Friends,
Nice weather – standing balance class outside
We are finally having some nicer weather. Last Friday, Dr Kate took our standing balance class outside and everyone enjoyed some fresh air, vitamin D and fun with friends on the Bellicons.
I’m still amazed by the effectiveness of rebounding for us living with MS as well as people who don’t have MS. We’re learning that it is what I call a gentle, fun and functional exercise that improves our entire body function very effectively. It seems like it gives us the base to do whatever we desire to do. We still have to do what we want to get good at but it certainly gives us the function to do it. For example, if we want to get good at walking, we still have to walk. If we want to get good at bike riding, we still need to ride bike. Rebounding seems to give us the functional base to be able to do what we want.
If you haven’t engaged in our rebounding opportunities, I would highly encourage you to engage in them…consistently. There’s that consistency word again. I can’t emphasize that enough.
First 100 mile bike ride of the season
Each year, a group of us do some long bike rides together. This past weekend, a couple of us with MS, some of our friends, volunteers and supporters were able to enjoy a 100 mile bike ride together in northern Wisconsin. We rode from St Germain through Sayner, Boulder Junction and Manitowish Waters to Mercer and back.
If you ever get a chance to ride the trails in that area, I would highly encourage you to do so. As you can see in this picture of Todd riding the trails on his handcycle, the trails are beautiful. They’re all paved, groomed on the edges and no traffic other than other bikers and intersections. Truly a gift to Wisconsin.
Biking is very MS friendly. I’m still amazed that people with MS can ride bike as well as they can even if walking is difficult. Todd and I both have MS and are in our 60’s. Both of us have had major challenges with walking and MS. We both finished the 100-mile ride and made it just fine feeling good the next day as well. We would highly encourage you to get out and enjoy biking even if you can’t walk very well. Todd did 100 miles on his handcycle living with primary progressive MS. Pretty amazing! ”
Endurance Walking Opportunity
Walking is a very functional and sought after level of mobility for all of us living with MS. For those who can’t walk, my heart is with you. I don’t forget for a minute the days I couldn’t walk and I have you in mind on each walk. I wish we had quicker ways to get people who can’t walk, walking. Let’s keep working at it.
For those who can walk, let’s focus on keeping our walking abilities and try to improve upon them.
Our endurance walking group is training for the Day of Endurance. These are on Thursday mornings starting @ 6:00am. Last Thursday, we walked 10 miles with plenty of MS challenges. Nobody said it would be easy. We stopped for quite a few stretches and made it through it.
We are walking different segments of the Lake Country Trail. Whether you have MS, are a family or friend, a volunteer, etc. if you want to join us, please let me know and I will include you in the communication of where we will be walking. We are hoping to gradually build up from 7 miles to 15-18 miles as we train for the Day of Endurance on August 23rd. I hope you’ll join us.
Nutrition Program
This week, Janine led us through some conversations about nutrition and exercise. What should we eat before during and after exercising? This is interesting and beneficial information.
Here are the nutrition links for this week:
Client-Ed-Fueling-for-Cyclists-MSJustKeepMoving.pdf
SCAN_NCAA_Fueling_For_Recovery.pdf
Client-Ed-Top-Tips-for-Fueling-Athletes-MSJustKeepMoving.pdf
MS 2025.06.09 After a workout.pdf
Janine puts a lot into these presentations. It’s wonderful for her to share these presentations with those who can’t be here. It’s even more impactful for people who can be here in person to get the information first hand and be able to get questions answered and learn from others living with MS. I would highly encourage you to engage in our nutrition program Monday mornings @ 9:00am so you can benefit at a high level. All are encouraged to come; people with MS, loved ones, care takers, volunteers, etc.
Thank you Janine!
Metals for MS
Thank you to all who brought in aluminum cans, gutters, copper, etc. We took a load in today and received $210.00. It all adds up. Please keep bringing in your metal…thank you!
Parking
If there are able-bodied people willing to park across the street in the Acuity lot so people with mobility challenges can park in our lot, please do so. We want to make it easy for people with mobility challenges to park and get into our building safely. Thank you for doing that!
Member Spotlight – Shelly Davis
Have you heard of RAGBRAI? It’s a 7 day bike ride across Iowa. Here’s a link. Traci and Shelley are going to do this ride together. I was fortunate enough to do this ride quite a few years ago with my son Jacob, some friends and their Dads. It was a great experience all seven days. I wish Shelley and Traci all the best on this ride. You’ll love it!
Golf Outing Donations
Thank you to all who donated and helped us gather donations for our golf outing. We’re in a good spot and will be putting the baskets / silent auction items together this week. Thanks so much!!
Day of Endurance – Saturday, August 23rd 2025
I hope your training is going well. I know some are hitting it hard and are well ahead of where they were last year at this time…good job! We get out of it what we put into it. I hope you’re feeling good!
Let’s make this journey and experience the best yet and have some fun…together. As we train, let’s enjoy each day and record what we do on the packet we put together for you. If you didn’t get a packet, please see Dr Kate or me for your packet. Please turn your progress notes into Dr Kate bi-weekly. We’re trying to make it really easy for you to record what you’re doing on a daily basis. These will be interesting for you to look back at a year from now. Hopefully, you can do more next year than you do this year.
Remember, try to do daily workouts and just one LONG workout each week. It’s on the one long workout that you want to do just a little better than the week before on and gradually build up each week.
Ed and Adam’s Podcast
Adam and Ed had an interesting conversation with Jamie and Bob last week as they shared Jamie’s journey of living with MS.
Here’s the link:
A Conversation with Jamie and Bob by Positive Vibes Living with MSThanks Adam, Ed and Ava for doing these podcasts together!
Exercise Programs
These classes are aimed to get everyone exercising together. I like that word “together” 
. We’ll need help from volunteers before and after the cardio class on Wednesdays and Fridays to get members on and off equipment. All are welcome and encouraged to join…friends with MS, volunteers, and caregivers.
Monday Mornings
8:00am Rebounding Class
9:00am Nutrition Program – Friends with MS, caretakers and volunteers are encouraged to engage. Here’s last week’s presentation: MS 2025.06.02 Oils.pdf
Monday evenings (open from 4:00pm – 7:00pm)
5:00 pm: High intensity interval training (HIIT)
5:30 pm: Standing balance
6:00 pm: Seated balance
Tuesday afternoons
1:00 pm – 1:45 pm: Aquatic exercise program held at Wildwood Lodge – Pewaukee
2:00 pm – 2:45 pm: Aquatic exercise program held at Wildwood Lodge – Pewaukee
Wildwood Lodge has a lift available to get people in wheelchairs in and out of the pool safely
Wednesdays
8:30am – 9:00am: Cardio exercise
Location: in the big room using aerobic equipment in front of big TV
Pick your favorite piece of equipment to use, bring a water bottle, and arrive a few minutes early to get the equipment set up to your height.
9:30am – 10:00am: Seated Balance
10-10:30am: Cardio exercise
Location: in the big room using aerobic equipment in front of big TV
Pick your favorite piece of equipment to use, bring a water bottle, and arrive a few minutes early to get the equipment set up to your height.
Fridays:
9:30 – 10:00am: High intensity interval training (HIIT) body weight circuit class. Great for those who aren’t attending Friday morning bike rides and want to get their heart pumping! Geared to intermediate to advanced ability level. Class may be indoors or outdoors depending on weather. Find Dr Kate at the start of the class time.
10:00 – 10:30 am: Seated balance class
10:30 – 11am: Standing balance class
Pick the class / classes you feel most able and comfortable participating in. We will have chairs set up to sit on and/or use for balance support.
Email Dr Kate Kern at kborn1234@gmail.com with any questions.
Friday Morning Bike Rides
We had a nice ride together last Friday. I’m really pleased and excited about how well everyone rode last week. Now that we had the bikes running better and everyone was ready to go fairly early, we have a great ride and covered quite a few miles already. Let’s have a great riding season together .
We will be riding this Friday if it’s not raining. If it’s raining, feel free to come to the gym early.
We’ll be meeting Friday morning at 7:00am at Nettesheim Park in Pewaukee. It’s on the SE corner of Hwy SS and Oak Street. The GPS address is: N26W27495 Prospect Ave, Pewaukee, WI 53072.
Come a little early so you can get your bike out of your car and be ready to ride as close to 7:00 as possible. We’ll ride until about 8:45. Let’s ride and have some fun!
For those who wish you could join us but can’t; please know we have you in our hearts on these rides. We’re riding with you and for you. I hope you too can join us someday.
Educational Sessions
This Friday, June 13th: 11:00 – 12:00 pm: Physical Therapists, Kimberly Sawall and Emily Hill from ProHealth Care will talk about the balance triad and how this plays a large role in dizziness and imbalance with mobility.
Friday, Friday, June 27th 11:00 – 12:00 pm: Faith Zahorik, pelvic floor physical therapist from ProHealth Care will talk to us about the anatomy and function of your pelvic floor and core musculature, and the interaction of MS. You will also take home the initial tools to build strength and strategies for optimal pelvic floor health.
Friday, July 11th 11:00 – 12:00 pm: Dr Kate Kern will present interesting research findings and rehab techniques she learned at the 2025 Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) conference.
Friday, July 18th 11:00 – 12:00 pm: Bi-yearly volunteer meeting. Meet in the breakroom to discuss any new topics, raise questions, comments, or concerns.
Friday, July 25th 11:00 – 12:00 pm: Rob Motl’s team from the University of Illinois Chicago will update us on research results from their recently completed MS studies, tell us about ongoing research studies, and what’s next for his research lab.
Friday, August 15th Fayth Caruso from Bellicon will be here to spend the morning with us. Fayth will answer any questions you may have about rebounding, the benefits of it, how to get started, experiences she’s had as a master trainer, etc. Fayth would also like to learn from us living with MS and how we have benefited it from it so far. Fayth gets lots of requests from people across the nation about rebounding and MS. She is hoping to get some testimonials from some of us to share with her Bellicon nation.
Future topics could include: emotional health, nutrition, yoga, tai chi, wellness topics, safe use of gym equipment for your body, best exercise for you and more. What topics would you like to see? Please let Dr Kate, Joan, Traci, Ricky or Dan know.
Let’s get together!
We’ll be getting together from 8:00am – noon on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings at the gym. Plus, Monday evenings from 4:00pm – 7:00pm. I hope you’ll join us!
Wisconsin Metal Parts – Westmound Building
MS-Just Keep Moving, Inc.
W228N791 Westmound Drive
Waukesha, WI 53186
Prayer Group We’ll be having our prayer group Wednesday from 11:00am – noon.
I just love the way we share, pray and laugh together while we witness prayers being answered weekly. It’s truly amazing!
Thanks goes to God and to everyone that joins us. Let’s get together to share, listen, talk, give thanks, and pray however God leads us.
MS-Just Keep Caring – Our Caregivers support group will be the first and third Friday of each month from 10:00 – 10:30am. The next one will be this Friday, June 20th, 2025. If you’re a caregiver of someone you love with MS, please join us and share your experience of caring for your loved one. This has been very helpful for many. Thanks to all who participate!
Our Facebook page is private. That means you’ll need to join if you want access to all our fun and progress. We’re now at 621 members. That’s awesome! https://www.facebook.com/groups/2639832389489709
Our Facebook page is active and fun. Lots of people are doing more and sharing their journey on Facebook. Feel free to join, post and share your experiences and comments.
There were some awesome pictures, videos and comments shared again this past week. Thank you to all who are sharing!
Thai Massage with Ricky and Nyani
Ricky will be here on Wednesdays doing Thai Massage.
Nyani will be here on Fridays doing Thai Massage
Our goal is to serve as many people who come to the gym consistently as we can with these Thai Massage services. Going forward we will be doing a rotational schedule to accommodate as many people as we can who need and want a massage.
There are some guidelines written up at the gym. Please respect the guidelines so we can serve as many people as we can. Please sign up according to the guidelines.
Here’s a link to the guidelines: Thai Massage at MS-Just Keep Moving
Reiki on Wednesdays and Fridays
Reiki is available at the gym, for FREE, on Wednesdays (Mary B, Jill K) and on Fridays (Linda C and Mary R), 9:30am until noon. Sessions typically last 20-30 minutes. Sign up for a session on the white board.
Reiki (ray-kee) relaxes the body so that healing can occur! The “magic” of Reiki has helped some of our members with pain, insomnia, constipation, and so much more! Try it the next time you are at the gym!
Inspirational Humor with Adam Wollert
We’ll be having our inspirational humor zoom call with Adam again next Tuesday. Adam is a gift to all of us. Thanks to all who joined us today!
Please join us if you can.
Tuesdays @ 1:30PM
Here’s the link to join us…I hope you do!
Join Zoom Meeting with this link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9431389152?pwd=bWlYbFNaazVnM1M1cWxWMitlODdXUT09
Meeting ID: 943 138 9152
Passcode: 3qP2hu
Phone: 1-312-626-6799
Let’s reach out
I encourage you to share a smile and encouragement with someone. Perhaps you could call someone that you have not talked with for a while just to say hi and see how they are doing. We all could use a little extra love and encouragement.
MS is tough. Let’s have faith, remain calm, be flexible, help each other and learn as much as we can about the challenges of each day as we make good choices and take action.
Let’s keep moving, smiling and loving It helps!
In God We Trust…we are in good hands.
Dan
Our Website: http://msjustkeepmoving.org/
P.S. When we were up north this past weekend, I tried to get a few nature pictures to share. Sunday morning, we started the morning with a beautiful sunrise.
And the loons were being heard…such a beautiful bird and sound
The ducks were enjoying a little family time along the bank
The geese were out in the middle of the lake enjoying some family time
We saw a couple common water snakes out sunning themselves
Supposedly, they’re non venomous
We saw a beautiful Common Merganser swimming along the shore
Terry feeds the hummingbirds so I had to get a few pictures of them
They sure have long tongues
Those long tongues come in handy when getting the nectar from feeders, flowers, etc.
Terry’s dog, Juneau sure loves to fish
For those who can’t get out and enjoy nature due your challenges with MS…my heart is with you. You are with me every time I’m out there. I enjoy being out there and I also enjoy sharing with you. I know how hard it is not to be able to get out and enjoy nature. Let’s enjoy nature and God’s beauty together this way.
