Embrace the Journey: Strength Makes a Difference

We have a great place to walk

I have a lesson with Trainer Jeanne every Tuesday morning. This is typical of how we begin:

Hey Jeanne! I’m already warmed up. We got our five miles in before coming. I like to get my walking in before it gets hot. Afternoon walks are laborious! What are we doing today?

We’re going to start with the curtsy squat.

Good. I must need it because it makes me fatigued in the hips.

Mountain climber is next. Where is that padded box? 

Thomas thinks this is a great exercise for me. When I showed this to him yesterday, he suggested that I go much slower and get full extension with my legs. He also said to up-lift, un glue? What’s that term you use? Anyway, it’s much harder than moving fast!

Trainer Jeanne 

I’ve had two other trainers before Jeanne, Lacey and Evan. They were both very good. Each one had a different style, but they both worked with me at my very beginner level. Strength and walking both improved. That was my goal.

Covid 19 paused indefinitely going to the gym. Not to be undone, I set up a modified gym at home with mats, bands and small weights. I exercised everyday using the lessons I had saved from Lacy and Evan. While I probably maintained strength, I didn't improve anything. Then I fell, fractured my hip and stopped gym work.  

By the time I was healed things, had started opening again. We stayed with Gold's Gym. They assigned Jeanne to be my trainer.  We were a good match. She’s closer to my age and has tremendous experience and knowledge from other forms of exercise like Thai-Chi, boxing, and yoga. I particularly like the way she will notice a problem I have with doing an exercise. Right there on the spot, she’ll either modify what I'm doing or devise a new exercise to address it.

One of many exercises for core and abs

My current goals are to walk farther and faster with more confidence. She gives me a full hour of exercises for all body parts including the core. The weight machines and free weights are all in the big, main room. 

I can see and feel improvement as I go up in weight. Jeanne's good at picking a good weight for me then showing me how to do anything new. She usually repeats an exercise several weeks running, sometimes changing the number of repetitions or amount of weight. Some combinations work on strength building and others work on endurance.

There’s another big, open room used for group training, that we go into occasionally. 

High Alert! She's got something hard for me in there. 

Balance is needed for the hurdles

Wonder what? Good, she’s ignoring the stairs. That's scary racing (ha-ha!) up and down those steep stairs. But, there are rails, and I hold on to them. 

Oh no, she’s going for the hurdles. It’s been a while since we’ve done that. Umm, scary but good. I’ll really concentrate and think positive. Done! I’m beginning to feel more confident and Jeanne said I’m smoother. I believe it’s transferring to walking. 

I’ve written in a blog post about how aging weakens muscles. MS surreptitiously robs muscles of strength so I have double jeopardy working. I’ve also noticed that injuries heal, but the healing takes time and I wonder if we really get back to where we started before the setback. That being said, I understand I must keep walking and strength training. Starting over is daunting as well as mentally and physically challenging.

The multi-movement (Robot) machine is a favorite 

My best bet is to continue what’s working for me: yoga for meditation and stretching; gym and strength training for walking without fatigue or pain; therapies to support everything.  I’m beginning to feel my stride. That’s  my “happy place”.

Blog posts that speak about strength building with trainers:  

https://judymanagesms.blogspot.com/2018/12/embrace-your-destiny-hard-work-pays-off.html  

https://judymanagesms.blogspot.com/2022/05/embrace-journey-youve-got-to-want-it.html

Embrace Your Destiny: Try Hot Yoga

Outside yoga on the beach

Hot yoga as a therapy for me was never a consideration for me. I only knew about it because daughter Liz started did some in college and I paid for it. I could see very positive benefits in her. 

Heat weakens me! All my limbs feel like jelly. Liz keep after me to try it and I was curious. She eased all my concerns so I decided to try it. Why not try? I trusted Liz. 

Me with walker at Hot Yoga Asheville

What is hot yoga? It sounds awful.

Bikram Hot Yoga isn’t just any hot yoga. The room is preheated to 104 degrees with 40% humidity. Infrared lights provide the heat and they have healing properties. Surprisingly, I was able to tolerate this heat and do the poses. I work up a good sweat which is good for the body. 

The sequence and order of the poses seems to be perfect for me. Each pose builds on the previous. Plus, the Bikram philosophy works for me. It says, “Just do your best. Give it 100% effort and that is good enough.”  There are twenty six postures and two breathing exercises It’s ninety minutes of moving, breathing, meditation.

Adi Westerman, owner and teacher 

I’m sorry, but I still don’t understand why this yoga rather than any of the others?

Repetition! Nothing changes day to day except the teacher. The same 26  postures done in the same order, for the same amount of time with the same dialogue. Also, the pace is slow enough for me to transition poses without falling or getting tangled up. 

For the balance poses, I hold onto something. (Hot Yoga Asheville even bought me a walker!) I noticed improvements in how I felt, and how I looked quickly. My skin looked brighter and I had a lingering calm feeling.

Hot Yoga Asheville

I started going three to four times a week. Gradually I increased to going daily. I had been tracking headaches, indigestion, constipation among other things. I’ve eliminated medications and the hateful carpel tunnel wrist sleeve I wore every night. Best of all, the chronic pain disappeared.

Sounds like you were addicted! How did it help with walking?

I was addicted to the point that we set up our own studio at home when Covid 19 shut everything down. Our hot room doesn’t get quite as hot all the time, but it’s still effective. YouTube videos with the dialogue do a good job. 

Yoga helped walking most by freeing the foot, ankle and knee joints. I started feeling my foot roll into a step. The right ankle joint had been almost frozen for a long time. After years of yoga and other therapies I’m beginning to feel a nice stride developing.

My home studio

The yoga community helped me find healing people and therapies. Gradually, I met other yogis who were practicing acupuncture, massage, and juicing. One by one, I experimented and added. 

Everything was better, but walking really improved when I got serious about my gym workout. Joining Gold’s Gym that embraces Silver Sneakers was the key. Using the savings from not paying for a gym membership I pay a trainer. I’ve been getting lessons weekly for several years.

I suppose you are going to enlighten us about your gym work and strength training next.

That’s right. I have lots to talk about there too. But first, check out this blog  post that captures my experience with hot yoga:

https://judymanagesms.blogspot.com/2019/11/embrace-journey-find-your-elixer.html

Of course the whole blog is available at judymanagesms.blogspot.com

 

Embrace the Journey: This is Your Life

Connie, Penni and me ending a special weekend

This is your life, Judy Groff. See, it’s not so bad! You do fun stuff and look fairly independent. Looks like you’ve embraced MS. We acknowledge that you have noticeable issues but, you are functioning at a high level. I’m proud of you.

Yeah, but it’s taken over twenty years to figure out how best to keep functioning well. Just when I think I’ve got things where I want them, wham, I fall or something happens to throw me back. Who are you anyway? Why am I even talking to you?

Carrying on, trying to be independent

Good question! I’m the you that lurks deep in your mind and reminds you where you came from and who you are. It’s my job to give you tough love talks when you get down on yourself. You were a mess in the beginning.You felt bad and moved poorly. We had some serious talks back then.

Those early years were hard. Actually, learning to fill the syringe and give myself the shot got me going. That gave me control so I felt empowered. My turnaround started there. I need to feel in control and independent.

You are in a good place now. What do you think happened? You tried a lot of different things and never gave up trying. 

Meditation using singing bowl

I always thought I could improve my walking. I remember getting very frustrated and angry. I’d try something then vigilantly track improvement in how I moved or felt. I experimented with alternative therapies like meditation, massage, yoga, and gym exercise. I had fun with bike riding, until I had a bad fall. It must have been you I would talk to. You always remind me that I’m the one with the power to fix me. 

What fears and hopes were driving you during that time? 

I worried most about losing ability to exercise at all. I couldn’t run anymore and swimming had to be different. Tennis and biking required too much balance and coordination. Almost everything I did had to be modified. Walking has been the one exercise I am doing better now than in the beginning.

Hot yoga in our bathroom studio

What happened to prompt this change?

Several things started coming together. Bikram Hot Yoga was the catalyst that introduced me to new therapies like acupuncture and massage. 

Then I got adventurous and tried “juicing” and bone broth. I went all in at the gym and secured a physical trainer. To challenge my mind, I joined Toastmasters, started taking piano lessons and learning French on Duolingo. 

I started feeling better physically and had more energy. Slowly my walking has improved. With the guidance of my Physical Therapist, I am learning now to walk again (second go round).

Doing Job #1 prepares me to have fun

Sounds to me like you invest a lot in yourself. Do you ever feel guilty?

I do not. Taking care of me is Job #1. Mama had a plaque hanging in the  kitchen that said, “When Mama’s not happy, nobody’s happy.” When I’m tired or feel out of sorts, I’m grumpy. Family and friends want me to feel good. In fact, my favorite quote is, “When you look good, you feel good. When you feel good, you do good.” Yes, I give myself permission to invest in me.  

This is my life! I’m beginning to write the memoir about my journey. The blog posts will be incorporated. This is a story about my struggles and joys. It’s a story about making the best possible life with life as I know it. And finally, it about all the things I can still do albeit with help along the way. 

Readers, you inspire me and keep me going. Give me some feedback. Thank-you.