Brian’s fitness journal after a brain stroke
This morning, I woke up with a surprisingly sore left bicep. I hadn’t done any special arm exercises, so at first I couldn’t understand why it felt like I’d spent yesterday lifting weights. Then I remembered the leaf vacuum. Apparently, yesterday’s leaf-cleaning session was secretly an upper-body workout, a leaf vacuuming workout.
Our leaf vacuum is quite heavy. It has a shoulder strap to support most of the weight, but I still have to swing and maneuver it around the yard. Apparently, I was doing considerably more of that work with my left arm than my right. My left bicep noticed. My right bicep apparently took the day off.
Muscle recovery can also be a little more complicated for me because of my kidney condition. I have to limit my protein intake, so I can’t simply increase protein the way many active people might after strenuous exercise. Instead, I have to give my body time to recover while staying within my dietary restrictions. Fortunately, I’m not in any hurry to conquer all the leaves at once.
The weather is finally becoming a little cooler, although this summer has felt considerably hotter than last year. We’ve had multiple heat waves, and our trees seem to be responding to the stressful conditions by dropping plenty of leaves. It looks increasingly like fall on the ground, even when the temperature still has other ideas.
I didn’t get as much leaf cleaning done yesterday as I’d hoped, but that’s fine. I’ll work through the yard gradually rather than turning leaf removal into another endurance event. I would normally continue tomorrow, but I have another hematology appointment. My wife can’t take the day off to drive me because it’s month-end at work, so yard work will have to wait.
Thankfully, I cleared enough leave yesterday that postponing the rest until next week shouldn’t cause any problems. The leaves aren’t going anywhere. Well, technically they might. But if the wind happens to blow them into someone else’s yard before next week, I certainly won’t complain.