I’ve been lucky in that the pandemic hasn’t been totally disruptive for me. It’s not been great, but I know it could be a whole lot worse. Nothing terrible has happened.
One of the worst things, though, (and this is minor in the overall) is that I no longer go to the gym. I can, but I don’t. It was closed for several months. When it reopened this summer, I went by to check it out. They did a really good job spacing the machines and requiring people to use hand sanitizer and sanitize the machine they used when they finished. However, several of the folks who were doing weight training were not wearing masks. I just won’t take any chances.
Like the rest of you, I’m old and, therefore, more susceptible to the virus. And since I do childcare for my granddaughters a few days each week, I need to be as mindful as possible about dealing with the risks. However, I really needed a way to get the level of aerobic exercise that I got from daily workouts on either the treadmill or the elliptical machine.
So what to do? For a while, I was “visiting” my old elliptical, which is currently ensconced in the finished basement of my stepdaughter’s home (the machine won’t fit in our downsized house). However, once Oregon locked down, the family decided it wasn’t safe for me to visit the elliptical. I then purchased an inexpensive mini trampoline online. I “ran” in place on the tramp for an hour a day, but due to my lack of effort, I barely got my heartbeat up to get aerobic exercise. I don’t have a “valid” excuse, but I do have an excuse: there isn’t much give to the tramp, so it’s difficult to maintain a fast pace to work up a sweat.
After searching the internet for affordable exercise equipment that would fit in our house and enable me to work up a sweat, I found what’s known as a climber. I found it on Amazon. I bought one. I can pay it off in 6 months, interest-free. Sweet deal. Although not cheap, it’s inexpensive by exercise equipment standards.
I’d never heard of a climber before, but here’s how it works: you stand on the machine’s pedals and you push with your legs while you pull with your arms. It’s supposed to simulate climbing, but I have no idea what type of climbing it simulate— or really what climbing is other than rock climbing (which seems a whole lot different than what this machine makes a person do). The arms can adjust to different heights, and the model I have allows you to adjust the resistance. It stands upright, and it unfolds, is locked into position. You exercise and then fold it up again. It can be stored in a corner; it doesn’t take up much space at all. I keep mine in a little storage room, which also houses our furnace.
It’s kind of a pain to set up or take down to store, but neither process takes more than 5 minutes. However, it’s worth the small effort as it is potentially a vigorous aerobic workout— if you’re motivated. I’m motivated enough to get on the climber, but to push and pull forcefully enough to get a good sweat (and actually push myself), I need help.
I’ve developed my help: it’s a playlist that I’ve put together on my iPod using song from my itunes library and music I can access through my subscription to Apple music. This is the never-ending playlist, which I titled “Old Man on a Climber.” So far, it has 263 songs and lasts for 15 hours (according to the data on the iPod). I usually exercise for an hour daily (most days), so I hear different songs every day for about two weeks. The songs are eclectic, from all different periods, but they all have one thing in common: they make me move faster and “climb” hard than I would if I relied on self-motivation.
I’ve stopped adding to the list for now. It starts with Mitch Ryder and Detroit Wheels. Remember them? Great 60s party band. When you hear them, you can’t sit still— which is the common thread of all the songs I’ve included. There’s also: Bruce, Nick Lowe, a bunch of 50’s rockers (Elvis, Fats Domino Little Richard, Eddie Cochran, Bo Diddley), some punk, some up-tempo country and what they called “Cowpunk” (Jason and the Scorchers playing country music loud and fast, with an attitude), rock n roll Dylan, the Airplane, a little Hendrix, blues (Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Junior Wells), folk-rock, alt-country (The Flying Burrito Brothers) etc. etc. etc. It’s an eclectic playlist, with one thread running through it: each song makes the old man on the climber move faster than he would have given his natural reticence to push himself.
– Edward from McMinnville, Oregon, a FAR customer who is finding purpose in this new stage of his life.
Edward writes for FAR and is also a customer. He is 73-year-old, born and raised in and around New York City. After college and a little graduate school, he took Horace Greeley’s advice and went west. Edward lived in several cities throughout California and currently resides in Oregon. He practiced law for a few years as part of a law collective doing what they called “people’s law,” but spent most of his career working as an internal organizer for the unions.
When Edward’s career ended with the unions, he was determined to become an advocate for older adults. He enrolled at Portland Community College studying Gerontology. He learned a lot about aging and how it applied to his own life experiences and my own aging process. Much of Edward’s writing is related to what he learned in his Gerontology studies.
* The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of the Finance of America Reverse (FAR) LLC
This article is intended for general informational and educational purposes only, and should not be construed as financial or tax advice. For more information about whether a reverse mortgage may be right for you, you should consult an independent financial advisor. For tax advice, please consult a tax professional.
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