Tag Archives: exercise

Oops!….I did it again!

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Mrs. and Red have shown up together a few times. I wonder if that means they don’t have fledglings in the nest? Or, have they flown the nest?

Monday I had a big, long day and I woke up in the middle of the night with a dull ache in my ankle.

I started Monday with a 30-minute walk. Then I got ready to have breakfast with a neighbor. She offered to drive me to my hair appointment and we decided to get breakfast along the way first. My hair appointment is 50 minutes away — which is too long for me to have my pedal on the metal!

We left my house at 9:30 a.m. and I didn’t get back until 3 p.m. After elevating and icing, I cooked dinner. Normally this wouldn’t be too big of a day. But right now, post surgery, it was! I had my ankle brace on most of the day and I think that’s what made me sore.

I woke up yesterday beyond tired. I skipped my walk because I had morning PT. I explained to the physical therapist that I was tired and overdid it Monday. He thought I meant Saturday, not Monday. He told me to know my limits and continue to do more, but don’t push it.

Then he proceeded to rip into my ankle with his fingers. He added one legged leg presses and few other exciting things.

Needless to say I’m toast! In case you missed it, I wrote about overdoing it last week when my surgeon cleared me to walk, drive and get in the pool HERE.

Red before he took off from our tree. The Red flying photo isn’t perfect, but I like the movement.

When have you had a day where you felt you overdid it?

Road Runner, the coyote’s after you!

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We had a road runner hanging out right next to our sliding glass doors. I managed to get photos and a video with my iphone. I went to get my real camera and of course when I came back, he was gone!

I had good news at my appointment with the surgeon Friday. I was told I was healing well, could take walks as long as I want, and I can swim and drive.

Saturday morning I took my first walk. I kept it short because I decided it was good to take it easy and not overdo it. The surgeon gave me an ankle brace and told me no more boot! Woohoo. After my walk, where I will admit, I was huffing and puffing and terribly out of shape (How does that happen in seven weeks?) I drove myself to the grocery store. Then I got in the pool.

I picked up mail, did laundry and cooked. Sunday I was sore and tired. I may have kept the walk short, but I ended up overdoing it in spite of being cautious. I think I was overly excited to be cut loose and free!

Video of the roadrunner. He found something tasty outside on the patio. Not sure what it was.

If you’ve been injured, did you lose fitness quickly? Or were you able to retain your level of fitness?

Am I THAT old?

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A photo my mom took when I introduced her to my future hubby. This was close to 40 years ago!

Yesterday, I slept in. I didn’t have a great night’s sleep and rather than get out of bed before 5 a.m. to take a walk before the heat hit, I stayed in bed. When I got out of bed at 6:30 a.m. it was already too hot to walk.

I decided I’d go to the gym. I needed exercise after all, so why not try something new? Mix it up a bit. I checked out the schedule of classes looking for something with dance. Zumba Gold sounded fun. I’d be inside a nice air-conditioned building. Plus maybe I’d like it and I’d keep going.

Then I read the description:

Easy-to-follow program that lets you move to the beat at a slower rhythm than a regular Zumba class!

No! Not for me. It’s probably filled with old people, I thought. I wouldn’t dream of going to that class.

Then, I thought about it again Maybe the class WAS designed for me. I have a bad knee and a hurt foot. I’m not 20 or 30 years old. I’m almost old enough for Medicare.

I made up my mind to check it out and see if the people in class WERE my age!

The plan was to see if it was filled with ancient people decades older than me. If so, I’d head to the elliptical machine and weights. Or, I could take the class anyway to see if I liked it.

Earlier, on my way to the grocery store, I was listening to the radio. The Eagles “Lyin’ Eyes” was playing. The DJ said the song came out 54 years ago! Say it ain’t so!

When it came time to go the gym, I felt unstable as the room spun around me. Vertigo. I get it every three or four years, fortunately not very often. Not a good idea to “move to the beat at a slower rhythm” at Zumba after all — no matter what the speed. I’ll try again on another day.

When have you been surprised about your age or realizing your not that young anymore?

A pain in the neck

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A bit of beauty in my neighborhood.

I have a work in progress and felt my plot had some gaping holes in it. So in January, I took a writing class on plots. One of the assignments was outlining along a very constructive plot point path. I used my WIP and found that the assignment helped. Then I got feedback from the instructor with further suggestions.

It took me until late March to mull over the suggestions and get to work on rewriting and revising.

After spending countless hours sitting at my laptop, I decided to mix in some simple exercises. (My former writing mentor Gerald Petievich once told me that writers need buns of steel.)

I began leg exercises for strength and balance. They are from my PT when I had knee surgery post ski accident. I’ve been reading that falling when we get older is not a good thing. Once elderly start falling, they usually don’t last long. So why wait? I break up my writing with those exercises.

Then I decided to do something about my flabby arms. I started with three pounds weights and now I’m at five. But I have a sharp pain in my neck and shoulders. I was on the phone with my daughter yesterday and she said, “You’re not doing the exercises correctly.”

“How do you know?” I asked. After all she isn’t here.

She said, “Because you sit with your shoulders around your ears. You aren’t engaging the correct muscles.”

I explained that my husband (her dad) showed me how to do them. She insists he doesn’t know how, either. Well, she is coming by for a short visit, dropping off Waffles the Pug while she goes to a destination wedding in Portugal. Maybe I can get some private instructions from her.

In the meantime, I’ve got a pain in the neck and shoulders. Maybe I should stick to legs?

Do you find you need to get up and move after sitting at the computer?

What exercises do you do?

New Year’s Resolutions Reviewed

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three swimmers

This is a photo of my daughter (center) swimming with two club teammates

I wrote this January 2015. There’s not much I’d change nine years later. As far as my New Year’s Resolution that year to swim with my kids’ club team in their Master’s program, it took me until April to get up my courage. But I did it. (Master’s is swimming with a coach for 18 year olds and older.)

Kick It up a Notch! Or How to Build on Last Year’s Resolutions

This year, I  might start swimming Masters.

I sat down to write my New Year’s Resolutions story for my blog when I got distracted by checking out FaceBook. Just for a few mintues, mind you.

What did I see? An article written by a friend of mine, Susan Murphy, published in a local wellness and health publication, called Desert Health. She wrote about New Year’s Resolutions, too. You can read her article HERE. Susan’s a Ph.D., life coach, business advisor and author of several books.

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I tried a couple of her tips last January. I made goals that were small. They weren’t overwhelming. And, they were specific.

Too many people fail at their resolutions. Last year, I managed to make four of my goals happen.

My successes: writing, exercising and reading the Bible every single day. I’m proud to say I did it!  I also started bleuwater a year ago. I posted at least one story a week. It’s rewarding to look back on my work and know that I didn’t give up.

I also have a list of failures. But, I don’t care to discuss them right now.

So what am I going to try to do this year? As Emeril would say, “Kick it up a notch!”

I write my morning pages without fail. I have several writing projects I’m consumed with. But I want to do more. Make more progress.

My exercise is very consistent, but not challenging enough. I am getting stronger, but I need to kick it up. I walk several miles every morning and then in the evening with my husband. I am thinking about either joining a gym or swimming with masters.

What are your New Year’s goals?

How did you do with your resolutions last year?

A look at a goal for 2024:

FYI, I want to revise my rough draft of my NaNoWriMo project from two years ago. I struggled with it in 2023. I took a suggestion from LA from Waking up on the Wrong Side of 50 and signed up for an online writing class. It begins in two weeks. I’ll be off and going on one of my New Year’s resolutions.

Too old to sprint?

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A view before sunrise during my morning walk.

Did you know?

“Exercise Before Surgery Slashes Post-op Complications”

That’s a headline I found for an article written by Lynn Allison. I’m having eye surgery tomorrow. Then in September some minor outpatient surgery. So the article caught my eye.

Researchers from the University of Otago in New Zealand say that intense exercise before surgery reduces the risk of postoperative complications as well as hospital stays by as much as 56%, says Study Finds.

“We have found that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is safe and effective for surgical patients,” says lead investigator Kari Clifford, of the Department of Surgical Sciences at the University of Otago. “A HIIT program can meaningfully improve a patient’s fitness within four to six weeks, and this reduces postoperative complications and length of stay.”

The work analyzed 12 studies including 832 patients who engaged in HIIT before their surgeries. The training involved repeated aerobic interval exercises at about 80% of their maximum heart rate before going into active recovery.

The most significant result was the change in cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) — a measure of how well the body takes in oxygen and delivers it to the muscles and organs during prolonged periods of exercise. The significant improvement in CRF lowers the risk of adverse postoperative events, says Clifford, in a university press release.

https://www.newsmax.com/health/health-news/hiit-high-intensity-interval-training-surgery/2023/07/21/id/1128061/

If high-intensity interval training is good for post op recovery, that must transfer to everyday life. I reflected on my own workout routines. I realized that my slow and steady walks and swims are not getting the job done.

When I swam with my Master’s coach, he’d change up the pace. He’d have me swim 75s or 100s alternating “fast and slow.” Like swim 25 easy, 25 sprint, 25 slow for a 75 four times through. I was changing my heart rate. Without a coach, I leisurely swim laps not changing pace, because I’m proud to show up. Period. There’s nobody to push me. Not even my husband. I watch him sprint during his last two hundred yards and worry that he’ll have a heart attack.

We have an assault fitness bike gathering dust. Yesterday I got on it and sprinted for 20 seconds followed by 30 seconds easy a few times. Yes, it got my heart rate going. It’s something I’ll repeat each day and build on. When I swim laps, I’m going to throw in some interval training and sprint a few 25s. It can’t hurt.

What are your thoughts about high-intensity interval training? Is it something you incorporate in your workouts? Do you think you can be too old for HIIT?

Please check out my new blog schedule with posts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Ice and elevate

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A photo I grabbed online of Dove Valley Ranch golf course.

I golfed yesterday with a friend from my neighborhood. It’s the first time I’ve golfed in years. I think I went once or twice after my ski accident and ACL replacement surgery in 2018. But never since COVID. So it’s safe to say four years without golfing? Actually, my neighbor and I went to practice at a driving range twice since April, but that’s not the same thing as going out on the course.

My friend had knee surgery a year ago and this is her first time she’s golfed in two years.

I was unbelievably nervous, wondering if I could still play. In fact, I woke up several times during the night worrying. I tried to visualize what my swing would feel like during my drive hitting a perfect shot. It helped me fall back to sleep. When I finally got out of bed, I thought, “It’s just a stupid game. What was I worrying about?”

At the first tee, I was shaking nervous. We were paired with two men. I knew that would happen and dreaded it. There are way more men playing than women, so it would be rare to find ourselves playing with other women. I apologized to the men in advance, explaining that I hadn’t played in years.

They teed off first on the men’s tees. Their drives didn’t make it to the women’s tees a mere yards in front of them. They took mulligans which sprayed out of bounds.

My friend whispered “This is going to be a long day!”

I teed off and hit a perfect drive. So did my friend. Then our fairway woods were amazing, too. We chipped onto the green and were set to putt for par. Meanwhile, our guys playing with us were all over the place, cursing.

My neighbor said, “I think we’re making you nervous!”

One guy muttered, “I’ve never played with women before.”

I settled down nerve-wise, realizing the men were probably as scared as I was, or more so!

Eventually they relaxed and outplayed us. I started to fall apart the hotter it got and the more tired I became. When I used to play golf with two girlfriends in Palm Springs, I always hit the longest drives. But now, my neighbor was outdriving me by 20 to 40 yards. I felt a competitive twitch and realized I didn’t like to be outdriven. Especially not consistently!

We stopped after 10 holes, tired and hot and not wanting to push it further. Our scores were close — my neighbor beat me by one stroke.

My bad knee was tired and hurting. I iced and elevated off and on for the next few hours. I’m happy I got back on the golf course and with zero expectations, I did pretty well after all.

What sports do you like to do or outside activities? Do you surprise yourself with a competitive spirit — or are you already aware of that personality trait?