Walking On Sunshine

The weather was appalling yesterday, and that resulted in a great deal of pain. I set myself all sorts of goals, and forget I have chronic pain. At the start of July last year, I decided to keep track of the number of days I have had without pain. so far, we're cruising  along at a nice steady zero. There has not been a single day I have been pain-free.

March's goal of exercising every day seemed a distant dream. However, The Offspring drew my attention to my time in town shopping yesterday. I managed to walk 1/2km, at a very slow pace, but I managed it. Today, I've also walked a much faster 1/2km. 

Now, the sun is out. The air pressure is looking good for tomorrow. My hope is I can do a full, huge 1km. 

Exercise

I am delighted to report the foot injured on the walking tour of Manchester is improving. Today, I was able to walk 150m before it gave any indication of pain. That's a big improvement on last Sunday. Then, every step was accompanied by some degree of pain.

In addition, the local shops are 1.4km away, and are a gentle stroll away. They are good place to visit for a bit of incidental exercise.

2025 Challenges - April

This month, the goals were to work up to 30 push ups against the kitchen work top, and to walk each day. 

After hurting my foot doing squats lasts month, I decided to be flexible. With this in mind, I've been walking, cycling and garden - anything to get me moving and elevate my heart rate counts. In spite of, or because of, the movement, by back is feeling rather happy.  It really likes the gentle wiggling of cycling and walking. Sadly, I was not able to keep it up all month long. Neither was I able to do the slightly harder push ups.

It feels bad to have fail at on both goals. However, despite not reaching the bar set, I have done more exercise than I have managed in previous months. This is a good thing. I need to keep reminding myself the goals are there to stretch me, and if/when I don't reach them it's not the end of the world. This really is a situation where it is better to try, and get part way, than not try at all.

More new recipes have been tried. Some were almost failures, at least by my standards. Others have been good, and will enter into our rotation of meals. A lovely new recipe (to me) was chicken breasts in a lemon, pepper and herb crust.

2025 Challenges - March

March was the month for movement, for stabilising shoulders, and improving my core. On the 1st of the month, it was one push up against the wall, and one squat. each day, one was added. There were a couple of days when sickness prevented exercising.

My shoulders and back really loved the exercises. I'm feeling stronger and more capable. A few days ago, I saw a video saying if you can do 20 push ups against a wall, you can do five against a bench. Turns out I can do 10 against a bench. I'll definitely be continuing with push ups next month.

Squatting is a different matter. My left foot has not enjoyed the experience. It was broken when the Elde Offspring was a baby, and it's re-asserting its 'I'm damaged' credentials now.

New month, more pushups, and also daily walks. 

Arm Exercises

1. Wall angels – 10 reps

Stand with your back against a wall and put the backs of your hands against the wall by your side. Maintaining contact with the wall, slowly slide your hands up the wall towards the ceiling, return to your side and repeat 10 times.

2. Incline press ups – 10 reps

With your hands on a bench/step/sofa, concentrate on lowering your body in a straight line. 

3. Knee tucks – 10 reps each side

While still in a press-up position, lift one foot and bring your knee up towards your chest. Return to starting position and repeat on opposite side.

4. Straight arm plank with shoulder touches – 10 reps each side

Still in the press-up position, widen your foot stance and squeeze in your torso holding a strong position, lift one palm off the floor and touch the opposite shoulder, return to starting position and repeat with the opposite hand.

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I've no idea if I'll be able to do all of these exercises, but I'll give them a go. Protecting my shoulders against dislocation is a higher priority than pretty arms.

And Bingo was it's name-o

 

"Bingo Wings" - the wonderful name given to flabby upper arms. It is thought to be derived from when women wave their arms in the air when they call out in bingo. It's a rather derogatory term.

However, as a woman in her 50s, I definitely have them, and I don't want them. I feel my expectations are pretty fair; the chances of eliminating them altogether is absolutely tiny, but I should be able to do something to improve them. Therefore, I'm using my standby motto, 'Make it a bit better'.

To this end, I'm going to employ SMART - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.

S - I want to reduce my bingo wings

M - an reduction of 0.5cm

A - I hope it will be achievable in the time frame

R - There's a dress I want to fit into comfortably, and smaller wings would allow this

T - I'm initially using a date of the end of August.

I've no idea if that is realistic. But I can but try. If it isn't then the contingency is 3 months. There should be enough time in that to see some benefits.

Squat-tastic!

I can't believe the difference a few days has made!  

It started off with five very shallow, supported squats. This was painful, and I definitely needed to hang on to the banister for balance. 

Now, on the fifth day of squatting, I am able to do squats like the ones in the image, 10 in the morning, and 10 in the evening. There's no pain, and there's no stability problems. The difference is huge, and it's rather nice to have no pain. 

Exercising Whilst Under the Weather

Yesterday started with a nasty migraine, most likely weather induced. I was about to say, "All I was able to do was 10 medium-ish squats." Let's re-phrase, despite the migraine, I was able to accomplish 10 standard squats. These were done whilst holding onto the bannister for stability. This morning, I managed another 10 squats whilst using a stabiliser.

I dislocated my knee two years ago, and for 6 months it was partially subluxed. This is not a good thing (TM) for knees. There were lots of problems kneeling, and rising from the floor. With the exercise challenge, I decide it would be the perfect time to work on my knees, and get them back in working order.

My plan is to do 10 medium squats a day this week, and then increase to 10 in the morning, and 10 in the evening. When this become comfortable, I'll move on to the exercises in the 28 Squat Challenge. When the pause squat is easy, I'll start doing the single leg squats off a box, and the lateral squat. By that stage, I hope I will be able to work on really deep squats. 

However, I must, must, must not allow myself to try to do too much too soon. This is about improving my long term health and flexibility, not achieving milestones as quickly as possible.

Made by Me Challenge

It has been a lovely change not to 'have' to write a blog post each day. A week off has been good, but tomorrow sees the beginning of a new challenge, 'Made by Me'.  

For the next 100 days, I shall be wearing items I have made, or adapted. I think I shall post a summary at the weekend of the items worn that week. 

When I started thinking of this challenge I thought it would be hard work, but over the last little while I have been making more items, and now think it's going to be pretty easy. To try to make the next 100 days a little more challenging, I'm also going to do an exercise challenge - some form of exercise for the next 100 days. My goal is to cycle for 5 minutes every day, and throw in some other specific exercises for my knees and shoulders.

Over the weekend, we walked along Marine Drive, and I've been cycling. This has done wonders for a sore back.

July Goals

My goals this month are to:

o finish my cotton cardigan

o finish the smocking sample

o exercise every day

The exercises consist of:

o tightening the muscles in my back to help with shoulder stability

o shoulder exercises

o squatting

o head twists

o body twists

o foot stretches

Cycling Every Day (Or Not!)

One of my goals this month was to cycle every day. The aim was to start off with 1 minute on the first, 2 on the second etc. It was all going well until the 10th, and circumstances happened. I tried to do 21 minutes on the 11th, but managed about 15. On the 12th, I tried to reclaim the lost minutes, but failed. On the 13th, I wasn't feeling great, and no cycling was perpetrated, and well, it all came crashing down.

Part of me though, "This is not a problem, I can start over next month." But, another part of  me thought "Why the delay? The existing plan isn't working, so adapt. Change the plan. It doesn't have to be perfect, just a bit better than the current one. You can tweak it again and again, until it is serving your purpose."  "Oooooh!" thought a third part of me.

And so a new plan was created. This is a good plan, I like it. It allows for days when life is crazy, or when I am ill. It has the benefit of being simple.  Wanna hear the plan?

Each month, I am going to select an album, and then each day I will cycle for one song/track. The following day I'll use the next song, and then the next. If I miss a day due to business or illness I'll just skip it and not worry. If on any given day I want to cycle for longer, then that's great.

Monthly Ironman

Each time I take part in IronMay I find it does wonders for my back. Each time I resolve to do it more frequently than once a year. Each time I fail. Or, should I say, so far I have failed?

I don't care how many attempts it is going to take to get this to stick, I am going to keep working at completing a slow IronMan triathlon each month. It has possibility to be a tad tricky as the swimming pool has not yet re-opened, and no date has been given. I'll do what I can.

IronMay Complete!

We have done it!  The Challenge has been completed, and with two days to spare.

Between the two of us, we have swum 2.4 miles, cycled 120 miles, and walked/ran  150 miles. We're 8 miles over on the cycling, and broken the walking goal many times over. I gave up entering my miles for walking as it wasn't going to make much difference.

We are done! It's happened. My back feels happier. 

And, I know what needs to happen now. I need to be completing an IronMan each and every months. A mile of walking, and 4 miles of cycling each day, and swimming half a mile each week, and that's all it is. It's hard whilst my local pool is out of action, but hopefully it will be operational again in July. 

Changing Shape

August was the month when I really started making a difference in the food I eat. I'm still falling into bad habits and eating things that are not what I really want to eat, but what I'm eating now is so much better than what I was eating in July. And what I was eating in July was better than in May, etc.

This month, I have been concentrating on exercise. My plan has been to increase the amount of exercise in a gradual manner, and to aim for consistency. Each morning and evening, I've been cycling and lifting hand weights. The cycling has increased in 1 minute increments daily. Although, I was unable to cycle last night due to joint pain. I'm going to absorb those 9 missed minutes into today's cycling. I've already nibbled away 6 and a half minutes, and will add the missing 2 and a half minutes to this evening's cycling.

Lifting hand weights is rather new to me, and I started with 10 repetitions of two exercises on the 1st of September.  There are arm curls and shoulder presses. After a few days, I realised 10 repetitions didn't feel like work. I increased the number of repetitions by 3 each day. I'm now at 30, and the last 3 shoulder presses are a bit of a killer! I'll stick at 30 for the next little while. When things start getting easy, I'll add in a different exercise to work my arms, shoulders and back in a slightly different way. 

This morning I came across this quote, "Don't wait until you've achieved your goal to be proud of yourself. Be proud of yourself for every step you take towards your goal." I am proud of myself. The last few months have seen a number of steps towards a healthier lifestyle!

Walking and Cycling

Yah! I have reached Day Two. Just over a mile has been walked, and 10 minutes of cycling has happened. It's easy. It's simple. It fits into my life. I just need to keep with it. When July arrives, I will increase my cycling time to 20 minutes.

Get On Your Bike

Reading some old Facebook posts, I realised my back and my health was better when I was cycling about 15-20 minutes each a day and walking one. 

Monday being the day "when all the possibilities are possible", I decided to commit to cycling each day for the next month. It can take a little bit of time for my botty to become conditioned to cycling. Instead of jumping straight in at 20 minutes, I've started at 10 minutes on the easiest setting on my exercise bike. 

Morning walkies with Ava has already accounted for half a mile, and pre-bedtime walk along the beach brought the total to just over a mile.

April Goals

This month's goals are:

• to finish the Zig Zag Blanket
• spring clean and declutter my bedroom
• declutter the Younger Offspring's bedroom
• paint my bedroom
• work up to cycling 30 minutes each day
• paint the garden wall
• finish 10 balls of yarn
• make soap

De Quervain's Syndrome

After just a few days, my thumbs and wrists have improved!  My back has not though (time for a sports massage)!

I have been following some of the exercises for De Quervain's Syndrome as shown by Doctor Jo. They are really helping. I need to do more of them, and increase the repetitions.

Magic in Movement

So many exercises to do just now. There's a dog to be walked, cycling to be done, squats, body twists, pelvic tilts, and physio for my hands. I'm having a hard job remembering to do them all. Thankfully, Da Hound is rather good at reminding me when she needs to go outside! 

The good news is there's a little improvement in my back, and greater improvement in my hands/wrists. The worst thing I can do for my body is to remain still. Movement (controlled movement) seems to lubricate things. It reduces inflammation and pain. I just need to be careful about what I do, and when I do it.

Calling Dr Frankenstein

My body is falling apart, and I need Dr Frankenstein to put me together again! The bits that are annoying me the most are the pains in my hands, and the muscles in spasm in my back.

My hands were really sore about 20 months ago. Then, any pinching/holding movement was too much for me. The physio was less than helpful and told me the problem was I was knitting too much, and that if I stopped it might sort itself out, but until then, they couldn't do anything to help. It was a load of rubbish. Some time spent on the internet revealed a whole raft of exercises I could do that would ease the pain, and improve the situation. Needless to say, I'm back to those exercises again.

There's a muscle in my back, one of the long ones that curves from the back, round the side and to the front, that's causing problems. It's not behaving itself, and is tense so much of the time. It likes warmth. It like massage and it likes slow, gentle twists. However, it doesn't like many other things, and shouts and moans when it's not happy. The gentle rocking movement of cycling helps once I'm doing it. 

I wish Doctor Frankenstein could come work his science on me, and give me a better body. I'll keep my brain though.