Cardiac rehab

So I learned a couple things this morning, my third visit to cardiac rehab.

First, I am a solo work-out person. I don't want to be watched, and I certainly don't want people monitoring me, at least people who are not health professionals.

Cardiac rehab is full of, of course, older people. I know they mean well, but this man on the treadmill next to me and a woman on a recumbent bike behind me almost worked themselves into second heart attacks and equipment accidents this morning because they were so busy paying attention to me.

My back is still bad, and walking is painful. So the treadmill is a special kind of torture that, I've decided, will not break me. If I am going to enjoy Italy next year, I have to be able to walk with less pain. But for now, I have to stop every few minutes and let my back relax.

So I'm on the treadmill, and I stop and lean over to stretch my back, and the woman behind me starts screaming "Turn off the machine! Turn off the belt!" And the man next to me hops off his treadmill. I look over and they are looking at me and the nurse comes running over to see if everyone's OK.

Yes, I say, I am fine. Just letting my back relax so I can keep going. The man is worried because he saw me bending over and thought I was too out of breath. The woman was upset because she saw the man losing his footing.

Later, she tells me "you really got my adrenaline going. Don't do that."

OK, I said, but I was thinking much meaner thoughts.

The second thing I learned is that I can like this exercise thing. It actually feels good, other than the back pain. Maybe I can do it not because I have to, but because I want to.

Hmmm.

As long as I can do it alone.