Cath Sheard Art

Tag: fitness

  • Practice makes progress

    People say practice makes perfect, but wonderful Australian artist Niamh Baly always says practice makes progress. And she’s right!

    I joined the gym about 6 weeks. My hope was to improve my balance and strength – having two total knee replacements and various medical dramas over the years has impacted on both.

    When I started I could manage 10 minutes on the CrossFit at Level 1 and use 3kg weights for leg and arm exercises. Today I did 17 minutes on the CrossFit at Level 2, 10 minutes on the Exercycle, 4 sets of 10 on the Leg Press and 3 sets of 10 leg exercises with 6 kg weights. I couldn’t find the 5kg ones and the 6kg were just too heavy for my arm exercises.

    By most people’s standards that’s not a lot, but it is good progress for me. I’ve got some goals in mind – one of them being just better general capacity. I’m so grateful for the difference my surgeries have made to my life.

  • Working it

    I’m pretty open about the fact I have some physical problems, because it’s obvious if you spend much time with me anyway. I’m significantly weak in both arms and legs. Not “oh you need to get fit” weak, but what the neurosurgeon called “abnormally weak, spinal mumble blah blah blah”. I’ve also got remarkably poor balance. An MRI of my spine shows a decent sized lesion but we don’t think it’s doing anything. We decided not to investigate further unless things get worse etc.

    My new helmet matches my bright pink bike

    Recently I got approved for a Green Prescription, and a physical therapist is working with me. Our goal is to improve my balance. I recently bought a push bike and love it, but my balance is so bad I can’t let go to do a hand signal, which is a bit of a worry!

    We also want to improve my strength. I can’t climb on a chair for instance – my legs won’t push me up, and my arms won’t drag me up. So I’ve got strength and balance exercises (for older people) and I’ve bought a balance board as well.

    My balance has improved already, which is great. This weekend I’ll get out on my bike and see if it translates to real change. The strength exercises are more difficult and I suspect progress will be slower, but that’s ok. Any improvement is worth the effort.