As recent as 6 months ago, I would have said " not me". I am exercise challenged and don't want to keep up with or be made aware that I have been at my desk for 3 hours without any noticeable movement.
Ha! but things do change..and, in my case, for the best.
In the fall of last year, I was hounded ( I mean coaxed) by a dear friend to join the world of those who care about their health and actually walk the walk. This friend believes that his happy place is the gym.
Okay, I got my gumption up and signed up for the Wellness Initiative at my job. It is sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield Insurance. Or course, they want to support good health practices.
Our gym is small but still is full of shiny metal apparatuses that look dangerous for the reluctant and untrained person such as myself.
The exercise bike...I could handle. I remembered that from my youth.At that time riding a bike was not called exercise. It was just fun!
I got braver and tried the treadmill. It had more buttons and operations than my nonsmart phone. When I pushed start, all I had to do was walk, right? Simple enough. Then I just HAD to listen to my friend again who said, "Add some variety to your routine. Try the interval setting." Slow then fast then slow again. Well, apparently this treadmill was only set to increase. Before I knew it this machine was speeding to exercise hell. A calm person would have thought to press the stop button. This panicked person just let the treadmill drag her to the floor. I have rug burn scars on my knees and legs to prove it.
Fast forward to December, and I had to use my mom's walker to get around and ended up having knee surgery. Doctor said to cut the treadmill some slack. Besides having a torn meniscus, some of my pain was because I am old ( who knew ) and have some arthritis.
After surgery I was prescribed physical therapy which added to my misery and revealed that I was not as flexible as I thought. If you don't normally bend your knee back behind your leg, you don't know that you have become as stiff as the Tin Man.
Finally I have circled around to Why I am writing about a Fitbit. I am in possession of one.
No, I didn't buy this for myself. Remember I like to be uninformed in health matters. My dear health-conscious friend gave me this gift of activity and awareness for Christmas. Plus, he included his parents in this generous gesture. Now all of us have the opportunity to see how much we are 'stepping' and if our heartbeat is high enough to burn any calories. As a bonus, if we join the Work Week Hustle, we become a team for support and interaction.
I wanted to not like this gift because it focused on something not in my comfort zone. But I gave this little blue band with flashing green lights a chance. Lo and behold, this Fitbit is truly a gift that keeps on giving. It has given me the desire to keep moving and has made me more aware of what a caring person my friend is.
Each day I will keep stepping, and some days I will get to feel my wrist vibrating in celebration of 10,000 steps for the day.
ONWARD Stepping Soldiers of Health
