My husband and I gloried along with the Olympians, relishing the individual athletic prowess, the verve and enthusiasm, and the never-say-die attitudes. We basked in the reflected glow of American athletes’ skills and medal rewards for them.

The young athletes had lean, well-muscled bodies earned via thousands and thousands of hours of practice. Add coaches and trainers and weight-training in the best-equipped facilities anywhere. Add training since childhood and support from single-minded parents whose sacrifices nurtured their kids’ gifts.

Back to me, the couch potato watching the Games. While my husband’s a natural athlete, I’m a gimp who plays hurt much of the time in the old-age-is-not-for-wimps years of my life. I rely on something I learned from Olympians: KT tape.

Kinesiology Tape, hence the initials KT, was developed for athletes participating in the 2012 Games, around the time I entered the halls of the permanently gimped. Read this blast-from-the-past blog post to see how that went: https://www.pjcolando.com/a-walk-in-the-park-plot-twist/

A famed female beach volleyball duo and Chinese divers wore it best.

In the most recent games, I spied numerous athletes tape-adorned, not as a fashion statement but as a necessity.

Just like me.

Let me share a fact and my personal history, shared in this recent blog post: https://www.pjcolando.com/?s=the+bees+knees%2C+not+mine

This product line has celebrated its success with brand extension extraordinaire. Competing brands have emerged, like the Rock Tape brand preferred by my off-again-on-again PT. However I still to KT, even planning my life sometimes around its stick-tight propensity. For example, I can’t go in the jacuzzi tonight because my KT Tape is new… you see, water immersion adversely affects its adhesion and, well, I’m cheap.

Here’s my current KT, which endures through water aerobics sessions, as well as the humidity that has added its unwelcome to our summertime. The product lives up to its name for it is extremely tough to remove. It’s more expensive but it stays on a week, so math proves its worth.

But, the many colors of KT are cool, too.

I thrive with KT tape. My knees, which are edging toward replacement, feel safe.