sea because of all the rackets. Little did I know, when I first picked up the paddle, that there would be a lot of ice and ibuprofen involved, not to mention a killer staring at retired people itching for the chance to pierce you through the sternum with a hot laser.

“This is an adrenaline rush for everyone in their 50s, 60s, 80s,” Klapper said. in his officewhich is the beginning of his mutual exchange industry. The walls are covered with pictures of famous athletes and a list of Hollywood celebrities undergoing surgery.

“I see these patients, but they don’t come to me with serious injuries. They didn’t tear their Achilles tendon … like they do in tennis. They don’t tear their ACL like they do in basketball,” Klapper said. “They came to me saying, ‘My shoulder is killing me, my knee is killing me.

Pickleball has obvious benefits for every age group. But it can worsen arthritis and accelerate joint damage, Klapper said, especially in addicts who play a few times a week.

Not that he is the first MD to suggest that as you get older, walking, cycling and swimming are easier on your body than high-impact activities. As one doctor said e AARP article on joint care and the benefits of eating healthy, watching your weight and staying active, “the worst thing you can do with osteoarthritis after 50 is to be sedentary.”

Anyway, I thought Klapper might tell me to stop picking, but he didn’t.

“Pickleball is more than a game for you … and all of your teammates,” he said. “It’s psychological. You need it because of the stress. The world is falling apart. … I want to play it, but I want you to do breeding exercises so you can abuse it.”

There is no fountain of youth, Klapper said, but the closest thing is a swimming pool.

Okay, but I already swim three times a week.

Dr. Robert Klapper meets patient Kathleen Clark, who is recovering from knee surgery.

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

Klapper had different ideas.

“You have to go forward and back for half an hour,” he said. Do that three times a week, he told me, and ride a stationary bike three times.

Why does the water move?

“We as humans take more than a million steps a year.

“Think about that,” he said.

Is it necessary?

Walking in the water will improve muscles and joints without the stress of my full weight, and that may “improve” my pickleball fitness and general fitness, Klapper said. The beauty and the touch of water on the skin is magical, he said, but there is also science involved.

“It’s hard to move your arms and legs and your body through the water, but it’s freeing the joint,” Klapper said. “And finally — and this is the real X factor — when you close your eyes and straighten your elbow and bend your elbow, straighten your knee and bend your knee … your brain knows where your limbs are in space.”

This is called proprioceptionKlapper said. Receptors in your skin, muscles, ligaments and tendons send messages to your brain, resulting in pain better balance, coordination and agility and reduced risk of injury.

There are many exercises to sharpen proprioceptionbut the doctor of surfing is part of the water. He said that at my age, “the batteries die,” but I can recharge them with a short break to focus on the pickle and focus on the lake.

“You can’t guarantee anything in health and medicine,” Klapper said. “But I assure you, after a month has passed, you will feel much better than what you are doing now.”

You should try it, and I’ll let you know how it goes.

In the pool and on the court.

steve.lopez@latimes.com