It’s Monday.
THE day.
Yes, time to weigh. Remember my enthusiasm over last Thursday’s (cheating) weighing? Well … not much improvement since then. But still happy to announce that my weight loss for Week 1 was 1.9 pounds. I’m really hoping for at least 2 lbs per week, but I probably need to be happy about this, right? Any pounds gone are a good thing. I keep reminding myself that if I’d started this a year ago (and stayed with it), I’d be 100 pounds lighter. So … pressing on!
I headed back to the pool today. Beginning with my fall four years ago, the pool has been a really great way for me to get exercise. I’m mostly pain-free in the pool. In the early stages of dealing with my back pain, I did several weeks of aqua therapy with an aqua therapist (sorry for the redundancy, just meant I worked with a medical professional). In addition to my lumbar injury, I have a disc-bulge at C5, so I have to be careful with certain exercises. But overall, it was a very good start to a regular routine of water work-out.
Prior to my move, I went to the pool six days each week (I rested on Sunday). I courageously stepped into the freezing water at the Laramie Rec Center every day, and happily went about my workout. I swam with friends, made some new pool friends, and generally felt better. And then the move. One would think that the city of Denver would have any number of pools to choose from. But, not so much. My workout requires a deep end for vertical swimming and exercises, as well as shallow. As it turns out, NO pools have deep ends. Okay, not entirely true, but certainly no downtown pools. Over a two-day period we visited 14 pools. Two were olympic sized, about 20 minutes away, and not easy for parking or access. Two were nice rec center pools but more than 30 minutes away on un-fun highways (yes, there are fun ones). And there is a little pool one block away, but the tiny deep end would mean swimming and turning about 40 times to equal one lap.
So … we did find a very nice pool in Westminster. The pool has mostly shallow lanes for lane swimming, but there is one lane that overlaps with the diving well and therefor is deep. I’m able to do my full deep-water work-out and then switch to the shallow for the rest. As I mentioned previously, I share the lane with one of my new pool friends, Alison. Chatting with her makes the time go quickly. You’re probably wondering how we swim and chat? Swimming is probably a misnomer. I am swimming, but all vertical. To support my spine and increase core strength, it’s the best thing for me. Alison side-strokes, and can go with either lead, so she can face me.
An added perk at the pool is the coffee group after. This group of seniors has been going to the pool together forever, but they make me feel completely welcome. We solve the worlds problems (and sometimes our own) every morning. I don’t drink coffee (never have, never will), but I sure enjoy the company. The only negative is that I get up at 4:30 to be on the road by 5:30 (yep, morning). If I’m not on the road by then, the morning traffic is ridiculous.
Wondering about my workout? Maybe not, but I’ll fill you in …
I begin in the deep end with 10 minutes of warm-ups – scissor stretches and cycling, followed by vertical stabilization floats, arm work with barbells, and ladder push-pulls. Next it’s water jogging (30 minutes), kick-board (10 minutes), and cycling (5 minutes). Then to the shallows for five minutes of various leg swing stretches, squats, and finally, 15 minutes of walking.
“Pain-free in the pool” is my mantra. I often say, if they’d include a snack bar and television, I’d just live there!