Flat land hiking for Arthritis

Last week my dear friend was over for an evening visit. We were discussing healthy eating, exercising and how it is a challenge to accomplish either one on a consistent basis. Making a plan that makes it easier achieves much greater success. She had heard/read somewhere that if one climbs stairs and does planks .. it might be all you need to do. At least it's a start!

That’s all it took. A quick walk through Google and I found I wasn’t the only one on planet Earth who was thinking of hiking mountains .. inside their own home. Check this one out! I guess we all can find different ways to deal with isolation!

We set a goal of completing a hike of Mt Everest by Labor Day because it sounded reasonable. Goals that are much too lofty just aren't going to happen. I'm only too aware of that!

Then my brain started its crazy again. What if I hiked volcanic summits in Alaska along the way?

I made a list, trying not to duplicate mountain ranges (although that was impossible!), made an Excel spreadsheet .. it calculated MY steps needed and I started. I chose to remove duplicate mountain ranges. Your science students might be overwhelmed.

I don’t have stairs in my home. What I have is a walking exercise video that at some points has you stepping high and walking forward and backward. So, in lieu of steps, I calculated my step height which is between 11 and 12 inches. This little activity does not include a quiet stroll around the outside of the house, rather it involves high stepping it the entire way .. my stair climb on flat earth. 

And then, because I have a close relationship with the not so lovely arthritis, I made the decision to summit my first peak in 4 days. After all ... today starts an entire month of arthritis business. 

This is not the peak I've chosen on this initial mission but it is the ultimate goal.

My hip might be doing a good job of playing along with me, but one of my knees decided it really wasn't crazy about it. 4 days didn't quite manage to happen.

I'll be back with my geography lesson real soon tho and I'm almost to my summit!