Part 4: Listen to Your Body - and Modify

As soon as our children get old enough to move around, they become susceptible to injury. A child's first reaction when they fall or bump into something is shock, quickly followed by crying. Most parents or caregivers respond in one of two ways, we either run up and smother them with concern or tell them, "Don't cry.You're fine." After all, if you baby them, they will become spoiled and might realize that crying gets them undue attention. I would like to insert the sound of a record scratching here.

Back up; our bodies react to pain for a reason and we should learn to pay attention to that pain. It's time to stop teaching our children and ourselves to ignore the signals our bodies are created with.The old adage, "No pain; no gain." is bullshit. Yeah, that's right. If you are experiencing pain, there's a reason. Whether it's an injury caused by slipping in the mud or a sore shoulder, you should take it into account when you exercise. I mentioned in Part 1 of this blog series that I've had many injuries in my life; they weren't usually severe enough to warrant a visit to the doctor, but they definitely affected my physical abilities. One year ago, I injured my right shoulder; it wasn't a sudden injury, but rather a slow progression of damage that eventually lead to my inability to use my right arm. I couldn't reach across my body to my left side for some time and I was unable to crochet for a full year. The older we get, the more damage we accrue. Rather than using the physical restrictions as an excuse not to exercise, you should modify your movements.

My husband shared a guide book that came along with his resistance bands. I have incorporated several of these exercises into my routine along with moving to music. I have had to modify several of them due to limitations, but they are still helping me gain strength without causing pain or further injury. I do five exercises on Day 1 and a different five on Day 2. Then I alternate days. 

Day 1: Tricep Pulls
The band hangs equally on each side of the door. Facing the door, I anchor my elbows at my waist and pull down on both ends with equal exertion. The important part here is to not over-do the amount of 'weight'. Use a band strength that is fairly easy. My husband says you should feel some soreness in your muscles to show they've been worked without feeling pain. It's better to do multiple repetitions in sets than to do only a few repetitions with a heavy band. The heavier band may just cause pain and more injury.

Day 1: Squats
I don't use resistance bands at all with this one. My hips are too weak. I just do the squats. Be sure you sit back like you sitting in a chair. Draw an imaginary vertical line straight down from you knees; to avoid injury, your knees should never move forward of your toes. If your knees hurt, you're probably doing these wrong.

Day1: Bicep Curls
Modification? I do both biceps at the same time; it feels more balanced.

Day1: Lunges
I don't use resistance bands on this one either. I just do the lunges. Make sure your front knee doesn't bend too far forward on this one either. I can only do six per side; but when I started, I could only do five. I try to do these lunges close to a table or chair to help me balance; again, it's due to a hip injury.

 Day1: Side Bends
I modified this one because of my previous shoulder problems. Also, my band is too short to raise above my head. I step on one end of the band while choking up on the other end with my hand hanging at my side. Then I bend sideways in the opposite direction, sliding down the side of my leg toward my knee. This works the muscles along the sides of my torso. It's a small movement, but it's effective. After doing the repetitions on one side, I switch to the other side.

I started doing 3 sets of 10 repetitions with my lightest band - only 6 pounds. Then I increased to 12 repetitions and now I'm up to 15. I didn't increase band strength, just repetitions. Once again, it's better to do multiple sets of repetitions rather than all at once. I work my way through the five exercises, take a break (ie. dance, run in place, etc), then repeat two more times.

I followed my Day 1 routine for the first month, but then I wanted more variety and I added the Day 2 exercises. If you only do a limited number of movements, the muscles get used to it and it's less challenging for them.

 Day 2: Tricep Extensions
I pretty well follow this one exactly. Mainly being sure I don't overdo the amount of band strength.

Day 2: Outer Thigh Criss-Cross
I'm not much for getting up and down from the floor, so I do this one while lying on my bed. I broke my 6-pound band with this exercise and it pulled my groin muscles. Rather than push through like I used to do, I immediately stopped doing this exercise for that day. By the next day, I didn't feel any soreness.

Day 2: Lateral Rows
I modified this exercise for two reasons: one being practical - my band is too short; the other, it's hard for me to perform this movement with both shoulders at the same time. So I stand on one end of the band and pull straight out and up to the side, then switch to the other side.

Day 2: Butt Blaster!
(This one should be called 'Butt Smacker'. Sometimes the band would slip off my foot and smack me in the butt. My husband would hear the smack and just laugh.) You can probably tell by the scribbling that I modified this one the most. Getting on my knees is hard. Trying to kneel while holding the band is even harder. I will try to explain what I do. Balancing on one foot, I loop the center of the band under the arch of my other foot, I pull both ends of the band to my chest while bending that leg at the knee and hip, then I push down and back. Not only does this strengthen my butt muscles, it also improves my balance.

Day 2: Bow and Arrow
I haven't modified this one except I didn't move my feet at first, I just stood with them shoulder-width apart. I wasn't coordinated enough to figure it out. Now I do the full movement.

Notice I alternate by doing an upper body exercise and then a lower body exercise. I wanted to focus on my upper arm strength, upper legs, and hips, so those are the exercises I incorporated. I tried walking, but that particular movement causes pain in my hips. However, I can jog in place without any pain. There are lots and lots of videos on YouTube with guidelines given by Occupational or Physical Therapists. Look them up and follow along. Find the exercises that work best to accomplish your goal.There are plenty to choose from.


Do I exercise every day? NO! I listen to my body. If I'm really tired, sick or maybe I have a headache, I don't ignore that. I will skip that day and take up where I left off. Sometimes I skip several days, the main thing is to get back at it as soon as possible. Don't give in to temptation and quit.

By-the-way, you should also listen to your body when it comes to the food choices you make. Feel a craving for a specific food? Maybe you need a vitamin or mineral it supplies. Do you feel a lack of energy one morning? Think about what you ate the night before. I have a friend who says she doesn't feel arthritis pain since she quit eating meat. She gets her protein straight from plants. So once again it's smart to listen to your body.

Part 3: What's Your Excuse?

Through the years, I've gained plenty of head knowledge on healthy eating, weight loss, exercise, fitness, etc. The hard part is applying that knowledge so it's actually useful. I've also used every excuse in the book to avoid doing what's healthy and good for myself. Some might call it self-sabotage.

The most common excuse? "I don't have the time." Next excuse? "I can't afford the gym." Even when I did have a gym membership, I didn't go. I had excuses for that too. "I hate getting up early enough to go before work.", "It's inconvenient or out of my way.", "I have to go home and fix dinner.", "I'm tired because I worked all day." "I'm not into group fitness i.e. classes." "I'm shy and don't want other people to see my body." And on and on and on.

For those who don't even contemplate the gym and want their own equipment, there's this one: "I can't afford
the equipment." Maybe you're into dance-style exercise. Next excuse? "Work-out videos are too expensive.", "I don't have enough space.", and my favorite was, "I don't like the music they use." And let's not forget: "I can't afford work-out clothes."

The list of excuses goes on and on. Let me share my solution to all these excuses. If nothing else, you'll get a good laugh.

Around October 1, 2016, I started each morning with my ACV/lemon juice/Himalayan sea salt-in-water drink. (See blog post My History with Excess Weight.) It supposedly boosts your metabolism and I guess it worked because I started to lose weight. I wasn't consistently exercising yet.

"I don't have the time.": On October 25, 2016, I had to confront this excuse head-on. I started to exercise because I had flab. Yup, I had lost enough weight that I had flabby, grandma arms. (No insult to grandmas intended.) You know those wings that grandkids love to play with. I needed to tone some muscles. Also, I finally decided that I needed to gain some strength after my latest injury, it only took about 15 minutes of my day to do a series of 5 exercises. I have spent up to an hour, three times a week at the chiropractor's office. How much time do you spend at the doctor's office due to weight-related health issues? How about the time spent waiting in line at the pharmacy shopping for medicine?

"I can't afford the gym.": How much money do you spend in a year on doctor visits and medicine? Every winter I had the flu or a bad cold, usually more than once. Then there's diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. The pharmaceutical companies love it; you're making them rich!

We're on a low, fixed income so I really can't afford the gym. Here's a picture of my gym. It's not inconvenient or out of my way at all. It's a corner of my bedroom. That fan is my cooling system, 'cause I hate to sweat. (Yup, another excuse.)


















"I can't afford the equipment.": Fitness equipment is expensive and if you just use it as a clothes rack, it's not worth it; however, if you use it consistently, it's a good investment.

For me, I really can't afford it, but that's no longer an excuse. Here's a picture of my extensive equipment.

My exercise equipment consists of a 6-pound band that I bought from Amazon. This set of 3 bands (6 pound, 8 pound, & 10 pound) cost about $10.  That's cheaper than a meal at your favorite restaurant.

I do 3 sets of 12-15 repetitions of 5 exercises per day. I have a set for Day 1 and a separate set for Day 2; I alternate so my muscles don't get too used to a certain movement.

 For  all you dance/music lovers, "Work-out videos are too expensive.", "I don't have enough space.", and my favorite, "I don't like the music they use.": One of the latest crazes, CIZE costs up to $180 and I'm really not into hip-hop. The country music videos are even worse - they use such corny music. My solution?

Yeah, that's a speaker that I hook-up to my phone. I play music I like. I play what I'm in the mood to listen to. Then I move to the music. No special dance steps, no fancy moves, I just move. Movement = burnt calories = weight loss.

 "I can't afford work-out clothes.": A fallacy spread by fitness wear companies is that you need special clothes for every activity. NO, you don't. As long as you can move comfortably, you're good to go. Remember when your P.E. clothes consisted of a T-shirt and a pair of shorts? You wore plain white socks with a pair of tennis shoes. That's all you need.  Below are pictures of my workout clothes. (BTW These clothes were tight on me before I started losing weight.)

Here's a picture of my workout shoes. If you're at home and don't have foot problems, you could even go barefoot.

Still not convinced? How about results: I've lost over 20 pounds since October 1st - yeah, that's just over 3 months. That's even with eating the delicious food offered at Thanksgiving and Christmas. I just didn't over-indulge because I didn't want to undo all the hard work I'd already put in. The resistance bands are getting easier. I thought they were possibly getting stretched out until my husband suggested I was just getting stronger. Best of all? I feel better and I have more energy. Sounds like a win-win to me!

So really, what's your excuse?

*Disclaimer* This is only my opinion. I'm just sharing what works for me. Check with your doctor before starting any exercise regimen.