Positive Press

So, whether you’re too old, you don’t feel well, you’ve got a serious illness, or can’t workout for whatever reason… here’s a workout for you

Last year, I was diagnosed with advanced kidney disease, while just a few years ago, I ran two Tough Mudder events in Tahoe. I’d been in my mid-forties, and I was ready (in my own mind at least), to swim Lake Tahoe. Working out six days or more per week, I ran about six miles per day, did ten to ones, went to the gym, and used a jump rope to do 1000 reps per day.

I am overweight, primarily due to the side affects of medication, but also from a love for food. In my mid-fifties, a sedentary worker, and with a renal condition, I feel the need for exercise, but have trouble finding the strength.

I decided to try ten to ones again, but they turned out to be a little tough in my state of health. I got out my yoga mat, and realized the intervals between exercise positions were tough to do, and that if I used the transitions from one position to the other as part of my workout, I could give myself permission to work less and gain more.

Ten to ones involve doing four exercises in sets of 10 reps, 9 reps… 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and then back to 10 reps again. When I allowed myself to make exercises out of every aspect of the movements, I was able to hack the workout, by slowing it down, and rejecting the idea of , “no pain, no gain”.

I decided to make things easy on myself, and the incredible stress and fatigue I was experiencing worked in my favor, when I slowed down and used every part of the workout, to do a stretch here, a rest there, a flexing of muscle later, and so on. My workout became more like Tai Chi, in that I was using my body’s natural inclinations to accommodate my limitations.

The result? I felt as thought I’d just worked out, meditated peacefully, and my body thanked me enthusiastically.

Is there a workout for you? A workout in bed (so to speak), a floor exercise set, calisthenics, seated exercises, mellow dance moves? Whatever works, if it feels good both during and after, then it might be just what the doctor ordered.

-Positive Press

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