The Hoffer Project

My dear mother Rose used  say ” Your health is your wealth”, and as I’ve gotten older I’ve come to appreciate the wisdom in it. On the 3rd of January 2013 I’ll be the ripe age of fifty, and I can’t quite believe it. On a recent holiday in Portugal with Claire, and my brother Peter and his wife Margo, Peter started to harass/coach me about doing something about my physique, especially as there has been muscle wastage around my shoulders as a result of arthritis. Soon thereafter I was on YouTube looking up stretches. Peter took me down to their gym (yes their house is tres posh!) and showed me a basic workout. And it was here, near Faro, that I hatched the “Hoffer Project”… HFR = Hit Fifty Running.

I do sadly have to admit I’ve neglected myself when it comes to exercise for too many years, but in the past I’ve run a marathon (NYC 2001) and I used to play tennis often too. So since I got back I’ve been swimming at my local pool – which is looking great since a rebuild last year. I’ve also signed up for pilates classes. So far I’ve had three and I’m committed to doing at least ten more to see how I get on with it. One thing I have kept a keen eye on is my weight, and a couple of years ago over a two month period, I lost a stone through Weight Watchers. I was saying to Claire earlier on, how cool it would be to meet up with a bunch of cabbies who were fitness freaks, but somehow I don’t think it’ll happen.

Part of my reason for writing this blog is to inspire other cabbies in one way or another. I know there are many out there who do not look after themselves well at all. Working too long hours (60-80) sitting down, eating poorly and smoking, not to mention the booze (not whilst driving though of course!) If you work long hours you’re going to be too tired to head down the gym, and more importantly, you stand a much bigger chance of having an accident. If you smoke it ain’t healthy for you and you’ll get tipped less as a result of your cab stinking of smoke.

So, whether you’re a professional driver or not, why not have a think about one or two changes you could make to your lifestyle and then maybe you can start your own “Hoffer” Project (adjust middle letters to suit decade ie: 30 would be the “Hotter” Project!)