Saturday, January 28, 2023

Back to the Gym by Jenn McKinlay

First the winners of the giveaway from Barbara Ross and Edith Maxwell are Celia and Judi!!! Yay!!

Please send an email to  edith@edithmaxwell.com to claim your prizes!!!

Jenn McKinlay: Anyone who knows me well knows that I do not like structured exercise. In fact, I hate it. Running on a treadmill, lifting weights, using the sweaty machines...bleck!  I'd rather stand in line at the DMV. In fact, I wrote about my first attempts at more traditional exercise five years ago on Jungle Reds: Fit Happens!

Not much has changed...or has it? I remember when my sister-in-law asked me many years ago if I wanted to go run on the beach during our family vacation in California. I said, "Only if a scary clown is chasing me with a very big knife." 

Now, if she'd asked if I wanted to go boogie boarding, I'd have knocked her down to get out the door to the beach. Same if someone suggested a bike ride or a pickup game of basketball. I love to PLAY. I do not love to workout. Notice "work" in that word. It's off putting, no?

In a karmic twist of you get what you deserve, I apparently birthed a health nut (Hooligan 2) who has been on my butt about working out in a more structured way (the gym) because of what he perceives as my health issues (also known as middle-age). My sciatica!




And so, we enter 2023, with me back at the gym. (H2 had me going fairly regularly before Covid shut it all down). And now here's the plot twist: I freaking love it! Crazy, right? There isn't even a demented clown chasing me! 


I'm not sure what changed but I think it had to do with having a trainer, Tina, who is a little older than me and who actually asked me, "Why are you here?" I had thought my answer would be "Because other than walking my dogs, I literally sit all day every day and need to move" but instead what came out of my mouth was "I'm angry all the time." This was, of course, after I'd been joking around with her so she looked confused. Yeah, you're not alone, Tina. 

We talked a little bit more and discovered we'd both suffered the loss of our brothers recently. It was an immediate bond. She took me over to a sand filled medicine ball and said, "Lift that over your head and throw it into the mat as hard as you can." M'kay, I thought, not really certain how this was going to be helpful. 

Well, let me just say the simmering fury that I'd been feeling for the past two plus years, which I hadn't been able to exorcise with work, denial, jokes, distractions, or any other slap on bandage I could think of, bubbled up out of my core, shot up my arms, poured from my hands into the eight pounds of rubber ball and then blasted down into the mat. It felt glorious. I did it twelve times and at the end of it I felt...lighter. 

Tina put me through my paces for another hour. I've been going to see her three times a week for a while and will continue to do so. When I called H2 and told him about it. He was quiet for a minute and then said, "I'm proud of you." And I have to say that felt really good - like icing on the cake good. 

Hey, did someone say cake...I'm working out now, does that mean I get extra slices? LOL.

So, how about it, Reds and Readers, how have the past few years impacted your exercise regimen? What are your favorite ways to get fit or at least get moving? 

 

66 comments:

  1. Let’s just say that the idea of going to the gym holds absolutely no appeal for me. I walk, I use my elliptical machine, I do some aerobics and that seems to work for me . . . .

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  2. I think I'm going to take the fifth on this. Let's just say I really want to do better.

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    1. That was me for a long time, Kathy, The motivation comes when it comes...or not :)

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  3. Many of you know that I am a year-round walker. It helps that I never learned how to drive and only take public transit when necessary. My walking group members at Capital City Walkers are also great role models, being active seniors all year-round.

    So far, I have walked 350,000 steps this month, about 12 km/7.5 mi each day. I am also back to doing more strength training again at home with dumbbells and resistance bands.

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    1. Thanks, Roberta! Yeah, I got plantar fasciitis in 2018 (heel inflammation) and had to reduce down my daily steps to this amount. My feet seems to be ok with this daily distance.

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    2. That's incredible! Good for you, Grace. Role models are very helpful.

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    3. JENN: I only walk with them 1 of 2 days/month but hearing about their multi-day Inca Trail Peru hike or Camino 6 week walk in their 60s/70s is a great inspiration for me.

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    4. Talk about a role model! You inspire me, Grace. ~Lynda

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  4. Good for you, Jenn! Both for the fitness and for getting the anger out. (As for the sitting, have you tried a standing desk? I love mine and it's so much better for my back. I stand on a thick, cushy pad like they use in industrial standing work, and I walk little circles in my office as I plot.)

    I used to use the gym daily for cardio and weights at my day job in hi-tech. It was right in the building so it was easy. After I started writing fiction full time (ten years ago!), I joined a Planet Fitness in my town and attended a gentle yoga class I could walk to. But the yoga stopped with the pandemic, I don't like having to drive to the gym, and now I still wouldn't want to be in there with unmasked heavy breathers exercising. I walk 11-12k steps daily and do an online balance class twice a week, but I really should be doing more with weights - and I don't.

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    1. It was the weight training that lured me in. Osteoporosis runs in the fam and I'd like to avoid that.

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    2. Edith, as a walker, I use wrist weights (strap around the wrist so hands free) frequently when I’m just walking. Not when I’m walking to do errands. (I don’t drive so much of my walking is for errands.) just as long as we keep moving.

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  5. An injury to my neck has kept me from doing almost any exercise for a year now. New therapist. New possibilities. I can and do walk, but not as much as Grace or Edith. Hoping to get back to some classes in the gym and swimming.

    Thanks for sharing your story, Jenn. You already look awesome, your new gym body is going to be amazing! If you feel better, too, that is frosting!

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    1. It is the frosting. I had no idea I was so furious until my dentist asked if I grind my teeth and I said no, but then realized my jaw is (was) clenched all the time. Oy.

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  6. I had a trainer I loved too Jenn, but she's back in school to become a nutritionist. So I made a deal with myself--if I do a yoga class 3 times a week, I don't have to go back to the gym. I have two teachers on Zoom whom I adore--both of these started online in 2020 and I love these classes!

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    1. I want to get some yoga in, too! Working on balance is so important.

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  7. From Celia: Jenn you really are the caffeine in my morning, I love your humor and have had all the similar feelings about a gym. But a trainer really can make magic. Just over a year ago daughter Olivia decided to try and talk me back to workouts. By giving me a Peloton Tread and showing me all the classes. Well it’s been a game changer, mainly in bankrupting me over sneakers. Yes I have big European feet. Who knew that $139.99 and upward was what one paid for good quality sneakers which don’t fit. But enough of that. I have all the toys and toys do enjoy them when I’m fit which isn’t now as I have another yoga injury. I’m just not built to stand on one leg trying to do a figure 4 pose. However I am maintaining a healthy score in sleep meditation. Turns out I’m really good at that. So cheers to H3 and to you tossing that medicine ball is really good medicine.

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    1. Celia, congratulations on being a winner of the Edith and Barb books. Woo-hoo!

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    2. LOL, thank you, Celia. Ugh, my trainer said I need new sneakers, too. My skateboard kicks aren't cutting it. *sigh*

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  8. Nan McCann: Hate! Hate! Hate organized exercise at the gym. Will do nearly anything in the world NOT to step a foot inside. BUT, I am in heaven in a pool. I must have been a mermaid in a former life because I’m in my happy place when I’m near water. Ocean, River, pond, or even bathtub (where I soak, de-stress), use an absurd amount of fancy soaps, candles, and bath salts)… I am so happy. So I swim, do water aerobics, and water jog to music. I have 10 playlists (according to mood), starting off slow, getting fast, then slow to stretch and “cool down.” I finally found an exercise I love. Walking outside (or if there’s NO other choice) on a treadmill is my alternative.

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    1. Swimming is fantastic. I live in out pool in the summer but I'm a wimp in icy cold water :(

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  9. Yay, good for you! Sometimes the right trainer is exactly what you need. I have not been back to the gym since Covid, but I can't live without my daily morning speed walks or jogs. I am sure I would be way more crazy if I didn't exercise. I've had a few motivators over the last few years. In the fall of 2020, Golden Bond Rescue (a dog rescue organization) did a fund raiser where you paid $40 and received a t-shirt and a link to a spreadsheet to track your miles. You were supposed to walk or run 100 miles between Oct 1 and Dec 31. I did over 300. Just keeping track was very satisfying. More recently, my motivation has been the Fitness app on my I-phone (it just appeared in an upgrade last November) which reminds me to keep going and gives me little reward stickers. Sunrises and the neighborhood hawks also get me out the door. I've been doing a short pilates routine 3 times a week and my PT exercises plus a minute of planking every day. My son has gotten into weight-lifting, and it's amazing the changes he has made to his body in the last year. I'm sure doing more weight-bearing activity would be good for me too, but I'm pretty happy with my exercise routines.

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    1. You sound like you're on it. I have to go check my iphone for that fitness app - thanks for that!

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  10. Good for you! I miss the gym and am ready to return, at least to use the elliptical, masked, with copious quantities of hand sanitizer. Otherwise, the standard poodles need a minimum of 2 miles a day pounding the pavement, and now that it's winter and I'm not doing yardwork every day, I'm on my rowing machine listening to the Doors.

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    1. I love the rowing machine! When I read Lessons in Chemistry - I was so happy she became a rower :)

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  11. So where is the hidden camera you put in my house,Jenn? 2022 exercise = typing, sporadically and having to catch my breath. In a moment of mania I signed up the the 5K I ran back in 2020. and it is coming up in 30 days.. and I have been training by walking to the fridge.. /so/ I think I will show up to get the t-shirt. On race day I will walk from the parking lot to the start line, start and then walk back to the parking lot. Plz send my your trainer?

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    1. I should add that after my husband died, I beat the heck out of my bed's mattress with a metal vacuum cleaner tube, at my therapist's suggestion. Really did work-- glad that you are working on your unexpressed grief.

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    2. LOL, on the fridge loop, Coralee. I know that one. Also, yeah, it's amazing where we can hide these pockets of untapped emotion and they always have their reckoning. Go get that T-shirt!

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  12. Your "I'm angry" blurt sure got to the heart of the matter, Jenn. Good for you. I agree that exercise defuses a lot of suppressed anger. My doctor would say, same. At one appointment, I whined, "Whaddya want me to do? Run on a treadmill like a hamster?" He said, "Yeah. That's exactly what I want you to do." But I don't. I do other things. More sporadically than I should, but it keeps Evil Rhonda at bay.

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    1. "Evil Rhonda" -- LOL. I always say to the Hooligans, I need to do something otherwise it's "Dark Jenn Rising."

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  13. I hate working out at the gym too, so years ago I started swimming at the pool (1/2 mile every morning). It was fun and since there were about 70 others with the same idea it was also a nice way to meet and talk to other swimmers. I also did some ocean swimming but after awhile the water was just too cold in the early mornings, well all day actually. Since the pandemic hit the pool was closed and I stopped going, but hope to resume soon. I tried golf, which would be the perfect exercise - but after giving it a try I realized my ball was attracted to sand and woods. I played tennis for awhile, which is a great sport.

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    1. I did the golf thing, too - let's just say my ball liked the rough. Ugh. I do love tennis, tho.

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  14. Jenn, I have tears in my eyes right now. SO glad you have found a way to release the pain of loss. No one can tell you how long to grieve, and everyone is different, with no set timeline. I remember after my own brother died suddenly how angry I was that others did not seem to want to let me talk it out. And then I had to also grieve the friendship lost because of it.

    Covid and injuries have combined to leave me in the worst physical shape of my life. When we were in Africa two daughters helped me be more active (salsa dancing lesson on the beach! Hiking with a stick made such a difference!), and made me promise to find a way to be more fit back home. Still trying to figure this out. I've had a personal trainer in the past, and did get really good results, but I am also leery of exposing myself to someone in close contact to loads of other people, unmasked. It's a conundrum, for sure.

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    1. Hugs, Karen, on the loss. I hear you. As for fitness, it's amazing when the younger ones lead the way on exercise. The post Covid world is definitely a cautionary one. SO far, my gym seems to be on top of it with masks, sanitizer and keeping people well spaced. We'll see how it goes.

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  15. Jenn, Interesting post. When I met you in person at Bouchercon in Toronto, I thought you looked like an athlete. I am sure you are tired of hearing this all the time. When I was a young child, I loved to play sports.

    Mixed feelings about going to the gym, though. My favorite way of exercise (I cannot recall if I used the word "working out") is dancing. Before the pandemic, I went to THE BAR METHOD. They use a combination of Ballet, Pilates and Yoga.

    Often think of a quote from Michelle Obama, our former First Lady. She stressed that it is important to move your body. I took that to mean that it does not really matter what you do as long as you move your body. It can be a walk with your dog. It can be getting up from a sitting position and just be in motion baking or cooking or cleaning up. I have to remember not to sit too long reading a book or watching PBS Passport on my computer. When sitting too long, I notice back and neck pain!

    When I get up in the morning, the first thing I do is STRETCH so that is a form of exercise, right?

    Hard for me to run though I can do fast walk. I had a conversation with Phyllis Frelich, who won a Tony for her role as Sarah in Children of a Lesser God. She was one of my drama teachers at a summer acting camp in Connecticut. We were walking to the village square and we were talking about running, I mentioned having to find a good sports bra (I'm big!) and she said even if she is small, it still hurts when she runs! Learn something new, right?

    Jenn, your story about the gym resonated with me. I remember using the punching bag at the gym because I had this awful boyfriend at University who broke my heart. I think it was a healthy outlet for me.

    Cannot believe I wrote such a long comment here!

    Diana

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    1. You are so fabulous! That sitting behind the desk all day thing is really a killer.
      I cannot live without my treadmill, I absolutely love it. I prop a book on it, and ride ride ride for an hour, and get thousands of steps and just feel so virtuous.
      If I had a Fitness wish, I would wish for better upper body strength. I really have to work on that. Anyone have any ideas?
      Oh, I tried Pilates via Zoom during the pandemic, with much enthusiasm. With so much enthusiasm that I could not walk for two days.

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    2. You are so fabulous! That sitting behind the desk all day thing is really a killer.
      I cannot live without my treadmill, I absolutely love it. I prop a book on it, and ride ride ride for an hour, and get thousands of steps and just feel so virtuous.
      If I had a Fitness wish, I would wish for better upper body strength. I really have to work on that. Anyone have any ideas?
      Oh, I tried Pilates via Zoom during the pandemic, with much enthusiasm. With so much enthusiasm that I could not walk for two days.

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    3. Hand weights! I highly recommend.

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    4. Diana - I love that you found dance as an exercise. If I could dance, I would totally do that! I will have to check out The Bar Method. Maybe I can learn :)

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    5. HANK: I agree with Jenn. I use 5lb & 8 lb hand weights for upper body strength training. Lugging 10-15 pounds of groceries home a few km/miles several times a week helps, too.

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    6. Hank, Interesting trivia. Since I got my Cochlear implants 20 years ago, I CAN use the stairmaster and read a book or watch TV with captions. Before the implants, I COULD NOT do that! And Hand weights sound like a great idea. A friend who taught exercise classes once told us that we can use full water bottles as hand weights.

      Diana

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    7. Jenn, I just love to dance. I do not care if I am good at it or not. And I can take Bar Method Virtual classes online. That way I do not have to worry about the covid.

      Diana

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    8. GRACE: Thank you for sharing! Diana

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  16. Congratulations, Judi, on winning the Edith/Barb books. What a treat!!

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  17. I have no idea what’s happening with the double posting. I am so sorry! But you don’t have to read it twice :-)

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  18. Definite impact! We moved to Maine from Florida when COVID happened. Fitness in Florida - three mile daily run, mile swim, scuba on weekends. Fitness in Maine - run in the summer - snowshoe in winter - actually, let's be honest - think about snowshoeing in the winter! I did do a 15 minute online workout daily for quite a while and loved it then I did something to both shoulders - I'm still trying to work my way through it. So, for now, fitness in winter in Maine - the odd shoveling followed by three days of moaning. Does moaning count? It must!

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    1. I'm pretty sure moaning counts - at least, that was me this morning after yesterday's round of planks. Ugh.

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    2. KAIT: I wish we lived closer together, I need a consistent snowshoe partner! We have had over 3 feet (90 cm) of snow in December & January in Ottawa but abnormally warm weather has melted it all away.

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    3. Oh, Grace, I wish we did, too. What fun that would be!

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  19. My doc said walking is the best thing a person can do for all around health. Well done.

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  20. Oh dear. I've let it all go since Covid. I used to commute to work by walking the long way to and from the bus stop, getting in a good 30 minutes of brisk walking twice a day. Felt great. Since my commute shorted to down the (very short) hallway in the house, I've had to boot myself out the door to move my body. I have yet to darken the doorway of a gym, but who knows: Maybe 65 (two years away) will get me there. (Don't hold your breath.)

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    1. LOL - that is a drastically reduced commute. My nephew had the same thing happen, so he started doing pushups, sit ups, etc. at home. Kept him sane when he was stuck online all day.

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  21. Thanks for the nudge today, Jenn, and so proud of you for tackling the gym! I love to walk, but have been really handicapped the last couple of years by a bad knee. I'm going to have to have a knee replacement but I can't figure out how the work the necessary recovery time into my schedule. I know I've got to do something.

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    1. It is difficult to block out the time, isn't it? How do people get these things done? It's a mystery :)

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  22. Rhys; I’d be in heaven if I could boogie board every day. I do a lot of deep water exercise, good for the knees, and walk every day but I hate gyms!

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  23. Thank you, Judy! I agree that I am certainly in for a treat!

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  24. Susan Nelson-HolmdahlJanuary 28, 2023 at 1:35 PM

    I used to go to the gym most days running or using the elliptical. Since 2020 I run outside every morning before work. I run six to eight miles. Three days a week my adult daughter joins me. I live in California so no weather issues for running outside.

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    1. Susan Nelson-HolmdahlJanuary 28, 2023 at 7:31 PM

      I’ve seen a lot more sunrises in the last two years. My gym also moved a lot of equipment outside under a metal roof, the area is very large, I go to the gym for outdoor spin classes and weight training. Since the gym could operate outside it never closed. They still do all the cleaning protocols. I find that I prefer running outside as my main exercise.

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  25. I am a slug. I have always hated running. In college I discovered water exercise and enjoyed it. I tried a gym, but am too self conscience, I swear everyone is watching and laughing. Maybe I'll start walking, (she said while rolling her eyes)

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  26. Wow, such a great topic, Jenn. I love reading the variety of ways folks get their exercise. In my youth I was always active and loved the feeling of being fit. One of my favorites was playing racquetball five days a week. However, five years ago, at 68, I took a catastrophic fall down a flight of stairs into a basement, and the best movement I'm capable of now is walking. I do it outside when I can, or up and down our 67 foot hallway other times. I'm still working with a physical therapist, and found one who's beyond fantastic. We worked in person (she came to the house, I met her at a local therapy pool) for two months and now we meet on Zoom. It's been a slow road back, but I'm determined to reach my goals. ~Lynda

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  27. I have never been able to get into going to the gym. I do walk, though, and love it. It's always a pleasure walk, not all that brisk, but it's anywhere from 2&1/2 to five miles a day. I love it. On another note, I'm sorry for your loss. Your trainer sounds wonderful.

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