Sunday, July 15, 2012

Sore Knees and the Quest for Fitness

Yesterday an attractive young lady(30-40 yo) said to me as she was showing me through her business  "okay then young lady you just come this way and you be careful that you don't hurt yourself".  I was momentarily insulted to be addressed in such a patronizing manner.  I decided that I needed to join yet another gym.  I work in Opelousas part-time and I am in Breaux Bridge full time.  My favorite gym that I don't attend is Sure Fit.  The people there are wonderful, funny and seem happy to see me every time I wander in.  I have been giving them my money for two years and haven't seen the inside.  I figured that I needed another gym  not to attend on the days that I am in Opelousas so I joined Community Fitness.  They were running a special for 99$ a year including the use of their pool.  This need for fitness came about last week when I was working with my daughter in the ER.  On our break she talked me into walking around the outside of the hospital a total of 2 times.  It rather felt good to stretch my legs and I was sweating just a little when we went back inside.  Then my knee started to hurt. It continued to hurt into the  next week and still hurts.  I am sitting here typing with an ice pack on it and feeling really old.   Anyway, so yesterday Stan drove me to the gym and I limped in, filled out the paperwork and then asked if they could show me around.  My knee was killing me but I managed to keep up and got the 50 cent tour.  I can only ride the bikes for now and she suggested not much resistance.  I will also do some upper body work.  I am in the worse shape I have been in in years.  When I was at my highest weight at over 300 lbs I was in better shape.  I have been just floating along getting older, more stiff and feeling the arthritis move around in my body.  I haven't put on any weight recently but I haven't lost any either.  The young lady comment was meant to be nice but it stuck in my craw like a burr.  I say stuff like that to my older lady patients in the ER.  I never knew that I was being patronizing.  The thing it did for me was wake me up.  I am not a young lady, I am a sixty year old grandma-to-be who is hiding a bikini clad body under 100 pounds of adipose.  If I don't do my level best to get rid of this fat I am going to be using a cane to get around and I will be damned if that happens before I am 75.  I figure that for the next month if I can ride a stationary bike for about 30 min or start a slow walk for a mile 5 days a week that will be a start. I am really anxious to see my peeps at Sure Fit.  I know they will be happy to see me and will help me in any way.  I just have to dig deep to maintain the motivation.  Someone asked me if I wanted an exercise buddy.  Not now.  For now I am on a solitary journey that will take all my concentration.  I have found that talking and walking aren't such a good mix for me.  I tend to be competitive and in about 50 lbs will find a partner to work out with but not now.  I can do this.