Help me reorder my after-hours life?

December 22, 2014 4:20 PM

I recently had knee replacement surgery and it went fabulously! I have not been active in years and years due to the knee pain, and the set up of my home and habits reflect this.

I work a 40-hour week at a sedentary job. I get home about 5:30 and had been used to having dinner and collapsing on the bed or in the chair at my desk and websurfing. Frankly, weekends were about the same.

What do healthy people do in their free time? How do I make these changes? Physical therapy was great; it taught me that I can do much more than I expected. Things I have on hand? Yoga DVDs. Ski walking poles. Hand weights. Resistance loop bands. Access to a small, basic gym at work that has cardio equipment, basic weight machines, free weights, and a few other fitness gee-gaws sitting around, like those big balance balls.

I tend to not be a disciplined person and I just can't seem to get my head around how to start making life changes.

Any help would be appreciated. I don't have money for a personal trainer.

posted by harrietthespy to Health & Fitness (12 answers total)

Best answer: After I was really sick and basically on bedrest for a few months, thus destroying any stamina and muscle mass, I had some trouble getting started again. For me, starting with walking is always the way to go. Can you take a 20 minute break in the middle of the day and walk a mile (either at lunch, or I preferred to do it at around 3pm). If that's too far, start with just going around the block and building up. If it's too short, walk faster and go farther in the same time frame (and/or go up to 30 mins) That helped me a lot in both moving and just remembering how nice it is to be outside when then sun's out. I also started doing (very easy) hikes on the weekends -- I worked up to like 3 miles in the hills with my husband. We'd wake up on Sunday mornings, go get breakfast at a diner, and then go for the hike, and it's so great. That's probably a little dependent on where you live?

Once I started there, where just moving and getting off my ass was just part of my day, it somehow just got more obvious to me what else I wanted to be doing physically, and it was easier to start working other things in and ramping up more.
posted by brainmouse at 4:36 PM on December 22, 2014 [2 favorites]

How about a class of some kind? I find that having some kind of organised activity to organise myself around is very helpful when trying to start a new regime.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:38 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]

Do you have any physical therapy appointments set up, or access through your insurance? A physical therapist could probably help you plan a transition from surgery recovery into an exercise routine that doesn't stress your brand new knee and takes into account your current fitness state and goals.
posted by MadamM at 4:50 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: What do healthy people do in their free time?

Lie around, watch TV, eat chips, go to bed having eaten far too much. Pretty much what you're describing. ;)

How introverted are you? The things that you can now do involve leaving the house--ballroom dancing, yoga, woodworking, knitting clubs, etc. Writing groups? Mushroom hunts?

Basically, you're mobile -- the stuff that was always you has more of a chance to surface and connect to others with those interests. So the first thing to do is figure out what the stuff was that you would have wanted to do in the first place.


I tend to not be a disciplined person and I just can't seem to get my head around how to start making life changes.

Joining a group or taking classes would be a good start, because those things just sweep you away. Tuesdays at 6:00.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 4:51 PM on December 22, 2014 [2 favorites]

Yes, get a physiotherapist to set up a routine for you. Don't do what I did, and end up with a new knee injury.
posted by girlpublisher at 4:52 PM on December 22, 2014

Best answer: I have a bunch of things that keep me fairly physically active, but square dancing gets me up on my feet at least once a week, isn't terribly expensive, is social and also involves a good bit of thinking.
posted by straw at 4:58 PM on December 22, 2014

Do you enjoy the company of dogs? How about volunteering to walk the dogs at your local shelter?

Can you ride a bike to work sometimes?
posted by hollisimo at 5:08 PM on December 22, 2014

Response by poster: Just a quick reply: I have just completed physical therapy and I do know exercises I can do. We just put our 19 yr old dog down two days ago, so I don't want to dog walk right now. I have a bike in the garage and I plan to learn how to ride in the spring. Riding to work eventually is not an option. Too far. I think it's just a matter of being overwhelmed with options and a lack of self-discipline.

/done threadsitting/
posted by harrietthespy at 6:11 PM on December 22, 2014

Best answer: Do you really enjoy being active? Back in the day, did you love biking and hiking and whatever? If you did, possibly the best way to get back into being active is to go to a beginner's class (or hike, or bikealong, or whatever) for an activity you previously enjoyed, and let yourself remember what you liked about it.

If you've always hated being active, though, I'd submit that the life of many healthy people is pretty much internet, television, work, whatever--plus a run or a workout at the gym or whatever. If you like your life and you're happy as you are, consider adding one thing--a walk, a beginner's yoga class a few times a week, whatever--and see where that leads you.
posted by MeghanC at 7:03 PM on December 22, 2014

Best answer: If you need motivation to be active, try listening to Zombies Run! or The Walk as you move. Audio books and podcasts are also a good way to keep boredom at bay. Enjoy your new found freedom!
posted by eloeth-starr at 1:13 AM on December 23, 2014

Why don't you rent a few single classes from Datura Online and see how you like that?
posted by tel3path at 4:29 AM on December 23, 2014

Response by poster: Thank you everyone! These are all excellent replies. I marked the ones I think are best for me to start with.
posted by harrietthespy at 7:50 AM on December 23, 2014