Some of you who were at Shejicon may have remarked that I was moving a little slowly, a little uncertainly—in point of fact the years of sitting at a keyboard have taken a heavy toll since we gave up figure skating: just years and years of not-walking, not-doing, sitting moving only my fingers.
I’d gotten to the point where stairs were a worry, little 3-step stairs without a hand-rail. One bad fall and I could be in a world of limitation, which would make it even worse.
I don’t have time or energy to run off to the gym; we tried that. Weather, parking, just the daily disruption…so that fell by the wayside.
We do try to walk—but hot weather, rain, snow, ice, what-not, again back to immobility.
Jane is experiencing the same thing: pain that limits mobility.
Mom had had an exerciser she never used: she was just never inclined. She’d always say, “I get enough exercise doing housework.” But time catches up with that. And I don’t want that to happen. I like moving. I like climbing things and doing things.
So I started reading reviews on this thing, a Gazelle Edge. As machines go, it’s not that expensive. It’s no-impact. It’s about the size of a coffee table. It increases stride and balance and restores your walking rhythm. Zing! yes. Two areas needing help. It’s from Amazon. Returnable if not doable.
So I did. Assembling this mass of pipe and airline cable is rather like wrestling with a praying mantis, but we did it. We tried it.
I could only go one minute when I started. One minute, and the arms burn, the shoulders burn, the legs get tired. You never take a step—you swing your legs, while standing, sort of like scuffing through snow, and the path of swing corrects tendencies of knees to knock in or ankles to veer off straight—in other words, it puts you into good alignment, the way skating does. You can bend your knees, or not. It has much the benefit of swimming, but requires less effort, while you still get the burn. It’s also dead silent and non-bouncy, so you can watch telly—and walk. Fast. I resolved to work one minute longer every day, and I’m, with a couple of days off for various reasons, up to six minutes. My target is an hour. Daily.
I’m now able to go up and down stairs without worry; Jane’s hip problem is improving. Tendons that were sore and losing elasticity are recovering. I’m walking with real steps. In a handful of days.
I think this machine is a definite winner. If I work it up even to half an hour a day, it’ll be a real, real help. Did I mention that exercise increases blood flow to the brain and you wake up and get back to work with more energy? Yep. Writing faster.
Now 7 minutes.
You get past an hour, you’re going to have to get a look and blink keyboard for that thing. Just remember to save output into your own comps when you switch off. I find that doing something repetitive with the body sends the mind spiraling off in strange directions.
Take this example: Spools of thread are always falling out of shopping bags and ending up under the car seats. There they unwind, tangle together and gather up every other thing that falls under the car seats. (That part is true, as I live and breathe.) They come to life, unreeling, breeding, growing and eventually attaining long strong pseudopods. One dark, nearing the dawn, they extend the pseudopods out through the cracks around the closed doors and windows and walk off with the car.
Lol. With me, it’s computer usb drives. No matter when you don’t want one, they’re all over the place, but if you need one, they are somewhere in hiding.
Let me guess! The hold a caucus somewhere unknown to decide what computer problems, (and I include the car computer), or unexpected benefits will fall upon you next. Then they mobilize.
good on you for the exercise!
My wife and I do a twice weekly circuit weight training class at our local rec. center. Cheap, and it’s nice a close, so pretty convenient. I find the regular schedule to be very helpful in preventing skipping. Been doing it for almost a year, and enjoy it and the results are good. We also have a good walking neighborhood and try to walk every day.
It looks like something you might use in the off season if you enjoyed cross country skiing or snowshoeing. Maybe we’ll look into something like it when our recumbent exercise bike gives up the ghost.
Good going. I bought an upright stationary bike several years ago for the same reasons. My walking abilities were deteriorating and , as I have severe emphysema, my exercise options were limited. I do five miles in a half hour now and it has helped quite a lot with joint pain and stability.
Just remember not to allow yourself excuses for not doing it. It seems your mind can be very inventive with reasons to be lazy.
Get well soon. One thing I know about exercise is not to overdue it and end up hurting something new. Consistency is better to build strength evenly. I like to stick to my initial level, say walking for 30min, and keep doing that day after day, week after week, before increasing the amount. I’m no doctor BTW.
A recommendation I saw was to use/wear a heart rate monitor, so that you don’t go at it too hard – and also, don’t take it too easy! Another idea I heard was that it takes our bodies about 6 weeks to really adapt to new forms of regular exercise – so be patient and keep on.