As I wrote a few weeks ago, I am in dire need of a solid exercise routine that will help me improve my posture and get stronger overall. Walking is my favorite exercise, weather permitting. I tried yoga a couple of years ago and ended up injuring my back. So that was out. Before the pandemic, for several years, I enjoyed Pilates, especially working out on a reformer, which is a bench with springs and ropes that you use to do various movements, using your body weight as a counter-force.
So, I decided to give Pilates a try once again, and about three weeks ago I went to a free intro course at a studio about 15 minutes from home. The studio was filled with reformers, so that was a good sign. Mat classes are okay, but not as interesting. As we went through the half-hour routine, many of the exercises were familiar and relatively easy for me to do.
However, about 20 minutes into the class, all of a sudden, my right shoulder began to shudder. Now, I know what an overworked muscle feels like when it trembles. But this was something altogether different, involuntary and weird, possibly triggered by arm circles, pulling on ropes that moved the carriage as we moved our arms. Whatever the reason, it really threw me for a loop. We moved on to leg exercises, and in about 10 minutes my shoulder calmed down. I spoke to the instructor after class, and she suggested reducing the spring tension and making smaller arm circles next time. She also asked if my docs had approved this exercise, to which I responded that they’ve been encouraging me to do more.
But I went home quite unsettled. Was my body really not up to this anymore? I stalled for about a week, then decided to contact my rheumatologist for his assessment. He was very encouraging and realistic. “You’re deconditioned,” he said. His advice: Take it slower to build back up, but there’s no reason not to go back.
So I did. Last Friday I took a full 50-minute, basic level class. I moved through the routine at my own pace, with rests as needed and smaller movements as necessary. Finished without any difficulty, and I haven’t really been too sore, either (compared to the intro class, which took a weekend to recover from). I’ve already scheduled a class for this week, and I intend to get a studio membership.
Best of all, I’m already noticing little improvements in my ability to stand straighter and get up more easily from a squat. All good signs that, as my cardiologist keeps telling me, it’s never too late to build yourself up again.
Evelyn Herwitz blogs weekly about living fully with chronic disease, the inside of baseballs, turtles and frogs, J.S. Bach, the meaning of life and whatever else she happens to be thinking about at livingwithscleroderma.com. Please view Privacy Policy here.
Image: Ahmet Kurt
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