Living ~400lbs

… and believe me I am still alive

Exercise

  • Useful “getting started” video

    I ran across this video on Tumblr – originally on TikTok. The useful part of this for me was focusing on basic moves for people who haven’t been exercising regularly. Many are the same moves I do. If you’ve been thinking of exercising more, or at all, this may be helpful. (Body size is not… Continue reading

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  • Intention gap

    What is the intention gap? It’s the gap between what you intend (or assume) you’ll do, and what you’ll actually do when the time comes, affected by weather, traffic, do you actually have what needs to get it done, and so on. One example: When my state went to all mail-in voting, I surprised myself… Continue reading

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  • Sit to Stand is important

    Washington Post has reminders of how to strengthen muscles as you age, including the sit-to-stand exercises I wrote about in 2009. I generated a Washington Post Gift link. Continue reading

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  • Treadmill listening

    Today’s treadmill listening was season 4, episode 1 of “How We Survive” on water sourcing in Arizona. Then I switched to episodes 1028-1030 of “Make Me Smart.” Continue reading

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  • How Heat Affects The Body

    I’ve heard many times that sweat helps humans stay cool in heat, and that we pump more blood to extremities to cool it before the blood returns to the body core. But today, listening to The Daily podcast, I realized that our pulse INCREASES as part of the cooling process. If your heart or circulation… Continue reading

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  • Managing workouts

    Managing workouts

    If I lived further south in the US than Seattle, I might not be working out at all today. (Yes, I’m a heat wimp.) But I’m actually in a north-of-Seattle suburb, so I’m wearing Teva sandals over my compression stockings. Other things I’m using: Not everyone needs these! I just find them helpful to me… Continue reading

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  • Signs of Progress

    Signs of Progress

    My pulse comes down faster after using the treadmill than it used to. I’m able to focus on reading right after the treadmill, and to retain what I read. My blood pressure has been “in range” for months. It used to be nice to have my pulse oximeter show my pulse go below 100 while… Continue reading

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  • Thinking affects doing

    This is a somewhat dismal quote, but hang on for the flip side. Individuals who perceived themselves as less active than others were up to 71% more likely to die in the follow-up period than those who perceived themselves as more active. This finding held across 3 samples and after adjusting for actual levels of… Continue reading

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  • Day in the Life: Aerobics

    Day in the Life: Aerobics

    Since I wrote this there’s been a bunch of changes. I got an adapter that let me feed video from VHS to my computer. I made digital video copies of the various segments from the VHS tape. This lets me customize things a bit, such as doing a segment multiple times to work out more.… Continue reading

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  • Day in the life: Stretches (updated)

    I still stretch in the morning and evening, though not this full sequence. Usually I stretch whatever feels stiff and I bend over to touch the floor a few times. Last year we had a plumbing problem under the kitchen sink. Himself knew how to fix it, but didn’t feel up to the bending. I… Continue reading

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  • Exercise & Such

    When I last posted about this, I had switched from trying to do 10+ minutes on the treadmill 3 times a week to 2 or 3 5-minute sessions. That was in July. Since then I have changed to 6, 7, and now 8 minute sessions. Continue to do 2 or 3 sessions, 3 days a… Continue reading

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  • Changing A Few Things

    I’ve been struggling to do more than 10 minutes on the treadmill for months. I’ve also been concerned that my pulse was anaerobically high when I’d finish on the treadmill. I’d been toying with going to shorter times and just doing more of them, and then the new endocrinologist suggested the same. I’ve started doing… Continue reading

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  • Year In Review…Kinda

    We don’t quite have one “lockdown now” date. Hubs went to the Seattle Sounders Opening Day game on March 1, 2020, and the next home game on March 7, 2020. The programmer (along with Microsoft, Amazon, and other tech employees in the area) started working from home March 4th, 2020. Our last eating out day… Continue reading

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  • Life Without Ibuprofen

    I became aware of ibuprofen in high school, as a reliever for period pain. I used it with happy abandon for assorted cramps and pulled muscles. When my knees started hurting, I used ibuprofen. Headaches weren’t much helped by ibuprofen, but that’s what acetaminophen is for. Eventually I had knee issues that ibuprofen didn’t handle,… Continue reading

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  • Yoga revisited

    I never really stopped stretching, but now I’m starting to do a few yoga poses again.  I stand in a “warrior” pose and marvel at how my mat holds my feet still, and I remember being able to have my feet further apart without any of the balance wobbling I’m doing. I remind myself I… Continue reading

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  • Disabled or not?

    A person with a disability is defined as: A person with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; or A person with a record of such a physical or mental impairment; or A person who is regarded as having such an impairment. – NW ADA Center “Disabled” is… Continue reading

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  • Back On The Treadmill

    Got back on the treadmill today. (Actual for-exercise home treadmill, not a job.) I started this a while ago, but the last 2 weeks my schedule has been a bit off. I don’t do much, because I can’t. The shortness of breath persisted way past the rest of my recovery from the pulmonary embolism. I… Continue reading

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About Me

Former software tester, now retired heart patient having fun and working on building endurance and strength. See also About page.

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