Exercise Check-In for 03/22/18

[Mamabug]

Seven people checked in this week. Same results as last week.

GOALS REACHED:
Six made goals.

GOALS MISSED:
One made partial goals.

OTHER:-

Congratulations to all! We're still moving, even if we don't manage to do all that we intended.


For new Exercisers:
Feel free to join us. You set your own goals. You can keep the same goals week-to-week, or modify them. You decide if you accomplished them. Check in once a week to let us know how you did last week, and to set goals for the following week.

[Mamabug]

Made both goals

These were my goals:
1. Average of 2,000 steps per day.
2. Exercises at least 4 times out of 7 days. Silver Sneakers, Wellness Center, PT or something else.

Steps:
Th- 16066 steps; Silver Sneakers
F - 3444 steps; Wellness Center (edited: also cleared off counter tops/stored things in boxes)
S - 1218 steps
S - 2022 steps
Mon - 1422 steps
Tue - 2874 steps; Silver Sneakers
W - 1746 steps
Total: 14,322 steps; average 2047 per day

I was unable to get out of the house as many days as I wanted to, because we were having some work done in our kitchen. New formica, new backsplash. Had to be around for the contractor three days.

Not a good excuse, though. I could have done something at home, like PT exercises or yoga with YouTube. But, I did not exercise 4x.

Edit: I decided I made both goals. On Friday, I cleared off the counter tops so the contractor could work in there. It's not really an extra day since I exercised in the morning. But , I did exercise 4x, even though it wasn't 4 days.

[Diamond57]

Didn't Make Goal

Hats off to you Faith making a goal. I had a tougher week. I haven't had good sleep so I wasn't as motivated and my body was off. More pain in my legs. Don't mean to whine. My goal is 2500.

Thurs-1956
Fri-4002
Sat-1442
Sun-1868
Mon-2108
Tues-1759
Weds-2054

Total=15,189 Average=2168

[Seasha]

I made my goal of 5 out of 7 days of exercise of some form or another. We had some good weather, so was out in my garden and flower beds cleaning up. I can only do this by crawling, so it's good I still have good knees. Can only do this for about an hour or so, regardless. Put me in a better mood being outside as I've been in a funk lately.

Babysitting, grocery shopping and vacuumed some too.

Mamabug and Susie - we all just do what we can with what we have to deal with, so good for you for trying! Hope everyone keeps up with motivation and moving on this week

[msgijo]

Goal is >4000 steps/day on 4 or more days with an average of 3500 steps/day.

Made both goals .

Thu 6735 Got chicken feed and put it in bins
Fri 4901
Sat 4909
Sun 6720 Dug out chick pen and fixed it for new chicks
Mon 5103 Got new chicks and introduced them to their new temp home
Tue 5814 Shopped for household / husbands errands
Wen 5882 Shopped for food bank supplies

Walked over 4000 steps on all 7 days. Averaged 5724 steps/day.
I need to add a new normal "have-to-do" for the next 5 weeks - taking care of baby chicks twice a day. After that they will go in the outside pen and become part of my flock.
I will keep same goal again.

Seasha - My yards are calling me also. I just cannot find the time to get out to them . Funny aside about babysitting - you may know that my husband had a brain hemorrhage which was followed by a 12 hour brain surgery. He has lost all right side vision (both eyes) the ability to read, and has severe cognitive problems as a result of this. I was venting to my daughter yesterday and she offered to trade. She would take my husband (who is her stepdad) in exchange for my granddaughter and her kitten . Have to admit that I thought about it - My husband would "mind" her better than he does me and baby never gives me any problems (unlike how she acts with her mom). Ended up deciding that while it might be nice as a break for both of us that I simply couldn't do that to my sweet loving daughter.
Keep up the good job moving - and you are welcome to come and work on my yards after you get yours in shape .

Diamond57 - good job not just giving up after a bad day! You may notice that most of us have a second goal to fall back on if we are unable to meet main goal. It helps me to not be as discouraged if I am unable to meet my step goal to have the average goal (which I may be able to meet) to fall back on. Give yourself a break - you did good even if you didn't meet your goal .

Mamabug - Good job . If I remember correctly from having my kitchen work done I imagine that you got in more work than if the contractors had not been in your house. The 'work arounds' for a simple cup of coffee were terrible! I was so very glad when they finished and I could get everything cleaned and back in it's place.

Sending everyone the stamina to keep moving this week.

[ShrinkKaren]

Did not make my goal completely

I completed prescribed exercises three out of four days. I don't know what to do. My MS is progressing somewhat more rapidly and can barely walk with my walker. I am feeling very discouraged. I need to see my neuro and have renewed physical therapy.

Best wishes to all and congratulations for your efforts. Karen

[REG53]

I made goal and + some. I rode bike 4 days. I swept, mopped bathrooms, my dh mopped the hardwood. I cleaned bathrooms and dusted.

Mamabug, even when you don't make goal you still have a great workout.

Diamond, sorry you are not feeling well but you still had a lot of steps. Hope you feel better next wk.

Seasha, You certainly had a great wk. The first thing I thought about when you said you were crawling is, how hard it is to get back up, for me that is.

[KoKo]

Made Goal

Hi everyone

Made goal ~ up on feet for 30 min (with rollator) standing, walking, or doing activities 4X a day every day, and stretches. Did 5 walks at 30 min each during the week.

Although I made goal, it was much more difficult than it has been. Had to exert every last ounce of energy on the 4th and 5th days of walking.

I'll see how it goes this week. If I need to change my goal, well then so be it. I'll be disappointed for sure. As long as I am still able to walk, although not as much as I would like to, I'll have no choice but to accept it and do my best with a different goal.

ShrinkKaren ~ I'm sorry that you are going through a rough time. It is very discouraging to struggle with walking.

I can only walk for any length of time, under certain conditions.

I have to do it in the morning after being up and awake for about an hour, after coffee, before eating anything, and most importantly, I must be borderline chilly temperature-wise.

At any other time, as the day goes on, my walking (short distances) is very difficult.

In any case, just wanted you to know that I understand the struggle, and hope you find some improvements with therapy, or by any other means.

Take Care

[Diamond57]

Msgijo and Seasha Your words of encouragement is inspiring so thank you. Msgijo, that a wonderful idea coming up with a back up plan. I will think about it this week end and share next week

Susie

[ShrinkKaren]

Hi everyone

Made goal ~ up on feet for 30 min (with rollator) standing, walking, or doing activities 4X a day every day, and stretches. Did 5 walks at 30 min each during the week.

Although I made goal, it was much more difficult than it has been. Had to exert every last ounce of energy on the 4th and 5th days of walking.

I'll see how it goes this week. If I need to change my goal, well then so be it. I'll be disappointed for sure. As long as I am still able to walk, although not as much as I would like to, I'll have no choice but to accept it and do my best with a different goal.

ShrinkKaren ~ I'm sorry that you are going through a rough time. It is very discouraging to struggle with walking.

I can only walk for any length of time, under certain conditions.

I have to do it in the morning after being up and awake for about an hour, after coffee, before eating anything, and most importantly, I must be borderline chilly temperature-wise.

At any other time, as the day goes on, my walking (short distances) is very difficult.

In any case, just wanted you to know that I understand the struggle, and hope you find some improvements with therapy, or by any other means.

Take Care

KoKo, Thank you for sharing your experience and expressing your empathy. It helps to know others are in the same boat. I really appreciate your message. Very best wishes, Karen

[Mamabug]

I completed prescribed exercises three out of four days. I don't know what to do. My MS is progressing somewhat more rapidly and can barely walk with my walker. I am feeling very discouraged. I need to see my neuro and have renewed physical therapy.

Best wishes to all and congratulations for your efforts. Karen

Karen, I also understand your discouragement. I'm not at the point that you are yet. I've progressed to choosing to walk with a cane when I leave the house. I can get by without it, but it helps me, so I've decided that's an indication that it's time.

I can't walk far. I tire after two blocks or less. I use W/C's for places like airports, zoos, museums, because I can't walk that far. Other places, I sometimes just choose not to go or attend.

I'd be interested to hear if PT helps you. I had 12 sessions this fall. Although I seemed to gain a little strength, it really made very little difference. Both the PT and my MS Specialist seem to believe that I'm at the point where my damage is permanent and PT can no longer do much. However, my MS Specialist does recommend aerobic exercise because of the benefits on the brain. She believes that aerobic exercise (rather than strength training) can delay progression.

Therefore, aerobic exercise tends to be what I focus on> I used to feel guilty about not continuing to do my PT exercises very regularly at home since my sessions ended. Now, I feel comfortable that my exercise time and effort is better spent in Silver Sneakers classes and on the recumbent bike at the Wellness Center.

[KoKo]

I'd be interested to hear if PT helps you. I had 12 sessions this fall. Although I seemed to gain a little strength, it really made very little difference. Both the PT and my MS Specialist seem to believe that I'm at the point where my damage is permanent and PT can no longer do much.

It's all about our nerve signals. Our muscle function (contraction) all depends on the signals that are sent down the nerve cells to it.

For those of us with progressive MS, the signals are impaired. And for some of us, the axons are badly damaged or even destroyed.

I can't see how a muscle could "build up" if it's not getting the proper signals to contract and relax.

The FES (Functional Electrical Stimulation) machines, that are becoming more widely used, do artificially stimulate the muscles to contract, with the electrodes acting as external nerve signals.

But I would think that for those of us with ongoing progression, we would need to have the machine at home to use several times a day, to at least maintain some degree of muscle strength.

Therefore, aerobic exercise tends to be what I focus on> I used to feel guilty about not continuing to do my PT exercises very regularly at home since my sessions ended. Now, I feel comfortable that my exercise time and effort is better spent in Silver Sneakers classes and on the recumbent bike at the Wellness Center.

This makes sense to me, Mamabug.

Over the years, I used a resistance chair with pulleys until it became more and more difficult to use, and then couldn't use at all. I sure used up a lot of energy and effort, but got weaker instead of stronger.