All in favor of Pearl Girl's membership?

AYE!


Since I'm the only one allowed to vote in my very short poll, the ayes have it and the motion is carried!

Welcome, PG!!!

PG,

I apparently have no vote in AMN's little poll, but my vote is yes! Welcome to the group.

Perhaps I can offer you something for motivation as well. The spinning instructor for my class last night is one that does a great job of motivating us to work harder and keep going longer. One of his favorite things to talk about is the difference between quitting and failing. The basic premise he works on hammering into us is that there is nothing to fear in failure. It is only when we fail that we learn what we are truly "capable" of doing. If we quit or don't ever try, then we only learn what we are "willing" to do, not what we are "capable" of doing.

So throughout his classes, when it gets really tough and we are struggling to keep up, he implores us not to quit...not to allow our minds to give up. He often does portions of the class where the whole objective is to fail...where we don't move on or finish the class until everybody has "failed" and been forced to stop because they can't keep going any longer. He is trying to teach us not to fear the unknown...not to fear what we might not be capable of doing. The one secret buried in it all, is that each time you work hard enough to fail...or don't quit when you want to quit, you get stronger...and you become capable of doing more next time.

So don't fear what you think you can't do or even what you truly can't do. Go out there every day and explore what you can do...and in the process of finding out where the boundaries are, you will make yourself stronger. One thing I have found out through his classes is that I truly am capable of more than I thought I was. I am truly blessed in that so far my MS has not caused me significant disabilities, but I believe the lessons about the difference between failure and quitting translate equally well to people of all ability levels. One of his favorite sayings during the really tough intervals in the class as he is imploring us to raise the resistance and work harder is to tell us that "in this class, if you are doing the right thing...it will probably hurt and you will probably want to quit. If you aren't hurting and don't want to quit, then you aren't trying hard enough."

Hope that helps and welcome to the group!

BTW, just 42 minutes of spinning last night, but still got 753 calories with a max HR of 91% of max and average of 78% of max. Also finished my 15th class for the month and got my yellow "Tour de MAC" jersey! Saturday is 80 minutes of the 80s...how am I going to survive spinning for 80 minutes???

Cindy, yahoo.... I think...

Would a treadmill (if it still works, lol) be a good place to start? My balance is so awful that the hand bars might help. Walking is tough.

Any suggestions from anyone ?? Hello to all my new friends!

(Nancy)

PS
I am so appreciative, TXB, for your words of advise and encouragement. I was moved and motivated by your thoughts. Thank you from my heart. I think I am afraid of failure and focus on what I've lost and that only leads -- nowhere. You have inspired me. I will post later if I've got the guts to MOVE. Love, love PG

Nancy, I use a treadmill and couldn't do it if it weren't for the bars to hold onto!

I break my walking up into short intervals but if I feel like doing more then I do. I'm just careful not to overdo it because it takes me forever to recover and it's just not worth it.

I can't tolerate the heat so being able to walk indoors in the A/C is a must. I can also watch TV while I walk which makes the time go by faster!

Not sure if you have access to one, but elliptical machines might be good also. The ones at our gym have a hand rail in front, and then two handles that move back and forth as you walk/run on the sides. The nice part about the elliptical is that your foot never leaves the tray it is in...the tray moves with the foot, so it is a very natural walkin/running motion, but you don't have to worry about your foot coming down awkwardly or slipping out from under you like it can on a treadmill. Also, if you stop walking, the elliptical stops moving...which makes it somewhat safer I think than a treadmill where you have to turn it off.

If you don't have access to one, go find one of those "free two week membership" deals from a local gym and go in and try one there. Just be prepared to resist a sales pitch trying to talk you into buying a membership if you aren't ready to do that.

PG, don't pay any attention to AMN..she has no clout here.. . But, of course, you are welcome. We have other lovely people who frequent here and have a MS symptom like disease.

Are you the one I remember, on LDN, with me? Anyway, If I can keep moving, anybody can...LOL!!

Welcome to the club..

Pearl, if you can use a public pool, its great for balance problems because you cannot fall in a pool.

If not, find ways to build up your leg muscles. With disuse, the muscles atrophy and worsen the balance problems caused by MS.

If you are unsteady on a treadmill and worry about that, start with someone there to keep an eye on you until you build up muscle and confidence. If its still not good, how about a bicylce machine whre you are sitting while pedaling??

All Charter members:

I am starting an August thread now, so please post there!