Exercising


Exercise. It was something I was pretty much told to stay away from when I was growing up. Doctors  initially couldn't give my parents a direct answer about me taking gym class, so they finally decided that I would do better without it. So, my entire school career, I never took a gym class, and I never participated in sports. Even though I ran around with my sistores and neighborhood friends playing Hide N Seek and Capture The Flag, it would exhaust me, and I'd have to rest for an awfully long time. So, no exercise regimen or sports for me!

Then, when my PH symptoms got worse, and I eventually was referred to Cleveland Clinic, I was told I'd have to do a 6 minute walk. I had no idea what that really entailed, but I tried to start walking on my sistore's treadmill to "practice," and holy moly, did I feel terrible!! But, I kept trying as much as I could to walk so that maybe I could "pass" this 6 minute walk thing. Unfortunately, when it got time to do the test at the Clinic, I felt like I was gonna die. I had to walk back and forth up and down a hallway for 6 minutes to see how long of a distance I could go. I was allowed to stop if I needed, but the time would not stop. Of course, I am hard headed, and even though I thought I was going to puke at one point, I didn't stop. I didn't really do very well on the walk, either, but it was a baseline that I don't believe I've repeated in all the years I've had to do this walk since. 

After being put on a couple of medications for PH, I asked about starting a pulmonary rehab program at one of my local hospitals. Both my pulmonologists approved it for me, and I started going twice a week. It has been 10 years since (well, a bit over that now), and oh my, has it made a huge difference in my life! I am not running marathons....nor am I even running lol....or doing anything crazy. But, the consistency of exercising all this time is a part of what I believe is keeping me stable. 

Since only go to rehab twice a week, I have tried to exercise at home. That doesn't always go so well. Oh, it might start off ok at first. I might get into a little routine for awhile, but then something happens, and before I know it, my treadmill, bike and weights haven't been used in weeks or months. At the end of last year in October, I started forcing myself to just ride my bike after dinner (stationary bike, not sure if I could handle a real one again!) every night, and suddenly it was the end of the month, and I had been riding almost every night! Sometimes, it was on top of whatever I did at rehab in the morning. Unfortunately, the bike seat was causing problems, and so was my consistency. I ended up having to stop biking for at least a couple weeks because I think I pulled a muscle somehow in my chest. It was extremely uncomfortable! My bike seat was also very uncomfortable, so I had to address that. Anyway, my excitement from getting into an extra exercising routine got lost when I had to take a break. It was a bummer!

Then around the holidays, after I got a new bike seat cover, and I had rest from over-doing it, I started trying to exercise a bit more. But, besides rehab, I wasn't limiting myself to just bike rides. And, if I did decide to just bike, it wasn't for long periods of time. I started exercising a bit more consistently, at least a few times a week instead of just two. And, I wasn't killing myself from it! I also started doing stretching a lot more, which is also very important. So, I got back into a much better routine, and last month, January, I exercised every single day except for the 1st! I am so proud of myself!!

Can I keep this up? I mean, yes, I would like to, but I am going to be real with myself and know that anything might make me stop this sudden routine. I did not exercise today because I just felt so exhausted, and I have felt so guilty about it while at the same time trying to practice kindness to myself in realizing that I am allowed to take a day off!! I need to listen to my body! Maybe I will just take the first day of the month off, if I am trying to keep this up! Tomorrow is a new day, and I hope I won't be as tired, so that I can do some sort of exercising....and see what February will look like at the end! 

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