CAN'T CATCH UP?

I'm going to paraphrase a question and answer in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on January 29, 2011 from the Dr. Donohue column.

Dear Doc,
My husband wants me to walk with him but I can't keep up. He walks too fast and he says I walk too slowly for my walk to be beneficial.

Answer,
No such thing as too slow. Any walk is beneficial. But, here are some ways for you to improve your speed. Do these before you attempt to walk with hubby again and you'll likely outwalk him!

His suggestion? Interval training. I've written about that before. Those are brief sprints of exercise (in our case walking) during the course of one's regular routine. So, you could start off by picking up your speed and your elbows going between two driveways, doorstops, trees, cars, whatever along your regular walking route. Resume your regular pace between these intervals of sprinting. The interval can start for a duration of a few seconds and work up to intervals as long as 5 or 10 minutes. Eventually, your 'vigorous' cycle should be as long as your more relaxed cycle. "That might take you a year or more."

No one begins any sort of exercise regimen or routine at the top of the game. We all must begin slowly (or for short walks) before we are gradually able to increase both the intensity and duration of the walk. Interval training will make a nice addition to your walk and will also give you a bit more variety to avoid boredom. Try it!



***************************Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

HERE'S SOME GOOD INFO

Here's a good article you might like to read. Lots of ads there - but if you click on all ten pages of the article, you'll get some good pointers:

http://walking.about.com/cs/beginners/a/10mistakes1.htm



***************************Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

WALKING ALONG

This week, it's been just too cold and the path has been to icy to safely walk outside. My poor dog has suffered from lack of exercise. She so loves her walks with me - or anyone who'll take her.

Instead of walking outside, I've walked at the mall several days, danced twice, ridden my stationary bike once, and am trying to get motivated to do that again this evening.

I have discovered that if I come home from work and sit down, I'm much more likely to remain seated or at least unenergetic. What's that about a body in motion tending to remain in motion while a body at rest tends to remain at rest? That's the thing. So, I try to come home, get my few chores done (oh, there are lots of chores, but I only do a few!), change my shoes (and clothing if necessary) and hit the trail. Unless I head out then - or at least have a plan with another human being that I'm committed to, I won't do it. I'm not very good at making plans or deals with myself.

BTW if anyone out there has any ideas for other easy to pull-off, inexpensive, and accessible physical activities, please share. I discovered I have another friend who lives in my neighborhood who doesn't work on Fridays........ She'll start receiving calls to walk from me once the weather allos.



***************************Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

TOO COLD FOR COMFORT

It has been excruciatingly cold and windy around here for the past week or so. I've stayed inside to walk! I'm actually growing tired of the malls - but better to walk there than not at all.

I don't mind walking in the cold, but this cold is very cutting. Blows right through my layers, even with my silk long johns, and chaps my skin. I use sunscreen even in the winter if there's sun. Often there's not.

Last week, I even walked in the misty rain when it was so gray outside that everything looked one color. The whole world was a drab, gray-brown mess punctuated by the occasional cheerful Christmas light. At least my dog enjoyed that weather.

So, back to Leslie Sansone, Richard Simmons, the malls and my stationary bike. I got to dance this evening - even after walking my 3 miles at the mall this morning. So, I can get happy, crazy-sweaty happy, even if the weather doesn't cooperate.

Looking like it'll be snowing this week. Oh well. I'll find a way to get my workout in no matter what! What about you??


***************************Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

REMEMBER WALKING??

According to a recent article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, walking six to nine miles a week may prevent memory loss. The more participants walked, the more gray matter they retained and the less brain shrinkage occurred, resulting in who walked the most having half the risk of memory loss of those who didn't walk.

This is important stuff - and easy to do. Nine miles a week means a daily walk of less than 1.5 miles. That's less than 45 minutes a day for most of us. For someone like me whose goal is 3 miles a day, 6 days a week, I can attain the memory retention goal of 9 miles per week in 3 days of walking. I don't always make it the full 3 miles. But, at 2 miles a day, I can still get in that 9 miles each week. I often walk 7 days a week so the 9 mile line is definitely attainable.

The reason for this connection between size of the brain, memory retention, and walking is this: exercise increases the amount of blood going to the brain which seems to distribute important brain nutrients. That sounds straightforward enough for me.

So, I off the computer and off for a walk!


***************************Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

THE LIZZZARD MADE ME DO IT!

Yesterday was a fairly nice day. Sunny but with ice and snow still on the ground. I ducked out of work a bit early and called Kathy who was available for a walk. As I was putting on my silk long johns and lacing up my shoes, my sweet dog, another avid walker, was eyeing me expectantly. However, the site Kathy and I chose to walk, because of the likelihood of an ice-free surface, is a dog-free zone. So, doggie did not get to walk with us.

But today, despite my being smart enough to know when to come in from the rain, I laced up my shoes, grabbed her leash and took the Lizzard for a walk. She was ecstatic! I drove us to the nearest park where our 1/3 mile track awaited us. I fully expected no other walking fools to be there, but a jogger accompanied by his small, black dog lapped us repeatedly.

Lizzie (AKA the Lizzard) is a flat coated retriever (sometimes, interestingly referred to as a curly coated retriever), bred for the cold marshes where quail hunters seek their prey. Lizzie loves this cold, wet weather. She will actually curl up and sleep on a pile of ice or snow and joys in rain, warm or cold. After her initial 'shake' upon coming indoors, we have to wait only a few minutes til she is completely dry. She's even allowed herself to become completely ice-coated, looking like a skinny black porcupine! In no time, she's dry and warm. Wish I had some of those genes!

So, this drab, drizzly, cold day seemed a perfect walking day to Lizzie. She took me along. If I didn't have her in the family, I'd have stayed inside today. Adding this to my Gratitude List...


***************************Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

HAVE YOU DECIDED YOU'RE WORTH IT?

Quite a while back, I wrote an article entitled "Are You Worth It?". Here's the rerun for you. Skip down below it for some updated info:

Okay, you have kids, a house, a job, a husband, not a husband, not a house, money problems, spouse problems, health problems. In short, you're busy! Who isn't? But, who has time for that 10-30 minutes a day to walk. You do!! You're worth it!

How do you get those 30 minutes? You grab them from the rest of your life. You make yourself a priority in your own life. You put EVERYONE and everything else on hold for your walking time. Trust me when I tell you that everyone around you will get used to it. Plus, they'll like the new you who returns from your walk. You've gotten an immediate attitude adjustment (by walking), have more energy to meet the other needs of your day, and it only took a few minutes.

Should you get up a half hour early to fit in your walk? Probably not as you're probably already sleep deprived if you have the aforementioned kids, house, job, etc. I'm not a morning person, so an early morning walk would be torture for me. Late morning works in my schedule on week days and weekends allow more flexibility.

If YOU are not important enough in your own life to give yourself 10-30 minutes a day, who is? Use your lunch time to walk. You can walk indoors or outdoors because the same rules apply. All you need is the shoes and the minutes. Walking in place works fine. Walking outside is even better.

Before you KNOW it, family members, co-workers, and everyone else in your life will simply accept that you are walking right now. Everything else will wait.

Here's a quick story. My grandmother hated being a housewife and being indoors. She would use any excuse to ditch the housework and work or play outside. When I was a child, I spent summers with her in rural Arkansas where my grandfather owned a large country general store where all the family members worked. My Mamaw cooked dinner (lunch as opposed to the evening meal, supper) for all the family and whoever else was there. In the summers, that was 10-12 people at the dinner table 6 days a week. She began cooking early in the morning and quit only when As The World Turns came on TV (some of my earliest memories and I still watch it!). After dinner, she would often get a phone call from someone (who only had to feed 1 or 2 people their dinner) who would want her to go pick berries or fish. We would stop IN THE MIDDLE OF WASHING DISHES or whatever we were doing and head out to the fun activity outdoors. Mamaw would say, we can leave the work because NO ONE WILL DO IT WHILE WE'RE GONE. IT'LL BE HERE WHEN WE GET BACK. To this day, I remember her words and her attitude - and I remember picking berries in the woods and fishing in the canal as some of my fondest recollections. So - take my Mamaw's attitude for your own. No one will do your housework in your absence. It'll still be there. It'll keep while you get in your walk, especially if you have a buddy who's available to walk RIGHT THEN. Go for it!! Keep it up. You're worth it. And your family and co-workers will like the new you (who returns to work with the proper AA).

___
Did that article convince you to place your needs for exercise and good health above all the 'noise' in your life?

I have several regular walking buddies. We strive every week to keep our scheduled walking dates. One friend Sally said it succinctly. I'll paraphrase. If you don't make the walk or workout a priority, it won't happen. If you allow other work, appointments, chores to mess with your scheduled walk, the walk won't happen. So, if you have a regularly scheduled walk (or other exercise), don't let other things interfere. The more consistent you are, the fewer interferences you'll experience. Those around you will learn that you'll get around to their request - shopping, a movie, chores - later. But, first you have to honor your commitment to yourself. Write your walking dates on your calendar right along with the carpools, grocery trips, soccer games, and doctor's appointments.

Go for that walk! Make it matter! Put yourself first so you'll be in good enough condition and in the right frame of mind to take care of all the other stuff you have to do in your life.


***************************Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

A NEW YEAR, A NEW WAY, A NEW YOU

In December, 2008 - two years ago - I wrote this blog article: (Please scroll down to my NEW article)

Are you confined to your bed or mobile only on your scooter or a wheel chair? Don't give up.

Why are you confined? Is it mostly because of weight? Does it hurt you to walk? Are you unable to transfer yourself from bed to scooter?

If these are true for you, consult your physician and ask if you can stand for a few minutes each day. Unless you have an ailment that will be made worse by weightbearing (like a broken ankle), you'll be allowed to stand for a few minutes each day. This counts as a walk.

Get yourself positioned so that if you MUST sit down and can't remain standing for your 90 seconds, you can ease yourself down. Falling is not allowed!!!!! Standing is the first component to walking. Can't walk if you can't stand. Can't run if you can't walk. First things first. Work on that standing.

WHAT IF IT HURTS? Guess what! It's gonna hurt anyway, so why not put up with the minutes of pain to regain your mobility. It can be done. It has been done. YOU CAN DO IT.

Stand, walk, walk faster, walk longer. Do what you can. No one is judging you or tracking your progress unless you post on this site and want to keep track. Tracking is a good tool - but is not required. It's just a tool. Mobility is YOUR goal. Walking will come.

REMEMBER - it's about feeling better. I'm not here to judge or poke. Just to encourage and remind you WHAT IS POSSIBLE. Probable is up to YOU.

_____

This article of mine came to mind the other day when I was talking to my sister in law, G. G is a dedicated walker. She has been walking for years and walks aggressively every single day. Lately, she has been greatly hampered by disabling plantar fasciitis. She has done everything several doctors have suggested, including discontinuing her walking and exercising. She has gained a lot of weight and feels rotten. I feel rotten for her. She feels that she is wasting time just sitting around when she could/should be doing a lot more. That part is not for me to say. No judgment here.

Walking isn't just for the miles we walk. For all of us, it's for our mental/emotional well-being. We all call it our 'therapy'. For many of us, it's also a requirement for maintaining a healthy weight and control of things like blood pressure and blood glucose levels. For G, it's all of these. She feels disabled. She misses walking with her sister and she misses the state of wellness she had come to take for granted.

I had suggested that she visit an accupuncturist who had given me relief from a different pain but who had successfully treated two friends for plantar fasciitis. If you're not familiar with plantar fasciitis, you're really lucky. It's a very painful condition that typically affects the heel area and is worse in the morning upon arising. There's not really much that helps it, although wearing a splint that lengthens the heel tendons during sleep and anti inflammatory medications work for some people as do hot and cold soaks and massage. But, no guarantee of decreasing the pain. For a fortunate few, the condition fades away. For others, it's a life long issue.

When I was talking to G. on the phone the other day, it occurred to me to suggest that, it's gonna hurt anyway, so take some pain killers and get back to walking. She has an appointment scheduled with the accupuncturist, but she's miserable NOW. She wants to walk NOW. I don't know if you can make the condition worse by continuing to walk, but you can certainly make other conditions better by walking.

G. has decided to stay off her feet (a relative term for a woman who is expecting 25 people for a meal on New Year's Day!) and wait to see if the accupuncture will give her any relief. If not, she'll bit the bullet and go back to a walking regimen, using pain medication if necessary.

I know G. She's been my SIL for 40 years! She is a determined woman and I believe she'll do whatever it takes to get her life back. For her, that means walking to maintain her physical health and walking to maintain her emotional health. She's like a person in the article from 2008. She must stand first. That means maybe taking it slow for a while, taking pain meds, and giving herself a break. She'll do it! What about you? Who will you be in 2011 - a walker or a sitter?







***************************Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.