Be positive, adapt, work through challenges

One of the purposes of my blog is to record my journey for better health and fitness as I age. One of the things that I've noticed my story is not one  and done and happy forever and ever. No for me it is a series of changes, some of them unexpected. 

Part of the John Lennon quote, “Life happens” challenge my possible success story. I never anticipated falling into a depression and anxiety from a long term insomnia. Walking was also helping me sleep. Lifelong stressors then adding a few more setbacks, my brain wasn't working right. Like Humpty Dumpty I wasn't able to put my life back together. 

TRX give it a try

Returning to health I was back on the walking trail, but a serious fall in the winter two years ago and walking as I had known it changed forever. (I still have issues) While I was recovering I was able to improve my resistant training with body exercises, TRX, and resistant tubes.

Walking was replaced by my indoor recumbent bike, indoor walking with Lessie Sansone with brief periods walking that I could tolerate with my backache.

Having cerebral palsy with thousands of falls has a practical outcome of joint pain from head to toe. Pain management involves help for my GP, physical therapists; but surprisingly, the most relief comes from therapeutic movement, resistance training, aerobic training. Flexibility has

It hurts but latter you
will feel better

issues all the time in the life of someone who has cerebral palsy. What I have found it is easy to have more problems; for example, putting my socks and shoes on. I suppose many seniors experience the pain is they age into their 80s and 90s. But for me right now it is extremely painful. What do I do to relieve the pain? Two or three times a day I cross my feet on my knee and rotate the foot at the ankle joint and each day the pain is less. (I have to work through the pain and I can’t let it go) This was something I never had to do it when I was younger, but pain teaches you new things.

I want the blog to be a positive experience as I share some of my successes. The fat Man exercises, adopted push-ups, sit ups, dips, squats, heel raises, walking stairs are all just about anybody can do as we age. These moves are adapted to fit you. A push-up off the stairs from lower stair to four steps up give you a push-up from hard  to easy. Using a countertop, table top or a wall give other levels of resistance. Dips can be done at a corner on counter top in the kitchen. You use your legs to vary the resistance. The Internet can showing you how to do body resistance exercises.

Today I did I hitt program enjoying the Internet cycling workout 30 minutes. The exercise

The bike I use

includes interval training of high intensity, higher resistance cycling with periods of lower intensity and resistant cycling. The cyclists in the program are all using hi end indoor bikes. Once again I adapt the program to use my indoor recumbent bike and to keep my biking in the heart range that is good for me at 65. I am not going to compete with Younger more fit people on the screen. I follow the beat of the music and keep my pace up and increase resistance in the sprint periods. 

I stayed in my heart range and following program I've biked about a mile longer then I would have if I was biking by myself. 

I really strongly recommend an indoor recumbent bike. The comfort and adaptability to bike listening to a book, watching TV, listening to music; you will find yourself biking every day. You don't have to buy the most expensive one, but by a good one. Biking is a good way to battle diabetes and for many of us get the steps we need each day to be healthier. For me it is an activity where I have no back pain.

If you go to YouTube and typing cycling workouts you will get a lot of options. Check out the link below. Work with your doctor in this. Keep walking

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRylMkvahjM

Outdoors vs. indoors making exercise work

Outdoor workouts versus indoor workouts

If you can do these activities nothing beats running, walking, biking outdoors. It seems a lot easier to do these activities for longer periods of time outside. If you are doing them with a friend or mate it hands a social element to it. If these activities are vigorous you can get a runners high with them. Everyday there is something new about it. Outdoor programs help us to get our daily vitamin D from the sun that help our bones. There is support that we get a lot more out of outdoor exercising.

L

Strength training outside I find workout bands and TRX exercises really adaptable. I haven't found too many exercise stations for the outdoors, I believe that they would be great. Using a bench is great for push-ups, and squats. Nice area of grass works well as a mat for various body resistance training.

After a walk working on flexibility is easy to do.

Having cerebral palsy I haven't gotten much out of a treadmill. But with the very programs and virtual trips that you can do with it treadmills work for a lot of people. I have had a lot of experience indoor walking with trainers like Leslie Sansone. I've had better success with the walk programs then the running programs. There are couple of advantages to this. First of all I've never fallen with indoor walking. As my knees have continued to heal this is a big plus. In-home walking has the same ability to make adjustments as you do with your outdoor programs. You can slow the pace or ease the movement to fit where you are at. When I am getting back at it I don't do as large of the movements and even go a little slower when I need to. There are different programs for older walkers as well. 

I have also found success with my incumbent bike. I have done spin classes with it as well as virtual biking on trails where are they change the resista

nce throughout the bike ride. Sometimes listening to an audio book I close my eyes and pretend I am jogging. With the incumbent bike it is easy to do 30 minutes to an hour of biking.

I have different programs downstairs and equipment that I could use. But for strength training I use the stairs, my countertop, my bed, different pieces of furniture for adaptive body resistance. I use different resistance bands and my TRX exercises. Besides strength I have also helped with my arthritis and I've been able to rehabilitate from different injuries. 

Indoor workouts have help me not to fall. They are also very good for safety and bad weather. 

So what's right for you? Probably both. One thing that we need to do in retirement is find ways to increase our strength and flexibility as well as keep our heart healthy with aerobic exercise. Probably nobody is telling you is how often you have to rehab your body after health issues. We all have different health problems that set us back. As we age there will be times when we have to start over. The overall goal's to improve our health so that daily we live a little better and we keep our independence. 

Exercises one of those things that we do and is part of our new job. For many we can actually improve our strength, flexibility, and aerobic ability. People talk about in decline as we age but there is also a sense making things better.

I think everything I mentioned in this article is inexpensive. I have not bought a treadmill. But my incumbent bike was under $200. 

I haven't talked about swimming, In my experience swimming indoors seems to have an advantage. Whatever you do, do it as you get older, keep walking.