These posts take a lot of courage to write. Here is the premise.
2016 was quite a year in the health department. It began with strange, lower abdominal pain and ended with two surgeries six weeks apart, along with a challenging three month physical therapy regime. Hoo boy! What a year! During this down time, I gained a couple of pounds each month. 'Probably normal given such circumstances. Now that I've been released to work out again, I am not quite sure what to do or where to begin. If you'd like to read previous posts, here they are
2016 was quite a year in the health department. It began with strange, lower abdominal pain and ended with two surgeries six weeks apart, along with a challenging three month physical therapy regime. Hoo boy! What a year! During this down time, I gained a couple of pounds each month. 'Probably normal given such circumstances. Now that I've been released to work out again, I am not quite sure what to do or where to begin. If you'd like to read previous posts, here they are
This moment in time is quite overwhelming. The goal of physical therapy was to get my injured side back to 80%, so there are some balance issues, one side is weaker, and, frankly, quite a bit of fear. I've decided to write a series of posts about my journey, both physical and emotional. I am certainly not an expert, but I'd like to tell you what works for me. What am I? A fifty something grandmother that enjoys mud runs, heavy lifting, and aerial fitness. You can expect to see recipes and nutrition ideas along with book reviews, basic workouts, flexibility and running schedules. I hope I have the courage to talk about the failures and disappointments, too. We'll see! Suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Right now, I need all the support I can get!
Week 3.
Let's talk about what comes with gym memberships. Since my physical therapist was asking me to spend time on specific machines daily, I had to look for a gym with those machines in it. I did some research online and emailed questions to a few locations. One was found with everything needed, so I asked for a tour just to be sure. The poor owner seemed a bit startled when I wobbled in with my big crazy brace. He asked lots of questions during the tour and offered to write a plan for me, at no charge.
This is a very common practice. If your gym has a "Get Started" free session with a personal trainer, take advantage of that! If you went to a hardware store and weren't sure about hammers, you'd ask someone that worked there, right? If you went to a craft store and were confused about glue, you'd find an associate in one of those smocks, right? Same things goes for gyms. If you're uncertain, ask one their employees. Not only will they answer your questions, they are comfortable demonstrating correct form. Is it easy to ask for help? Nope. Well, at least not for me.
Allow yourself to be a beginner.
It's OK to not have all the answers. Really!
(That pep talk was totally aimed at me! I'm not very brave these days!)
This trainer had LOTS of questions for me about my injuries, surgeries, and wanted to read my physical therapy protocol. After a bit of time with the protocol, he suggested a full body workout plan focused on range of motion with strict instructions to begin slowly and immediately stop any movement that made me uncomfortable.
Monday, Wednesday and Friday
5 minute warm up of my choice (usually slow stairs or stationary bike)
Body Weight Squats - 20 reps
Push Ups - 15 reps
Hip Bridge - 20 reps
Assisted Pull Ups - 15 reps
Body Weight Lunges - 10 reps on each side
Plank - 30 second hold
Complete Circuit 4 to 7 times
Tuesday and Thursday
Stairs - 10 minutes
Row Machine -1000 meters
(rowing slowly, focusing on full range of motion especially in my lower body)
Stationary Bike - 20 minutes
Before attempting, I ran all of it past my physical therapy team. They gave their blessing, but repeated the trainer's warning to begin slowly and immediately stop any movement that made me uncomfortable AND reminded me these movements were in addition to what they requested. ;-)
This plan was a good tool for me. I definitely needed a specific set of exercises to get me past my fear of moving again. When I first began, I could only crank out three rounds. It wasn't painful during the workout, but I was somewhat sore the following day. Nothing horrible, just my muscles adjusting to the exercise. On the days the trainer happened to be in the gym at the same time as me, he would ask how I was feeling. One morning he noticed I was leaning toward my strong side when doing squats. He kindly let me know and gave some helpful tips on staying balanced. His support was really nice.
If gyms are not for you, for whatever reason, I found a book and a couple of videos for beginners. If you choose one, will you please heed the warning to begin slowly and immediately stop movements that are uncomfortable? I said "Please". ;-)
My public library offers several fitness videos, and, of course, has a nice selection of books about different types of exercise. I always check my library first! ;-)
Have you ever taken advantage of a free session with a personal trainer? If so, what was your experience like? If not, what do you think would be most helpful?
;-) -Marci
Week 3.
Let's talk about what comes with gym memberships. Since my physical therapist was asking me to spend time on specific machines daily, I had to look for a gym with those machines in it. I did some research online and emailed questions to a few locations. One was found with everything needed, so I asked for a tour just to be sure. The poor owner seemed a bit startled when I wobbled in with my big crazy brace. He asked lots of questions during the tour and offered to write a plan for me, at no charge.
This is a very common practice. If your gym has a "Get Started" free session with a personal trainer, take advantage of that! If you went to a hardware store and weren't sure about hammers, you'd ask someone that worked there, right? If you went to a craft store and were confused about glue, you'd find an associate in one of those smocks, right? Same things goes for gyms. If you're uncertain, ask one their employees. Not only will they answer your questions, they are comfortable demonstrating correct form. Is it easy to ask for help? Nope. Well, at least not for me.
Allow yourself to be a beginner.
It's OK to not have all the answers. Really!
(That pep talk was totally aimed at me! I'm not very brave these days!)
Monday, Wednesday and Friday
5 minute warm up of my choice (usually slow stairs or stationary bike)
Body Weight Squats - 20 reps
Push Ups - 15 reps
Hip Bridge - 20 reps
Assisted Pull Ups - 15 reps
Body Weight Lunges - 10 reps on each side
Plank - 30 second hold
Complete Circuit 4 to 7 times
Tuesday and Thursday
Stairs - 10 minutes
Row Machine -1000 meters
(rowing slowly, focusing on full range of motion especially in my lower body)
Stationary Bike - 20 minutes
Before attempting, I ran all of it past my physical therapy team. They gave their blessing, but repeated the trainer's warning to begin slowly and immediately stop any movement that made me uncomfortable AND reminded me these movements were in addition to what they requested. ;-)
This plan was a good tool for me. I definitely needed a specific set of exercises to get me past my fear of moving again. When I first began, I could only crank out three rounds. It wasn't painful during the workout, but I was somewhat sore the following day. Nothing horrible, just my muscles adjusting to the exercise. On the days the trainer happened to be in the gym at the same time as me, he would ask how I was feeling. One morning he noticed I was leaning toward my strong side when doing squats. He kindly let me know and gave some helpful tips on staying balanced. His support was really nice.
If gyms are not for you, for whatever reason, I found a book and a couple of videos for beginners. If you choose one, will you please heed the warning to begin slowly and immediately stop movements that are uncomfortable? I said "Please". ;-)
My public library offers several fitness videos, and, of course, has a nice selection of books about different types of exercise. I always check my library first! ;-)
Have you ever taken advantage of a free session with a personal trainer? If so, what was your experience like? If not, what do you think would be most helpful?
;-) -Marci
