I Hate Exercise

Get up, get out, and do something (Set a Goal)

BS - 114 Fasting this morning.  94 tonight after exercise at 9:30

BP - 114/70 my machine at home HR - 55

BP - 4:30 at Kroger machine - 110/60 HR - 52

BP - 9:30 110/70 my machine HR - 72 after exercise

I continue to be blown away by your support.  The amount of people reading this blog is going up and we are reaching numbers that indicates we can help one person.  please keep up the support by spreading the word.

Yesterday was a difficult day.  I was seeing spots in my eyes at church and when I would stand up I would feel like I was going to faint.  My blood pressure machine was reading lower than normal and I had to run down to the local clinic to test my blood pressure.  Everything turned out okay - just something a little strange but numbers are okay.

I want to make sure everyone knows the difference between exercise and playing sports.  I love to play sports.  When I was a kid I played all kinds of sports and would play tennis hours on end.  Even to the point my Dad would have to come to the park and "coax" me home for supper.  For those of you who know my Dad, you know what the word "coax" stands for! 

I also loved to run.  I would run to check the cows in the pasture versus taking the truck.  I would run just to go somewhere.  When I joined the Corps, I loved them, they wanted to run everywhere.  I even enjoyed putting on the 60 pound pack and running.

I picked up playing handball, racquetball, softball, and golf in the Corps.  I played handball and softball for the Hawaiian Marines, racquetball for the Okinawa Marines, and golf for the Camp Lejeune Marines.  When I was stationed in Hawaii, I would run from Camp Smith (the one over looking Pearl Harbor) to Kaneohe; a beautiful run over the Pauli and the through the rain forest.

Then my world started to change.  I developed runner's knees and could not even run three miles to pass the fitness test Marines have to complete twice a year.  I was given a no running chit and placed on remedial physical training.  Can you say OMG.  I hated it.  Standing in a room of smelly people lifting weights and working on machines - I thought I was in Hell!  I would not go, I would get into trouble, I would show up, I would not do what I was supposed to, and I would get into more trouble.  It was vicious - but in the end - I won!  I got so bad with my knees they just put me on permanent no running and I did not have to take the fitness test - problem solved!  By the way, 30 years later, the Government now recognizes I was disabled and they send me a little check each month.  Not bad - only took them 30 years.

I continued to try and play racquetball and my knees got worse until I damaged them so bad I had surgery and could not play any more.  That left me with walking the golf course as my only exercise.  As long as you can walk and play it is good exercise - then all of that stopped as well.

Roll it forward 20 years and you still are looking in the face of a man who just hates to exercise.  My wife and kids have tried everything from stretching, to swimming, to walking.  I liked the walking, especially with my wife.  It is like playing a sport - I feel like I am going somewhere.  Walking is good and better than sitting on a couch - but you are not working the very organs in your body that need to stay fit; your heart and your blood supply.  Both need to be increased to carry more oxygen and to be able to regulate blood sugars.

So after losing the weight and settling down with all my other life style changes, I added exercise to my life style change.  I started this about 6 weeks ago and I am now up to 45 minutes on the tread mill and 30 - 45 minutes on weights.  I end the day by sitting in a steam room.  I am lucky as a YMCA is only 4 miles away.

You might asked how a man who hates something so bad is willing to do it.  We learn that sticking to something for 21 days can make a life style change or become habit.  Well, to get myself past the 21 days, I set two goals for myself.  Remember how I discussed setting goals in a previous post.

My two goals were:

1. Have and retain a more active life with my wife into our future years.
2. Be able to compete in a super senior (Age 65) golf tournament.  I loved golf and the competition

They do not seem like much but they have sure kept me going.  Now my body wants to be there and release tension, get the blood stirring, and make it feel alive again.  A very nice by product has been lower stress levels and I think it has really contributed to my lower blood pressure.  I think my blood sugars continue to go down as I am forcing more oxygen through the blood.  In the end it will all be good.

Oh yeah - did I tell you I still hate it!  The real motivator - it is the gym or the couch and watch the sugar levels go back up.  No thanks - I am choosing the exercise - makes more sense.

May God bless you on your journey and be able to help you identify some activity, regardless of what it is, that will help keep you moving and getting some form of exercise.

Bob,