Posted on by exercisehelps

My Surprising Struggle with Pushups

I was in a routine for years where I would do 3 sets of 10 pushups every day. Seriously, every day.

Until my routine collapsed. Inertia had taken a sledgehammer to my activity. Apathy had thrown my best intentions into the ditch. I quit doing my pushups. I mean, totally quit. Zero pushups.

But this is a hopeful story.

I recently awakened thoroughly disgusted with my lapse in routine. I swear I could feel the weakness in my arms. I was determined to face down inertia yet once again. My old enemy, inertia.

So, I got down on the floor and attempted to go through my 3 sets of 10 pushups. Here’s how I ended up … 3 pushups, 2 pushups, 2 pushups. A far cry from 10, 10, 10.

I was stunned at how quickly my strength had departed.

But … the next day, I got down on the floor and did 4,3,3 pushups. The next day was the same, 4,3,3.

Then a new day rolled around, and I did 5,4,4. My strength had increased a little. I was surprised to see how quickly it was coming back.

My arms stung from the lactic acid that poured onto my muscles as I struggled to increase the number of repetitions daily. But it felt oddly good.

Within two weeks I was back at 10, 10, 10. The positive inertia has kept me going and I have now exceeded that.

But it flipped me out to see how quickly my muscle strength came back. After that, as I was lifting some heavy items, I remember thinking ‘hey, this isn’t so heavy after all’. It was the pushups that did it!

Strength exercises like pushups are excellent for diabetes as it helps manage insulin resistance. Add aerobic exercise to your routine and you will have done your blood sugar control a huge favor.

Have you fallen out of your exercise routine? Inertia and apathy CAN be put back into their box if we start small and slowly ramp back up. Here’s to 10,10,10!

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[Author’s note: I hope you enjoy this blog! It was started because I am so sedentary that it is unbelievable. If you want to support this work, consider buying my book ’42 Ways to Motivate the Sedentary Diabetic to Actually Exercise’ on Amazon by clicking HERE ]

Posted on by exercisehelps

Yes, your camera can help blast you out of lethargy

I saw a photo of myself taken years ago and was aghast at how out of shape I looked. I mean, it stopped me in my tracks.

Honestly, I looked swollen and hideous.

If you’re not where you want to be physically and you’re a diabetic, take a picture of yourself. I don’t even have to explain how motivational this is to simply gaze upon a picture of yourself.

Chances are you’re not where you want to be.

Exercise is a way to change that picture. Oh by the way, you will be improving your diabetic condition immensely while you do this.

I know I know, you don’t want to do this. It’s just too painful. There is not enough time. It’s WAY too inconvenient.

All of the above is why you have to do it. But I thought this was a blog about managing diabetes through exercise and not about weight loss, you might say. You’re right it is. However the magic is that they both often move together.

So, either look back at an old photo for motivation or snap a new pic – either way, now your camera is part of your health team. Who would have thought??!!

(Author’s note: Share my book with friends! https://www.amazon.com/Motivate-Sedentary-Diabetic-Actually-Exercise/dp/1692830473/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 )

Posted on by exercisehelps

When you absolutely, positively, totally do not want to move

Recently, I had a day where I simply did not want to go to the gym, walk on my street, or do anything at all. I was frozen, like an iceberg.

All of this despite my being an exercise blogger who has written a book on the criticality of getting off our collective rumps and moving (ahem, exercising).

On this day, this un-moving day, my brain just simply could not process doing anything other than sitting in my recliner. It was simply a bridge too far for me to conceptualize. It was a thought that could find no place in my menu of activities for that day.

Trying to combat this dreadful turn of events, I reminded myself of the enormous benefits that diabetics enjoy when they exercise. And then I reminded myself again. And again. Nothing worked. I was still in the clutches of inertia … let me capitalize that, I was still in the clutches of INERTIA.

I’m confident that I’m not the only one who has ever found themselves in this sorry situation, right?

So what did I do?

I got out my self-winch and winched myself out the front door. There, I got that far. Let’s see if I have enough motivation to make it to the street. OK, I found a couple of cracks in inertia’s wall, giving me a few ounces of motivation to actually walk to the street (the self-winch is straining, straining, straining against the force of inactivity). OK, now I’m standing on the street, motionless. So I will myself to walk 100 steps on the street. By step 10, inertia conceded that it is defeated today and I end up walking a mile, which isn’t that much but is much better than the day started out, which found me lacking the will to get out of the recliner. Yep, my battle with inertia is that deep, folks.

Inertia flees in the face of action.

Inactivity retreats whenever we engage even in modest activity.

Even one step on these very difficult days is a victory.

Our daily iceberg can be melted, one day at a time. (But it can be hard, as evidenced by my account above).

Let me encourage us, when we are in the throes of a ‘cannot do anything’ day, take one step. It will lead to two, which will lead to three.

And our diabetes will thank us.

Posted on by exercisehelps

Cold, rain, wind all conspired to stop me from getting off the couch today

It’s cold. It’s raining buckets. The wind is tearing my roof off it seems.

It’s January.

Not much sunlight. Days are short.

In other words, an awfully fine day to chuck my exercise activities and resume my comatose lifestyle.

Knock, knock, knock. I hear this knocking in my brain.

A whisper comes through, “…. fine! This is a great way to make your type 2 grow stronger.”

I battle briefly with myself then run up the white flag of surrender to that knocking and whisper, get into my exercise clothes, make it to my car and drive to the gym.

I didn’t want to. I cannot find words in the English language to adequately describe my resistance to exercising today. Enormous, huge, spectacular resistance.

But I won another round with inertia.

Barely.

You see, my better angel on my right shoulder was advising me that #diabetics need daily exercise in order to combat insulin resistance and help their #A1C numbers move down.

Even in the cold.

Even in the rain.

Even in the wind.

Even in January.

Posted on by exercisehelps

The revenge of the dumbbells … or how I learned to blast through dumbbell boredom

Boredom has always feverishly nipped at my heels whenever I exercise.

Yep, I don’t get exhausted much but almost always I do get bored.

It’s funny, in all my years of researching exercise, I have only seen one article that addressed boredom and that article specifically focused on marathoners.

Yet back to my dumbbells … in a previous posting, I had discussed how they disappeared for a year and then reappeared magically one day. And how I was now faithfully using them daily.

However, as an update to this, boredom started setting in during my exercise with them. Boredom in exercise for me is as mustard to a hot dog. It just is.

However, I know my type 2 diabetes benefits from not only aerobic exercise but also from strength exercises like dumbbells so I had to figure out a work-around.

Enter my Roku-TV.

It fits under my arm and is as light as a feather so I decided to position it in front of my dumbbells and watch something interesting while I was working out. You know, “Christmas Vacation”, “Family Stone”, documentaries about planets etc.

It worked.

Boredom kicked to the curb.

My dumbbells are again fulfilling their destiny.

Does your exercise bore you?

Figure out a way to untie that knot! Inertia will go down for the count!!

Posted on by exercisehelps

The wrestling match in my head today

We are in the midst of another #covid lockdown, this time much more restrictive.

Somehow the thought has gotten into my head that exercise (walking, running, whatever) is going to be tougher for me during this season. Somehow, I have begun thinking “oh no! I am going to just shut down my physical movement!”

Keep in mind that my #diabetes is saying “Please get off your butt and get out the front door and move!!! We need this!” Actually my #diabetes is not just saying this, it is SCREAMING this!

In my mind, I see #inertia and #diabetes wrestling each other. One is going to win, trust me.

This is the point of this blog, to make sure #inertia does not win.

To make sure #ExerciseAndDiabetes walks away with the trophy.

As I write this today, I am in the middle of this internal wrestling match.

But I am here to say, once this piece is completed, I am going to get off the couch and out the front door.

I promise.

How about you?

Posted on by exercisehelps

Inertia, inertia, how do I loathe thee, let me count the ways

The dictionary defines #inertia as ‘the tendency to do nothing or remain unchanged’.

OUCH!

It’s funny how inertia sticks to #type2 diabetics like super glue. It’s interesting how inertia always shadows us, even on days when shadows don’t normally appear.

Inertia keeps us from exercising.

Inertia keeps us from even putting on our walking (or running) shoes. Actually it keeps us from even looking from them in the first place.

Inertia keeps us on the couch.

Inertia makes sure that the only thing about our bodies that moves is our thumb as it scrolls mindlessly through our phone, reading yet another useless article on absolutely nothing.

Inertia ensures that exercise remains a theory only, not a practice.

Inertia guarantees that we talk a lot about exercise and how it helps our diabetes but not ever moving beyond talk. (to actual movement … gasp!)

Inertia places all its bets on our remaining stationary.

Stationary means ‘not moving’.

Stationary means ‘going nowhere’.

Inertia is the enemy of health.

Inertia is the foe of diabetes.

This entire blog is dedicated to those of us who hate to exercise.

We can take that first step!

We will take that first step!

Take that, inertia!

[Author’s note, if you enjoy this blog, please share it!! If you would like to support this blog through the purchase of my book on exercise motivation, please click HERE, thank you!!]

#covid #covid19 #diabetes #type2diabetics #diabetics #walking #exercise

Posted on by exercisehelps

How the local zoo helped my diabetes, seriously!

Recently, I had the occasion to go with some family members to the #NashvilleZoo one morning.

It was great and I ended up walking at least 3 miles … at least!

Get this, I did not notice! I was too caught up in the wonder of this well laid-out zoo and all the amazing animals.

I got my exercise in for the day while I did not notice at all! I felt this was too good for me not to share.

The exercise helped my #diabetes by decreasing #InsulinResistance which in turn, lowered my #BloodGlucose readings for the day.

Isn’t that what this is all about?

Go to your local #zoo and walk through it! You’ll be glad you did!

Posted on by exercisehelps

When your calendar becomes your workout buddy … huh???

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Let’s face it, there is something compelling when we schedule something on our calendar. We are more apt to follow through and keep a commitment that is on our calendar than one that is not.

It always helps me personally to proactively plan my exercise in the future by committing it to my calendar. If you use a paper calendar, pencil it in. If you use an electronic/phone calendar, then schedule it and you will have an automatic reminder.

I hate to work out, you might also but we know our #diabetes will thank us for getting out the door and into some activity, right?

There is something about human nature that simply makes this work. Let’s make it work on our behalf to help us manage our #diabetes better.

Thank you Mr Calendar!

(Author’s note: I have published a book for diabetics who hate to exercise, ’42 Ways to Motivate the Sedentary Diabetic to Actually Exercise’ … written primarily for my always inactive self … click HERE to purchase on Amazon, purchase and give away to friends and family who need it … purchase and send to your local diabetes society for distribution and if you cannot afford it, let me know)

Posted on by exercisehelps

What you FEEL will make you ill, but what you KNOW will make you go!

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Early in my career, I was a church worker. As such, I had the benefit of exceptional motivational teachings that I would listen to as various teachers came through my territory.

One teacher stressed the importance of not allowing our feelings to dictate our actions inordinately. He focused on the fact that if we allow our feelings to rule our lives, we would never amount to much of anything or accomplish anything significant.

He stressed that we should operate a great deal out of what we knew as fact that we needed to do as opposed to what we felt. He had a great motto for this… “What you FEEL will make you ill, but what you KNOW will make you go.”

Throughout my years, I have always marveled at the wisdom in this saying.

In many ways it applies to motivating us to get out the front door and get exercising.

With that in mind, I think it is vital to reflect on why we are exercising at all. In short, exercising benefits our #diabetic condition in so many ways it is impossible to list.

For starters, if you have insulin resistance which most #type2 diabetics do, exercise will lessen that resistance. Exercise will open the receptivity of your cells for blood glucose to enter them. That way it’s not in your bloodstream and your blood glucose levels of your blood will fall. That’s a good thing.

#Diabetes can contribute to a person being depressed.

Studies show that walking 20 minutes a day is as therapeutic as most medications or talk therapy. Can you believe that? Well you should because it’s true.

Exercise can increase a person’s overall fitness level which lessens the co-morbidities that can spring up when you deal with #diabetes in a person’s life.

This alone makes exercise a fabulous, fabulous option for a #diabetic.

So think about those mornings when you absolutely do not want to exercise. Your feelings are screaming “do not exercise at all because I do not feel like it”. It is mornings like this that what you feel is making you ILL but what you know has got to make you GO. Because you know you need to exercise, you put your feelings up on a shelf and get out the door and get to the business of exercising. Because your intellect is making the smart choice and the smart decision here.

We can do this!