So shortly after I got to the gym I was talking to my buddy Jim who just happened to just get engaged which I congratulated him on.  After thanking me he told me a very shocking story.  Earlier in the week I guy I have known from the gym for a long time and a co-worker of Jim’s was in the gym working out in the morning.  He had just finished a strenuous set on the smith machine and suddenly dropped, hard, hitting his head on the way down.  He was rushed to the hospital but died the following day. Jim said the guy had a brain aneurysm.  He was only 49 years old, the age I will be in 8 days, wow.

The news struck me hard.  Although my interaction with the guy was minimal, never extending beyond a hi, smile, or nod, I knew him for a long time, six or seven years if I were to guess. He very much kept to himself at the gym, hardly speaking a word while jamming to whatever music was on his headphones.  He did a lot of short, heavy movements and a lot of them were on that same smith machine that he dropped at.  Despite our lack of meaningful communication, he worked out consistently and hard, two things I always admire.

The rest of my workout had the news hanging over me like a dark cloud.  The way he died and his age coinciding with mine was a very sobering combination.

Today’s Workout

Who cares…..