JCC 2019 Fitness Goals

As I mentioned above I caved and called my doctor this week. Out of nowhere I was just in pain. From my right hip down to my foot. I wasn't able to sleep and this has been going on for the better part of a year. So much pain I can't sleep and I'm not even doing any activity. I am just sitting still. I think this is the one thing most people do not comprehend even the doctors. People just assume if I run I have pain when I run, no it's not like that at all. I'm in pain 24/7 sometimes for weeks on end. The worst thing I did was try this one physical therapy place where they insisted I go for a run to see how it feels. Well I argued and argued with them. I knew I was going to blow up in pain, but they insisted and they are supposed to be PT's so I went along after I strongly urged them to rethink this plan. Well I was in tears for days after that. When I tried to tell the owner of the practice that being alive hurts she literally laughed. I don't think she did it to be mean, I just don't think she comprehended the seriousness of my injury.

Anyway on to better news. The past 24 hours has been better. If I swim just 45 minutes, I don't aggravate anything. So the past 3 days I've just done a 45 minute swim. I also walked one mile each day after work. One day on the treadmill at the gym, yesterday it was warm enough for the neighborhood (40ish degrees I can handle). My right foot falls asleep, but it doesn't leave me in pain afterward and everything I have ever read says exercise is good for you. And even though my right foot falls asleep I don't have pain after walking. All of this is super discouraging for me. I want to set fitness goals more than any human being on the planet, but I just keep cutting back further.

So this doctor I have been seeing. I think he hates me. He thinks I need to be more patient and he interrupted it all wrong when I said no one is helping me. I meant that when I get home from the doctor I have to carry around my autistic 5 year old son and the vacuum cleaner and whatever other labor might be aggravating my injury and that may be the reason I can't heal. He took it to mean he wasn't helping me and I feel terrible about this even though I tried to tell him I didn't mean it that way. I think that's why he just handed me a card to another doctor and that was the whole appointment.

This new doctor is a surgeon and maybe there is something he can do. I can only hope.

Also on a positive note my eating habits have been really good this week. The scale was not my enemy this morning

 

Hope the new doctor works for you @Runjedirun

 

this sounds so lovely! i saw a "christmas in europe" tv special one time that showed a nighttime Christmas eve ski with torches (somewhere in Austria I think)...it looked amazing!

if you ever get a chance to post a pic or two of your skating/skiing environs here (whether this event or something else), I'd love to see them!

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I recently found an NPR podcast with a description of a 22-minute "exercise essentials" workout for beginners (below). It combines 10 minutes of high intensity interval cardio with 3 rounds (12 reps each) of basic strength/resistance exercises (modified push ups, squats, and a "rowing" type exercise using a towel) and then 4 minutes of stretching at the end. I gave it a first try today and liked it, so my goal for this week is to try to do it at least three more times during the upcoming week.


This 22-Minute Workout Has Everything You Need
"If you've got 22 minutes, you can get an effective whole-body workout. Spreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg's personal trainer walks us through an interval session and explains the science behind effective exercise."

 

This "only having caffeine on non-work days mostly" has definitely improved my sleep. Not sure about mood.

 

Does anyone have any experience with using some sort of "grounding strap" to avoid static electricity shocks during treadmill use? I sometimes get shocks when I'm wearing headphones that are plugged into my laptop (which sits on a "surf shelf" I have attached to my treadmill display). I've looked on Amazon, but only found one product specifically for treadmill use and it wasn't well reviewed.

 

I got a Fitbit for my birthday today. I'm definitely going to make good use of it.

 

I shoveled a ton of snow this morning. It was heavy and frozen hard. Miserable way to get an upper body work out.

 

I can do 10 actual pushups now. So that's something

 

I got a rash all over my chest and belly, presumably from sweating in the cold while shoveling snow. Baby powder is making it go away.

I'm sure all of you really wanted to know that.

 

Well, I'm now down to 155 lbs. If I lose 10 lbs more, I'll be at my original college freshman weight from over 10 years ago. I just had to buy a bunch of new pants. Hopefully I don't put the weight back on, but I have been cheating on my diet lately (had pizza for dinner tonight instead of the normal spinach salad!).

 

I pulled something in my arm that I have been having trouble in my shoulder with, So not sure. It's like I can't do certain movements or bend it a certain way. I've rested in the past few days by not doing arm workouts and it's a little better, but I'm probably going to see a chiropractor.

 

Controlling the few things I can control. The salads in lei of lean cuisines are working great. I've also been able to somehow eat less chocolate the past two weeks. My pants are definitely less tight. And this morning I swam 4,000 meters (2.4 miles). That's my longest swim in over 5 years!

 

Most impressive! How long does it take you to swim that far?

 

About one hour and 15 minutes.

 

I was working away from home over the last two weeks and I got in a fair bit of training with my colleagues. We did boxing circuits, runs, and weights sessions. I was happy to get back into lifting again and I'm incorporating this into my workout schedule now that I'm home again. I'm want to build muscle strength and endurance to help with my running and ability to lift my own weight.