Though I wasn’t an athlete in high school, I decided to make working out a priority when I got to college. My reasons for this were likely similar to many women in their 20s.
- I wanted to look hot – Duh! You’re young, single and ready to mingle. It seems reasonable enough.
- My friends were doing it. My best friend would actually ask me if I’d gone to the gym yet that day. If the answer was “No,” I’d get the look.
- I didn’t have the ten gazillion responsibilities of being a wife, mother and entrepreneur taking all of my time and energy.
Working out back in the day
During college and following working out included spending an hour or two at the gym. Lifting both free weights or using weight machines were frequent go-tos. My cardio routine morphed from my early gym days riding the stationary bike (the one with the heart rate monitor so I could check) to blasting out an hour or more on the elliptical with my iPod blasting tunes way too loud in my ears. I tried classes and mostly hated them for my utter lack of coordination that made these an exercise in humiliation. I occasionally did the treadmill, but not if I could avoid it.
After I had kids, I still made it to the gym thanks to their daycare, and I eventually took up running in order to cross running Grandma’s Marathon off my list which I did in 2014. I went on to run two more marathons and had aspirations to run more, but… I got older.
The same workouts yielded different results
I continued to try to run and lift free weights, and last summer I decided I’d commit to doing one of my Jillian Michaels DVDs everyday. I followed through with my commitment for a few weeks. My head felt good, and I could tell I was getting less jiggly. The one problem was that my ever-present stress knot in my left shoulder started to tingle. At first, it wasn’t unpleasant, but like all neuralgia left unchecked, it got worse. When I looked up what to do about a pinched nerve, “rest” was advice repeated in several places. So I did. No more working out, Back to jiggling.
Finding a new way
I tried to return to the workouts only to find that my shoulder that had never completely resolved very quickly deteriorated to its pre-rest condition. What was I to do? I’d worked out fairly regularly for the better part of three decades. What was I to do now?
In searching for what women of a certain age should be doing for a workout, I repeatedly saw articles extolling the virtues of walking. Okay, I don’t hate that. I actually like to walk, but I’d always done it for fun in addition to “real” workouts.
Also, my neck and back that have always been somewhat problematic, were becoming increasingly so. Add to this the stress that comes with NOT working out. So, what to do? Well, this morning I searched up neck stretches for my aching neck and found this article. I tried a few of the suggested stretches and before long I really was feeling better.
Aging is a humbling experience for sure
But it’s important to check the ego and listen to your body. (And for a reminder of a few ways aging DOESN’T suck, read here) Walking and stretching doesn’t seem like much of a workout, but it’s movement, and that in the end is what my body craves most.