I guess there's no time like the present to work on getting as much strength and endurance back as I can.
Don't push yourself, though. It's better to start with a small amount of exercise and add very small increments gradually. (I'm only saying that because I am famously *terrible* at treating my body with any kind of respect. And in the back of my mind I secretly believe things like "If I was able to do this workout when I was 32 and healthy, surely I can do it now when I'm 52 and long Covid-y!" [SPOILER: I could not, and then it wiped me out for days.] Tim would say stuff like "Add 1 minute per day! Or even 30 seconds!" And I would be like, "Bitch, I am adding 10 minutes!" [Narrator: She learned that she was not still 32 and healthy.])
Oh! Also: Happy Birthday, ND!!!
Aw, man, I would like a little Tim avatar cheering me on with those increments! Does he hire out? Someone get on creating that app...
When I was struggling in the hospital/rehab with walking, I glommed on to the image of Megan Rapinoe walking beside me, kindly and firmly encouraging me step-by-step. I am not especially into soccer, but something about the couple of articles I had read about her stuck with me, and there she was, my own personal invisible friend. She took me from walker to unassisted. Aw. I should write her a non-weird letter.
Happy birthday, NoiseDesign!
That's sweet, JenP, I bet she would love getting that letter. And 1 minute per day is a perfectly cromulent increment. It's even a fine baseline to start with! A lot of how-to-meditate advice starts with times like that and why not also walking or whatever? "No pain no gain" is bullshit.
Aww Jen you should totally write her a letter!
Aw, man, I would like a little Tim avatar cheering me on with those increments! Does he hire out? Someone get on creating that app...
He is the ultimate small-increment champion. "Just wash dishes for 5 minutes!" "If you're too depressed to shower, just wash your face!" "Add 1 minute to your bike time!" (Of course, now that I'm up to 30 minutes 5 times a week, he's flipped the script to "You should try the hills program on the bike! It's a real challenge!" My guy, what about my life suggests I want to bike HILLS?)
And 1 minute per day is a perfectly cromulent increment. It's even a fine baseline to start with!
I literally started with 5 (very slow) minutes, and even that was a struggle. I didn't even stretch afterwards; I immediately flopped down on the bed in my best I-am-a-log impression. Fucking long Covid.
I started with 5 minutes on my rower. I'm up to 25 minutes. I SHOULD be doing it six days a week, but unfortunately, that requires mental strength, not physical strength.
Rest and recovery is also important! For real, not just me advocating laziness like I often do.
ND, you share a birthday with a good friend of mine -- I hope that you and she both feel well-celebrated today.
Thank you, my dear invisible friends, for giving me a place where I can just hang out when the outside world seems like it's doing its best to grind me into powder.
