Time to testify

Last year, I performed on Halloween with Tangee and completed our little fire sword grudge match. Here ya go...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-hgrf9fHto

Let me tell you, that's an intense minute, and far more strenuous that most people imagine. At the end you see me put my hands on my knees. That's because the chest pains were starting to kick in. A few seconds more of fighting and it felt like I was beginning a full coronary. Since my dad had 7 of them before he noticed it, I can well imagine that this was, indeed, my first heart attack.

After that gig, and after paying off a bunch of bills, I had some money left over. And for many other reasons, I lusted over the iPod Touch. So i put money and desire together with the standard Catholic-guilt conditional: I must use it 3 times a week for exercise. Not having a music player was the final excuse I was clinging to.

Okay, quick tangent. Excedrin came out with a catastrophically unsuccessful commercial. Based on research that showed most people did not fully trust doctors, combined with it's third place ranking in headache elimination, they had their spokesman say " did I listen to 'research'? NO. That's for doctors." Well, it turns our people do respect clinical research. I write this testimonial not because I don't think people believe the research, but because re-inforcing testimonials DO work.

So, if you look back at my blogs you will see some of the progress I made over the last year. My resting heart rate went from 100+ down below 90. My heart rate recovery time after exercise dropped from 45 minutes to about 10 minutes. And my blood pressure dropped from "hypertension" level to "normal" levels pretty quickly. In short, I was back to being "healthy like ox" by the beginning of the summer. I would have liked to see some changes in my physique, but I did, at least, maintain the measurements I had dropped to during the first Knotts gig.

So, when this year came around, I was still a little shy about performing regularly. Partially the physique, partially because I didn't want to suffer those chest pains again. So, I avoided getting scheduled more than one day in a row. But I allowed Michelle to put me on more than once a week. I ended up performing the same number of days, but worked almost twice as many all told. Plus, that last week, I was onstage quite a bit.

But, instead of falling apart like last year, I felt pretty good. I managed 14 performances in a week with some almost as intense as the combat. But instead of chest pains, I muddled through. And instead of three days of pain and sickness at the end of the run, I actually had a little energy afterwards. In short, I feel pretty good.

For this, I salute my iPod. Of course, I've picked up the 2nd Generation Touch, so now I have access to Nike+, a whole system for walking and running management. Plus, I have twice as much room on this thing, so lots of choices in music. But, really, it comes down to getting off my ass and taking a little stroll. Then a couple more. Then a slightly longer stroll when the view got boring. Then a little hike. Until, eventually, I would walk all day.

I may still look like a bear, but, 'I strong like ox' and a lot healthier too. So, based on this, I encourage you to find a way to get yourself moving. An ipod shuffle is super cheap, and can hold about 8 hours of music. You don't need a gym membership to walk around the block. And the more you do, the safer your neighborhood becomes (criminals don't like people watching them). And, hey, you might get a bit healthier too.