Mastering Menopause

[lineatatime]

AgileGrrl, this is inspirational! I have a tendency to take on too much, burn myself out, and quit. I'm sure I never would have made it past one week working through the list of things you've got going. Great work and keep it up! Your method of using various programs as exercise "snacks" throughout the day is a great idea. I might steal that.

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 21

Pushed through a bunch of weight exercises, even though I was tired, because I know with the lack of estrogen, my bones need that to stay strong. Or so science says.
Onwards & upwards!

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 22

It was another long day working on the computer (18hrs) but I managed to get through my programs and challenges before heading off to bed at 4am.

Thankfully, a good chunk of the challenges only take a few minutes to work through and that gives me a bit of a mental break every time I do one. Slowly but surely I will get stronger, I won't have to use so many modifications, and will be able to build up a degree of difficulty until I am doing full versions (while my brain screams "hard core!" ). One day.

 

[AgileGrrl]

AgileGrrl, this is inspirational! I have a tendency to take on too much, burn myself out, and quit. I'm sure I never would have made it past one week working through the list of things you've got going. Great work and keep it up! Your method of using various programs as exercise "snacks" throughout the day is a great idea. I might steal that.

Ahh, thanks!

I am working through a lot but picked challenges that have exercises I can modify to suit my body as it is right now. A lot are easy to do after something simple. Such as, went to the bathroom - now I do 1min plank. Made a cup of tea - do some pushups. Definitely makes it much easier to stay motivated and not burn myself out. That and I use a spreadsheet to keep track, which for me, is a way to keep myself accountable. If I have an empty column there had better be a good reason for it.

I truly hope you are able to find some programs and/or challenges that suite you and keep you on track so you don't burn yourself out. Definitely steal away!

Cheers, my dear. You've got this!

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 23

Things took a little turn for the worse. As I was making my way through my programs and challenges I developed vertigo. My body just wanted to fall forward so I had to abandon my squats, punch ups, and walking challenges. My ears aren't hurting at all, so I am guessing I am having a bout of BPPV. Will have to do the Epley maneuver if I have any hope of being able to function properly this weekend. I am running an agility trial while also trying to run my dogs and relief judge, so a lot of people (and my pups) are depending on me. Gawd help me.

 

[Rissa]

Oh no, take care of yourself and I hope it will go away soon!

 

[CODawn]

BPPV sucks! I hope it gets better soon!

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 24

Vertigo was worse, body keeps wanting to fall forward but thankfully, as long as I don't look down or turn my head, I am not dealing with bad nausea or dizziness. Turns out I don't have BBPV. I was diagnosed with vestibular neuritis, so 1-3 weeks of feeling off balance all of the time is what I have to look forward to. Fun times! At least, as my body adapts, I'll be able to get back into working out properly again. That means that my workout had to change to just things I could do like strictly arm or leg movements that didn't involve bending, twisting, etc. Not much, but better than nothing. I vowed to workout every day and by hook or by crook I will do that!

 

[AgileGrrl]

WEEK THREE DONE!

I'm late posting this but better late than never. LOL. Certain exercises are getting easier to do, so I must be getting stronger and or developing more endurance. Knees are screaming more in others so I am cutting back or cutting out things like squats, lunges, etc.

 

[AgileGrrl]

Days 25 & 26

With my ongoing vertigo and running a dog agility trial all weekend, I was not adding anything else exercise-wise on days 25 and 26. The constant feeling of being off balance was irritating, especially when standing still or walking while judging, but weirdly enough, I could run. I know that the act of running involves our body 'falling forward', so my vertigo happened to literally, and thankfully, fall into that pattern (no pun intended ). Running was the only time I felt 'normal'. Go figure! That meant I put 15,000 steps in each day and kept my record of continual exercise intact while allowing my dogs to do what they love to do. I'll take that win.

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 27

Vertigo has lessened enough that I can do more things that don't involve bending/laying down or turning my head. As long as I could focus on a stationary object with my eyes or hold onto a chair/wall for support, I was able to do a lot more than I thought I could. Looked up replacement exercises for some of the challenges that allowed me to stand upright, modifed some of the other challenges that didn't have a good equivalent (such as converting to wall push ups), and was surprisingly able to get through a lot more than I thought. I didn't push it, so only did the basic level of my programs and made sure to spread out the challenges throughout the day into easily manageable reps. If I felt dizzy, I stopped. Which only happened a few times. Yeah! Hopefully tomorrow will be even better.

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 28

Wow! Woke up and for the first time since last week, I did not feel dizzy after moving from laying down to standing up. Throughout the day, I did my P&Cs without many issues as long as I didn't turn my head quickly or get up/down from a prone position quickly. I wanted to do a bit of catch-up with some of my P&Cs, so did two days over the course of the day & evening. I am still modifying some exercises that involve a lot of vertigo inducing proprioception and I do have to hold onto the endge of a chair or wall for others until my balance fully returns, but I'm pleased as punch that I can almost resume normal activity - thank gawd!!
Onwards and upwards!

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 29

Woke up feeling normal. No dizziness, even when moving my head up/down or side to side, and no balance issues. Woohoo! Spent an hour chipping dog poop out of ice and the only issue I had was my quads and glutes screaming at me from being bent over most of that time, nothing balance related. That meant I could catch up on some of my Challenges and went all in on everything else. I'm sure I'll be sore the next day but it was great to get back into the full groove.

 

[AgileGrrl]

WEEK FOUR DONE!

Due to vertigo, my exercise stats dropped quite a bit compared to other weeks, but I am still happy with the progress I have been making. I can do more pushups, calf rises, punches, etc in a row without fatigue and other exercises can be maintained for a significantly longer time than before I started. I could barely do 2mins of marching steps without my body screaming at me, and now I'm closing in on 10 minutes straight without exhaustion. Yeah me!

 

[TopNotch]

Woo-hoo! New avatar!

 

[AgileGrrl]

Thanks

Woo-hoo! New avatar!

Thanks! I like changing it up from time to time.

 

[AgileGrrl]

DAY 30! Boo-yah!

Wow! 30 days of dedicated exercise and I am feeling much stronger in so many areas. I had tons of energy today, so I continued to double up on some of the challenges to finish catching up to my program counts. Now everything is back to normal even if I never was. LOL.

To celebrate my first 30 days, I did something I didn't think I could do... I pushed myself and did 50 pushups in a row! Say what? Now albeit, they are the incline version against the arm of my loveseat, but when I first started, I could barely do 10 with the weight of my menopause belly (not-so-lovingly called Bertha) pulling me down. Now I can do 50 in one go regardless of Bertha! After I finish the push-up streak challenge, I plan on doing it again, but this time using my knees only. And when that is done, hopefully, I'll be strong enough to move to full pushups in the 3rd month. Small steps makes a long journey achievable.

 

[graoumia]

It is amazing, 30 days and 50 pushups!! Congrats, and keep on going

 

[THew8]

DAY 30! Boo-yah!
View attachment 8730
Wow! 30 days of dedicated exercise and I am feeling much stronger in so many areas. I had tons of energy today, so I continued to double up on some of the challenges to finish catching up to my program counts. Now everything is back to normal even if I never was. LOL.

To celebrate my first 30 days, I did something I didn't think I could do... I pushed myself and did 50 pushups in a row! Say what? Now albeit, they are the incline version against the arm of my loveseat, but when I first started, I could barely do 10 with the weight of my menopause belly (not-so-lovingly called Bertha) pulling me down. Now I can do 50 in one go regardless of Bertha! After I finish the push-up streak challenge, I plan on doing it again, but this time using my knees only. And when that is done, hopefully, I'll be strong enough to move to full pushups in the 3rd month. Small steps makes a long journey doable.

50 pushups, however they happen is AWESOME and definitely something to celebrate!!

Bertha (best belly name!) reminded me of this tidbit a friend sent me a couple of days ago. Be nice to Bertha!

 

[AgileGrrl]

50 pushups, however they happen is AWESOME and definitely something to celebrate!!

Bertha (best belly name!) reminded me of this tidbit a friend sent me a couple of days ago. Be nice to Bertha!

Love that!!!!

 

[aku-chan]

Congrats on reaching 30 days of exercise!

 

[TopNotch]

Happy Badge Day!

 

[Fremen]

Congrats

 

[Anek]

Congrats!!

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 31

Spent the day clearing my 60x80 parking pad and 200ft driveway of 1-3in ice before we get down to a deep freeze with snow again next week. Most of it came off relatively easily with the snow shovel, but there were some 20-30ft strips that needed to be chipped to clear. After 3 hours, I was down to the last strip and waved the white flag because my hands were bruising. After all of that, I did just the bare minimum of my programs while slowly working through my challenges. My frozen shoulder was not a happy camper with all of the ice clearing, so I was very thankful the arm workouts were minor and I own a cold laser therapy device. It also got a good workout last night.

 

[CODawn]

Congratulations!

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 32

After spending another day chipping away at ice, I finally finished clearing the driveway. Between a hammer, chisel, steel shovel, and snowshovel that chunk of 3in thick ice is no more. I don't care how much snow falls now, my blower will have a clear path to move on. Oh, and I get to use this for the first time...

because I finished my first challenge. Whoop, whoop! Quite a few other challenges, plus my programs, will be finishing in a couple of days, so I need to start planning the next batch. I need to make sure I have a bit of everything to round out my exercises. Already have a bunch bookmarked, just need to decide which ones will be the replacements. Decisions, decisions. LOL!

 

[graoumia]

Congrats. Choosing the next one is sometimes the most difficult part here, good decision

 

[Fremen]

Congrats

 

[TopNotch]

After all that ice clearing, I would imagine it wouldn't be only your shoulder that was frozen!

 

[graoumia]

Someone told me I had a frozen shoulder issue too related to menopause, but when i move a lot it leaves (and come back if i stop). You can do it

 

[AgileGrrl]

Someone told me I had a frozen shoulder issue too related to menopause, but when i move a lot it leaves (and come back if i stop). You can do it

I have the direct opposite effect. Move the shoulder too much and it screams with pain. Thankfully, my cold laser helps out a ton! Don't like taking NSAIDs unless I absolutely have to. Isn't menopause grand?

 

[AgileGrrl]

After all that ice clearing, I would imagine it wouldn't be only your shoulder that was frozen!

LOL! I actually lucked out, it was hovering around 0ºC the whole day so I worked in just a tshirt and didn't need any gloves. The cold is coming tomorrow.

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 33

Had to do my exercises early today because I am heading out of town for a dog sport tournament tomorrow. 3.5 hour drive down to stay with a teammate tonight, run the dogs all day tomorrow, and then drive back home afterwards before the massive snowstorm hits. We are supposed to be getting up to 30cm/12" of snow over Tuesday & Wednesday and I need to be home before that happens. Hence I won't be working out tomorrow, but I will be putting a lot of miles on my feet, so will more than make the step count for my walkabout challenge. Gotta keep that workout streak alive!
Onwards & upwards!

 

[THew8]

Day 33
View attachment 8737
Had to do my exercises early today because I am heading out of town for a dog sport tournament tomorrow. 3.5 hour drive down to stay with a teammate tonight, run the dogs all day tomorrow, and then drive back home afterwards before the massive snowstorm hits. We are supposed to be getting up to 30cm/12" of snow over Tuesday & Wednesday and I need to be home before that happens. Hence I won't be working out tomorrow, but I will be putting a lot of miles on my feet, so will more than make the step count for my walkabout challenge. Gotta keep that workout streak alive!

Safe travels! Wear comfy shoes!

 

[Lady Celerity]

Congratulations on completing the Daily Walk challenge!

 

[Rissa]

Congrats on the Daily Walk challenge!

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 34

Did just under 15,000 steps while at scent hurdle racing with my pups and put 663km/412miles on my arse driving there and back to do it. Do I get to count the drive as a glute workout?

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 35

Big day today. Not only did I finish all 30 days of my programs, I also finished eight Challenges (woohoo!!). I've got a bunch of badges on my profile now.

My body might not be happy, but my arms... my arms are furious. Why, you ask? Because I saw the last day of push-up streak ("max in one go" ) and went for it. I did 100 pushups!!! I almost didn't make it, but when I hit 95 and my arms were screaming, I knew I had to do just 5 more even if it killed me. 6 hours later, my arms are still floppy noodles and I don't care. I did it. I'm so stoked!

I've got my next batch of programs/challenges lined up to replace the finished ones with the hope that eventually, Bertha will get smaller, I will get even stronger, and maybe, just maybe, I'll get back down to the same size I was before I blew my knee out. Oh, and I know I will master menopause because of DAREBEE's help.
Onwards & upwards!

 

[graoumia]

Amazing, congrats for all the completions and the 100 push up streak, it is another badge if i am not wrong

 

[TopNotch]

Congrats on your mega badge day. 100 push-ups is an impressive feat!

 

[MangoTux]

Congratulations on all of the accomplishments! Incredible work!

 

[agc]

Congrats on 100 push ups and all your completions! Great effort.

 

[Fremen]

Congrats

 

[Lady Celerity]

Congratulations & WOW!!!!!

 

[AgileGrrl]

WEEK FIVE DONE!

Not sure how long I'll do the weekly tally as it's really only for me to keep track of how I am progressing in individual exercises. Maybe I'll make it hidden, so for those that don't care (and frankly, why would anyone but me care?) don't have to see it. Yeah, that sounds like a grand plan. A hiding it will go.

 

[AgileGrrl]

Day 36

Started 5 new programs and 10 new Challenges that will allow me to keep my momentum going without causing too much pain to my crappy knees and ankles. When I get to the end of certain Challenges, that are now winding down, I have to decide whether to replace them with something else or just stick with only what I have already started. Do I dare go down the Challenge rabbit hole so soon? LOL. Doubled up on some of my Challenges today to play a bit of catch with others that cheekily jumped ahead. Now my legs, instead of my arms, are screaming for mercy.

 

[aku-chan]

Congrats on earning all those badges!

 

[Rissa]

Congrats on all your new badges and the push-up progress!

 

[lineatatime]

Congratulations! Amazing work keeping up with everything!