quote:

Originally posted by jon-nyc:
I’ve lost 10lbs since I quit going to the gym for Covid.

Oh, you're one of those people...

Ha.

Yes, but I have great sympathy for people who can’t get their weight to move in the right direction regardless of how they define it.

I’ve sat by powerlessly watching the scale move in the opposite direction I want even while doing all the ‘right’ things to prevent it.

Agreed. My husband has the metabolism of a race horse. He's also an exercise fiend for exactly the reasons you describe. If he can't exercise, he loses (or looses, if you prefer) weight and ends up looking like a refugee, and feeling not so great, either.

I can't relate, but I totally get it.

quote:

Originally posted by Daniel:

quote:

Originally posted by Cindysphinx:
Daniel, the REI guy told me that if you feel any discomfort in knees or ankles you should re-evaluate your cleat placement. They have to be in alignment with your knee, and they need a certain amount of play in them.

Maybe take your shoes to a bike store and have them take a look before you resume?

Thanks, Cindy. I don't have cleats. This could have been a factor in getting injured.

Daniel, I really don't know the difference between cleats or clips. I am a biking moron. I do know that it is safer to be attached to the stationary bike, and I can't imagine standing (or alternating between standing and sitting) without the security of being attached.

The only thing I know for sure is that you can buy pedals if your bike doesn't have a way to clip in, and then buy shoes, and then buy the cleat thingies that allow you to clip in. I know they make a couple of different types. My first set was good for a newbie, where you could twist your foot out easily. These new ones take all of my body strength to get off of the bike. I need to adjust them because if I were to fall, they wouldn't come off and I would really get hurt.

Cindy and Nina, thanks for the advice. I'll look into it.

Nina, thanks for the kind words. It's almost healed but I don't want to take any unnecessary chances.

quote:

Originally posted by Nina:
I've never used cleats (on a regular bike) but have had clips forever. It's a major sense of security, and you can get a bit of an assist because you can pull up, not just down, when you ride.

Daniel, clips may be another option, since they will work with virtually any shoe.

I, too, have started addressing my COVID body symptoms. Like may of us, my exercise went down along with my fitness level, and I've gained over 5 pounds, after losing 20. My first reaction to the lockdown was party time! My daughter was in lockdown with us, we cooked every night, had cocktails, etc. Fun for a week or so, but I never really went back to normal life (at least, as normal as one can be in lockdown). But most importantly, my knees are feeling it--both the lack of muscle tone and the extra weight. So it's back to it for me--I'm a walker, at least initially, until my knees tell me I can do more.

Good for you, Cindy! And Daniel, I hope your ankle feels better quickly.

Yeah, Nina, what the heck was going on there?

For some reason, when Covid hit I threw healthy living right out the window. It was ridiculous. I was baking cookies. Eating chips. Eating popcorn slathered with butter late at night while also guzzling a cocktail. Eating candy. Eating constantly. So much salt, so much fat.

It's going to be a long road back. And it totally wasn't worth it. . . .

We are lucky in that we put in the Mirror and got a recumbent bike before the pandemic started. The recumbent bike was for me, but Mary Anna probably uses it even more than I do.

More recently, we added a treadmill to the mix. It enables me to vary my routine, which makes it possible for me to work out twice a day, most days.

The treadmill has some really interesting video hikes, where they adjust the incline as you walk. I've done some in the Scottish highlands, a few in the Swiss Alps, some in Zion National Park, and a couple in Petra, Jordan. It's all very absorbing, which I need, because I find the treadmill to be very boring otherwise.

My resting heart rate has dropped in the last six months from about 72 down to 60-62.

Congrats on the Peloton. Was tempted by the Peloton and the Mirror.
Have wanted a rowing machine for quite a while. It suits me.

A treadmill looks dreadful to me, brings something about Bataan to mind.

quote:

Originally posted by CHAS:


A treadmill looks dreadful to me, brings something about Bataan to mind.

Now imagine it at a 40% incline.

It has a nice big screen, though, with lots of programs that take you on hikes in scenic places. If you want to get to the view at the top of a Swiss Alp or to a castle on the top of a hill in Jordan, you trudge. Uphill.

And sometimes, you wear a weight vest while doing it.

quote:

Originally posted by QuirtEvans:

quote:

Originally posted by CHAS:


A treadmill looks dreadful to me, brings something about Bataan to mind.

Now imagine it at a 40% incline.

It has a nice big screen, though, with lots of programs that take you on hikes in scenic places. If you want to get to the view at the top of a Swiss Alp or to a castle on the top of a hill in Jordan, you trudge. Uphill.

And sometimes, you wear a weight vest while doing it.

Uh huh

A doctor/friend strongly recommended a Peloton for me. Alas I don't have the salary of a specialty doctor (her husband is an orthopedic surgeon too!).

It's clearly a good thing. She claims there are a number for sale secondhand online, but I think not - not considering the crushing demand these days.

And what would one do about the subscription and special features?

It’s $110 a month for 39 months, then $40 a month after that.

I paid that for our family gym membership, so we’re almost breaking even.

Here's a clip:


The advantage to an "old school" clip like this is that you can use it with your regular shoes, and with regular bike pedals. I always felt like I could get my foot out of this much more easily at a red light, or whatever. The disadvantage is that you're not really "locked in" to your pedal, but it's far more secure than nothing at all. Some people really struggle with getting their foot back into the clip if you've had to stop and take your foot off the pedal at a red light or whatever. It takes some getting used to, but it's really just a matter of doing it about 5-10 times. It quickly becomes automatic.

Here's a cleat (and the bike pedal):


The advantage here is that you have full flexibility of your foot/ankle, and you will not slip off the pedal. It takes a bit more effort to learn how to remove your cleated shoe from the pedal contraption, but nothing that can't be learned fairly easily.

The disadvantage is that you need a dedicated pair of shoes, and bike pedals that mean your bike is only used by people with the (correctly sized) cleats--kind of like ski bindings. You fit your boots to your skis using the bindings, and if you go to another pair of skis you have to get new bindings or readjust your old ones. They are more expensive.

quote:

Originally posted by Cindysphinx:
It’s $110 a month for 39 months, then $40 a month after that.

I paid that for our family gym membership, so we’re almost breaking even.

Works out well for a family all of whom use it. For a singleton, not so much, though.

Speaking of exercise accidents, I just had a nasty fall on a treadmill; it just kept going with me rolling with it. That's a constant hasard owing to my "foot drop" issue. Sometimes I trip over my own feet if I don't concentrate on lifting the nerve damaged leg. Son reminds me to attach the little red clip onto my clothing - supposedly, it will make the treadmill stop.

Definitely will remember it in the future! I'm always bruised and chafed here and there on account of my fall propensity. Vague reminder of toddlerhood when I was always injured as I learned to walk.

Still it's worth it to be able to exercise, just reconciling myself to be healing somewhere as the price of working my muscles including the heart muscle. Oh, well!