It’s been a year since we last heard from Argus user Randolph Bannerman about his fitness journey. A lot has changed for him in the past year, so let’s check in with him to see what new progress he has made:
What has changed for you in the last year?
In the last article, one of my goals for this year was to walk to a town north of me, which is about 13 miles away. Come this last December, it was a perfect day so I just started walking. That day I walked to that town and back. It was over 24 miles and about 7-8 hours. It felt great!
What goals did you reach in the past year?
In the past year, from the current day to last article on me, I started walking about 10 miles a day. While on my walks, I would always see two people, Bob and Randy, riding their bikes. They inspired me to take up biking, and I love it! I talked about biking with my wife (Nyda), and she encouraged me to get a proper bike for the gravel path I wanted to ride on. So I went to the shop and had a bike made. I decided to that my goal would be to ride to a town north of me about 90 miles. I started practicing.
How have you used Argus to help you reach those goals?
Well first thing in the morning, turn off Sleep Time to see how I slept. I use it every night! During day, I log water intake to see how I’m doing. I compare that with my weight because I could have gained water weight. I also track all of my walking and cycling are beautiful. I have compared Argus to other apps, and Argus is far superior. I am able to send my heart rate from my Apple watch to Argus. It puts all my stuff in one place! It all goes back to motivation. If I see 6,000 steps then I know I have 4,000 more to go.
I always take my heart rate first thing in the morning. It’s the first thing Sleep Time asks me to do when I turn the alarm off. Last year, I felt faint, so I went to the hospital. My heart rate was super low and the doctor thought they wanted to put a pacemaker in me. He went back and looked at all the heart readings I had taken from Instant Heart Rate. Because of all my walking, my resting heart rate is about 48. We also found out that in December 2014, my eye doctor put me on drops for glaucoma. These drops, which was beta blocker, were also slowing down my heart rate. Because of all of this, they decided I didn’t need a pacemaker. They pulled out the eye drops and now I’m back to normal and walking. Argus was one of the reasons I didn’t have to get a pacemaker. Because of that, I’ve learned to be an advocate, and learn to collect my own info in between doctor’s visits.
How do you stay motivated?
What are your health and fitness plans for the future?
Anchor House, a home for abused, abandoned children have a 500 mile ride over 7 days. That’s my goal for next year. I have a year to plan and train for it.
As far as future health plans, ever since I’ve lost all of this weight, it has been like opening a new door to me. I have become thirsty for information on everything from exercise, health, and good foods. Instead of sitting watching TV and putting food in my face, I read things on the internet.
The Argus community is full of wonderful and inspiring people embarking on their own unique fitness journey. If you, or someone you know, have a great story to share, we would love to hear from you. Contact us by emailing maggie@azumio.com
