More on exercising

Last week after I wrote what I did - my son suggested that maybe it was a need for a different assortment of exercises.

I went "duh!" of course....bodies, mine, adapt to doing the same exercise on a regular basis...and I was doing the cycling twice a week for more than two years....and even tho the instructor varies the workout each class, I think I was having sameness burnout....but maybe that's also a part of aging. The instructors and many of the users of the club do the same classes over and over and seem not to burn out.

The Silver Sneaker classes are too "tame" for me right now but several people I have come to know go to them daily and do not talk of workout burnout - but most of them were never into sports or strenuous exercise when they were younger. So maybe it's just me or maybe it's something to do with one category of "people-who-are-aging." Who knows? - it's something that I will continue to think about.

But for now - I have not been to the club to do cycling...instead I have been doing an hour of yoga a day at home [with videos] and taking my dog for long walks. And for the yoga [it's Iyengar], I am doing a different set of poses each day and spreading them out throughout the day so this too does not fall into a pattern.

No surprise - I feel more energized and less wrung out by the exercise. Next week I will return to one cycling class for the cardio workout it provides...and I'll see if I have the same recovery issues...and maybe I'll take my squash racket and get back to practicing that sport.

Stay tuned..as I said - we are all learning about aging....

Pre New Year

This week I got back into doing more exercising. Admittedly, I am one who takes exercise out of my schedule when I get busy knowing that is BAD for me! It's usually bad for everyone - but most of us stop exercising when we have other things to do.

I started feeling more tired even tho I get sufficient sleep - so I felt too tired to get to the club and then of course the cycle continued. I was getting there for a cycling class but doing "serious" exercise only twice a week is not the best for me and it led to the tired feeling.....

So today I added yoga back into my schedule. In the summer I do yoga at home to the tapes I have - but as soon as it gets cold - which it did on September, my floor is too cold to stand on with bare feet - and so out went the yoga.

What finally got me back was the realization that we are entering celebratory season - and I love parties. So figured I'd beat the New Year Resolution crowd and be in great shape before January 1...besides I have a birthday coming up in January and I'd really prefer being in a whole lot better shape, and a few pounds lighter, than last year...which was not that bad a shape - but we can always improve on our health and I started on improving mine today..

And I really want to get back to playing squash before my D.C. friend comes in late December - so I don't look like such a dork on the squash court when we play!

A confession [of sorts]

You know I love the effects of my exercising - and I suggest that we all need more exercise...

Well - like most people, when I get busy, "official" exercising is the first thing I start skipping.

So - when September rolled around and I got busy - I stopped going to my cycling classes. I did do that long kayak trip I wrote about and still did yoga at home - and of course went up and down the ramp several times a day and my dog got extra long walks....but my aerobic conditioning took a back seat.

In October I had a long talk with me and forced myself to start back to the cycling classes. Much to my own amazement and joy - I kept up as much as I usually did - which is not ever 100% as I have 30-40 years on most in the class including the instructor : - ).

I'm not sure it was a good thing for me to learn that I could take off a month with few repercussions - so I have promised myself I won't do that again. It's too chancy. Besides ski season is approaching and the legs and heart need to be in great shape for Mt. Hood.

Exercise surprises

I have been going to my cycling class with great consistency for about one year now. There were a few weeks I did not get there for one reason or another and a few weeks where one class was missed - but overall it's been 60 minutes of very hard work twice a week on a regular basis.

Yesterday I saw the best of the results - although at the time it was annoying : -)

I got a heart rate monitor a few months ago and learned that what my brain thought of as "hard work" was not hard work according to the monitor. To keep my heart rate at my good level, I had to increase either speed or friction on the pedals - UGH!

Anyway, yesterday I reached some sort of new [for me] levels. I had to work really really hard in class to keep my heart rate up. Why? I assume like all muscles, my heart is now in such better shape than it had been that it now found my "usual" level of work to be too easy.... It's like lifting weights - when once a certain number of pounds were hard to lift, now many more are needed to tire out say leg muscles.

So next week I will start off the cycling class knowing I have to work harder....but I won't be annoyed - I'll be happy that my heart is healthy....

Moral - if you are working out - try using a heart rate monitor. You'll be annoyed but happy with the outcome!