Monday, August 15, 2011

Sedentary, My Dear Watson

If I've ever been in doubt about how sedentary my life is, all I have to do is go to the gym. Comparing my activity level now to what it was 10-20 years ago is bad enough, but when I compare it to my mother's who is 91, it's horrific. I did my time on the elliptical and the treadmill which is by no means impressive but is a start. Then I saw the mother of one of my former students. She is 50 and rode her bicycle 20 miles yesterday and said she usually does 20-30. She was going what I thought was fast on the elliptical (forward and backward pedaling), but she said this was a light day since yesterday was heavy with the bike riding. Light for her was 6 or 7 mph. I do well to go 2.5 mph on it and definitely can't last as long as she did!

There were some other women around my age who walked about the same pace I did on the treadmill. I realize it's not a competition and am glad it isn't. It just drives home to me how inactive I've been physically, and it shows! I feel like crap most of the time unless I exercise and then feel better, dammit!! I used to ride my bike (never more than a few miles, though), took aerobics classes, played tennis, swam, walked a lot, and danced (that requires dating which brings up some other activities I used to participate in, too). Sorry, Neil Young, but I've been rusting instead of wearing out.

OK, so it's a start. I'm walking on the treadmill and pedaling on the elliptical. Next the weight machines and a class called Silver Sneakers for us seniors. After that, I'll see. The dating activities look doubtful. At least I can still hold my own in a trivia game.


8 comments:

mrs.missalaineus said...

keep it up! we've been walking different neighborhoods whilst looking at houses-i'm glad the weather has cooled down because it's much more pleasant now.

xxalainaxx

Beth said...

I've pretty much taken the summer off, other than the daily tasks that have me walking around, up and down the stairs, and so on. As cooler weather sets in, I'll get back to it! Keep going!

Joy said...

Thanks for the encouragement! I think I can! I think I can!

Ken Riches said...

After my mom's heart scare, she started out at 15 minutes a day with an eventual goal of 45 minutes per day, no skipping. She has not missed a day in more than a month. You can do it.

Bob said...

You're doing it Joy.
You can't just walk out the door and run a marathon, you gotta work up to it.
Keep going.

Joy said...

Ken, on the treadmill or outside? I'm on baby steps now (15-20 minutes) and am building up like your mother. Thanks!

Joy said...

Thanks, Bob. At my best I could never have run a marathon anyway! :-)

David Dust said...

That's fantastic. You're certainly doing better than moi.

XOXOXOXO