Baldies' Blog began originally in the UK by a 26 year old journalist with a blood cancer on a mission to inform the world about bone marrow donation.

He has since died, and I took on the cause of making cancer care more transparent for everybody.

Cancer is a disease that will touch everybody through diagnosis or affiliation: 1 in 2 men will be diagnosed and 1 in 3 woman will hear those words, "You Have Cancer."

I invite you to read how I feel along my journey and
how I am continuing to live a full life alongside my Hodgkin's lymphoma, with me controlling my cancer, not my cancer controlling me.

I hope that "Baldies' Blog" will prepare you to handle whatever life sends you, but especially if it's the message, "You Have Cancer."

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Sunday, March 1, 2009

Dirty Little Health Secret



I need to exercise. I know it. My mind knows it. My body knows it. But the traditional terms of exercise were not exactly working for me.
I don’t want to hop on a treadmill (or any exercise equipment) and mindlessly repeat the same movement over and over again.
When I did use a gym, I was always a circuit training girl. I needed to change it up. I’d jump from one piece of equipment to another: 30 minutes of cardio: which varied every other day from the elliptical machine to the treadmill and then a serious of weights: I would do 20 slow reps at each weight station and switch. Slow and steady wins the race when it comes to building muscle. It’s all about form, not speed.
If this is the type of exercise you enjoy, this is what you should do.
I also had another couple pass times that I considered exercise. I’ll probably embarrass most of you with tactic number 3, so let’s talk tactic 2 first.
My friends and I went clubbing: down town, uptown, hip hop, latina, Caribbean dancing. It depended on our mood. Rocker scene wasn’t quite for us.
We’d all get prettied up and go out on the town together. Most outsiders looking in assumed it was to go drink and pick up men, sometimes, but not really.
We certainly weren’t taking any home. The rules are who you come with is who you leave with and you all stay together.
With the advent of GHB (and other date rape drugs) you need to make it clear to everyone that you have each other’s back. There is no leaving the sisterhood pack. Keep the strength in numbers.
Who would have known it, but these dance styles require some serious muscles. If you’ve ever dropped it down low and brung it up slow before, you know what I’m talking about. That move is a squat, with all the muscle requirements you’d find doing the same thing in a gym.
Dancing is a whole lot more fun than sticking the iPod in your ears and staring at the wall on a treadmill.
This is how I’m still staying in shape. I cater my style to what my body allows.
As far as tactic number 3, When I was in the hospital, attached to a pole, I did my own version of “pole dancing” chemo patient style.
Check the video. It doesn’t show much. I do like to keep some things private.
What is important though is that I found a way to exercise that I enjoyed, and I thought was fun. I threw out all the standard concepts and ditched those crunches, weight lifting, and treadmills. They were not for me.
That exercise is a chore. I chose something fun that I was interested in learning. Now, exercise is a hobby I enjoy, it is not a chore.
By doing this I never moan and groan that I “have to” get to the gym and think of ways I can avoid it. Instead, I try to find ways to go and exercise for enough time to get my heart rate up and concentrate on which moves will affect which muscle groups.
My son joins me wanting to learn to break dance on the bed. He’s all about hip hop and knows how to DJ. He’s got some moves all ready. Watch out ladies, he’ll be coming up in 12 years.
Exercise is what you make it. It is what you think of it, but whatever your emotions are, it is still necessary. Try to find what you enjoy.

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