Little Changes Make a Difference...

I actually believe that this is true and am working on making as many small changes as I can.  As of late, I strive to "level up" to the next 1000 steps each hour in my 10,000 step program.  That actually works out pretty well.  Still, at the end of the day, I may have to work harder to get the rest of the steps done.

When I attend hockey games, I try to get to the arena early enough to make a few laps around the concourse.  As I explained to my trainer, the hardest part on doing this is getting past the people.  It is incredible how people have a huge tendency to just stand in the middle of the walk ways.  Just standing there talking or what have you.  My trainer laughed about it being an obstacle course and in many ways, it really is.  You have to scan ahead and make last minute decisions if you slow down or move around people.  Overall, it has proven to help me tremendously.

The whole point of the "level up" is not just getting my number of steps done, but I am forcing myself to get up more often.  I am so used to just sitting at my desk for hours at a time.  When I get up, my muscles and such ache.  Not a pleasant feeling at all.  However, when I am more active, my stiffness is not so bad.  I just get annoyed at waiting on people to respond to questions or someone requiring immediate responses.  They prevent me from getting up and moving around in a timely manner and I pay for it the moment I stand up.

My endo had suggested that I work out with the machines, rather than free weights.  I get my trainer's philosophy on free weights helping burn more calories.  The problem is that if my back starts hurting, our session ends a lot earlier.  Last night was the first time for us to use the machines.  The trainer had me do some free weight exercises, but for the most part, my back never started up with the pain.  That was good.  Also, I am sure the trainer would be happy to know - yes, I am sore from the work out.  That is the goal!  My bonus is that my back is not hurting and that is the last thing I want to injure.  Otherwise, I will never get the weight off of this frame.

So, if something is not working out the right way, it is okay to do something different.  As they say, there are a many ways to solve a problem.  You just need to find the one that works for you.