Fifth Force

One of the first things that attracted me to this man was that he was a runner. The first time I saw him out jogging was in January, 1981. He had icicles in his beard. I thought anyone who would run in such weather must be either dedicated or crazy.
When I dug this picture out a few days ago, Bud was chagrined about the long socks. I reminded him that was the fashion thirty years ago - short shorts, long socks.
This photo, with the 102 River valley in the background, was taken in August, 1981 after Bud's evening run. After cooling down some, his next thing would be to hang from his gravity boots.
Gravity, or inversion boots, were a popular fitness tool during the '80s. Purported benefits were relief from back pain and increased blood flow to the brain. Inverted crunches added extra challenge to a workout.
I was never brave enough to try hanging upside down by ankle boots from a bar in a doorway.



But fast forward thirty years to a time when age and activity (or lack of) has added to our aches and pains. After some research, Bud decided to order this Ironman Gravity 2000 Inversion Table, mostly to help with back pain.
This looked safe enough even for me to try. The first time I got on it, two things happened: 1) I felt/heard a lower back vertebrae go back into place. 2) The blood rushed to my head and I didn't think I could stand the pressure. But I didn't let that stop me from trying it again.
Now we both use it twice a day. I actually look forward to my hang time. The stretching feels good. Whether the increased blood flow to my brain helps my thinking (as Uri Geller believes) is ????
My biggest question is how many hours a day would I need to be inverted to send some of my gone south slippage of body parts back north?




In the interest of fairness, I'm including a picture from my very brief running days. It was fun attending road races. Bud would do the 10K, while I would be doing good to run a 3K. The last time I ran was the 1985 KMA Road Race in Shenandoah. My knee hurt so bad, but I made myself finish. I think it took three weeks to recuperate.

We were just a couple cute 'kids' back then. And we're still cute today - before using the inversion table, one of us will flash the other a 'gang sign' and say, I'm gonna' go hang.
(Insert groans here.)