“So, it turns out our hurricane experience in September 2024 had a plus side.
The storm took out the elevator in our building and it was out of service for almost 5 months. (I'm getting to the plus side, LOL). We live on the fourth floor. That meant always carrying groceries up those stairs, or a 17 lb dog who is afraid of stairs in one arm while the other dog wants to pull me up and down them at the same time. At age 73, I was mostly sedentary, 30 lbs overweight with chronic back pain and osteopenia. The difficulty I was having getting up and down out of chairs, opening jars, lifting just about anything, and the fear of falling scared me, but not registering in my mind enough to change. But, oh boy, those trips up and down those stairs registered! I needed to pull myself up them, resting several times, and was crazy out of breath after just the 2nd flight!
After about a month or so though I noticed it started getting ever so slightly easier. A little motivated at that, I started doing morning walks just short distances while still climbing those stairs. A little more motivated near Christmas, I went with Elena to her gym, Rock Solid Fitness FL, for a free consulting visit.
They do InBody analysis there which showed that the amount of muscle in my body was wayyyy below average, and body fat wayyyy above average. The actual muscle measurement was a shock! No wonder I was struggling on those stairs. I signed up! Have been doing one on one strength training for two half hour sessions a week for a year now.
Today I am a year older, 20 lbs lighter, doing two mile walks twice or three times a week, no longer need to pull myself up those steps, and now in the average muscle range. More importantly I FEEL stronger!! I can do much more, breathe better, and feel so much better that I can't wait to see how I feel next year! (That's the plus side of that hurricane!)
Moral of the story, take the steps!
Not necessarily flights of steps, LOL,
but the steps that work for you! Do whatever works no matter how small the start, get help if you want, and listen to your body. It will start encouraging you.
Hope this story helps you to make "I want to feel better!" your goal for 2026!