Well, that’s what I felt like saying when I read that exercising during chemotherapy helped with the side effects. But really, I asked, who has the energy? You might be wondering the same thing. I barely had the energy to get out of bed, and make it to the bathroom to be sick. How was I going to exercise?
I was a martial artist, training 2-3 days a week, in classes lasting for 2 hours each. On top of that, I trained personally every day for about an hour. At this point, that simply was not going to happen. I was going to have to redefine exercise for my situation.
Like a lot of things in life, mindset played a major role. I made the decision that I was going to exercise, no matter what that meant. Mind over matter, at least to a degree. Without the mental commitment, it's really easy to say, "I'm too tired." "I'm too sick." "I don't feel like it."
Don't give in!
First question was, what could I do? Well, I could walk, for at least a short distance. I mean, I had been alright getting from bedroom to bathroom and kitchen. Maybe just a short walk.
My first trip to the mailbox was an experince. I live in the country, so my mailbox is out at the road, about 50 feet from my front door. So that’s 100 feet round trip. Not sure I would make it unaided, I grabbed a walking stick on the way out. Which was a good thing, since I had to stop a couple times on the way out to the box, and several times on the way back. Once, I stopped to sit in my car and recover some energy to finish the journey, which was more than a little humiliating.
But I made it! I made the trip! Alright, I was shaking like a leaf , and completely exhausted when I got back to my comfy couch. But I’d gone for a walk. It was a start. I felt an extreme sense of accomplishment.
I was on a 21 day interval, which meant that every three weeks, I had another treatment. So, every three weeks I got knocked back to square one, or at least very nearly, and had to start over. But I didn’t give up! My symptoms were less with even a little exercise, so it was definitely worth the effort.
Another thing I found I could do, which helped with the lymph edema, was to use one of the weaker elastic bands for a light arm workout. You know, those blue, yellow and purple bands you can by just about anywhere? They cost next to nothing and the weakest one there should be fine, not matter how weak you think you are.
You don’t have to workout for very long. And frankly, you won’t feel like it. But if you do just a lttle every day, it will help. Just do a few stretches with it while you watch TV or listen to music. You're going to be sitting down quite a bit anyway. Just play with it whenever you see it. The main thing is to get started and don’t give up.
Will there be days when you’ll want to quit? Oh yeah! Will there be days when you’ll say to heck with this? Absolutely. But there’s always tomorrow. Giving up for one day isn’t giving up forever, unless you make it that way.
So don’t. Determine that you are going to do it. Commit yourself to it. Ask your spouse, find a friend, a relative, one of the nurses at the clinic who is willing to act as your coach. Give yourself someone to answer to, who’ll keep you on target and hold you accountable. You’ll need someone to give you the initiative to persevere.
My martial arts master instructor had a saying that went something like: It doesn’t matter if you don’t get it right the first time, just as long as you get up and try again. You won’t fail unless you quit trying.
I like that motto. You won’t fail unless you quit trying. It fits so many situations. So don’t quit trying. Keep at it, a little at a time, and once your treatments have finished, you’ll have established a pattern you can take with into your future.
Exercise? No I’m not joking! Walk, even if it’s just to the front door and back. The next day, you’ll make it out to the sidewalk. You’ve got to start somewhere.
Just don’t quit trying.
Talk to you later!
