News, info and tips for living with multiple sclerosis
I rode a recumbent bike for 15 minutes today. That’s a record for me, and it felt great. The bike ride was part of an overall workout routine that I’ve set up for myself at the gym. The workout mirrors what I was doing about 15 years ago, when I was still working full-time. That routine was set up with the help of a personal trainer, and it includes upper-body…Continue Reading
I never thought I’d want a wearable internet device until I got an Apple Watch for my birthday. One of its neat apps tracks the laps that I swim, the steps that I (try to) take, and my pulse rate. The watch can even link up with some high-tech exercise equipment to monitor my gym progress. A brand new version of the Apple Watch (the Series 4) came out just…Continue Reading
Well, 460.75 miles (741.5 km), to be exact. When I wrote about April Hester in late September, the headline on my post was “She Has MS and She’s Hiking 500 Miles.” Well, she did it, hiking the Palmetto Trail from Walhalla, in the South Carolina mountains, to Awendaw, on the coast. With husband Bernie alongside, April completed the hike on Nov. 3. The couple had expected the hike to take…Continue Reading
April Hester has MS. She was diagnosed in 1996, just after she turned 20 years old. Like many of us, April has balance and fatigue issues. Her legs can become tired, her foot sometimes drops and she falls a lot. But unlike many of us, April and her husband Bernie are in the middle of a walk. More accurately, it’s a hike — a 500-mile hike, from Walhalla in the…Continue Reading
(This post first appeared as one of my columns on www.multiplesclerosistoday.com) Have you tried Pilates to improve your mobility? When my wife and I tried it, a few years ago, I thought that it was sort of like doing yoga stretches using exercise equipment. It felt good and, for the short time that I did kept it up, Pilates seemed to improve my flexibility, somewhat. Pilates is a stretching and…Continue Reading
Cheryl Hile runs a marathon in South Africa. Pic courtesy C. Hile
(This is an update of my column posted last week on www.multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com) Tripping, falling and bloody knees. Been there. Done that. (Who with MS hasn’t)? But this wasn’t me. This was Cheryl Hile and it was happening to her as she was running a half marathon in Carlsbad, California. Cheryl had been running marathons for half a dozen years when, in 2006, she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. She says…Continue Reading
I’m about to start a new adventure: Exercise. Well, it’s not really new. I swim some laps most days in the summer, weather permitting. In the cooler months I do some upper body strength exercises a couple of days a week, my spirit permitting. But, in all the years that I’ve had Multiple Sclerosis I’ve never really had a structured exercise program. Today I’m investigating a way to start down…Continue Reading