Thank you for the block Janice. It’s beautiful. It’s funny, I don’t immediately recognize my block as the colors are so off on my IPad.
There were two conversations I wanted to jump in on. Better late than never.
Walking and steps. I use a Fitbit that monitors for steps, heart rate and heart arrhythmias. Now I’ll put on my exercise physiologist hat and let everyone know that 7500 steps is a good target to aim for if you’re just starting out. It’s great to work up to that. . The studies they’ve done show that if you reach that level you get almost all the benefits that those who do 10000 steps. So don’t be upset if you can’t reach Janice’s amazing 14000 step level. Kudos to you Janice that’s an excellent achievement and indicates you have a great fitness level, if you’re doing that most days! Here’s a little article
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/10000-steps/art-20317391.
For those who are battling knee problems etc, I recommend trying walking sticks. I got a pair when I did the Zion Narrows hike about two years. I ended up using wood sticks for that hike. The hike is through a river with vertical walls on each side. I was a little skeptical as one hiker had died, swept away on a flash flood, the week before we did it. But we checked it out and the rangers put up a sign warning people off if they expect trouble.
After I did that hike I found that I used the Metal walking sticks on almost all the hikes I did. They increased my hiking speed, helped protect my knees, especially on the downward part of hikes. And I used them for rehabbing my heart, they enabled me to go to further. And of course they are great for balance if you have balance issues. For those of you who have knee issues and its keeping you from walking I can recommend giving them a try and seeing if they help.