Last night, on a whim, I jumped on the elliptical trainer at home. It’s been collecting dust like, forever now, and mostly serves as place to hang towels after drying off our dog, wet from sprinkler heaven.

I had tried using our trainer a month ago, but back then, it was difficult stepping on (it has stair-step like platforms that move in a circle) without losing balance, and I couldn’t reach the bars that move back and forth with my right arm, let alone have that arm move with said bars.

But last night? Getting on trainer wasn’t too bad, and I was shocked to discover that not only can I hold onto the right-side bar with my right arm, I can move said arm with the bar as well.

Say! Maybe I can start getting in some great cardio work now!

Since it was getting late, I had no intention of actually exercising, so I was only on the trainer for 30 seconds or so.

And that was a good thing.

After getting off, my right shoulder complained right away. Apparently, that little bit of exercise, even though it didn’t bother me at the time, was too much of a shock to all those injured muscles.

It’s not that my shoulder isn’t used to moving now — I do exercises at home and go to rehab three times a week, where I get plenty of movement work on my shoulder, including being “put on the torture rack” – where the P.T.’s move and stretch my arm and shoulder in ways they do *not* want to go right now. But apparently, the circular back and forth motion of the elliptical trainer was utilizing muscle patterns that haven’t fired in quite some time.

Anyway, this is all a sign of progress, and I can now add as a milestone the ability to get on the elliptical trainer, and start using it an exercising ”millstone”  — even if it’s only a 30 second grind right now.

Ha!