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I need to be motivated, have been going to the gym on & off for 14 years, I do better when I have a trainer. If I don't I have a bag full of excuses, why not to go, or not to do everything I should be doing. I've tried going with a friend, but, she
did nothing but groan and moan, and just wandered around or left to go to the dollar store next store...was counter productive for me, and, after 4 visits...she quit.
So, as of next week I start... again... with a trainer.
I personally envy all of you who can exercise. Since the car accident, I have a hard time walking. The exercises I can do are pathetic. Try to lift my legs, do arm exercises, etc. I used to walk all over so this is hard.
I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. I just want to remind folks what a privelage it is to have the freedom to choose.
I think if I could find something that would offer intellectual stim while I am doing something physical, I would be sold. I would have to read or write or be on the computer while exercising. Just watching TV would not do it. There must be ways to do this and I need to explore that.
Yes that is the way I was for the longest time. I see others with Ipods or Iphones and earbuds. But I have finally learned to just enter the zone. Sometimes I "write" a story in my head; sometimes I think about something in my life. I think earbuds and noise would just make me crazy though.
But for some, I think they help a lot.
One of the things I like the best about a gym are the choices of equipment. I have tried various things. Right now I am using a recumbent elliptical with great success for knee pain. It gives me a good workout in general too. But I do different things, because--boredom.
I think if I could find something that would offer intellectual stim while I am doing something physical, I would be sold. I would have to read or write or be on the computer while exercising. Just watching TV would not do it. There must be ways to do this and I need to explore that.
When I am on the bike or treadmill I listen to audio books, mostly self help. Seems to make the time go quicker.
I personally envy all of you who can exercise. Since the car accident, I have a hard time walking..... I just want to remind folks what a privelage it is to have the freedom to choose.
meo,
Thank you for the reminder. Your post reminded me to an impactful statement made by a fellow rower years ago "Everyday that you can be on a river is a gift". He made this statement after returning to rowing after a long absence due to a broken leg. His words made me more appreciative of my privileges and thus more involved in physical and outdoor activities.
About a year ago, my husband hurt his back then his knee (caused by a poorly ran physical therapy session of toe lift attempting to strengthen a leg muscle weakened by the bad back!). He was on crutches for 6 months and had just recently being able to hike up to 30 minutes. There were very few exercises that he could do without risking aggravating the existing injuries. He is now mostly recovered and had just started to going back to they gym for some easy exercises (recumbent bike, upper body strength machines, and moderate swimming).
I hope that you could find some low impact and suitable exercises. You may want to check with orthopedic surgeon or orthopedists to see what can be done to improve your mobility. My husband had a semi-fused ankle from a car accident more than 40 years ago. For years, he had to cope with pain when the weather changes or after a long walk. About 4 years ago, he accidentally injured the same ankle (just by moving his foot the wrong way and hit a metal desk!). He was on crutches, knee walker etc for few months. When it was sufficiently healed, an orthopedist fitted him with an ankle brace. This miracle device literally changed his life for the better. It stabilizes his ankle thus allowing it to heal and strengthen with time. He no longer needs to use a cane after few hours of walking (even after the 6 painful months of being on crutches due to the back and knee injuries!).
I hadn't thought of that. Thank you. I'll ask the insurance if that's something I could do. Now that I'm on Medicare, it seems there are a lot of things they do not allow.
They cut back my Gabapenton, which I take for the nerve pain. They will not allow a home helper, & to be honest my home is not as clean as it used to be. I try but it takes me 2-3 Times to do something. I hope to just overcome my feelings about that. The therapist I had after the surgery told me that there were things I had to let go, mainly because I can't bend.
I'm glad your husband is doing so much better. Maybe I will some day, although it's been 10 months. We'll see.
I personally envy all of you who can exercise. Since the car accident, I have a hard time walking. The exercises I can do are pathetic. Try to lift my legs, do arm exercises, etc. I used to walk all over so this is hard.
I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. I just want to remind folks what a privelage it is to have the freedom to choose.
Thank you for your post. It really puts in perspective how fortunate many of us are to be able to have the choice to exercise. I have had minor injuries over the years and a share of back/muscle/skeletal issues, but I always exercise to keep it strong. Being and staying strong helps future injuries heal that much quicker and better.
I couldn't bring myself to go back to the crowded chlorine-smelling Y, so I went to the new senior center gym run by the Y. It is all new building, new equipment, and a young employee of the Y doing the training. The place was not at all crowded. He took me through the routines and I did every machine, starting slow and not overdoing. I stayed about 40 min but will go for a longer time when I do more of the repetitives.
In contrast to the Y, the place was super clean, not smelly, and only lightly used. It is $20/mo just for the gym, no exercise classes included. OTOH, if I joined the Y at $36/mo, I would still use the senior ctr gym any time but I would also be able to do the classes over at the Y. The problem with that is I don't like the atmosphere of the Y, and the classes I popped in on while on the tour blasted teeny bop music so loud I couldn't get out of there fast enough. I guess I'll just join the senior ctr gym. The low-impact on everything is great, and I need the weights more than anything.
I couldn't bring myself to go back to the crowded chlorine-smelling Y, so I went to the new senior center gym run by the Y. It is all new building, new equipment, and a young employee of the Y doing the training. The place was not at all crowded. He took me through the routines and I did every machine, starting slow and not overdoing. I stayed about 40 min but will go for a longer time when I do more of the repetitives.
In contrast to the Y, the place was super clean, not smelly, and only lightly used. It is $20/mo just for the gym, no exercise classes included. OTOH, if I joined the Y at $36/mo, I would still use the senior ctr gym any time but I would also be able to do the classes over at the Y. The problem with that is I don't like the atmosphere of the Y, and the classes I popped in on while on the tour blasted teeny bop music so loud I couldn't get out of there fast enough. I guess I'll just join the senior ctr gym. The low-impact on everything is great, and I need the weights more than anything.
Congratulations! I am proud of you for going! Getting started is the hardest part, and you got that conquered now! Sounds like a nice deal for $20 mo, clean and not crowded place. Keep doing what you are doing, taking it slow so you don't hurt yourself and put yourself out of commission.
Update, day 2. Not so cold this morning, up to 25 degrees, so I went to the sr ctr gym with no heavy pants over my tights. I felt ridiculous, but then again, my legs are the only remaining good part of me. I signed in, went in, and there was no one there but me in this big room with picture windows and state of the art equip.
I started my routine on autopilot, determined not to think, treadmill first and then around to the others and ending on the bicycle. Toward the end a couple of old men came in and monopolized the two best bikes, sitting together and chatting and reading newspapers while slooowly peddling as if they were on a paddle boat on a pond. (Loud topics of conversation: Cuba, Patriots, sister in Florida, and ham lunch...seems like the senior center lunches are the same as in elementary schools...pizza, burgers, fries, etc...kind of ironic re: exercise).
I finally took the older bike and it was really hard b/c it had the moving hand bars to use at the same time you pedal and it seemed stuck on HARD. I survived that for 14 min. and called it quits. One hour total. Will I keep this up?
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