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Friday, September 4, 2009

Age Creaking Up

One of the best things about living in Creston for us has been the proximity of the Y. We joined shortly after moving here, so it will soon be a year of good excercise. Just what the doctor ordered for staying in shape and keeping moving as we age.
In the past, I was a fair weather walker; walking a mile a day when it wasn't too hot, too cold, raining, snowing.....in other words, not too often. I began at the Y by walking in the shallow end of the pool for 30 minutes twice a week. Now, I walk one mile on the track, bike five miles on a recumbent bike and do reps on nine machines at various weights (seven upper body, two legs) five days a week.
The benefits of the past year of regular excercise have been amazing. Even with my arthritic knees and a knee injury two years ago which reduced me to barely being able to walk, I now walk pain free in my knees. I haven't lost any weight, but my legs are more defined as are my arms because there's more muscle, less flab.
Often I find myself wondering how long I can keep up this routine before the knees get worse. This week, for the first three days, it wasn't the knees it was the hips. I could not walk a mile because they hurt too badly. What was I doing any differently? Had I done something to make them hurt? Was it just old age catching, creeping, creaking up on me? Today, thankfully, there was no pain as I did my 17 laps on the track.
The gist of this blog is to remind myself not to trouble trouble until trouble troubles me and to encourage even the youngest of my readers to get into the habit of daily excercise.
One of the things I ponder as I'm walking and looking at everyone else's legs is "Why do men have smaller, shapelier legs than women?" Is it because early man had to run fast and often to spear food for the clan and woman only had to stand or sit around to butcher and cook that food?
See? Excercise is not only good for keeping my body working, it also works my mind.

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