Super Grammie!

That's me!  I just got back from a session at my local Y's gym, and I feel so amazingly good that I had to post about it.

Yes, I know.  You would rather knit/crochet/needlepoint/quilt.  I hear you.  I love doing all my hand work, and if my body would let me, I'd do it for hours at a time.  Nope, not young anymore, and besides it's good to get up and move around.

Nobody likes "exercise" unless you are an athlete, and even then, you probably hate the word.  It is an unfortunate word because it has connotations of sweat and pain and boredom.  But if you change the word to "work-out", well that's something else.  Do I sweat?  A bit.  Do I have pain?  Often a little bit of muscle soreness the next day.  It doesn't matter.  Am I bored?  Only on the treadmill, but that's easily dealt with.

You don't have to be an athlete to work out.  You don't have to be coordinated to work out.  You don't have to be mighty and powerful to work out. You don't need to be young to work out.  I know this very well.  I'm almost 70.   So?  I work out.  I'm a pinch over 5' tall and weigh approx 113 lbs.  I work out.  I cannot catch a ball or throw one, either.  Can't play tennis, can't run without tripping.  Can't play golf, and don't want to, anyhow.  I rarely watch sports except for the Olympics.  I especially dislike team sports.  I was always the last kid picked for any athletic team when I was a kid.  So?  I work out.  I don't even work out a lot, mostly once or twice a week.

So?  But I can walk 10, 000 steps if I want to.  Did it for 5 months.  Started off very very slowly, and gradually worked up to it.  That's about 5 miles with my stride.

It's cold now, and I hate being cold so I'm not walking outside. Instead, I go to the gym, and I walk on the treadmill.  Boring?  Yep, but I vary my speed, watch dopey daytime TV, and get in 35 minutes of good cardio.  Lots of folks like to cycle or use other cardio machines.  Me, give me a good pounding on the treadmill.  And no, I don't run.  I walk.  I start off at 3 mph (miles/hour) and gradually go to 3.4.  That's pretty fast for me.  I do that for a few minutes and then I start going to a fast cardio, which for me is about 3.6.  I'm not running, just walking, and when I get tired, I slow down again.  Catch my breath and then back up to 3.6.  I do this for 30 minutes and I build in 5 minutes at the end for a cool-down. 

Then I go to weight training.  Ick.  Doesn't that sound awful?  But it isn't.  It really is very pleasant.  I'm not competing with anyone, just in my own zone.  I lift 5 lb weights for some of it and 3 lbs for a couple of moves.  I worked up to this very gradually.  Hey, I'm not in my 20's or 30's, so it takes me longer than for the kids.  So?  Who cares?  I can do it.

I have found a few machines that I really like.  One is a rowing maching on the Nautilus.  Not a boat rowing jobbie, just one that works my core and my arms.  And it is really neat.  I don't do tons of reps (repetitions), just about 12 reps for most of it.  When that gets easy, I either up my reps or up my weights.  Yes, you can start with really low weight.  I'm not out to be a weight lifter, just to keep myself strong. I now do 45 lbs on that rowing machine, and 45 lbs on a "lat pull-down".  Given my size, that's a lot of weight.  I started off way below that weight.

The word to remember is "gradually".  You don't start off running or walking at a fast pace.  You don't immediately lift, push, shove heavy weights.  You start off small and build up.  And you get very good at it very quickly.

I do a lot of core work.  I have a crummy sense of balance and need to work on it.  Plus, when your core is strong, everything else becomes easier.  It's not hard to do.  Baby steps and one day you realize that you can squat for a long time and it neither hurts nor is hard to stand up from.  And why do you want to squat?  So you can look at the knitting/crocheting/quilting magazines that Barnes & Noble puts on the bottom shelf.  See, good balance comes in handy.

I have arthritis in my knees, especially my right knee.  It comes to all of us.  So?  I work my leg muscles, particularly my thighs, and you would be amazed at how easy going up and down stairs becomes when your legs are strong.   Does this mean that I never have knee pain?  I should live so long.  Nope,  my knee can hurt, but not the way it used to.  A couple of weeks ago, I met elder DD in NYC, and we did a lot of subways.  That means up and down lots of flights of stairs.  My knee didn't hurt at all!!!!!  Must be those thigh muscles.  Oh, and those strong thighs also help with the magazines on the bottom shelf.

Before you do anything, get the OK from your doc.

Go, do something for yourself.  Start off small.  Walk around the block. If that's too hard, walk 50 steps, then turn around and walk 50 steps back.  Piece of cake.  Do that a few times/week, and before you know it, you'll be walking around the block.  Keep it up.  10,000 steps does NOT happen overnight.

Pick up a 14 oz can in each hand.  Lift that weight.  Yep, it's pretty light, but you are not interested in hurting yourself, just getting a bit stronger.  Go to a sports store.  But two 2 lb weights.  Very light, but who cares?  You're just working yourself a little bit.

See of your local gym or Y has a trial program.  Sign up.  If you never move, don't sign up for a killer class.  That's doom.  Baby steps.

And, this is very important, pay no attention to all the skinny minnies around you, including me.  Nobody cares what you look like.  They don't care if you wear form-fitting gym outfits, or sweats, or whatever.  They don't care if you are overweight or elderly.  They don't care at all.  Everybody in the gym is in her own zone.  Nobody will laugh at you or make nasty remarks if you are inept, obese, old or anything else.  People really don't care. Do not be intimidated by the regulars.  They are not looking at you.  You don't even have to work out in front of a mirror.  Ask for help; the staff loves to help out beginners.  Hire a trainer. 

This is for the rest of your life.  At my Y, I see really old people, probably in their mid-late 80's, working out.  Some folks need a walker to get from one machine to the next.  One elderly gentleman works with a trainer.  She sets him up on the machine, brings his walker to him when he's done, and then walks with him to the next machine.  I've been watching this for about a month now.  When he started, he could barely do anything.  Not any more.  The guy is getting stronger.  What an inspiration! 

I'm adjusted! Shrinks take note!

My Leafy Green Socks are a hit! They're loved. People bought the pattern and made lovely comments on Ravelry. My little business sometimes becomes an ego thing; if no one buys, then my stuff is unloved. Would you please tell me why a 64 year old woman in the prime of her life (yup, the 60's are amazing) needs to feel validated? Huh? Why? You know my mantra: Maturity is just a phase, adolescence is forever!

So, did I tell you about my doctor visit? I needed some blood work done for the usual cholesterol, thyroid stuff, plus the blood pressure checked. Haven't heard yet about the first two, but the bp is great! I bow down to the hypertension meds. They work.

Anyhow, they must have had a quiet morning when I got there, because my doctor, who is the nicest, smartest, cutest guy around (as well as being a top notch physician) decides that the podiatrist should look at my feet. Why says I? My feet are perfectly fine. It's the arthritis in the right shoulder that gets me occasionally, as well as the knees and the back. Nope, he says, at least once in your life you need a podiatrist to check out your feet. So the podiatrist checked them out, pronounced them "lovely feet", shaped my nails, got rid of a winter callus or two. It was kind of neat.

Then, the doc says that the chiropractor on staff should look at my back. My back was fine that day. I've never been "adjusted" before, so he went easy on me, and gave me a stim on the arthritic spot. OK, it was interesting.

Are you getting the picture? These guys had a quiet moment and decided that I would be fun to file, clip, stim, and adjust. So I was. Do I feel any different? Nope, but it was fun in a weird sort of way. Given a choice between a massage and an adjustment, I prefer the massage.

The tough part of it all was that I had to go fasting to this orgy of care, and I was pretty hungry. Hey, you have to sacrifice to become adjusted.

Knitting news: I started these yesterday from yarn I had reserved for me in the last dyeing session. I like them. They're different. I got the pattern from a very pricey Japanese pattern book ($60 at Kinokuniya). Adjusted it to make it fit my parameters, and now I'm enjoying it.




By the say, there are no twist stitches or cables in these socks. Decreases and yarn overs only. My kind of socks.

KV - Adjustment and sanity are highly overrated. A bit of lunacy is far more interesting.

Melissa - This is probably the only time in my life that I have not had to wait. I always bring my sock knitting with me, so I really don't mind. But Tues was such a funny visit. I think they were bored, and saw a willing victim in me.

Christine - I told you that I'm an olde broade replete with olde Englishe spellinge. Did you believe me? NOOOOO. The pattern I started yesterday? I'll probably post it to Ravelry first; but I have to finish it. I'm exactly as far as i was yesterday. Dyed 8 skeins today, and two of them have matching mini-skeins for heels and toes. I'm going to try one out to make sure that I have enough for the mini-skein. Any excuse, you know. And any day now, the next SM2 sock will land on us. You want me to dye something for you? There's no obligation on a single skein, because if you don't want it, someone else will. I forgot to mention that I put in an entire career before retiring. My dues have been paid,as they say.

Meg - It was a surrealistic moment at the doctor's office. I giggled about it too all day long.

Jo - The name of the book is 1000 knitting patterns book, and the ISBN is 978-4-529-02142-5. Without tax, it cost $60.50. Pricey, but what a book!

Vicki - I use both Jacquard and Washfast Acid Dyes, and I use Wilton's Food coloring for the yellows. For some reason or other, the Wilton yellows mix well with the dyes, and don't fade out.

Holly - Or Marion Zimmer Bradley. Retirement is a glorious time. If you are willing to take chancea, or fly with a passion of yours, or just do new things, it is a most wonderful time. It's when you vegetate in front of the tv and mope around, that it is a bore. I'm retired now over a year, and I haven't had one single moment of boredom. Not one. Some mightily major stress, which I will not talk about, but right up on the awful list, but even so, it's been the best time of my life.

Today I am a Philosopher! Oh, just read it! Grammie says it's good for you!

Yeah, yeah. Don't groan, just read the post

Let's talk about age. Here's the thing. When you get older, your body also gets older. You ache, you creak, your knees are not what they were. So?

But your head gets better and better. The minute you turn 50, you start to forget words. It's as if your head is stuffed with all kinds of useless information, and you have to sift through all that junk to find a word. But, emotionally, you are ON!!! You can stop reading all those self-help books, all those self-actualization books, all that kind of stuff. Why? Because you know it already!

I worked all those years with people who were a few years older, younger, but mostly around my age. And we all went through the same emotional seesaws. At some point, you learn radical acceptance, and then you get on with your life. And if you don't, baby, you are one unhappy camper. Yeah, you still rant and complain about bad behaviour, crummy restaurants, etc., but you start to find humor in the human condition that you never noticed before.

But still, adolescence is forever, maturity is just a phase. Just so you don't think that you become this rosy-cheeked, optimist. Nah, you're still human and you still do dumb. So?

So, here's my age question of the day: How come, when you're in your 60's (ok, 64!), you don't socialize with younger or much older people. When you go to a party, you hang out with people your own age. You kind of look for each other. And the same is true in reverse. Somewhere in the middle, when you are in your 30s and 40s, the great divider becomes kids. If you don't have kids, you might tend to hang out with other childless people. Maybe because you can't stand yet another poopy discussion. On the other hand, if all your friends have kids and you don't, you can still hang out with them. But do you become friends with someone 20-30 years older than you?

The neat thing about the internet and Ravelry in particular is that it cuts through age, geography, kids, occupation issues. You can create a virtual group of friends.

That's it. No more philosophy until whenever.

Knitting news: I cast on for a new pair of socks, didn't like the pattern with the yarn, so I ripped it all out. Now I have the new ribbing done, and I'm thinking of making an arrow head sock. There's not much point in showing pics of ribbing, so no photos today.

I'm off to do a bit of dyeing. It's so gloomy outside that I need some color to play with.

Holly - My kids are all grown and DD has 5 yr old Miss P. So in my grammie-hood, I tend to find other grammies at parties. The beauty of Ravely is that I "hang out" with kniters of all ages.

When I worked, my co-workers were pretty much my age, although in the last couple of years we added some women my daughters' ages. And we enjoyed each other's company lots.

I think if you have something in common, then that cuts through age lines.