Time to change how I look at things


KevRider

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A recent snow blizzard created some extra work for me. The roof of a horse barn ah to be well ventilated but that means there is space for snow to enter when blown by strong winds.

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This resulted in stalls been filled with melting snow and making the horse bedding wet. So one evening we had to dig wet bedding out of two stalls and replace it.

I decided to do the heavy digging work myself and let Deb drive the tractor to dump the stuff onto out compost piles. 

 

The situation made me realize two things. Firstly is how being a male the idea that i should do the heavier part of the work is hard wired. At least now I was doing that again, compared with the first year of recovery where Deb had to do it. Secondly I am at , or perhaps have passed the point of monitoring improvements.

 

I used this blog for a while to keep track of improvements and it was useful to look back over and gauge progress. Recently, however improvements have been negligible. Perhaps I have levelled off. Not to say that I don't still maintain my exercise regimes to try and keep moving forward but little if any improvements have been identifiable over the last few weeks.

 

Then it stuck me i'm looking in the wrong direction! Here I was taking on the heavier pert of the work, as I had prior to my stroke. The improvements in mobility which I used to track had accumulated to my doing substantial work. I need to start looking forward to what else I can now take on!

 

Now I will admit  that this new found enthusiasm tended to dissipate about half way thru the second stall when fatigue was was started to make me feel a bit wobbly and I almost swapped jobs with Deb but then I resolved to finish it and found i had a bit more energy to complete the task 🙂

 

so i need to look at what things I can now do as i move forward as even without measurable movement improvements there's a lot to get on with.

 

Cheers Kev

 

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The measure my physio uses with me in this stage of recovery is "did the extra push through affect you for more than the day you did it?"  i.e. if it stopped you sleeping that night or meant your daily activities the next day were effected then you pushed too far.  I do find I sometimes get so tired I can't sleep which sounds weird but is what happens. This doesn't mean I don't do things it just means I need to allow myself a little slack occasionally and be prepared for consequences when I increase loads or push limits.

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1 hour ago, heathber said:

The measure my physio uses with me in this stage of recovery is "did the extra push through affect you for more than the day you did it?"  i.e. if it stopped you sleeping that night or meant your daily activities the next day were effected then you pushed too far.  I do find I sometimes get so tired I can't sleep which sounds weird but is what happens. This doesn't mean I don't do things it just means I need to allow myself a little slack occasionally and be prepared for consequences when I increase loads or push limits.

and there is the rub Heathber. I am dealing with something not exact but similar with my recumbent bike. As I stick with it ( 28 of 31 days in January) I inevitably feel the need to increase the distance I ride and resistance to pedaling. I have a hard time reminding myself of my age and condition. For Feb. I've increased the distance slightly but not resistance. A bit harder. Enough to notice but nothing over whelming. 

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Willis the damned bike is the bane of my life  .

I feel guilty if I don't use it, get too tired if I do.

Kev finding the right balance is so hard.

All the best with it.

💚👑

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yes it's about finding the balance point. enough that it feels like you did something, but not too much so you are stuffed afterward.

 

Janelle the point of having the bike at home is that you can do a couple of minutes at a time without having to make a special trip. I'm trying to add pool time to my exercise schedule at the moment and even with the pool just downstairs I hate to get in for less than 30 minutes, the work required to change, shower, wash bathers and towel etc. is the same for 2 minutes as it is for 2 hours, so knowing that I can't manage more than 20 minutes at the moment without consequences makes it very hard to keep my commitment to myself.

 

try using the bike for 2 minutes at a time, or even only 30 seconds if that's all you can manage, start with that once a day and then once it doesn't wipe you out try twice a day, you will find that what you can do increases and it'll make you feel less guilty. 

hugs and stat safe from fires

-Heather

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Kevin I love your direction of thinking. LOL I have definitely been in that position of 2nd guessing something once I start. Occasionally, I throw my hands in the air 🤷‍♀️. But I am pretty darn stubborn... My daddy always fussed at me because I was stubborn. So on other occasions I conquer the moment and have the YES!!! moment... and other times stubborn gets the best of me and I pay the price for a few days. I'm pretty glad I'm stubborn though. I think I have gotten further doing so. Keep up the good work! 😃

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