Turning back the clock on me getting diabetes: Gym success = 1+1+1 and turning on a TV!

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Gym membership’s in place … now for the hard part … how to fit three gym sessions into my usual busy week. Things started well with the introductory session with personal trainer Christine (refer previous blog). My membership at Goodlife Mitcham has a fantastic feature that enables me to take a friend Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I love multi-tasking so Saturday and Sunday it was for the week’s final sessions letting me catch-up with friends (without the temptation of cake/coffee) while boosting my motivation to turn up. Perfect!

The walking machine looked like a good place to start. Firing up The Beast (named for it’s size), I built up the speed for a 15 minute walk which was much kinder on the feet and joints than the footpaths with much less likelihood of a footpath trip.The cross trainer was next launching feet and arms to a new level of coordination … for 4 minutes … a start! The customisable exercise machines beckoned for some strength training and starting on the lower weights to protect my joints made the experience rather enjoyable, which probably means I need to increase the weights!

That is … except for one machine … the one that makes you bend, head moving towards the toes to workout the abdominal muscles. Now as a larger lassie this was never going to go well but to say I felt like a piece of garlic in a press waiting for my insides to squizzle out at any moment wasn’t understating the experience! Glad to extract myself with my insides still in place I finished off with a faster 20 minute walk to lift my heart rate. However, try as I might, I still couldn’t work out how to turn on the TV that sits above each machine!

Sunday I was back, with eldest daughter Bec who was encouraged by her physiotherapist to add in different types of exercise to balance out the muscle use in the dance classes she does a number of times a week. We started our warm-up on the walking machines and this time I could walk faster for longer (20 minutes) and shocked myself when I decided to incline the walker later in the walk! The sitting bicycle looked inviting (gotta love being able to sit down to exercise right?) so a 10 minute burst – while watching TV (yes, that’s why you take your child to the gym – to show you how to turn on the TV…Thanks Bec!).

What a successful start to turning back the clock on me getting diabetes. I’ve joined a gym, turned up … three times … and loved putting myself first for a healthier me. There’s been the the bonus of being more alert and I even chose to stand instead of sit to paint at my easel Sunday afternoon… bonus … more standing time for extra health benefits!

But an unexpected glitch was just around the corner …

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