Once again I’m taking a page out of Kim’s (Bazooka’s) book and I’m being “Good to myself”.
I was going to attempt to build the elliptical stepper by myself. I unpacked the box and took a peak at all of the inners. I was able to bring the pieces that weren’t already attached to the mothership and brought them safely inside without breaking myself or any of the equipment. Then, I pushed and pulled the major component closer to the entrance to the house. It was inside of the garage and I came to a halt when I couldn’t lift the biggest part over the back step. So I ended up hiring a neighbor who picked it up like a feather. I’m pleased with this part of the story because I reached out and asked for help like so many of us on this site have told us to do. For once, I practiced what I’ve actually mentioned to others “to ask for help!”.
Assembly was entertaining because my neighbor drafted his two teenage sons to put it together. I kept a safe distance between everyone and put hubby in his office with the door closed. After about three hours and hearing the kids say “clickety-thingy” a hundred times, lots of laughter and seeing the boys uninstall and try again (3rd times a charm), we finally have a spaceship ready for launch!
Side note: Just to be extra safe after the kiddos and dad left our house, I wiped down the equipment with Clorox bleach, diluted with water. Since the spacecraft is in our bedroom I also put all of the bedding through the wash and cleaned everything else up too before letting hubby see his new toy.
Back when hubby went to physical therapy he rode a similar machine, it might very well be the exact same model. But anyway, the therapist had him warm up for ten minutes at each visit. So for now, hubby is getting ten minutes of activity because he’s headstrong about that being all that is required. Something for me to work on.
I, on the other hand, put in 30 minutes yesterday using a Strength training program and today I was able to climb a hill, also a 30 minute program. I was then inspired to do some core exercises of my own. I’m feeling pretty good! Maybe I’m not getting out of the house but 30 minutes of taking care of me, two days in a row is quite a mood lift!
Thank you kim for reminding me to take care of me too!
❤️ SewBears
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SewBears
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Sounds good Jeff! Thanks for sharing your regimen. I’ve always been kind of an all or nothing gal so I’m always hard on myself for not doing more. Or, the little voices inside my head telling me that I haven’t accomplished enough. When in fact, it’s up to me to do everything now. So I’m sitting here with my glass of chard saying... ten minutes is better than nothing. Congrats to all of us for getting our stress out. Whatever it takes, right?
Remember the Physios saying to Mum it was all about balance, yes you want to do exercise to maintain function but you don't want to do too much that you exhaust yourself and then can't function the rest of the day.
Mum had a very basic set of pedals and she would do 2-5 minutes for her legs and then we would put it on a table and she would do 1-3 minutes for her arms. I'm sure it also helped her mentally as well, that she was doing something positive to help manage her condition.
Excellent... you go girl. Sending hugs... Granni B
I conjured up a picture in my mind, as I read your post, of the many times I had a self build job. Sorry but I was in links of laughter. Go for it. Any time spent trying to keep the body going, is time well spent. Well done. 👍😆
Your post made me laugh as I did a bit of construction last week. I bought a rocking garden bench. Several hours later I was so pleased with how I had made it until I sat on it and couldn’t understand why there was a bar to put my feet on. I looked again at the picture and realised the seat and arms had been put on back to front, by me, or the base had. Your machine was far more complicated so I’m pleased you asked for help. Enjoy the exercise. Have fun.
I hope you got the rocking bench sorted! Congrats on getting it put together even if there was a bit of a do-over.
Oh how many times I’ve done things backwards! I’m a tad dyslexic so hubby and I often get good laughs with both of us trying to communicate with each other. No means yes. Yes means No, etc.
Seriously though I will point out that the spaceship is extremely sturdy and it was way out of my comfort zone regarding price, but I justified the expense by:
1) It’s a machine that hubby can maneuver without too many balance issues.
2) We aren’t able to go to physical therapy anymore and when the city reopens I doubt that I’ll risk taking him out again for a long time.
3) It’s a piece of equipment that hubby is familiar with.
4) In the long run it’ll be less expensive than going to a gym.
5) We can both use it.
6) It’s low impact and makes your body feel like you’ve been for a swim.
7) Saving the environment by not driving anywhere for exercise (that’s a bit of a stretch).
I don’t think you need to justify expense in today’s circumstances. All the reasons you stated were good reasons....well maybe not the last one. I say you don’t need to justify the expense but I thought the same about the swing bench. It wasn’t very expensive but did I need it? We have several wooden benches and my darling hubby would be so upset if he saw them. Every Autumn he would put them under cover and every spring he would treat them with preserver. They haven’t been treated for years and when I sat on one a few weeks ago, the arm fell off as I leant on it. Checking the others, they were all unfit to sit on. I’m going to put pots on the seats and use them to display summer plants. I think Colin would approve of them continuing to be used, even if not how they were intended.
Planted pots on benches sounds lovely. You might need to put something on the seat like a piece of plastic, large tiles, or glass to prevent wood rot. Other than that I think it’ll be beautiful and Colin would definitely approve. ❤️
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