Time for another 12 week trial

Time to consider new strategies. I face limitations as to how long I can be on my feet before back and joint pain shuts me down. My right ankle can experience a pinch nerve at any time. On uneven ground it is too easy to fall. I will stop there because you might think I'm complaining. As Samwise Gamgee used to say, "I

don't mean to Mr. Frodo"
So maybe I can take many short walks each day to reach 60 minutes a day. I may add strength training into these minutes as well. Different symbols for 1, 2, 3, 4 minute walks for my stick notes. Keep track of a few walks at night on my phone and on my computer during the day. Include walking during TV time late at night. Never really sit too long.
Keep biking separate for aerobic work. Later separate strength fitness from walking. So in a few weeks it should look like 60 minutes of walking each day. 20 to 30 minutes of Biking 3-5 days a week. After 12 weeks access for changes. Walking can be a continuous program with Leslie Sansone. I don't fall with these and balance is challenged and different muscles used. Walking with fatman exercises such as lunges, dips and squats, pushups, sit ups.  Lots of water.
I am eating half my carbs and smaller portions. Two smaller meals with a fruit and veggies back in the middle of the day.

up to 12 miles an hr

Right off the bat walking 20, 30, 45 60 minutes each day is a good day. 60 minutes is 6,000 steps. On days I bike those steps will rise. Each time I try these things, something works and something does not. a twelve week program is easy enough to commit to. Joint challenges will occur.
My mobility works like a charm. Easy to load and unload. Easy to set up. I can lift machine by self easy enough, but it is a snap with the two of us, Barb taking the light and I the end with battery and seat. I tooled around home depot. Speed can be controlled for unexpected stops and shopping leisure. In the grocery store and mall outstanding. Indoors I haven't put it into faster gear. Full throttle at level 1 goes faster than walkers. It is a feel thing but most of the time i go at half throttle. Outdoors on trail I can move at about 12 miles an hour in fast mode. It is a little fun.

2nd week of 150 minutes

Mostly indoor biking High intensity workouts.

Finished week 2 reaching 150 min of exercise aerobic, strength activities.
Besides 4 days of aerobic biking I included two sessions of indoor walking and two stair walking as well. I did two minute rounds of shadow boxing, all of the activities push into aerobic fitness. Shadow boxing I wild a little more and this week I will do at least two strength training workouts. 

I'm cool, ready to go

With different activities my minutes will go up with biking 4-6 times pushing my aerobic fitness. Walking and stairs don't look like much but with a life time of falls and injuries I am trying.

I side benefit is better flexibility. I have more challenging balance issues than in the past. Indoor walking helps. 

How to make indoor walking work? Try a recumbent stationary bike. Very easy to get on the bike and very stable. The support on back and comfort is a plus. One can listen to an audio book or follow a fitness program on TV, smartphone, tablet or computer. Listen to music or TV to help time past. Every couple of minutes change resistance up or down to stay in your heart range for an aerobic workout. Listen to your body if breathing or heart rate gets to high lower your level and intensity until heart rate goes down. Make sure your doctor has given you some guidelines that fit you.

Having distractions makes the time fly and before you know it you reached your goal.

If you walking outdoors walk early or later and stay hydrated. This year we are not used to the heat. Walk trails with plenty of shade. Use sunscreen and a big hat. If you have not been walking go for short walks. There are days when it is just too hot to be outdoors. Keep moving. 

Improving fitness

This is what I did aerobically this
week. Goal will be to increase
aerobic walking.

Guidelines for adults our goal is to strive for 30 minutes a day of exercise. Walking, running, swimming, biking all good ways to get us moving. The guideline of 150 minutes a week is reached with 5 days of walking. The benefits of exercise this way are one of the best ways we dealt with the stuff that means us harm. Exercise helps, the heart, the brain, the immune system, weight control, balance, blood sugar, memory. What ever is part of our aging story.
Guidelines are goals which may mean we are starting somewhere below those goals and hope to build ourselves up to reaching those goals. There are many reasons why we find ourselves unable to reach them. It is also possible we may have to change how we exercise, from running to walking, from swimming to water aerobics, from walking to biking, from biking on a two wheeler to a trike. There may be other changes as well.
Your goals may have to be defined between you and your doctor. Shorter walks in your 80's and 90's have been reported to be of tremendous value. When I started this blog I worked with the foundation of aerobic, strength, and flexibility. In aging balance becomes part of fitness equation.
The more time I am up and moving the better my balance is.
So here is the biggest thing of all - do it! Keep walking

Do you have to walk shorter distances? It is OK

Barb walking, I just love that
smile

At the end of the day when on days I am too sedimentary it is nice to take the dog for a walk. Do you know people with a dog walk up to 20 minutes a day more that non dog owners? I don't have one but dogs can keep people more active. When I say I am taking a dog for a walk I am referring to a walk at the end of a day for about 20 minutes that can be so good for you on days where you did not get your walk or workouts in. At a steady even pace it stretches out my muscles which helps relax and fight tightness that CP brings at the end of the day. Here is where movement works better than pain killers or muscle relaxers. To confuse my metaphor even more I often like to get on my indoor recumbent bike (must for seniors) and open up a mystery to listen to. I set my bike to a very easy level and listen to the story. 

I am a big Craig Johnson fan and I've been following the Longmire series for over six years. The title of the story is The Western Star. The story takes you back to the 1970s riding a train across the state of Wyoming with all the county sheriffs and guests. It bounces back to the future where Walt has to deal with the contemporary issue of compassionate release of an inmate who committed multiple murders. While I was on the bike listening to a back flash Walt is on the train with his wife who is pregnant and having a painful conversation about whether they would stay married. From the books Martha and Walt had a loving marriage. The conflict they had here the author made very interesting and before you know it I am biked 12 minutes at an easy pace. 

Muscles we're loosened up and I felt pretty good. Originally I thought of going only 20 minutes at various speeds. But now I felt good and moved on to a 30 minute bike ride. So for the next 15 minutes I moved between levels two and three before finishing the biking to 30+ minutes and three miles. My recombinant top speed is 9.9 miles an hour. So I was moving along at 6 miles an hour.

Still listening to the story, I did my fat man push-ups, sit ups, squats and one round of resistance exercises with my blue band. I top it off with stretching while finishing chapter 9. The whole experience left me feeling pretty good. As I eased off to sleep I prayed a little bit.

Walking right now has its limits for me. Indoor walking with Leslie Sansone moves my body in many ways to help balance and use more muscle. For me right now it is a safe way to walk. I have never fallen using her program. If I was walking outside I would've fallen many times. My body can't take that anymore. One of the results of having one leg a quarter of an inch shorter than the other is my back is messed up. Right now I can only walking short bursts at a time. So I walking multiple quarter of a mile segments using various mi. walking mile programs to keep me moving. 

Something like this may help keep track & motivate

On my computer I posted a sticky where I can mark my distances around the house that I walk. My goal is to walk at least one mile with Leslie and keep track of my other steps and exercises to push my walking to 5000 or 6000 steps and then when I do my biking where I will get close to 10,000 steps and sleep like a baby. I don't always reach my goals but I'm coming closer. Other days I have fitness and resistance workouts. 

While writing this post I did two quarter mile walks. Leslie engages all muscles of the body. If you like working on the computer there are all kinds of ways to move to help heart, muscles, bones and all the needs of movement for your body.  Keep walking