A Super-Bendy (Hypermobile/EDS) Recovers From Joint-Replacement Surgery; Chapter One

This is, in fact, Day Seven Post-op of having a joint replaced in the left wrist, or an arthoplasty CMC . ***If you cannot abide reading medical descriptions, skip to the next paragraph and cute dog pics. The trapezium bone was removed, replaced by a tendon graft and the bones hitched back together with a tiny tightwire. I always dreamed I'd do acrobatics and tightwire stunts. Fancy this being the first one.

I'll start here and in future chapters work back to when this hand first became a problem, but fresh things first. I am accompanied by a warm weight pressed up against my knees in the form of woman's most faithful friend (until the mailman shows up), Tuxy Pup. He desires nothing more of a morning than for his person to stay put for the duration of his morning nap.

 

We are back in a comfortable position, pillows in place under left elbow, ready to chronicle recovery as I live it. But earlier I did a very easy-going set of stretches. I am not going to get all stiff and old because of my left thumb. I am drinking as well, as much water as I can remember to drink each day. Recovery hinges on a balance of all three. Move. Rest. Hydrate.

Surgery Day, as you might imagine, was woozy, fuzzy, and tired until it wasn't. There was a good deal of meditation on gratitude and some silent cussing. My rambling notes, scrawled on a tablet with my Apple pencil went something like this, "Think of everything that is pain-free. Toes? check! left leg, right leg, torso, right arm, right hand, neck, eyes, nose, whole head? Check, check! I am so fortunate!" I even used pretty colors. And no cussing.

How could I complain when my husband had rearranged his day, his month around this to take care of every detail, meal, animal, and child? What's more, I was not going to whine about a choice I made freely. 

Nevertheless, the truth is, when the nurse tells you, "take a pain pill when you first start to notice pins and needles," it is a good idea to do just that. They know what they're talking about. I blame timing and a chronic low-pain tolerance for what happened. 

They said, "a nerve-block can last for up to 24 hours, if it hasn't worn off before you go to bed, take the meds to be safe." That was my plan. But, the pins and needles warning sign came two hours after surgery as I was being bundled into the backseat to head home. I thought it might just be the new positioning of my arm or imagination. I have a bright and vivid imagination that goes into overdrive for anything with the smallest hint of the catastrophic. When the pain began vaguely in the heavily-bandaged region of the joint that had been gussied up, I knew that this time it had to be my imagination. There was no way I could have any feeling at all in this arm when the nerve block was so clearly still at work. 

How did I know this? Remember when the fake wizard professor, Gilderoy Lockhart, casts a spell that eliminates all the bones in Harry Potter's arm? When it goes all gooey and limp right there on the Quidditch field? Yes, well, that was the exact appearance of my arm too. Like jelly, zero control over it, made you queasy to look at. The nerve was blocked. For real. Fingers could not wiggle. And...weirdest of all, I could not get a grasp on its coordinates. 

My arm was still in the position it had been in just before they jabbed me with the magical nerve block needle. This was the oddest encounter of the day, not the half-remembered conversation I had as I woke up still in the freezing cold operating room, nor the loopy happiness of seeing my darling still in my hospital room as though he'd never left, even though it had been almost two hours but felt like 3 minutes. No, what my brain could not wrap itself around was where it believed my arm to be and where my eyes said it was, stretched out and bandaged up, way off to the side.

But still it hurt in a dull, aching way. The wiggling capacity returned suddenly, and then it was too late. I accepted two ibuprofen. They did not seem very effective. One pain pill an hour later did not much help either, but I didn't know what other side effects the drugs might have...like vomiting. Who wants to vomit when clean up will be someone else's duty? I would have to breathe through it. Until around midnight when I gave in and chose to take TWO pills. Best solution ever.

Speaking of decisions, this whole thing was not undertaken lightly. I have been present for too many limb surgery recovery visits as an interpreter (nine years worth) to believe in the always happily-ever-after of opening up body parts and making it all like new. It does happen and surgeons can be miracle-workers, but it is science, not magic. In science there are variables. 

My major variable is hypermobility (or super-loose joints), a form of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome which has meant many things, as those of you who are familiar with it, (fellow zebras) can recount in detail. A few years ago, I wrote that surgery was not an option. What changed?

That is a topic for the next post. Suffice it to say that the arthritis pain could no longer be dealt with to my satisfaction in an alternative manner.

Today I will focus on recovery.

Day One following surgery, ugh, the barf I had avoided and feared appeared. Pain and nausea...typical post-op misery I knew, how many times had I seen patients in similar straights? Was it due to tacos for lunch or the pain medication? Hard to tell. I ended the day with tea and rice crackers.

Day Two, I sleep until 9, which is noon in my normal world.

-I read, clean up left-over invoices and emails, read and sleep.

-I get dressed, professionally, and work for two hours plus over Zoom. I thought I was going to be ready for this. It was a long and emotionally taxing interview. Once finished, I am wiped. 

My thoughts on Day Three, still mainly resting sitting still but off the strong stuff, down to a couple NSAs twice a day:

-Marvel at what a gifted surgeon can do today so that a person will be able to move; lift, drive, type and knit tomorrow. And wince, just a teensy bit, from time to time.

-Contemplating the terms Arthroplasty CMC and mini T-rope fixation, which serve as a reminder NOT TO USE THE THUMB. The only admonition from the doctor.

-Fortunate indeed to be free to swivel my head from side to side, to feel I lack no flexibility of body or inferior limbs (did this hypermobile human really say that?)

-Even luckier to have scrumptious food brought to my side at any hour of the day or night. Thank you, sweetie doing all the cooking and cleaning and thank you to the friend who showed up with a whole beautiful meal.

Day Four, in which I wake up and get up and moving.

-Yesterday I moved, allowed to go up and down the stairs on my own finally. OK, the instinct to protect me from myself is not necessarily out of line, I am ever-so-slightly pone to running into things. I also went for a drive to see the river because I know it was missing me.

-Today though, the garden beckons in the fall air and sunshine, it is irresistible and being outside feels healing. I garden, or rather, I spend an hour picking disgusting bud-eating caterpillars off my geraniums, one-handed, being extra careful not to splash the cast as I drop their squirming forms into a blue ceramic bowl of soapy water. At least I grant them a somewhat noble end. 

-Rest, tea, snack then a stretch. As usual, when there is pain, I go to a pain-relief Essentrics slow video. It feels good to gently, gently stretch every body part, minus the thumbs. 

-This is the end of not resting for the day. It feels better to have my hand raised and cushioned. 

Day Five

-We take two walks, one with Tuxy Pup held in place by my sweetheart, one alone, just to make the most of yet another beautiful autumn day.

 -I feel much like normal; I even wake up before 7. The pain definitely is more apparent with exercise in which my wrist is free and blood can flow into it rather than away. Back up we go.

Day Six

-There is no one free to supervise a walk until evening and it feels like a betrayal to go out without dog, so I work all day, with no fatigue, then break at 5:30 for another Essentrics video, this one is called a connective tissue workout.  After the first two minutes of warm up exercises, it slows way way down for the rest of it. I adapt for this heavy thumb I'm toting around by doing the warm-ups in halftime and instead of reaching for a feather, it becomes a fluffy white kitten. For others who have EDS, you might want to remind yourself that "pull your shoulder right back, stretch it way out" may need be be modified to "gently, ever so gently extend whichever body part we're stretching today," lest the helpful exercise become less helpful.

-Remarkable for today: no pain medication until early evening, no fatigue, a little achiness and twinges, both of which have been present since surgery.

Day Seven, Eight, Nine...

The week is a holding pattern of waiting to heal and have the next visit with the doctor. The pain is completely manageable with rest and one small dose of an NSA each evening. I always wait until the end of the afternoon so that the pain, if any, can be a reminder to slow back down and let this heal properly. 

I have a couple of remote assignments, but mainly I study to learn how to teach more effectively. This has been an exciting week as I go back through two online classes on better consecutive interpreting and do all of the exercises myself there and in Note-taking for Consecutive Interpreting. This freedom of having time to study and plan has been a great gift. I was looking forward before to teaching a class on interpreting for a local college, but now I am super-psyched about what we will be able to accomplish in that classroom and beyond, in our community.

What we all want to know is...how does it turn out? Will I knit, type, drive and lift weights again? We shall discover it all together. 

More details also on the decision-making that went into this and the options offered and tried.

In the meantime, let me entertain you with strange tales of travel and encounters as a French interpreter, à tout de suite!

 

Mama Fitness: Don't Stop: Pain or No Pain!

Advice from the doctors when wondering what to do about pain, be it joint, muscle, tendon: keep exercising! Really. See here: When it's OK to Run Hurt.

I had heard this from my GP and also from a rheumatologist, who says even if I have arthritis in my foot, knees and elbow, the best counsel she can give me is to keep going with my weight lifting, walking and biking, "at least 60 minutes, 3 or 4 times a week." Yes, ma'am.

As my elbow bit the dust badly two weeks ago, I had my doubts. I added painting the walls to my list of activities, when it already hurt to knit, and...my elbow was so stiff and sore it kept me awake at night and kept me from straightening my arm or even picking up the car keys without pain. I asked the teacher after class yesterday about modifications in Body Pump and CX Works (my latest add-on to classes). She told me to lighten up, to use free-weights instead of the bar or tube when it helped, drop all weight if need be and just do the movements, but she did not say to stay home and sleep an extra hour.

I think I was sort of hoping she would say to go home and sleep an extra hour. But not deep down.

I went back this morning, followed all of her advice, and I felt BETTER after my morning workout.

As for my questions about why we weigh more in America, I found a super blog post here; DoctorMama, confirming much of what I've suspected and going into more depth on the topic.

Don't let pain or lack of results that the scale can measure keep you from getting out and staying active. You will feel better with each extra step you take, each 2lb.weight you pick up. I promise. And if you don't feel better right away, be patient with yourself. You will. Go slowly, and if that fails, go more slowly, but don't stop, don't ever give up.

Mama Fitness...or This Stinks. Rants and Raves.

Attitude is everything, dah-ling. Yes, quite, and this morning, I am happy for the cool weather, a healthy family and a warm home. So much for the grateful list, I could go on, life is wonderful.

My gut and butt are another matter. This is not the happy weight-loss success story you were hoping to hear. Go to one of those skinny magazines for that. Not that I despise my looks. I love the second takes I get from people when I tell them I have five children. I don't look so bad for a mother of many, and two of them teenagers. I am more fit than I was a year ago, without a doubt. However, bottom line: I have NOT been successful at losing weight and keeping it off. There are fat molecules in the air. My thyroid is off-whack, and maybe I just like sugar more than I should. Burp.

This is a post on the topic of weight in America, by a brilliant writer friend, who, in case you get bored with my posts, has a magical way with words that enthralls and makes you want to read everything she's ever written:
How to Live in LA

Post-European Vacation Update:

I did not gain weight in France. Yee-haw. Not an accomplishment and not a disaster.

Total weight loss in the past year, that stayed off: 9lbs.  I had done away with 6.5 more...but read on.

In France, Italy and Germany, I ate tons of duck, french fries, mushrooms and cheese,  drank too much wine on a daily basis, never said no to chocolate or ice cream, and did not see the inside of a gym even once. I did walk a lot. Still...

I have been back home for a month. I've been to my class at the Y faithfully 3-5 times a week, biked or walked on the days in between and have gained 4 lbs. I have not had one single bite of foie gras nor the merest sip of champagne. I'm not devastated, just mad.

What is making the difference? I wonder if it is never needing to walk anywhere, ever here? Do those daily jaunts across the street to pick up bread and maybe 3 times a week downtown; a half-hour walk and back matter so much? Is it drinking coffee black in Europe as opposed to sugar and almond-milk enriched here? Is it simply not spending as much time outside, in fresh air, which was the norm for 2 months? (Which meant you walked more, which in turn burns more calories?)

My thyroid is practically non-functioning, according to the latest tests. But then, I've noticed all of those symptoms for years, now the blood-work simply matches the reality. So, can't really blame that anymore than I could before.

It's not the fat molecules in the air. My husband, who did not leave his office during the day to walk downtown or even get bread, came home with an extra 12 lbs. He has lost 5 already. Skunk.

Tips and comments welcome...but maybe not if you are a guy, who has never had to lose more than a pound or two in your life. We love you, but you probably don't get us. 

P.S. Last statement does not apply if your resumé includes training Cher, Shailene Woodley or Ann Hathaway.

Mama Fitness: Advice from Down in the Thick of Things

1) DO NOT ask friends for dieting advice. Or at least not in a public, social network sort of place...like a blog or FB, where what ever dumb idea you may have briefly had will forever brand you a crazy person. Be private in your inquiries, very private. Or take the risk of regretting it for all eternity. The person responsible for your health is you. A healthcare professional and one best friend is about all you need...and a way to make calorie-free, gluten-free, sugar-free donuts that taste the same as any normal, cake donut with chocolate frosting...or powdered sugar...

2) FORGET fad dieting. Common sense, statistics and all of my friends on FB will tell you; there is no better way to set yourself up for a re-gain of even more weight. I do not know if pursuing a low-calorie diet for a few weeks is a fad or a necessity. More research required.

3) HAVE A PLAN and stick with it. Premeditating the joy you will get from the food you have planned for each day IS a good thing, and allows for portion control, as you have just obtained all the pleasure you were expecting to get from that little bowl of yogurt. More would just be redundant. Go have a glass of water. Or something.

4) DO have someone with whom you can talk this over. If I blog, it is partially to encourage myself. My husband has incredible self-discipline when it comes to food. He also loves to eat. He is a great sympathizer for me in this journey. (Even though he has never been even 10lbs. overweight in his life.) You need girl friends too!

5) WINE, a word; I find that using this teeny tiny, two-ounce glass for a portion of wine makes life beautiful. If wine should be a forbidden item on my menu, then this little jewel is a treat. That might work for chocolate cake too; I'll have to dig up the kids' old tea set and try.

Mama Fitness; Check-Up Day

So...I am in great shape. My doctor is very pleased; my glucose levels are down, the good cholesterol is up, my blood pressure is perfect. Yaaa me. Yet, I still weigh in 20lbs.heavier than 3 years ago. It is discouraging. It is ridiculous. It is perfectly vexatious. 

When I began this series on shaping up again post-baby years, post-40ish, I did not expect the initial weight-loss phase to last so long or be so difficult. I have a healthy lifestyle; fresh produce, lean, healthy proteins, hardly any grains, exercise 5-6 times a week. I think some weight-loss should naturally follow. 'Snot. I AM toned, strong, healthy. I am grateful. I do not want to put this good health in jeopardy for a smaller skirt size. I love working out, the buzz exercise gives you is better than chocolate...um, a fresh hair cut and a glass of wine. I not only take the stairs, I walk to the bakery and bike to the grocery store. My lifestyle is better. I am not essentially thinner.

I am considering a short-term, super low-calorie diet to kick start things. This is not my first choice, and it may not even end up being a choice at all, but two health-care providers; both a midwife and an MD, have suggested it may be an option I should look into.

Any experience with the HCG injection and very low-calorie diet? Here is the new protocol, post-Simmeons version of it: http://www.dremma.com/.
There is good and bad all over the internet, as usual, but I know none of the participants personally. It would be one course, with a doctor and a plan; for food, for supervision, for long-term weight-loss.

A New Year, New Fitness Moves

I am not a maker of New Year Resolutions. However, the very air and the internet being full of them, I find myself reflecting too, on what the past year brought and what I hope to include in this one...or discard of, such as a number of pounds. Overall, I am fitter than I have ever been; I have increased my muscle tone, my strength, my endurance...the only problem is that it is still hiding under a nice layer of body fat. 

Weight-lifting, yoga, bike and other machines are the winter weather, broken-foot friends I meet with daily. I can do more sit-ups and leg lifts than I ever attempted in my younger life...and yet my weight has plateaued. Forever ago. I have never weighed so much outside of pregnancy. It stinks. I do not, though, weigh any more than this time last year. One small achievement.

So what is the next move?  I have the firm intention of sculpting my body into a goddess-like shape in the coming year. I mentioned this jokingly to a friend the other day, but I think it might just be the very thing for 2014, a goddess my age that is. I am aiming for health and strength above all, so that I do not have to interrupt exercise every other minute because of an injury.

How to go about it? We already cook all of our meals at home, except for the occasional date night out and the occasional coffee out...hmmm, those mocha lattes are really full of goodness...and sugar...and calories. Ditch those, substitute with green tea. 

We eat lots of fruits and vegetables, protein in lean meat, nuts, eggs and beans, almond instead of dairy milk, yogurt or fruit for most desserts, not many grains, an occasional rice cake, and water is the beverage served at the table, (besides dinner which usually means a glass of wine). 

No between meal snacking...or is there? Cooking and cleaning and hanging out in the kitchen are adding up to bites of this, a sip or two of the kids' hot chocolate while making it, handfuls of that (normally Ghiradelli chocolate chips), a glass of wine before dinner, some chips with the wine. 

This is a lifestyle problem. There is a lifestyle solution, I just have to find it. I've tried staying out of the kitchen...my darling husband is a great cook, but I need to do some of it, being the main person at home. I am weak, chocolate is a drug, and I love the whole before-dinner relaxation with my husband or while cooking alone. 

Would the French have a glass of wine while cooking? NO. They might have a drink before dinner, but it would be seated and planned. Do Americans usually have a drink before dinner? Ah, it would seem that some of us have a permanent drink happening in our giant-sized soda cups. 

I have a giant water mug from the maternity ward...the nurses finally took pity on me after being there for so many births in a row that they gave me my own mother-mug. It is equipped with a straw hole,  but it is made to sit by a hospital bed and it leaks when moved. Maybe I need to buy some straws or a fresh water bottle.

I am open to ideas that have worked for you. Do you have weak spots and how did you solve them? What are your fitness resolutions for the year?

Mama Fitness October Update

5:45 Bodypump class today; a new knot for my tennies, because the top of my foot is killing me; the "Nelson knot" from here: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more-sports/running-doc-don-overlook-laces-article-1.1217045. Full cotton gloves under my lifting gloves because the skin on my hands is bad. And happy as a furry dog, who has just been shaved on a hot summer day; I am here!!! Moving, following directions some parts of me would rather not follow; "one more time," is a least favorite, but much better than; "three more." 

Yesterday, I had a longish walk with the younger boys; through the neighborhood, along the bike path and into the woods. Everyone was happy, especially the puppy. 

Today; it's park day, so I will walk around the park a bit with the kids, before settling down to my knitting and chill time, then get in a short ab work-out between French lessons and dinner. 

Anyone else have that annoying pain on top of their foot, made much worse by tying a tennis shoe over it? Anyone with flat feet have a  preference for minimalist running shoes vs. full orthotics? Which kind? Shoes you like? 

Now, for my job; don't let today go by without moving. You will be happier, more energetic, and closer to an ideal you!

Mama Fitness: Time for a Walk

Except that my computer holds so many fascinating tales this Sunday morning. Hard to tear myself away, I want to tell you how much I love my readers and want to encourage them to get up and move too. The dog is moping over in his corner...um, armchair, with his little furry chin reposing sadly on the arm rest.

Why am I still sitting here?

My feet are tender. So what, I'll put on my cushy tennies today. My elbow is not the size it should be, so I'll ice it later. My head is fuzzy; the fresh air will clear it, if I will only get up and go. My hands are killing me, but I have a remedy for that too; a pair of cotton gloves with the fingers cut off under biking gloves to hold the leash...or barbells on alternate days. My running clothes are in the laundry, which is OK, since I will be mostly walking.

I guess that's it then, time for a walk, enjoy yours today!

Mama Fitness: NOT Giving Up

I have some of the stupidest joints ever given to a human. And I've been awfully busy.

Great excuses, right? I bet you have some too. Here are mine, and here is my two bits worth of encouragement for you anyway.

So, firstly, the stupid joints. One week it's an ankle, another week it might be a knee, or, like this week, an elbow. They take it in turn to fail me miserably.  The whole thing is preceded by a twinge, a fall or nothing at all. I just wake up the morning after a workout (or intense knitting session) unable to move that part without pain. It is inflamed and red, black or blue. Until recently, this meant a long period without much activity between injuries. It became an excuse for being out of shape.  Oops, can't exercise, guess I'll just have to sleep in, read a book, knit socks. No more. This time,  I missed class on Monday, but went back today and learned...a lot.

The movements themselves, getting each one right and in rhythm, with proper positioning, took up much of my attention. I paid extra attention to the way the instructor held her wrists, shoulders and knees as she modeled each move. I could spend the extra energy that was not holding any weight to observe and imitate correct posture. The squat section was, if possible, more leg-liquifying than ever. The abs had to be all crunches and no planks, so I did beautiful crunches after so much practice, or at least I hope I did. It was a very light workout, but it was a good one. 

Work and children have been crazy the past two weeks. My writing time has been shot in the pa-tooty, but not the exercise. The dog has been getting a lot more walks these days, as I transfer his leash to the right side and go. He is always up for a stroll. In the past week I've had marathon days of chauffeuring kids around (theatre, reptile show, kung fu, pool, shopping, Michigan, ((OK, Thierry, not me, took C. to Michigan for her sailing adventure)), but I held down the fort at home with sick kidos). Work meant regular appointments as well as one all-nighter in the E.R. followed by mental illness ward and an all-day, beginning at 6am, very sad, hospital job. Did I miss a day of exercise? Yes, maybe even 2, but the dog still got a walk, even if it was a short one in 95 degrees, super ugh. 

So, trot them out, those excuses, and then give them along, hard look. It can seem impossible, even irresponsible, to let something go for the sake of staying or getting in shape. But really, it is just the opposite. There are many things we find to do each day that are superfluous, from the extra ten minutes in front of the computer to the time spent sorting through the mail when nothing but ads are in it that day. These eat up our time and bind rather than free us to our unhealthy selves and bad habits.  If you're struggling, what will help you let go and get some exercise. If you've overcome a challenge, how did you do it? I'd love to hear from you! If the comment box will not cooperate, send me an email and I will post it for you. Happy Weekend; be safe, stay active!

Mama Fitness: Weight Update

After 3 full weeks of my new regime, I have lost, hold onto your hats, taa-daa......................................................2.5lbs. It's enough to make one want to bang one's  head against something hard. However, last night I changed into a pair of pants I could not even button the last time I tried, and they fit! This is also a permanent lifestyle change for me; smaller portions, less meat, more fruits and vegetables, less worry and more action. It is not a magic pill to instantly transform my weight.

But...there is something about age that is just not fair. Had I followed this cleanse, diet and workout program in the past, I would have lost 15lbs.by now. Am I despairing? Noooooo, well, just a little, but the pants were a great boost to my confidence that I am on the right path. Anyone else struggling with weight loss with the years or pregnancies or disability? Anyone find a good solution? Please share!

Mama Fitness: You've already been pumping iron!

Moms: You've been pumping iron. Ever since the very first time you held your sweet baby in your arms. At an average weight of 8lbs.per newborn times 12 hours a day, that's a lot of effort. Well, it has always been my theory, and today I had the chance to prove it. Of course, before my own experiment, Dan Buettner, of Blue Zones, proved beyond a doubt that people live longer when engaged in natural movement; like fishing, gardening, carrying water. Carrying and rocking a baby...natural as anything.

As I wrote earlier, I've been attending a new class, and for the first few classes, I kept my weight low, as suggested by the instructor, in order to get used to the class without injury. Besides the squats, nothing hurt, burned or challenged me, and nothing was stiff or sore the next day (excepting for the traitorous quadriceps). The rule of thumb for exercise is that you should not be in pain while doing it, but should maybe feel a little something the next day or so. Nada the next day.

So, I added more weight today; doubled some, added a third more for others...and got through it just fine. I did not keel over or pass out or drop a dumbbell.  Mothers truly are strengthening their bodies for the task at hand and beyond when we give birth and carry those babies around.

You may look or feel out of shape (I do), but don't you believe it for a minute; you are stronger for having children, and in more ways than one. Believe, because you can do more than you think you can, you already have.

Mama Fit Grammar

I used Grammarly to grammar check this post because it allowed my fitness-addled-brain to take a break from considering whether or not the parallelism of my phrases was "faulty" and other such delights that only a true grammar geek would enjoy. Grammarly would also like very much to help me with my run-on sentences and keep me from ending a sentence with a preposition. I can see this becoming habit-forming. It really covers the whole gamut of English usage, from spelling of "to, too, two," to use of verb tenses and beyond. Sometimes I simply write too fast to be as precise or as careful as I'd like to be.

Exercise has become the same way. I have been twiddling my thumbs and wringing my hands the past two days over a lack of time to fit in a work-out. Making that time is a priority, you know it is as well as I do, but time is not, alas, elastic.

Part of staying healthy is being able to forgive yourself for your short-comings, and get on with life. I plan to chill reading to my kids for awhile, then go out and enjoy date night with T. I will get up and go to the gym tomorrow morning, no regrets.

Full disclosure: Grammarly invited me to test their grammar check program. I did so over a period of time, and with thoughts of whether or not this would be useful to homeschoolers and bloggers. After thoroughly testing it with excellent support from their tech team, I decided to accept their offer of sponsorship; it is a top-quality product.

Update: Workout

This ubiquitous American term "work-out" seems to have two connotations. For guys, it means pumping iron in a sweaty gym full of guy-guys, for women, some aerobics class full of skinny women in spandex. I never gave it much thought, except to wonder what the question pertained to when it was asked. (Do I lift? Do I go to the gym? I walk and swim, is that what they mean?) Then I realized it was just a conversation filler when it was in a question form.

Now I guess I can say I WORK OUT, for real, and I love it! I still prefer to walk for miles outdoors and always will, but this new dimension to fitness is empowering; I did not think I would make it through even one class, and this morning I am heading out the door to yet another one, no spandex, just a water bottle, a towel and awaiting barbells at the Y. 

The only sore spots were my quadriceps after class number one. It really is fun, give it a try!

The Adventure Blog

Get your family excited about being outside, being active enough...to live a real adventure! This blog:The Adventure Blog is the place to see, hear and learn about the people exploring the world over on a daily basis. I feel like an armchair traveler when reading it, seeing the planet; places both familiar and new from a whole new perspective. We use it in our homeschool world to spice up geography. You can point to a continent or a river on the globe, but to see someone climbing a mountain in the Antarctic, here: http://theadventureblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/video-last-great-climb-trailer.html or racing canoes on the Yukon River: http://theadventureblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/rowers-look-to-set-new-speed-record-on.html puts it into a much more exciting context. How about a small island becoming the place Amelia Earheart lived her last moments? http://theadventureblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/more-data-supports-theory-that-amelia.html. History and incredible exploit.

A friend I have known for a very long time, Kraig Becker, started this blog to prove a point to a friend who lamented that "there were no more adventures to be had today." He has been posting daily for years now and is never short of fantastic material.  He also writes first-hand of his own extreme fitness; running, climbing mountains, you name it. The Adventure Blog is a celebration of a world that has not become the mundane place that we may think it has.

Inspire yourself, your children, your parents, to do more than merely observe life. Check out this multi-faceted, fun blog... and then get moving. 

Active Kids

This morning I was pondering how to tell you the ways in which we have motivated our kids to stay fit through the years. We haven't, not really. As I mentioned yesterday, there has not been an intentional decision somewhere along the road to do so. Our family is active because we've followed our interests and the kids follow us and then expand into their own. 

Sure, there have been a couple of classes along the way (like martial arts in a hot, muggy dojo every summer), but we believe in simplifying life as much as we can, so kung-fu and dance are the only classes they take, and these were both child-led and remain so today. My son saw his future kung-fu master (sifu) at a Manga festival (where his artwork was displayed) and the connection happened for him like magic. The others decided they wanted to give it a try too. Valentine has been crazy about dance for years, and she finally took lessons this year.

Sailing is what we do in the summer. It is quite physical, because before you can stand and look pretty for a photo you have to prep the boat; get it from the dry dock to the water (a huge effort), clean, take out the sails and connect them, wrestle the picnic and sunscreen and supplies into the boat and then actually sail it.

Hiking is a favorite all year, but especially in the spring and fall, in the winter we go sledding or play outside. The photos are for ideas of how to keep moving.

Way to Move

 Find a master

Explore current events, on foot 

 Go for a swim

Walk or run a 5k 

 Climb a mountain

Break out the golf clubs 

 Dance away your troubles

Try a tournament 

 Enjoy nature's follies

Check out local sites 

Mama Fitness: My First Weight-Training Class

I joined the Y, three weeks ago. Today, I took my first-ever weight training class. My life is forever changed. I walked into the 8am class with a fierce expression on my face, hoping to look BA enough that no one else would even look twice at me. (Please don't watch as I drop a weight on my foot or trip.) Perfect posture (well, I tried), no new kid "uuums?" I had no idea what I was doing, but a nice woman helped me set up; you need platforms, mats, barbells, weights, clips and hand weights, the whole thing would need three suitcases to carry and they would have to be very odd-shaped ones at that. The instructor, Stacia Carroll, helped me find the right weights for a beginner and gave me options each time a new move started. 

So, the class, Les Mills Body Pump, is, from the Y's definition: "the original barbell class that strengthens your entire body. This 60-minute workout challenges all your major muscle groups by using the best weight-room exercises like squats, presses, lifts and curls." It was great! 

The repetitions were easy to understand, not fast or complicated enough to lose me, but continual and flowing and kept us moving the entire 60 minutes. I felt that I was working hard, but not to the point of needing to quit. The teacher was informative and clear, but not chatty or annoying. The music was loud: remember, I am a yoga or walk through the woods person, but the beat helps you keep up with the movement. I did not use heavy weights, so I was easily able to do all of the upper body movements, but the legs!!! My knees are still wobbly from the squats and lunges. Stacia told me to sit back more for the squats; "you will feel like you are almost falling backwards." (and end up on my derriere, I thought, since it is round. And does she not get that there is about zil counterweight on me?)

Why did I wait until now to ever try strength training?! I guess I thought years of carrying babies around was resistance and endurance enough, and it was, then, but I am no longer lugging around infants and toddlers. My friend, Melanie Moore (you can find her on FB with great photos and stats of her own fitness journey), was my inspiration for starting now, as well as my son, D. who has been trying hard to get us to do his favorite "insanity" routine. They are both looking so good after months of working out that I started to have toned-arm and back envy. I'm on my way.

The YMCA: Up until this week, joining a family health club has had no impact on my fitness. I've been taking the kids to the pool and knitting while they swam.  My hands were pretty much crippled with eczema, so the pool was out, weights were out, zumba has never even been an option (see posts on Jazzercise and lack of coordination.) From the first day I read the description of the classes, Pilates and Body Pump were my choices. 

Yesterday I met with my wellness coach for our first one on one, current perk of Y membership. When I walked in to make my first appointment, she asked if I knew which trainer I wanted to work with. I sighed and asked if they had another mother of five who would "get my life." I wasn't serious, but she was! She offered, as a working mother of 3, to try and help. Joan is great; she helped me come up with a plan and will help me learn the different ways I can implement it through exercise and nutrition (which is, by the way, 80% of weight loss). She is encouraging and positive...and realistic. She and I do have a lot in common; we both run, we both hate it while we are doing it. She spent a weekend becoming a certified zumba instructor, just to prove to herself that she could do it. She has never used that training since; zero coordination, but she thinks Body Pump is a fantastic class. I have been attending belly dance classes, which I love,  for over two years, but have no confidence to dance in public; not even for an audience of sleeping old men. You never know when they might wake up and look. So it is partly, at least, beginner's enthusiasm, but I am excited about the changes I anticipate!

For the locals: I go to the Bettendorf Y, and the fabulous trainers I have worked with are: Joan Rusk and Stacia Carroll.

The Fitness Bug and Children

This is not a manual on "how to turn your kid into an athlete," you'll find that in the gymnasium/pool/ tennis bubble down the street. I am talking about how to awaken in your child the natural instinct they have to move and stay active that has a tendency to fade away about the time they acquire a favorite tv show or learn to love video games.

Seeing the example of their parents making healthy choices and keeping active is the foremost influence on both children and teens. I have seen mine become immersed themselves in running and strength training and biking as their dad and I increase our own efforts. I've always been careful to avoid negative body-image talk around my girls, because the media and society is so full of them already. I want my kids to be healthy in body and mind, not sickly-skinny or artificially pumped up. 

The only very deliberate decision I made concerning my kids' outdoor time was probably the result of having the lowest opinion of television, even for adults (think of how often Really Important People, like Sting or Mother Theresa, bothered with tv watching). Don't you want your life to be full of Really Important Activities? You only get to do this once, you know. *

So that leaves one with a lot of time to just enjoy life...and to muck around outside, especially in nature. My first two children think they were the luckiest ducks in the family; they got to live on the coast for a few years of their lives. Yes, the ocean was swell, and I miss it, a lot. The woods and the creeks and the rivers of Iowa are also wonderful. For one thing, the bike path along all of the above is litter, dog doo and algae-free. All of those were the obstacles keeping me on my toes and oft my double stroller on its side wheels as we navigated those early years of exercise with mommy. A run along the beach, in the dull, gray winter, but nevertheless, with the spray of the ocean and the smell of the salt water...and my feet getting tangled in mounds and mounds of sea-weed as I try to simply jog along. I love our creek down the street and seeing the woods and prairie change with each season; it keeps us coming back all the time (will we see Mother Fox today? have the tadpoles hatched, is the woodpecker back?), which keeps us moving.

Find a reason to go out and move. Maybe you start to say hello to the same man walking his dog each day and keep a treat in your pocket for the puppy. Are there construction projects happening in the neighborhood you could check on, a favorite tree to visit where their father saw a fairy years ago? Negotiate less written math if they will march out the times tables with you or find words that begin with every letter of the alphabet along the way.

It's rainy, snowy, too hot to trot? Dance inside to good music, hold a weekly yoga session, let the kids who are in kung-fu or swimming teach you how to do push-ups and leg lifts the way they do them in class. My children love to teach and train me...and I need it! Try workout online videos or DVDs from the library or from the thrift store, they get tossed a lot. Watch and try the video together, help each other improve your posture and accuracy.

Make movement and healthy eating part of your life and enjoy it. The kids will follow your example and make their own way to lifelong fitness.

*I am not a big joiner, but I joined two organizations; CCFC (Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood) http://www.cbf.org/ncli/action/about  and No Child Left Inside: http://www.cbf.org/ncli/action/about. Check them out if you are interested.

Mama Fitness: Vacation vs.Real Life

I often return from a holiday with mixed feelings concerning diet and exercise. On one hand, we were outdoors (we almost always camp), and active so much more of the time than we ever are at home, on the other, I overindulged, just because it was vacation. I always mourn needing to return to an inside environment after experiencing wildlife, birdsong and fresh air for days on end. No matter how I try, there is never enough time or reason to be outside as much in daily,"normal" life. And there is so much to be done inside! 

Here are photos from this year's adventure; 16 hours in a car with 5 children, 6 fabulous days in a cabin in the Rocky Mountains; hiking the trails up mountains, along waterfalls, through the woods, seeing everywhere we looked, mule deer and elk and almost touching those big, velvety antlers, they were so close. We went horseback riding, walked everywhere, and met up with good friends for a few days of bliss.  Then another 16 hours home again.

How do you manage to keep up a proper diet when you are away from home? How do you balance being at home and in the office with spending lots of time out of doors? Ideas and suggestions welcome!

Mama Fitness

What a process it is to get back into shape after a certain lapse, or even without a lapse really, but a decreasing metabolism, less daily exercise and maybe a little more chocolate than is strictly necessary for mental and physical health reasons.

Stay tuned as I outline a plan for any mother to strengthen, tone and slim their figure and give the kids an example to follow.