Category: Exercise Page 1 of 3

The rowing machine our friends, Al and Michele, got for us is being put to great use. I got off to a VERY slow start. That is partially because I know I am older and cannot start this kind of thing quickly anymore. Also, I procrastinated for a few weeks before getting started using school and work as an excuse to put off the pain. But now I am up and running (figuratively). Today, I hit the lowest end of what is a reasonable workout: 20 minutes at an average rate of over 570 calories per hour. That is really not so great, but at least I am back in the game now. My next immediate goal that I hope to hit in a few months is to row 45 minutes at a calorie average of over 600 calories per hour. It feels weird to set goals that are a lot lower than what I did when I was in my thirties, but it is just the nature of the beast. If/when I can maintain that next goal for a month or two, I would like to start lifting again. I am going five days per week now. Maybe I will back that off to 3-4 days per week when I start lifting, but that is a tale for another day. Of course, this is all God willing.

Our friends, Al and Michele, completely out of the blue, bought us a Concept 2 rowing machine. Lorena and I have both been avid rowers. I actually quit rowing after a good long stint back in about 1994 because we had kids and it was hard to get to the gym without neglecting the family. Lorena started rowing in about 2010 and has never stopped. She did an hour, three days per week for several years, but has settled down to 45 minutes now. She runs for an hour an additional two days per week.

I have now excuse now not to get back in the game. At 65, I know I need to start a little slower than I did in the past. My plan is to start at five minutes and add a minute per day until I get up to 45 minutes and make up the difference walking on the treadmill until I hit my goal.

Kudos go out to the people at Concept 2 who made this device. It is just spectacular. I spent three-quarters of a 45 year career in manufacturing, manufacturing quality, and design for manufacturing. The machine is extremely well made. I understand the difficulty of building something that is easy to assemble, ships in a reasonable size/weight box, and holds up after it is put together by fumble-finger schlubs like me. It took about 15 minutes to assemble after we got the thing unboxed and it is solid as a rock. We have been using it for a couple of weeks and could not be happier. Great product.

The DeskCycle thing continues to work out well for me. Here is my new setup. After using the thing for about a week it came to my attention that I could move the display from its bracket on cycle itself to a desktop stand that was provided for that with a long cable that was also provided.

I think the function to convert cycling times and distances to fitbit steps is not quite right (to my favor in terms of steps per mile, but against my favor in translating how much energy was actually expended–the cycle says I did more than I did. Nevertheless, it is a tremendous help and I am learning how to calibrate my eating to match how much energy I expend on the cycle.

Also, I am getting better at ignoring that I am cycling while I work at the computer. This is still going to take awhile, but I think I will get there. I still need to get a better desk chair and maybe raise the height of the desk a little.

Yesterday was a day of minor setbacks. I lost my glasses in the morning. I was not sure whether I could find replacement, but Whole Foods had a small selection and they were on sale so you can see what I bought in the picture here. Then, on the walk home, I ran to beat a crosswalk light and pulled a hamstring, not horribly, but badly enough that I had to make a decision this morning on whether to walk the three miles to work or call a Lyft. I chose the Lyft, but that might have been a mistake. I definitely need to get into better shape, eat right and take care of myself better in general. A lot of my niggling issues will go away if I just lose the weight (blood pressure, cholesterol, muscle aggravation, etc.).

I walked the 3.1 miles into to work from the hotel again today with a brief stop at the (wildly underwhelming) Whole Foods to buy something for lunch. Last night I did not walk home because we took a colleague who is leaving the company out for dinner and they drove me back to the hotel after because it was raining. So today, depending on the weather, will be my first day to walk both ways.

I got started on my new under desk exercise cycle last week. I am very surprised I like it so much. By Saturday, I was forgetting that I was cycling–it had a very minimal impact on my ability to work at my desk. I think this will continue to get better. I really do need to get myself a new office chair. My old one has been great, but is getting worn out.

Since I made good progress on the cycle, I decided I should not let it go to waste when I flew to work at the home office in Boston. I am got to Boston last night and am off to a pretty good start. I was frustrated that the hotel where I usually stay across the street from the office was full–partially due to a remodel of a third of their rooms. I got into a Marriott a little over three miles down the road and decided to try to walk into work in the morning and then home in the evening. I was worried it might be dangerous because this is a high traffic area, but there were sidewalks the entire way and stoplight controlled crosswalks across the heavily trafficked streets.

I stopped at Whole Foods (I really wish there were a better option than Whole Foods–they really do not have much of a selection of the kinds of healthy foods I like) on the way and got myself a sandwich so I do not have to leave the office at lunchtime.