Embrace the Journey, A Curated Blog on MS: Stay on Tra

With daughter Liz at Notre Dame

I love to travel but always worry about losing strength and flexibility while we play on our trip. You might say I’m  paranoid about maintaining strength and flexibility. Why? MS, of course. This disease weakens muscles and stiffens joints without regular work. I notice deterioration even when I let up for a week. Granted some of the problem is age, but lack of movement for long periods is bad for me. 

I know that MS is a problem for me, but we are all aging. Donnie works out with me doing yoga and weight work at the gym. While he may not be as avid on setting goals, he has commented on his need to stay on track. Traveling always presents some interesting problems, especially with long trips.

Christmas market with grandchildren 

We were gone for twenty-one days this trip. We split the time visiting Liz and her family in Paris before doing a Rhine river cruise. Staying on track with my usual diet and exercise goals was really not that difficult there.

I learned to be flexible with my walking goal. Usually I walk 5 miles a day, but there were days I couldn't. In Paris, we mostly walked on city sidewalks. People, bikes, scooters and strollers all share the same narrow sidewalk. That slowed us down as did traffic lights. Through it all, Donnie held my hand for stability and safety. Surprisingly, most days we did walk five or more miles.

No gym or equipment available 

Keeping up strength exercise was more challenging. My trainer gives me options for exercises for most muscle groups that can be done without equipment. 

Granted, there were days I had to talk myself into getting started. I hate getting on the floor for abs work, but it's always available. By the time I got up, I was motivated to finish the strength work. I used a chair, a counter, a sturdy railing, or even stairs or hallway. I do lots of leg work and these are great props for legs.

Playing on playground equipment 

We took the grandchildren to different playgrounds and played. They had great equipment for balance. We seniors need balance and strength as much as children. The ones I did were great fun and safe.

Space was limited on the river cruise ship, especially in the room. I used whatever was available in hallway and on the floor in the hallway to do leg and abdominal work. I also found and used steps and anything counter height as props.

I-watch app data

My I-watch helps me keep up with how I'm doing on my daily exercise goals. The rings for standing, calories and exercise close up during the day when the goal is met. I set my own goals so I can tell if I am close on each of the variables.  I fell short several days, but apparently it was good enough to maintain the status quo.

Back home when we settled into our routine of doing hot yoga and gym for strength training I was surprised. The effort I made on the trip worked well. I didn’t feel like I had to make up for lost time. It took longer to regain my status quo with flexibility than strength. Regular effort paid off!