Daily Discussion: Let's Get Physical!

[tjs_whatnot]

I struggled for a long time about what to come here and discuss with you all today. All I’ve been feeling is a bit of regret, that as this isolation begins to wind down *fingers crossed* there are so many things I didn’t do, so many zoos and museums I didn’t virtually tour, so many Zoom Happy Hours I didn’t indulge in, so many face masks I didn’t make (I mean, I made some, but not enough, not nearly enough).

But, who wants to talk about regret?

Instead, I thought I’d start a convo about the one thing I have been doing pretty consistently: exercising--or more precisely--walking.

I grew up liking the idea of walking, of hiking, but as an asthmatic kid living in the Pacific Northwest where all hikes seemed to require a lot of mountain climbing, I wasn’t as active as I desperately wanted to be.

Then life happened. About 50 years of it, and even the idea of walking, of hiking had lost its appeal. Until about 8 months ago. It started with a tightness in my chest and a fear of cardiac arrest and a realization that I needed to change my life if I still wanted to have one. I started slow. Walking the three blocks to work (yes my commute is that short and yes, I did find excuses to drive there almost everyday), parking farther away from the door when shopping, volunteering to take my housemates’ dog on walks.

It was around Christmas, about the time I got a Fitbit as a gift, something just clicked and the love came back, this time without the asthma (and high altitude--I live on the East Coast now) stopping me.

Turns out, being quarantined can’t stop me either. Yes, I have to be creative in how I walk--I do laps around my kitchen/living room A LOT. I walk in place a lot too. I get outside as much as I can, and thankfully I live in a place that has a lot of walking trails.

So, how are you staying active? Do you feel it’s helping? Are you doing less or more? Any tips to make it fun? When we’re allowed to travel again, is there a place you’re itching to go for physical activity? Joining a gym isn’t top on my list of things I NEED to do the minute we’re allowed, but IDK, the Appalachian Trail is calling to me. And the present I was planning on giving myself to walk The El Camino Santiago de Compostela on my 50th birthday next year is still in the works. *fingers crossed*

Comments

[jenett]

I picked up walking last summer (also asthmatic, also have lung scarring, and some other stuff that makes exercise hard.) About 18 months ago I moved to an apartment just off a major bike path that runs through my town, and I can walk down to a (sizeable) pond with various birds (I've seen mute swans, a barred owl, and of course the omnipresent for New England Canada geese and various ducks.)

However, the path is super busy during quarantine, so right now I am doing walks around the neighbourhood (where I can go a good mile if I want and cross the street as needed without being within 20 feet of anyone else.) I put on headphones and a podcast, and it's a nice break.

I've also picked up regular qi gong, which had been on my "That might be an interesting thing to try" list for a while. I discovered Jeffrey Chand's videos on YouTube - he's got a bunch up there, and I've since signed up for the subscription community, which has a bunch more. I love them because there are a bunch of short ones, and I can usually talk myself into a 10-15 minute thing, where talking myself into doing something longer doesn't always work.

(I'm a witch, so I do think the energy movement stuff is helping, but even without that, I love having a series of gentle movements that make me stretch and think about how my body is moving, without some of the 'perfect pose' stuff that you can get in yoga. As someone who is decidedly fat, yoga often involves a lot of thinking of how to adjust it to my body that is mental work. While I'm thinking a lot about how I'm moving in qi gong, a lot of it is about fluidity and coordination, and I turn out to find that way more relaxing and something I'm able to do for longer.)

[highlyeccentric]

AAaagrgh I had a form open too long and something weird happened! My long reply wasn't meant to be directed at you, sorry.

[tjs_whatnot]

That qi gong looks super fascinating and I'm going to check it out. One day when this is all over, I'd like to take some sort of class on something like this or Tai Chi. I've spent so many years of my life feeling like I really wasn't living in my body and not taking too much attention to it. But now, I want to feel everything!

♥ ♥

[onlysmallwings]

I try to get a walk in every day that the weather cooperates. Which hasn't been as often as I would have preferred, but apparently spring just be like that in Pennsylvania. I've also been doing some yoga, mostly sun salutations out of a book. Purposeful movement seems to help slow the slide of bad mental health days and boost me on not-awful days.

I also give myself permission to fail. I intend to walk and do yoga every day, but when I don't or can't, that's fine too. Try again tomorrow, no guilt.

There are a lot of great parks and trails nearish to where I am, but they're all closed until further notice. I'm really looking forward to those being an option again.

[tjs_whatnot]

Haha, the family I live with took their RV up to Pennsylvania last weekend just to get OUT and they got snowed on!

Allowing to fail and giving yourself grace is such a great lesson I need to learn. I've had phases before that last for a week or two were I'd get the right amount of exercise and eat the right amount of things and then they'd just... *waves hand around* And I'm terrified that it will happen again if I let too many days go by. But your right, the next day is a fresh start and I do get up and take my steps. ♥

Thankfully, the trails by me are owned by the country club I live on, so I can walk them and thankfully, everyone is being super conscious of giving space. I do have the All Trails app on my phone and I'm DYING to check some of them out.

♥

[angelofthenorth]

I've been walking and documenting my walks on http://gb.mapometer.com, and on my walking tag on my journal. I've been challenging myself to do a different route everyday.

I completed the camino in 2005 over 3 weeks (510 miles) in the spring - the camino tag on my journal is public. I love it and would like to do it again sometime, if I don't walk to Rome first :).

[tjs_whatnot]

Oh my goodness! I spent forever reading your Camino posts and ♥ Just makes me want to go RIGHT now! And also scares me that I'm just not ready yet. I was planning for next summer, but even before this, I had been warned that it would be super busy because it was a holy year--and because the only time I have that much time off in a row is in the summer. I might go walk around Italy instead. ;)

♥ ♥

[angelofthenorth]

I'm glad you enjoyed them - don't be put off. If it's right for you, it'll fall into place.

[readera]

I struggled with excersize even before the pandemic.

I have been trying to at least walk the dog everyday and do 1 other thing like dancing to music or some squats.

[highlyeccentric]

I envy you your doggy friend! I've been getting exercise in, but I'm really bad at leaving the house on Not Designated Running Days. And also, doggy friend sounds like good quarantine company.

[tjs_whatnot]

I really loved walking the dog. I felt like the walks had purpose. But, the dog was GIGANTIC and not neutered and, while is extremely well trained--like therapy dog level of training-- he's very co-dependent to my housemate and doesn't listen to anyone like he listens to her. Well, one day on a walk, he got aggressive with another dog and I couldn't control him, so yeah... I'm no longer walking him. :'(

But, oh well... Now I walk with no purpose and it is just as good--with way less need to stop at EVERY SINGLE tree to sniff and do some business. ;)

♥ ♥

[naath]

I can't walk far, but I've been biking the distance my commute would be.

[highlyeccentric]

The city free-bike scheme has been reinstalled here and I'm seriously tempted.... they're big heavy roadbikes, but I do MISS biking.

[naath]

Mine's a big heavy road bike with a motor...

[tjs_whatnot]

That's so awesome! The first time I got on a bike after years and years of not, I over did it like WHOA, and have been afraid of getting back on. I should try again though... soon... ish. :D

♥

[naath]

:) I bike commute daily (usually), it's about 10 miles... I've been doing it for 16 years now, various places to go. Recently I bought an ebike (it really helps me, but it wasn't cheap). I recommend staying on quiet roads at first.

[olivermoss]

I love walking and hiking, but I've not been doing it since this all started. I am trying to get into a walking habit so my clothes will still fit (some are getting tight) but my neighborhood still has a lot of dog walkers even at 11:00 PM. I really need to wait until midnight to get some miles in.

I actually posted about that and some of my Portland at Midnight pictures yesterday.

[magnetic_pole]

I loved your photos! Especially soap is dope. :)

For a while there my partner and I were grocery shopping at midnight (we've got several 24-hour stores near us, and they didn't reduce their hours until well into April). It's such a different experience to be out when it's so quiet. M.

[olivermoss]

Every place here now closes early. If I let an evening get away from me, I can't grab anything. Even at 11:00, trying to get from point A to point B here is like playing a really crappy puzzle game. I don't feel right taking pictures unless it's really quiet, otherwise I am in the way of people trying to walk their dog or let their kid run off a bit of energy.

[tjs_whatnot]

Oh man, at first I was all smug that I live somewhere way more rural and so I'm able to walk about, even with all the dog walking happening. BUT, then I looked at your pics and OMG! Now I really want to start walking after midnight in a place with that many interesting things to look at.

♥

That hand sanitizer one seems to be a perfect representation of this whole thing. If I wrote an album of the experiences of the last 3 or 4 months, I'd ask for the picture to be my album cover. ♥

[olivermoss]

Thank you! Hopefully I get off my butt tonight and do more shooting. Part of my secret to finding things is how much I walk. Before this I was working on a project to walk the whole city. That's on hold for a while.

[magnetic_pole]

Yay! for walking! I loved reading your story.

I've also been walking a lot in the past two months, now that the pool's closed. Like you, I'm not much of a hiker, but I enjoy getting out and feeling the rhythm of a long walk throughout my body. M.

[tjs_whatnot]

Walking is the best, yeah? I just want to Forrest Gump it and hit the road and see how far I can go.

♥

[therealsnape]

I've never been one for physical exercise - an absolute horror of school sports lessons saw to that - but I have this step count thingy on my mobile phone. It's my husband's old phone, and he had set it to 6000 steps a day. Ever since the lockdown, I've managed to get those done nearly every day. The two occasions I missed, my weekly average was still over 6000 steps a day. That's between 4,5 and 5 kilometers.

I walk in my own town, which has a beautiful old center that is quite large. Large enough for a 6000 step walker. There's always something new to observe, always a detail one hasn't seen before. And now with the quiet times, it's a bit like walking in the set of a Dickensian costume drama. Lovely!

[highlyeccentric]

Gotta love a nice Old Town. I met and walked with a new acquaintance in the city centre here (Switzerland) last week, before deconfinement s2 started, and it was empty enough that we could peer into the 'City Stream' which runs down the middle of the main street - normally it's hidden under traffic and noise.

[tjs_whatnot]

6,000 steps is AWESOME! Go you!

♥

UGH, trauma from childhood is the WORST and I too didn't give my body the attention it needed for way too long because of those evil children's voices in my head.

And ahhhh, that sounds like a lovely walk and I'd give ANYTHING to see new things everyday. I might drive to a town nearby just to walk around because I've seen all I can see in my 5 miles from home.

♥ ♥

[highlyeccentric]

A weird up-side of confinement (that's what they're calling it in French speaking switzerland, at least - much nicer than 'lockdown') for me is that I've had both time and spare executive function to spend on routines like exercise and meditation. Previously I was scraping the movement bit in by walking ~4k (to and from trams and thence to work, basically), but that's not happening now.

Without having to focus on Building Social Contacts In A New City, I've had spare brain tracks to start doing C25k again (slower than recommended, but it's happening; up to wk3 now, and it's not as hard as it was first time around). My ideal routine is one day with sitting-still meditation, one with movement meditation (a track from a mindfulness course I took ages ago - simplified yoga with caveats for people with physical limitations), and the third running. Sometimes I slip, but I'm happy this time around I only slipped for ONE day and not a whole week.

I also have big plans to start rambling over the hills nearby - my suburb borders on farmland - but between weather and trying to stick to my three-day schedule I haven't got that far yet.

[tjs_whatnot]

What a great system. I've been doing more meditation than ever before and I'm not sure why it's working now when it never did before, especially with my mind always on overload, but it is. I think maybe because of all those breathing exercises. So weird.

I've been interested in C25K recently, but thought I wasn't really ever going to like running, but then I started getting really bored on the treadmill and so added some running just to push myself and make it interesting and it wasn't as horrible as I'd imagined. ;)

Good luck on the Hill Rambling! That sounds awesome!

♥ ♥

[duskpeterson]

Except for taking a short walk to a Post Office box last month, I haven't gone out walking yet because I had COVID-19 symptoms (very mild) till recently. I'm waiting for the numbers to go down in this state before I take walks; I know I'm allowed to walk anyway, and if I walk at dawn in this small town, the chances of me meeting anyone are close to zero. But my companion is very high risk, so I'd rather wait.

I've been lusting for several years for an under-the-cycle exercise bicycle. Now that I have my stimulous money, I might actually buy it. In the meantime, vigorous housework helps.

[tjs_whatnot]

♥

Hope your feeling better! And yay for vigorous housework. Totally counts. When I mow the grass, my Fitbit things I'm riding a bike vigorously and it makes me smile.

♥

[aome]

I've been doing ok with most of my regular exercise routine - neither more nor less of it; I walk the dog daily (unless it's chucking down rain), run 3x/week, do weights twice a week. The one thing I haven't been good at is focusing on taekwondo training at home. I was good at first, but it's just so hard to make myself do it on my own, without someone giving directions or corrections, and, yeah, I haven't been as good about that as I'd like.

My daughter (17) used to do hardly any exercise, but once the lockdown started, she wanted to come on my daily dogwalk just to get out of the house. Then she started picking up running, and now runs 3x/week as well. Not very far, but that's ok - she's doing it. And then she wanted her muscles in better shape, so she's been doing some weights and some core exercises under my and my husband's direction. She's really proud of herself!

[wpadmirer]

I used to love walking and running, but over time I developed a problem with my left knee and hip, which are made worse by both activities.

Also, with the pandemic, I haven't been able to get the massage I need every three weeks on the hip to keep it flexible.

And the two activities that help me stay fit are both on the forbidden list because they're in a gym - boxing and rock climbing. (Outdoor climbing right now is a huge no no in the community because of stressing rural areas medical systems if you get hurt, and also I've have to travel for HOURS to get anywhere I could climb. I live in below-sea level Florida.)

So I've been very frustrated. I am doing some of my warm up exercises at home, but I find it unsatisfying and my hip and knee object rather strenuously about it.

DAMN.

[liseuse]

The usual Terrible School PE Experience left me with a deep distaste for any form of exercise other than swimming because, shockingly, it turns out that never being taught how to do anything but just expected to know how, and then being scorned because you can't do it, has long term repercussions for how someone feels about exercise!

I then had a long period of not being able to do much exercise (including swimming) because I have a knackered shoulder. The shoulder is still knackered but the painkillers are working, so I have begrudgingly, dragged out my trainers and re-started Couch to 5K. I still loathe it.

I like walking but I only really like it with a purpose. I am not much of a meanderer.

[mithrial]

Of the Three regular Aerobics/Zumba instructors I had pre covid. Two have excelled themselves on FB and Zoom. And I'm lucky enough to have a big clear(ish) room upstairs where I can jump about. I can now do all my excercise classes at home.

I do miss my friends from the gym, but we do see each other regularly via zoom.

We live in a lovely village too. So we've done a lot of walking. And we have a big garden. So very fortunate. My heart goes out to folk stuck in small flats with young children.