Father Fitness

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Father Fitness
6.15.09

Lessons in life are passed from a father to his children. Eye and skin color are given to us genetically and are unchangeable. Color blindness and balding can be passed from generation to generation as well. Habits, however, are learned by training, intentional or unintentional, and can also be taught by our parents. Make no mistake, children learn life lessons from their parents that are as influential as those traits provided by our chromosomes.

My parents exposed us to fitness when we were young. Sunday afternoons were spent at the Elyria YMCA Family Gym & Swim program. Our family of nine would jump on the trampoline, play scooter hockey and tumble on the mats. Then we were off to the pool for underwater races, diving and splash fights. The whole family arrived home hours later worn out, showered, and ready for another school week.

My father began exercising seriously in his 30s to battle weight gain and high blood pressure. Not one to do anything half way, he threw himself into extreme jogging when the aerobic craze was ramping up in the 1960s. He would jog 10 miles at one time in all kinds of weather (think Forrest Gump), and arrive home ice encrusted after cold winter runs.

A knee injury caused him to switch to bicycling. To squeeze cycling into his truck driving schedule Mike would bike to the truck terminal, throw the bike into the truck, drive to his destination, cycle while the truck was being unloaded, put bike and self into the truck, drive back to the terminal, bike home, sleep and start all over the next day. Day or night, summer or winter he doggedly stuck to this routine.

This is the legacy Mike Rubin has passed on to his children. Among us there are sailors, cyclists, wind surfers, hikers and gym addicts. Each one practices exercise on a regular basis but none compare to dad. At age 80 Mike is still cycling daily. He has switched from his two-wheel recumbent bike to a tricycle and logs 10,500 miles a year.

He has made changes to the routine he started 50 years ago by avoiding the rain or snow. A move to Florida for winter riding helped there. He spends summers with one of his 7 children, riding in cooler northern climates.

Fathers, give a gift to your children this Father’s Day: get out, get active, take the kids, and have some fun. Make it fun to get fit and lead by example. You need to move and your kids need it too. And just think, if you stay fit you may live long enough to be a pain in the neck to your adult children, pay back for the years they pestered you.

If you see my father out biking on the back roads of Auglaize County with his American flag flying, give him plenty of room and wave as you pass him by.

Allison Brady, Executive Director
Heritage Trails Park District- Your Auglaize County Parks