My Pride Month goal: completed.
Original post https://www.reddit.com/r/Parkinsons/s/rWEKpeFHQB
On June 1st I set a goal to workout every day in June for 🏳️🌈Pride month. As a gay man living with Parkinson’s disease, I wanted to challenge myself to put real effort into my own health. I needed a reason to show up. Pride month was that reason.
Today is day 30 and I finished my Pride month goal strong and learned some stuff about myself.
What I learned:
I can only push hard for 4-5 days before I need a lighter day for stretching and slower movements. My body has a rhythm and I can’t override it with willpower.
At 55 and about 6 years into this diagnosis I can still battle it. I can still build muscle and I can push some symptoms off.
My Parkinson’s symptoms improved enough to
Be noticeable to those immediately around me.
The dystonia I deal with frequently happens less often.
The Parkinson’s tremors have reduced bit.
The muscle stiffness that feels like rusted joints doesn’t feel so “rusty” as often.
The most important (for me) improvement is my walking gait and posture. I feel that sway again in my body as I walk. You know the one where your torso and shoulder sway opposite your hips and legs to balance you? Well that is one of the first things that Parkinson’s took away from me and now I’m feeling that back a little. Now I somewhat walk with my whole body again and it feels delightful.
Music Playing in the AirPods while exercising changes everything. Since my brain can’t always keep my muscles working in a good rhythm, music can sometimes, actually a lot of the time for me, pick up a lot of the slack and keeps the rhyth going.
Heavier music pushed me for more reps and heavier weight. (Metallica, Linkin Park), Faster dance beats gave me endurance for longer sessions. (Madonna, Donna Summer) but playing music that I loved,not just to hit a bpm, was better than anything. I think my brain recognizes the beat and just knows how to keep that beat from habit.
And it felt great to go to the NYC pride parade two days ago.
I know I can’t cure my Parkinson’s. But I can work hard to reduce its severity and give myself some extra years of mobility and movement. That’s what I wanted to do with these thirty days, to know that I can do it.
I hope you all have your own reason to show up, whatever that looks like for you. 🏳️🌈Pride month was mine.
Love you all
❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
🏳️🌈 #pride #prideinyourself