Let's Get Moving Part 3

[JACKIE1-25-15]

'The original idea was to "get moving" at least 4 times a week, staying accountable to each other.  Post your accomplishments in the comments. This is the original blog link if you would like to clarify the guidelines

Let's Get Moving Challenge - EX Community.   Any activity counts, as long as you get off your butt and get your heart pumping.  Who knows, maybe we'll lose a little weight or a couple of inches in the meantime.  I hope placing it in discussions this time will work better than a blog post where there were so many entries and becomes harder to locate.  Let's see if we can keep it on the board often and easy to find. 

I believe we got sidetracked when I suggested doing other challenges and those challenges were not conducive to everyone. My fault. Lesson learned.  So I am hoping we can get back to doing what "you" do instead of a specific routine.  Got it?.   In the previous post, there were a lot of comments to go through to come up with this list of who participated.  Hopefully, it will catch on again.  Of course, sometimes we got off topic which can happen.  This post really kept me motivated and we had a lot of fun while learning a lot from each other with over 2519 comments on the first blog and 1072 Let's Get Moving 2018 - EX Community  on second blog comments. So let's Get Moving Part 3!

[Cousin-Itt]

Nancy I'm sending the weather your way keep sending yours north up the coast.

Cincinnati and Baltimore, always makes for a good World Series

[YoungAtHeart]

@Cousin-Itt From your lips to God's ears!  😁

[Cousin-Itt]

@YoungAtHeart I'm glad you received my weather from yesterday  I sent

[YoungAtHeart]

@Cousin-Itt 

Me, too!

Thanks for it!

😁

[RainbowHeart]

Just woke up from a four hour nap. I dreamed of a Howell family reunion (Dad's side of the family). Now I'm all groggy so I'm making myself a coffee ☕ I took a short walk before my nap, might take another one if the rain stops. Leg hurts. I want a bath but can't take one until the stitches come out next week so I'll settle for a shower. Hope everybody is having a good day 🌞

[Maki]

Asthma wheezing today , or is it COPD , not sure but hoping inhalers will be enough . Cough as well . 
Grand daughter playing  provincial championships this weekend so been watching her here from home today and made an apple pie while doing so . They won the first game , go girls !  . Sure brings me back to the days going to swimming championships with my kids , do miss those days , but never forgotten . Anyway , thinking of tidying and turning in very early tonight , when you can’t breathe it sucks the energy out of you . Have a good rest of your day all . 

[RainbowHeart]

I have a motivation question for you guys. There's a small "gym" at my apartment complex and my doctor has encouraged me to do more strengthening exercises. I was a total gym rat in my 20s but haven't been in one in decades. Any suggestions for how to get myself to go would be appreciated 🏋️‍♀️

[Maki]

My thoughts , take it if it helps , leave the rest . 
You were just prescribed medication for a leg that’s infected . You are taking the pills because you want the leg to get better .  Are you taking them , yes , the motivation was so your leg heals and you don’t have complications . 
Your  dr has prescribed you to get some exercise to strengthen your body so treat that like a medicine he or she  prescribed for you and do it . Take that medicine .  Commit to once or twice a day , fifteen minutes or five or whatever you can do . The motivation is to get better  just like the med for your leg is to get better . . That’s the motivation . To feel better and stronger so you can get back to where you were before you moved . You will get there , you’ve come a long way already .   You might wait though til your leg gets better , work on the upper body . There are strength u tube exercises btw , but I think you should go out .  Staying in the house is depressing maybe I don’t know is for me . You can do this . This place Ex moving group should be motivation as well , instead of a walk do strength exercising  , then report it here what you did to encourage others . I’d love to hear . Those bands I’m using are cheap , do those maybe , you’d be surprised how they help . Just a few ideas , I think you can motivate yourself , just have to do it . 

[Giulia]

You've already been given GREAT advice.  Motivation is something that I think is so internal that it's - I don't think I can come up with the right words.  I'm having a heck of a time being motivated these days.  Primarily because my body can't do what it always was able to do.  Without pain.  And that's a real motivation inhibitor.  But I'm also just having problems being motivated to do ANYTHING, really, these days.  And that's just - a psychological state I think I'm in at the moment.  And I hope I can get myself OUT of it!  grrrr lol  

I think being around people who help to motivate us definitely helps.  This group helps me a lot in that way.  I can't look at what you all are doing and not get my *ss in gear.  Even in a minor way.  Else I feel guilty.  And guilt can be a good motivator!

For me, right now, I force myself to do the 20 - 30 minutes of back stretching, strengthening every morning in bed.  Because I simply MUST.  Or I'll end up at 45 degrees.  I'm gonna try to do it on a mat on the porch once it warms up.  But it's gonna be painful.  (Though I see how I'm setting myself up for that negative experience ahead of time!  lol)  I've signed up for PT at a different place (the hospital PT this time) in the hope that it will spur me on to do more back work at home.  I'm specifically going to ask them what I can do on an exerise ball, or on the equipment I have at home here.  The stretch bands are great, but it's really hard to find a place to attach them at the necessary levels.  So I'm hoping this new PT (which insurance will only pay for however many visits per quarter) will help to motivate me.

For me, changing up exercise routines are a must for motivation.  I did weights and step aerobics 'til about 5 years ago at home  Or I played tennis 2 to 3X a week. Then Diane Joy introduced us all to Leslie and I did her routines.  Now I'm incorporating a little yogo (15 minutes) in that mix.  But neither of these are consistent.

My suggestion is - first, we have to just start.  As someone said, make a promise to yourself - 5 minutes a day.  All of these things that are tough for us to conquer, really just take one step after the next.  And the most important part of those steps is the consistency. Is the "keeping on."  It's the "keeping on" that creates the routine.  Just like with quitting smoking.  It's really the same thing.  It's the starting and the consistency, the perseverance that leads to the continuation.  But finding new exercises help stimulate the motivation.

And the last thing I'll add is that we need to find those exercises that we find FUN to do.  If they're not fun, if there's no joy or interest or challenge or plain FUN  in doing them - we just aren't going to be motivated to continue them.  Unless we can afford a "life coach" to come and spur us on every day.  You all are my "life coaches" in so many ways.  But you're not in my house with me while I do my exercises!  But my bike rides are fun.  Trouble is they don't strength my back.  

So that's my VERY LONG bunch of ideas.  Meanwhile - if there's a small gym at your place and especially if it's free - go check it out!  Spend 5 minutes.  Do - some exercise in there for FIVE MINUTES that you think might be fun.  You'll come back to your apartment and feel better about yourself after just five minutes.  Because you came home and said, "Well, I did at least five minutes."  And if I'm wrong - you let me know!  You will have discovered SOMETHING through that process at the very least. 

Persevere.

[Maki]

“The stretch bands are great, but it's really hard to find a place to attach them at the necessary levels.  “ 

I read this @Giulia and it kinda scared me . I’m not sure I know what you mean a place to attach them or if an instructor gave you exercises maybe ?   I’ve never had to attach a band to anything other than my hands and feet in the years I’ve used them ( meaning they are just held in your hands in a certain way ) and personally i would not attach them to anything for safety reasons  ( they can snap )  . A previous class I took years ago taught me that . . So I want to suggest for anyone interested to do first with a trained professional who can teach you properly and according to your needs and abilities safely .  

Btw this is a free class offered to those through the seniors centre taught by a certified kinesiologist . ( if one does research lots of free classes around available to all age groups  if you struggle financially or not , or would like to do something with others , just do some research . Sorry for underlining . I can’t seem to get that turned off .