Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
– Dalai Lama
This workout (click on workout for video) may take you a little longer than the others. It is a great total body workout. I suggest timing yourself today to see how long it takes you, then in a month after you’ve continued on your fitness journey, repeat the workout, and see if you improved your time 🙂 Then in another six months, time yourself again.
- 100 step-ups (vary the height of the step)
- 90 sit-ups (your choice of ab exercise)
- 80 jumping jacks (step side to side or use a jump rope)
- 70 squats (use a chair or add weight)
- 60 kettlebell swings (vary the weight)
- 50 lunges (hold onto a chair or add weight)
- 40 shoulder to overhead (vary the weight)
- 30 burpees (step back or add in a push-up)
- 20 push-ups (knees or toes)
- 1:00 minute plank (knees or toes)
One way to modify this workout is to cut it in half. Go through it once, take a two-minute break, and go through it again. If you need other modifications or challenges, please email me or comment below.
When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.
-Henry Ford
It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt. And that’s exactly what happened. As you read in “Life Changes“, Gram loved playing Bingo and would do so every other Monday. On December 5, 2016, I dropped gram off and then received one of the worst phone calls three hours later. She had fallen on her way out of the bingo hall. It was a rainy, chilly night, and they weren’t sure if she slipped or if her legs just gave out. I raced over to the church parking lot as fast as I could, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. There was sweet gram on the asphalt, covered with blankets, crying, and apologizing. I hoped and prayed she did not have a broken hip, but it did not look good.
After what seemed like an eternity, the ambulance arrived. Gram was so upset and sorry. I kept telling her it wasn’t her fault. We finally got to the hospital and yep, you know it, it was a broken hip. The doctors were great and wasted no time. Surgery was the next day. I didn’t feel comfortable letting Gram stay in the hospital by herself. She would have no idea about insurance or her medications and would have a hard time hearing the nurses and doctors. Plus, she would have no idea what was going on. Thankfully, I have amazing friends and cousins, and they brought me an overnight bag.
My mom arrived from Virginia and all three of us spent a couple of days at the hospital in a wonderful suite. Then, they sent Gram to rehab, and mom returned home to Virginia. After a week in rehab, she wasn’t really getting better and seemed to be losing hope. I decided I didn’t want her to deteriorate as my grandpa did, so I asked if I could take her home.
At first, they were hesitant, but the physical therapist came out to our house for a trial run, and Gram started zipping around the house with her walker. We decided it definitely would be better for her to be at home, but one of the stipulations was that I had to be with her 24/7. 24/7 is very overwhelming, especially since she was fairly independent up until that point. But I felt I needed to make the sacrifice.
Back at Home. It’s really hard to take care of someone who has dementia and a broken hip. There were certain movements she wasn’t supposed to do because the hip could pop out. I did my best to keep her on track. She couldn’t do a whole lot on her own so she became more and more dependent on me. I was making her breakfast, helping her get dressed, and helping her shower. I did sneak out to the gym in the morning, which was my alone time, my social time and my let my frustrations out time. Because I needed that hour a day, I woke up early so I would be back before she decided to get out of bed. I did what I had to do to make it happen, to keep myself sane and our relationship healthy.
Lonely Christmas. By Christmas🎄, she was walking around the house like a rock star with her walker, but I wasn’t sure if an eight-hour car ride to Virginia would be good for her. We decided not to travel and had a nice, quiet Polish Wigilia by ourselves. It was a very emotional Christmas because we weren’t able to spend it with our family, and it was our first Christmas without Gramps. It’s amazing the little things you come to appreciate as time goes by and how much you learn to appreciate your family and the time spent with them.
Although she was weak at times, I couldn’t believe how well she was recovering from the broken hip. She was walking around the house with her walker. She would take little rides with me when it was nice out. I talked her into going out to dinner a few times and a month later she was back at the bingo hall! Not too shabby for a 92-year-old.
But by February 2017, Gram and I were feeling pretty down. We were around each other constantly. She was getting stronger and able to do more, but she wasn’t fixing herself breakfast and didn’t seem motivated to do much. My life was changing as she became more and more dependent on me.
A Bright Idea. One morning, Gram mentioned going to her condo in Fort Myers, Florida. Needless to say, it sounded like a fabulous idea!! It was cold and snowy in Pennsylvania, and we were both ready for some sunshine! We also were in need of some family time. We packed our bags, loaded up the cat in the car, and headed south. Not knowing that soon again I would be experiencing more life changes.
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.
– Mark Twain
Life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent of how I react to it.
– Charles Swindoll
We are always trying to learn how to improve our health and well-being as you read in “Eat Better and Move Better“. Here are a few of the books we have read.
One book that was very eye-opening was “How Not to Die” by Micheal Greger. The first part goes over the top 15 causes of death in the United States and how they are preventable by the food we eat. The second part goes over his Daily Dozen of recommended foods to eat every day to prevent disease. Very informative. Good Read.
Another favorite is “The Ripple Effect”, by Dr. Greg Wells. Living by the mantra of “improve just 1% each day”, Dr. Wells shows you how SLEEP helps you EAT better, which helps you MOVE better, which helps you THINK better, which in turn helps you SLEEP better. It’s a continuous cycle to improve your life.
We read “Becoming a Supple Leopard” by Dr. Kelly Starrett when we are feeling sore. He has great tips for improving athletic performance, preventing injury, and treating aches and pains.
One of our favorite relationship books is “The 5 Love Languages” by Dr. Gary Chapman. There are five ways people give and receive love. Knowing yourself and your partner’s love language can make a world of difference in your relationships.
One of the best ways to get more veggies in your diet is to eat salads. We like to eat salad for lunch and many times we will use leftovers from dinner for our protein. We love red and green leaf lettuce and usually add baby spinach as well. The salad can and should contain as many vegetables as possible. We like red onion, carrots, orange or red bell peppers, grape or vine tomatoes, and cucumbers. Sometimes we add avocado or garbanzo beans for our healthy fat. We also add at least a teaspoon of ground flaxseed for omega 3’s. Sometimes we will make vegan parmesan cheese to sprinkle on our salads for an extra treat! Once you have your veggies cut up you can add whatever protein and dressing you like. Be careful with dressing quantity as many dressings contain a high amount of sugar. We use a minimal amount of balsamic vinaigrette for our dressing or sometimes we will search Ecosia make our own. For this meal, we had leftover tuna steak. Other options would be shrimp, chicken, tuna fish, ground turkey, or tofu. Enjoy!
“Sometimes you have to move on without certain people. If they’re meant to be in your life, they’ll catch up.”
— Mandy Hale
“Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.”
— Wayne Dyer