Exercise

I'm sure we're all agreed that it's very important. But it's yet another thing that the pandemic has made difficult if not impossible for many of us.

I gave up on gyms a long time ago. The big ones were overwhelming and I couldn't get comfortable. At one place, the machines were in rows that faced each other and I was always across from a very large guy who was staring intensely as he worked. I knew in my head that he was concentrating and probably didn't even register my existence, but no matter what I told myself, it was unsettling.

Twice I found small places that were very user friendly. Most of the clients were women and we chatted and encouraged each other. We were exercising, but it wasn't a life or death workout. Both places went out of business all too soon.

But my main form of exercise for a long time has been walking. This is not as easy as it sounds. In the first place, it's hard to find a relatively flat area where I live and hills are awkward with my prosthetic leg.

The second problem is that I don't do weather. I love being outside if it's pleasant, but that's a very small window for me. I don't walk in the rain or snow, when it's icy, humid or too hot.  I consider anything over 78º as too hot, less if it's humid. And it's humid most of the time here. One of the bright spots last spring was that with so much closed down, there were lots of empty parking lots to walk around. But then it got hot. And humid.

So I did my walking in malls or big box stores. But not now. I've tried. After grabbing the essentials I would go up and down aisles that were empty. But I felt trapped. I could practically see the virus molecules floating around. It's the curse of being visual.

Then I heard about someone using an elliptical machine--sitting down. I had no idea there was such a thing. I checked it out and found a not-too-expensive version and decided to take the plunge. This took some soul-searching because my track record with home exercise machines isn't stellar, to put it mildly. I hated the treadmill. I just couldn't find a way to entertain myself to keep at it long enough. Same deal with the stationary bike.

It's been a little over a week and so far so good. Supposedly you can work at your desk while using this nifty little machine, but I'm not that coordinated yet. I read or make phone calls, and although I don't feel as though I'm working especially hard, I definitely feel stronger already.

This makes me wonder how far out of shape I'd gotten over the summer.

Let's not go there.