MEET DORIS
“Find what you can do, stop making excuses. You can do it, I did it. So, if I can do it, anybody can do it.”
- Doris
Doris is a retired mechanical engineer, a wife, a mom to two children, and an avid fitness enthusiast. She started an active and fit lifestyle in her teenage years and have been active ever since. During her college years, she was involved with weightlifting and played for the university’s Intercollegiate Racquetball team. Since then, she has participated in triathlons and has not missed a day of exercise in the past 5 years.
As her children started growing older, Doris found herself limited on time – she was a soccer mom, chess mom, archery mom, tennis mom, speech and debate mom, drama mom, choir mom, as well as supporting her husband. As rewarding as that was, she found that she had less time to go to the gym and made a conscious decision to exercise at home and cancelled her gym memberships. She started by watching workout videos at home as well investing in some equipment.
Experiencing Heart Attack
On September 15, Doris woke up to severe chest pain – chest pain that she describes as a knobby kettlebell crushing her chest; the most excruciating pain that she’s ever experienced. She was having a heart attack. She exercises regularly and eats healthy – how did she have a heart attack? She explains that for her it was genetics as well as a regularly stressed demeanor, too much exercise yet not enough rest.
Recovering & Exercise
Before her heart attack, she had encouraged her husband to exercise. They tried an indoor cycle which worked well at first but broke after a short period of time. After trying two different cycle bikes, her husband suggested a Sunny Health and Fitness recumbent bike as a replacement. Although Doris initially had some reservations due to space and because she felt that it was too easy, they went ahead and ordered the Sunny Health and Fitness recumbent bike, which fit the bill of an affordable good quality equipment. They also purchased the Sunny Health and Fitness rowing machine. Though originally purchased for her husband, the Sunny Health and Fitness recumbent bike has become a regular and active part of her heart attack recovery*. The recumbent bike helps to provide easier pace exercise and has been instrumental in a balanced exercise routine. She uses the recumbent bike for burning calories in different ways, by adjusting the tension or by pedaling speed. She appreciates the lever to adjust her seat easily, as well as the smaller foot print and easily replaceable parts. She also uses her rowing machine to work out her legs, back, arms.
What are Her Next Steps and Goals?
Her goals are to completely recover from her heart attack, to shed 30 lbs of body fat, to increase VO2 max, and to achieve a good balance. She aims to empower her children and husband; to show people that they can be passionate but need to have balance.
Her Advice
Doris’ advice on keeping up an active lifestyle:
- Make your goal so doable and so easy that you cannot fail: Her goal is to get 1 minute of exercise, and 99% of the time, that 1 minute turns into a whole workout - 1 hour of walking, 1 hour of cycling; it turns into a lot more than the 1 minutes goals she has set.
- Do something you enjoy: Aim to do exercises you enjoy 80% of the time while completing the 20% with exercises that you may not enjoy but is good for you. She loves HIIT, walking, cycling, dancing, weightlifting, but not running. However, she will periodically go out for a jog. Different types of exercise target different part of the body which will not only bring balance to your fitness routine, but also reduce injury.
*Please consult your doctor if you are considering exercise after an injury or have pre-existing conditions.
