After nearly 2 and a half weeks of doing nothing, I exercised today. We bought this machine in the beginning of July from Dick's. Despite the fact that there was a lag in the order time, we got it and had it set up just before my surgery, but I hardly had time to play on it. When I did it was only for a few minutes at a time. Then the doctor said not to do any moderate exercise (except walking) for 10-14 days post-op. Well for 10 days I didn't want to do anything anyway. I was miserable. My throat still gets very dry but I felt ready to do something. So after doing some light weight lifting for my arms I hopped on my new toy. Given husband's experience of being pretty wiped out after 10 minutes, I just set up my own program for 10 minutes. Prior to surgery I was up to 40 minute walks and feeling pretty good. After surgery I got tired walking around the block.
I don't know the rate I was going at for those 10 minutes (I couldn't figure out how to make it tell me..I know now) but WOW it's a total different workout than walking for 40 minutes. Totally different. I was dripping in sweat, trying to remain focused on my breathing and my legs were wobbly afterwards. I'm sure this is good for me, in fact I think I might be able to do 2 ten min segments in one day (we'll see what I say tomorrow). I was just so surprised at the difference. My goal? To work up to 30 minutes solid, then I can start using the pre-programed workouts.
Trying to balance academic life with a healthy lifestyle.
1 comment:
Good for you! I did 40 minutes/day for at least a year on the stationary bike and was frustrated by the dearth of aerobic/cardio improvement. Doc told me to get on the elliptical--which is about six times as demanding as the cycle--and the enhanced difficulty, and benefit, was immediately apparent. Seems to work not only cardio, but also the Pilates trunk, much more effectively.
Well done!
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