Stepping Out Again

 

by Pa Rock

Country Bumpkin

The snow is still covering the ground today, eight days after its arrival, and there are patches of ice on the streets, sidewalks, and driveways.  Old people with brittle bones need to remain vigilant and be extra careful as they wander away from their homes.

I managed to get out at noon yesterday and go into town for the first time in a week.  My objective was to attend cardiac rehab, an exercise group that meets on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at the local hospital and is run under the supervision of two registered nurses.  Classes had been cancelled all last week due to the snow, and I had missed the Friday prior to the closures to be home while our new furnace was being installed.  

After that long break I was concerned that I wouldn't have the stamina or the wind for twenty-five minutes on the treadmill and twenty-five on the recumbent step machine, but it turns out that both sessions ran smoothly and I had no issues with either.

I wear a pedometer on my wrist which counts the amount of steps I take each day, my primary form of exercise.  Two years ago I was doing 10,000 steps on most days, and in the summer that often included a walk to a nearby park and the using its many walking trails.  But my balance has become an issue  and I no longer feel safe walking away from home, especially along the roadways.  Now I do 5,000 steps on most days, around the hose and yard, and occasionally grocery shopping.  I try to never go below 5,000, even if I have to stay up late and march around the house in order to get there.

On days when I have cardiac rehab I pick up an extra 5,000 steps there, so on thos days my goal is 10,000 steps.  I also park in the farthest parking lot when I go to that class (or anywhere else, for that matter) which, in the case of cardiac rehab, adds an extra 600 steps to my daily total.

My numbers were abysmal during the snow, and one day I only logged a miserable 1,900 steps - but most days it was 3,000 plus.  Yesterday that slow streak ended with my return to the exercise class and a follow-up trip to the grocery store, and I clocked in last night at 10,300 steps.  Pa Rock is back!

Our group at cardiac rehab is normally around eight, and I am the oldest.  Some seem to attend as a cure for loneliness and tend to spend much of their exercise time visiting, but I go to keep my blood pumping, and I take the program seriously.  Recently I have begun wearing headphones and listening to music as I workout, something that combats the endless chatter and gives me time to think great thoughts.  While the rest are chewing over each other's family problems, I am lost in contemplation and relaxing to sounds of Simon and Garfunkel, the Beatles, Billy Joel, the Eagles, and many other poets of my misspent youth.

And the rhythm of the music keeps me stepping, and thinking, and relaxing.  I'm glad to be back at it!