I had a doctor's appointment today in the morning at a place about an hour away from my apartment if there's no traffic. Needless to say, I spent most of the morning in the car, excepting the 45 minutes or so I was in my doctor's office. It's ok, though, as I told people not to expect me today at work. Things have been crazy enough lately that I already had enough hours stocked up so I didn't have to take leave to not show up today, so when I got home at about 1 p.m., I decided to relax at home. I ended up taking a short nap on my couch at about 3 (until about 3:30ish). Oz had crawled onto my stomach and with him curled up, I was pretty comfy. After I got up, I felt great, and then proceeded to have a fantastic workout tonight. I got to the gym a little earlier than usual so did 40 minutes on the elliptical. Brian had me do some boxing first, then we did upper body work. It was a great workout, if only I could take a nap everyday!!!!
Things have been going well, workout-wise, though work's been absolutely insane so I haven't written much about what we've done. I found out today that I've lost 11.5 lbs since starting working out with Brian, which I'm stoked about. Anyway, I stand by my subject line: naps rule!
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Silly Cat
This is my cat, Oz. He's a terror, but he's got me well-trained and he knows he's my terror. He'll come into my story in a little bit.
I haven't written in over a week, how shamemful! It's not that I haven't been working out (I definitely have!), it's just that with work being a little crazy and the holiday, I don't have a lot of time when I get home from the gym to blog. But last week I was a good girl, working with Brian on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday, doing cardio on my own on Monday and Wednesday, resting the other 2 days (and let's face it, eating a lot of really good food on Thursday). Cardio lately has not been swimming, as much as I enjoy it. When I swam on Friday (the 17th I guess?), I think they shocked the pool with an extra dose or 10 of chlorine. It was so potent that after my swim, my sinuses hurt for 3-4 days. Needless to say, I'm not exactly looking forward to that again, so instead I've been doing time on the elliptical trainer.
This week has been rough, from a workout standpoint. I was feeling pretty sick on Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday and Monday. Not sick sick, but a little achy (outside of normal training muscle aches) and worn out. I think I've probably been fighting off some low-grade illnenss that hasn't managed to surface fully. Hopefully it'll stay down-trodden. Anyway, I had a long day at work yesterday and really didn't want to go to the gym afterwards, but I was a good girl and decided to do it. I just was planning on doing cardio, 45 minutes on the elliptical. Even though I've done that type of workout (at that intensity level) before, yesterday my average heart rate was about 10 beats per minute higher than it "normally" is at that intensity. So that wasn't fun, but one might think that after a tough day like that, I'd be ready for some good sleep. Oh no, as it turned out. I couldn't fall asleep, and when I finally did, I was tossing and turning all night. I literally woke up every 30 minutes or so. At around 3:30 a.m., I woke up and couldn't fall back asleep until 5, then was up again at 6:30 and have been up since then (my alarm normally wakes me at 7 a.m. To top off the bad sleeping, when I was awake, Oz the Psycho Kitty either wanted to play or wanted food (or both), as he kept attacking my hands until I dove under the covers and then he started batting things off of the nightstands by my bed (I have one on either side). At one point I scruffed him and threw him off my bed, but all in all it was a bad night.
Surprisingly, I had a good workout with Brian today. After a "normal" day at work, I got to the gym to do my regular 30 minute warmup (so much for it being 5-7 minutes beforehand...). During the warmup (on the elliptical), I noticed my heart rate was back to its normal rate for the level of intensity I was working at, which was good to see. I warned Brian that I was pretty tired, but it turned out to be a good workout.
I'm pretty tired now, so I'll probably crash early tonight...hopefully the furball won't disturb me too much tonight (I swear he knows I'm writing about him as he's staring at me right now).
I haven't written in over a week, how shamemful! It's not that I haven't been working out (I definitely have!), it's just that with work being a little crazy and the holiday, I don't have a lot of time when I get home from the gym to blog. But last week I was a good girl, working with Brian on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday, doing cardio on my own on Monday and Wednesday, resting the other 2 days (and let's face it, eating a lot of really good food on Thursday). Cardio lately has not been swimming, as much as I enjoy it. When I swam on Friday (the 17th I guess?), I think they shocked the pool with an extra dose or 10 of chlorine. It was so potent that after my swim, my sinuses hurt for 3-4 days. Needless to say, I'm not exactly looking forward to that again, so instead I've been doing time on the elliptical trainer.
This week has been rough, from a workout standpoint. I was feeling pretty sick on Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday and Monday. Not sick sick, but a little achy (outside of normal training muscle aches) and worn out. I think I've probably been fighting off some low-grade illnenss that hasn't managed to surface fully. Hopefully it'll stay down-trodden. Anyway, I had a long day at work yesterday and really didn't want to go to the gym afterwards, but I was a good girl and decided to do it. I just was planning on doing cardio, 45 minutes on the elliptical. Even though I've done that type of workout (at that intensity level) before, yesterday my average heart rate was about 10 beats per minute higher than it "normally" is at that intensity. So that wasn't fun, but one might think that after a tough day like that, I'd be ready for some good sleep. Oh no, as it turned out. I couldn't fall asleep, and when I finally did, I was tossing and turning all night. I literally woke up every 30 minutes or so. At around 3:30 a.m., I woke up and couldn't fall back asleep until 5, then was up again at 6:30 and have been up since then (my alarm normally wakes me at 7 a.m. To top off the bad sleeping, when I was awake, Oz the Psycho Kitty either wanted to play or wanted food (or both), as he kept attacking my hands until I dove under the covers and then he started batting things off of the nightstands by my bed (I have one on either side). At one point I scruffed him and threw him off my bed, but all in all it was a bad night.
Surprisingly, I had a good workout with Brian today. After a "normal" day at work, I got to the gym to do my regular 30 minute warmup (so much for it being 5-7 minutes beforehand...). During the warmup (on the elliptical), I noticed my heart rate was back to its normal rate for the level of intensity I was working at, which was good to see. I warned Brian that I was pretty tired, but it turned out to be a good workout.
I'm pretty tired now, so I'll probably crash early tonight...hopefully the furball won't disturb me too much tonight (I swear he knows I'm writing about him as he's staring at me right now).
Friday, November 17, 2006
Note to Self
Note to self: doing a long swim workout the day after a tough upper body workout with the trainer isn't exactly a bright idea. Actually, it wasn't that bad, but boy are my shoulders tired...I could really use a massage. But I digress...let's see. When last we left, I was getting ready to take a shower after a swim.
Tuesday's workout with Brian was (as promised) a full-body workout. I'll be honest, it didn't FEEL (afterwards) like a full-body workout. When all was said and done (on Wednesday), I was really feeling my quads, biceps, and triceps. That might be because the workout included:
wall-sits/squats leaning up against a fitness ball on the wall
pseudo-squats and shoulder presses on the bosu board/ball/thing
leg press on the Cybex machine
wall-sits for length of time (30 seconds and 40 seconds)
tricep push-downs to fatigue
bicep curls to fatigue
Needless to say, on Wednesday I could barely walk, and when I got on the elliptical on Thursday before working out with Brian, I could STILL feel my quads burning a bit. Luckily (or not...), Thursday was an upper body day. It was a good workout, as I'm feeling my biceps again today and am feeling my traps and delts a bit. Oddly, I'm not feeling my pecs which I worked out pretty hard, too (flys on the fitness ball are tough!).
Anyway, today's swim was good (and I've already showered), as I swam 3/4 mile:
1/2 mile (900 yards, but it may have been 950 or 1000 as I lost count and may have swam an extra lap or two) continuous
150 yards (1/12 mile) kick
150 yards (1/12 mile) pull with gloves
150 yards (1/12 mile) kick
TOTAL 1350(ish) yards (1050 swim/pull, 300 kick)
It was a good workout and I can't complain, but I'm looking forward to my rest day!!! :)
Tuesday's workout with Brian was (as promised) a full-body workout. I'll be honest, it didn't FEEL (afterwards) like a full-body workout. When all was said and done (on Wednesday), I was really feeling my quads, biceps, and triceps. That might be because the workout included:
wall-sits/squats leaning up against a fitness ball on the wall
pseudo-squats and shoulder presses on the bosu board/ball/thing
leg press on the Cybex machine
wall-sits for length of time (30 seconds and 40 seconds)
tricep push-downs to fatigue
bicep curls to fatigue
Needless to say, on Wednesday I could barely walk, and when I got on the elliptical on Thursday before working out with Brian, I could STILL feel my quads burning a bit. Luckily (or not...), Thursday was an upper body day. It was a good workout, as I'm feeling my biceps again today and am feeling my traps and delts a bit. Oddly, I'm not feeling my pecs which I worked out pretty hard, too (flys on the fitness ball are tough!).
Anyway, today's swim was good (and I've already showered), as I swam 3/4 mile:
1/2 mile (900 yards, but it may have been 950 or 1000 as I lost count and may have swam an extra lap or two) continuous
150 yards (1/12 mile) kick
150 yards (1/12 mile) pull with gloves
150 yards (1/12 mile) kick
TOTAL 1350(ish) yards (1050 swim/pull, 300 kick)
It was a good workout and I can't complain, but I'm looking forward to my rest day!!! :)
Monday, November 13, 2006
I Need A Shower
What a title for a blog entry, I know, but it's the truth--I really need a shower. However, I figured it'd been a couple of days since I last posted so I wanted to be sure to post (and doing it sooner than later is a sure way to guarantee I don't forget). I last posted on 7 Nov (a Tuesday). On the 8th, I took a day of rest for myself--I'm aiming to workout 5 days a week, with Wednesdays and Sundays as my rest days. Of course, that's subject to change, but I'm definitely hoping to keep the 5 days a week part.
Thursday I worked upper body with Brian. The workout was a bit unusual, as it was pushed back from a tentative start time of 5 to a real start time of 7. The 2 hour delay meant that before going to the gym, I needed to make sure I ate some dinner...dinner that wouldn't be too heavy, but something that would provide a bit of extra energy. I ended up going to Atlanta Bread Company and getting a turkey panini. Unfortunately, it wasn't as "light" as I'd hoped it would be, and the theme of the night became "keep dinner down." I ended up starting with 30 minutes on the elliptical, then Brian wanted to warm up my shoulders by having me work on a punching bag for a little while. I did some combination moves, and ended that part of the session with a 2 minute endurance drill. It was a tough workout, made more difficult by my dinner, and I was glad when I reached the end of it (without puking). After Thursday's workout, I really wasn't too jazzed to swim on Friday but I made a promise to myself so I went to the pool on Friday. I did a pretty good workout, totalling 3/4 of a mile, alternating kicking and swimming/pulling. In the end I did 750 swim/pull and 600 kick.
Bright and early Saturday morning, I was back in the gym, this time for a lower body workout. Brian had me do some work on a balance-ball-thing as well as wome serious core work. It was a beast of a workout, but it felt great. Tired and happy, I went to the Terps game to tailgate and enjoy the Terps 14-13 win over Miami, and came back dead tired. Sunday, I took a well-deserved rest day (in retrospect, tailgating--a bunch of standing up for awhile and then going to the game--a bunch of standing and walking up and down stadium stairs might NOT have been a wise choice of activities following a hard leg workout...).
Finally after work today I decided that even though I had no motivation, I'd hit the pool today. I had a pretty long day at work, and ended up staying there later than I expected to. I usually try to leave right at 4 on swimming days, because the later it gets, the more crowded the pool gets and the harder it is to get into a lap lane. I got lucky, as when I got there it wasn't too crowded and I was still able to get a good swim in. I only did 1050 today (slightly over 1/2 mile), but it was a quality 1050 (450 continuous swim, 150 kick, 150 free pull, 150 swim, 150 kick). I realized two things today while I was swimming:
1. I really need new swim paddles/gloves. One of mine has a hole in it now, and both have a tendency to unzip while I'm swimming which makes me compensate for it by altering my stroke in a weird way.
2. I tend to have only 1 or 2 songs stuck in my head while I was swimming. Today it was "The Wheels on the Bus" (don't ask why, it's a long story but it makes sense...) and some song by Keane, the title of which is escapting me at the moment.
So that's that. And now, I really do need to get the chlorine out of my hair, so I'm going to go work on that..
Thursday I worked upper body with Brian. The workout was a bit unusual, as it was pushed back from a tentative start time of 5 to a real start time of 7. The 2 hour delay meant that before going to the gym, I needed to make sure I ate some dinner...dinner that wouldn't be too heavy, but something that would provide a bit of extra energy. I ended up going to Atlanta Bread Company and getting a turkey panini. Unfortunately, it wasn't as "light" as I'd hoped it would be, and the theme of the night became "keep dinner down." I ended up starting with 30 minutes on the elliptical, then Brian wanted to warm up my shoulders by having me work on a punching bag for a little while. I did some combination moves, and ended that part of the session with a 2 minute endurance drill. It was a tough workout, made more difficult by my dinner, and I was glad when I reached the end of it (without puking). After Thursday's workout, I really wasn't too jazzed to swim on Friday but I made a promise to myself so I went to the pool on Friday. I did a pretty good workout, totalling 3/4 of a mile, alternating kicking and swimming/pulling. In the end I did 750 swim/pull and 600 kick.
Bright and early Saturday morning, I was back in the gym, this time for a lower body workout. Brian had me do some work on a balance-ball-thing as well as wome serious core work. It was a beast of a workout, but it felt great. Tired and happy, I went to the Terps game to tailgate and enjoy the Terps 14-13 win over Miami, and came back dead tired. Sunday, I took a well-deserved rest day (in retrospect, tailgating--a bunch of standing up for awhile and then going to the game--a bunch of standing and walking up and down stadium stairs might NOT have been a wise choice of activities following a hard leg workout...).
Finally after work today I decided that even though I had no motivation, I'd hit the pool today. I had a pretty long day at work, and ended up staying there later than I expected to. I usually try to leave right at 4 on swimming days, because the later it gets, the more crowded the pool gets and the harder it is to get into a lap lane. I got lucky, as when I got there it wasn't too crowded and I was still able to get a good swim in. I only did 1050 today (slightly over 1/2 mile), but it was a quality 1050 (450 continuous swim, 150 kick, 150 free pull, 150 swim, 150 kick). I realized two things today while I was swimming:
1. I really need new swim paddles/gloves. One of mine has a hole in it now, and both have a tendency to unzip while I'm swimming which makes me compensate for it by altering my stroke in a weird way.
2. I tend to have only 1 or 2 songs stuck in my head while I was swimming. Today it was "The Wheels on the Bus" (don't ask why, it's a long story but it makes sense...) and some song by Keane, the title of which is escapting me at the moment.
So that's that. And now, I really do need to get the chlorine out of my hair, so I'm going to go work on that..
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Kicking My Butt
After working the complete circuit on Sunday (on the machines I did not like), I went through with swimming yesterday. Even though it had only been a few days since I was last in the pool, I felt almost akward in there, and I'm not sure why. Maybe it was just that my muscles were sort of "pre-tensed" but for some reason, my strokes didn't seem as smooth and my breathing was off. I tend to breathe every third stroke, which was fine, but it seemed like I was getting some water every time I breathed...it was odd. Anyway I did 1050 (450 free, 150 free kick, 150 free pull, 150 free, 150 free kick), and then was bummed out to discover that the whirlpool at the gym was broken. I tell you, that's my favorite part of my swimming workouts, and it was a bummer not to be able to relax in the hot tub afterwards. Oh well.
Today I worked with Brian again. I got to the gym a lot earlier than I meant to, so I took the time to do an extended warmup on the elliptical...I did 30 minutes on it, keeping my heart rate in the mid- to upper 140's which should have had me talking "in broken sentences" but I was still pretty conversational. Oh well, it felt like a good workout. Today Brian had me do a lot of leg work, including some standing squats and balance exercises, as well as work on the Cybex and Free Motion machines doing leg press, leg curl, leg extension, and some calf raises. I think all of the exercises went well, though I discovered that I'm pretty weak in my calves. I suppose, given my history of ankle issues, that shouldn't really be a surprise, but it was somewhat frustrating. I also did some stuff for my core including an ab exercise machine, oblique work, and a back strengthening Cybex machine.
All in all, it was a good workout. I see Brian again on Thursday, and I think I will take the day off from working out tomorrow. The rest of the week I think will go something like:
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: work with Brian
Friday: swim
Saturday: work with Brian
Sunday: rest
I guess we'll see how I feel tomorrow, but right now I'm feeling pretty good.
Today I worked with Brian again. I got to the gym a lot earlier than I meant to, so I took the time to do an extended warmup on the elliptical...I did 30 minutes on it, keeping my heart rate in the mid- to upper 140's which should have had me talking "in broken sentences" but I was still pretty conversational. Oh well, it felt like a good workout. Today Brian had me do a lot of leg work, including some standing squats and balance exercises, as well as work on the Cybex and Free Motion machines doing leg press, leg curl, leg extension, and some calf raises. I think all of the exercises went well, though I discovered that I'm pretty weak in my calves. I suppose, given my history of ankle issues, that shouldn't really be a surprise, but it was somewhat frustrating. I also did some stuff for my core including an ab exercise machine, oblique work, and a back strengthening Cybex machine.
All in all, it was a good workout. I see Brian again on Thursday, and I think I will take the day off from working out tomorrow. The rest of the week I think will go something like:
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: work with Brian
Friday: swim
Saturday: work with Brian
Sunday: rest
I guess we'll see how I feel tomorrow, but right now I'm feeling pretty good.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
A Circuit On My Own
Let me first state that at the time I posted yesterday, I was sort of sore, but not terribly so. As the day wore on, the soreness increased to a point that laughing hurt and playing with my hair was a bit challenging. Of course, it was the good kind of soreness and today, I was feeling a bit better. Not perfect by any stretch, but good enough that I wasn't "afraid" of working out on my own today.
Per Brian's request, I went to the gym today to work out. The first thing I noticed: I need to find something to hold my iPod while I workout. I think I'm going to get one of those armband things. I did a 20 minute warmup on the elliptical, which I'm loving more and more each time I use it, then got down and dirty with the Hammer Strength circuit weight-training equipment. I did an "entire circuit" which consisted of 12 exercises including squat, leg extension, seated leg curl, incline press, high row, decline press, shoulder press, bicep curl, tricep extension, back extension, and abdominal crunch. I did not particularly enjoy using the Hammer Strength machines. I found them clunky to adjust to the proper position/seat height, and with the shoulder press, they forced you to use them one way that really stresses the shoulder. Given that I have a history of shoulder problems, I didn't like that at all. Anyway I went through the circuit once, using weights that I could do 2 sets of 12-15. I was seriously wiped out after the workout. I don't know if it's because it was tough, or because I needed to eat more prior to it, or if it was the lack of coffee, but I was definitely beat at the end. Again, the good kind of beat, but still beat.
I think the next time I have to workout like that on my own, I'll use the Cybex machines as I'm familiar with them and think that they adjust more easily in general. It'll be a longer circuit, but one I think I'll be a lot more comfortable using. of course, that is for naught right now, as tomorrow I'm going to try to swim, and then Tuesday I see Brian again.
Per Brian's request, I went to the gym today to work out. The first thing I noticed: I need to find something to hold my iPod while I workout. I think I'm going to get one of those armband things. I did a 20 minute warmup on the elliptical, which I'm loving more and more each time I use it, then got down and dirty with the Hammer Strength circuit weight-training equipment. I did an "entire circuit" which consisted of 12 exercises including squat, leg extension, seated leg curl, incline press, high row, decline press, shoulder press, bicep curl, tricep extension, back extension, and abdominal crunch. I did not particularly enjoy using the Hammer Strength machines. I found them clunky to adjust to the proper position/seat height, and with the shoulder press, they forced you to use them one way that really stresses the shoulder. Given that I have a history of shoulder problems, I didn't like that at all. Anyway I went through the circuit once, using weights that I could do 2 sets of 12-15. I was seriously wiped out after the workout. I don't know if it's because it was tough, or because I needed to eat more prior to it, or if it was the lack of coffee, but I was definitely beat at the end. Again, the good kind of beat, but still beat.
I think the next time I have to workout like that on my own, I'll use the Cybex machines as I'm familiar with them and think that they adjust more easily in general. It'll be a longer circuit, but one I think I'll be a lot more comfortable using. of course, that is for naught right now, as tomorrow I'm going to try to swim, and then Tuesday I see Brian again.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Working Out with Brian
Last night was my first session with Brian, and I think it went really well. I was scheduled to start at 5, but he told me on Thursday that I should get there a little earlier than that to get on the eliptical and warm up for 5-7 minutes. I guess I was a little overeager as I got there about 15 minutes early so I did a 15 minute warmup on the elliptical. That was actually the first time since having all my ankle surgeries that I got onto an elliptical, and I'm glad to say it went well--that machine will definitely be incorporated into future workouts.
In the training session last night, Brian worked my core and my upper body. He told me that in every session he'd do some core work, so I expected it. Oddly, though I think I've worked my upper abs the "most" leading up to starting personal training, my upper abs are what's sore today, not my lower abs or obliques. Oh well. I also had to do a bit of upper body stuff including pushups, rows, lat pull-downs of a sort, delt push-ups of a sort, biceps work, and triceps work. The gym I go to has free weights as well as machines by Cybex, HammerStrength, and Free Motion. Most of what I did was free-weight or on the Free Motion machine. It was a tough workout, and my arms were definitely sore last night. They're not too bad today (yet), so I guess we'll see how they feel tomorrow (when I go back to the gym to do a weight session on my own).
I think the plan for this week is to go to the gym tomorrow (Sunday), swim Monday, session with Brian on Tuesday, swim Wednesday, session with Brian on Thursday, rest Friday, and then work again on Saturday. My work schedule (ever-hectic) may change that a little, but I'm fairly flexible with work, so I don't forsee too many problems holding that schedule.
And now, it's time to get ready to watch the Terps play against Clemson. GO TERPS!!!
In the training session last night, Brian worked my core and my upper body. He told me that in every session he'd do some core work, so I expected it. Oddly, though I think I've worked my upper abs the "most" leading up to starting personal training, my upper abs are what's sore today, not my lower abs or obliques. Oh well. I also had to do a bit of upper body stuff including pushups, rows, lat pull-downs of a sort, delt push-ups of a sort, biceps work, and triceps work. The gym I go to has free weights as well as machines by Cybex, HammerStrength, and Free Motion. Most of what I did was free-weight or on the Free Motion machine. It was a tough workout, and my arms were definitely sore last night. They're not too bad today (yet), so I guess we'll see how they feel tomorrow (when I go back to the gym to do a weight session on my own).
I think the plan for this week is to go to the gym tomorrow (Sunday), swim Monday, session with Brian on Tuesday, swim Wednesday, session with Brian on Thursday, rest Friday, and then work again on Saturday. My work schedule (ever-hectic) may change that a little, but I'm fairly flexible with work, so I don't forsee too many problems holding that schedule.
And now, it's time to get ready to watch the Terps play against Clemson. GO TERPS!!!
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Meeting With the Trainer
Well, after a great workout yesterday, I was pretty exhausted and almost thrilled that today (Thursday) would be a "rest" day as I was to meet with Brian, the personal trainer. Yesterday's workout consisted of:
450 free, continuous
150 kick free
150 pull free
150 free
That totalled 900 yards (or 1/2 mile) and was done continously, with no break between the sections. The longest "break" I took was between the kicking and the pulling, as it took a little bit of time to get my gloves on. It was an endurance workout, and combined with my long workout on Monday and biking on Tuesday, after Wednesday's workout, I was pretty spent (the good kind of tired and spent).
Today I met with the trainer at the gym. In a 30 minute session, we went over my goals (as I outlined in my first post), he took some measurements of body fat and height and weight, and he asked me to do some simple exercises to get a baseline for where I am. I had to do the sit and reach (flexibility of the hamstrings), show my shoulder flexibility (which is now at a NORMAL level instead of being hyperflexible), do as many sit-ups as I could in a minute, and do as many push-ups as I could do, period. I was surprised by my push-up number, considering I haven't tried to do any push-ups since my shoulder surgeries, and I haven't done any arm-specific weight training. I suppose that the swimming has helped, but I was still surprised I could do them. All in all it was a good meeting and I'm really psyched to be starting working out with him. My first session is tomorrow, and I expect him to push me pretty hard, I'll report how it goes (provided I have enough strength left to type... ;) )
450 free, continuous
150 kick free
150 pull free
150 free
That totalled 900 yards (or 1/2 mile) and was done continously, with no break between the sections. The longest "break" I took was between the kicking and the pulling, as it took a little bit of time to get my gloves on. It was an endurance workout, and combined with my long workout on Monday and biking on Tuesday, after Wednesday's workout, I was pretty spent (the good kind of tired and spent).
Today I met with the trainer at the gym. In a 30 minute session, we went over my goals (as I outlined in my first post), he took some measurements of body fat and height and weight, and he asked me to do some simple exercises to get a baseline for where I am. I had to do the sit and reach (flexibility of the hamstrings), show my shoulder flexibility (which is now at a NORMAL level instead of being hyperflexible), do as many sit-ups as I could in a minute, and do as many push-ups as I could do, period. I was surprised by my push-up number, considering I haven't tried to do any push-ups since my shoulder surgeries, and I haven't done any arm-specific weight training. I suppose that the swimming has helped, but I was still surprised I could do them. All in all it was a good meeting and I'm really psyched to be starting working out with him. My first session is tomorrow, and I expect him to push me pretty hard, I'll report how it goes (provided I have enough strength left to type... ;) )
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Back on the Bike
For the first time since having some downright crippling back spasms a couple weeks ago, I went for a bike ride today. Wendy and I went out for an easy ride along the W&OD Trail. It's a convenient ride for us, as the trail runs right by our work. We went for 11.08 miles, an out-and-back trip from the Dulles area through Herndon and then back. I love riding, but not having done it for a couple weeks definitely made me a little rusty. For one, my back did stiffen up a bit, but I was able to stretch it out while on the bike. The other problem I had, which is a problem I've had before and still don't have a good solution to, is that my fingers went numb. It wasn't a cold ride (the weather here was GORGEOUS today, I think it was between 65 and 75 degrees when we rode), but for some reason, whenever I ride, my fingers go numb. I'm sure it has to do with the pressure on my hands, but no matter what type of gloves I wear or how I grip the handlebars, my fingers go numb. I mitigate this by taking my hands off the bars to loosen them up, but it's not overly convenient. Wonder if there's anything else I can do about it.
Oh well. I'll probably be back in the pool tomorrow, unless I hear from the personal trainer. I didn't hear from him today (though I expected to), so hopefully I'll hear from him tomorrow.
Oh well. I'll probably be back in the pool tomorrow, unless I hear from the personal trainer. I didn't hear from him today (though I expected to), so hopefully I'll hear from him tomorrow.
Monday, October 30, 2006
A Day in the Pool
In keeping with my "plan" as outlined yesterday, today I called the gym to inquire about getting a personal trainer. The woman called me back at around 3 p.m. and she said that Brian (I think that was the name she gave) will be my trainer and will call me within the next day to setup the details. Needless to say, I'm kind of excited. The last time I was this excited about working out, I was training for a marathon (pre-ankle surgeries). I guess it's nice to have a goal and a plan for getting back to where I want to be.
I also went to the gym today, for a nice session in the pool. I did 1050 yards, or just over a half a mile. This was my workout:
450 continuous freestyle (450 is a quarter mile)
100 kick free (using a kickboard, in the same style I'd use if I were swimming freestyle)
100 pull free (using resistance gloves and a pull buoy)
100 backstroke
100 breaststroke
100 kick free
50 pull free (using resistance gloves and pull buoy)
50 free with resistance gloves
------------------------------
1050 TOTAL
I've been using a book, "The Fit Swimmer" to get workout ideas for building my endurance up to 1 mile and beyond. The next time I swim, I think I'll move up to Workout 7 (total 900 yards--1/2 mile--but longer "sessions" in the last 450). It's also time I get new resistance gloves or paddles, as my gloves (which I've had since before my first shoulder surgery) are starting to wear out and the neoprene is tearing. I think this time I'm going to get the "Catalyst Brites" by TYR as they look more durable in general than gloves.
That's all for now. Hopefully I'll hear from Brian (?) tomorrow and have more of a plan.
I also went to the gym today, for a nice session in the pool. I did 1050 yards, or just over a half a mile. This was my workout:
450 continuous freestyle (450 is a quarter mile)
100 kick free (using a kickboard, in the same style I'd use if I were swimming freestyle)
100 pull free (using resistance gloves and a pull buoy)
100 backstroke
100 breaststroke
100 kick free
50 pull free (using resistance gloves and pull buoy)
50 free with resistance gloves
------------------------------
1050 TOTAL
I've been using a book, "The Fit Swimmer" to get workout ideas for building my endurance up to 1 mile and beyond. The next time I swim, I think I'll move up to Workout 7 (total 900 yards--1/2 mile--but longer "sessions" in the last 450). It's also time I get new resistance gloves or paddles, as my gloves (which I've had since before my first shoulder surgery) are starting to wear out and the neoprene is tearing. I think this time I'm going to get the "Catalyst Brites" by TYR as they look more durable in general than gloves.
That's all for now. Hopefully I'll hear from Brian (?) tomorrow and have more of a plan.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Learning to Walk Again
Older readers will recognize this picture, as I've had it on the blog before. Since I'm restructuring with the goal of revamping my body by working harder at the gym (combined with eating well, as I've been doing to start losing weight), I figured it was a good place to put in the "back story" of the weight gain.
Stories start best from the beginning, and the beginning of this story is in 2001, when I was in arguably the best shape of my life. I was doing marathon training, was playing soccer on a high-level women's team and on a beer league team, was swimming about 3 days a week, and doing Tang Soo Do (a Korean martial art) about 4-5 days per week.
The story begins on July 3, 2001. I was playing soccer with my beer league soccer team when I went up for a head ball and came down on the outside of my right foot, instead of on the balls of my feet. On a "normal" person, this would probably crack the heck out of their ankle. For me, with strong bones and hyperflexible joints, it popped all of the ligaments on the outside of my right ankle. I figured it was just a bad sprain, as I was sort of prone to ankle sprains already, and in less than a week, was walking (with a noticeable limp) and trying to play soccer again. I was scheduled to have my right shoulder fixed on July 26, 2001, so was eager to keep in shape and highly active until the surgery, so that during the recovery I could ride my bike (on an indoor trainer) to stay in shape so I'd have minimal physical impact from the surgery (other than that my right shoulder would stay in socket).
Fast forward to April of 2002. I've now had BOTH shoulders repaired and am starting to play soccer and run again. The first thing I notice when doing both is that my ankle isn't behaving well. Even after a "normal" outing, it was swollen beyond belief, and was rolling a LOT. I mean, when I was walking on perfectly flat, smooth pavement, my ankle would roll underneath me. Realizing that the injury from 2001 probably was to blame, I found myself back in the orthopaedic surgeon's office. He said it looked like a bad sprain and perscribed PT to strengthen the muscles. After a month of PT, my ankle was still incredibly unstable and it was obvious that PT hadn't helped any. My doc recommended surgery, and I went through with it.
In that first ankle procedure, August 15, 2002, the surgeon took some of one of the tendons on the outside of my ankle and weaved it in and around my ankle bones to become the new ligaments. He'd said that prior to the surgery (after the anesthesia took effect), they could move my ankle more or less anywhere, and when he got in there, there was nothing left for him to "tie up," as everything was shredded and gone (i.e. PT wouldn't have helped). The surgery left my right foot a bit stiff, but all in all, much more stable.
In March of 2003 I started trying to play soccer and run again. Even though I'd been cleared to do so by the orthopod, very quickly I realized that things still weren't good. My ankle was loosening up again and it was extremely painful to run or walk on. I sought out the opinion of Dr. Paul Cooper at Georgetown University Hospital.
Based on my complaints, and confirmed by an MRI, we discovered that the tendons that were used for the ligament graft in the first surgery had become weakened and as such, tore. He also thought I probably re-tore the ligaments, or that the first surgery didn't otherwise hold. I had my second ankle surgery on August 6, 2003. In that procedure, Dr. Cooper repaired the torn tendons and re-repaired the ligaments. As he is a foot/ankle specialist, I had high hopes that this would be the last surgery on my ankle and that I'd be back playing soccer by summer, 2004.
Needless to say, I was wrong. While in rehab after my 2nd ankle surgery, I felt something on the outside of my ankle pop, and the pain returned. Only 4 months after surgery number 2, an MRI confirmed that the tendons were re-torn and that I'd need another surgery. The surgery, on December 24th, 2003, didn't go quite as planned. Dr. Cooper intended to use a cadeaver tendon and graft it in to form my new lateral tendons (peroneus brevis and longus). For some reason, the graft wouldn't take. Dr. Cooper mentioned something about the place where the tendon would "plug into" at the mucle was quite atrophied and not fit for the graft. This probably had to do with the fact that I was barely walking, much less exercising/working out since the surgery in August. Instead of using the cadeaver graft, Dr. Cooper ended up taking a tendon from the bottom of my foot and re-routing it behind my leg to form the new tendon. With this surgery, if it worked, I'd be back to "normal" and would even be able to play soccer and do karate again.
While things looked good at first, they steadily went downhill after I got out of the walking cast and into PT. Whether it was all the trauma to my ankle of the 3 surgeries, or just bad quality tissue, a combination of all of these, or just fate, I was walking worse after the last surgery and was in even more pain. It was to a point where my limp was quite pronounced, and even then, walking 100 yards would make my ankle swell and make me want to cry. I went to see Dr. Mark Myerson of Mercy Hospital's Institute for Foot & Ankle Reconstruction.
After watching me walk for a few minutes on a treadmill and after some other tests, he decided I needed my ankle completely fused--a triple arthrodesis. He also determined that I needed to have a portion of one of my ankle nerves removed, and said I'd probably need the ligaments re-re-reconstructed. On June 24, 2004, I had my fourth surgery, to fuse my ankle, remove part of the sural nerve, and perform a Crisman-Snook lateral ankle ligament reconstruction. This is a surgery not usually done on people who don't qualify for AARP benefits, and was done on me (at the age of 24) because my foot was too far everted (possibly a remnant from previous surgeries?) and because I was in a LOT of pain.
Happily, after the fusion, a lot of the pain went away. Unhappily, with the fused ankle, I will never run or jump again, and I had to learn to walk all over again, with a significantly stiffer foot. 7 months after my surgery I became unemployed, having graduated from the University of Maryland with my MS in Aerospace Engineering. I'd been making good progress in PT, though still wasn't 100% pain-free, nor was I walking quite right, but with no job, I had no insurance, so I had to stop.
I remained unemployed until September, 2005. During that time, I must admit, I became depressed. I was jobless, bored, and frustrated, and the things that used to keep me sane--running, playing soccer, martial arts, were no longer an option for me. Between not being able to walk much (and not able to work out at all) from late 2002 on and the depression, the weight added on.
Finally after I got a job, I resumed physical therapy, where I finished learning to walk properly, pain-free. In February, 2006 (4.5 years after my initial injury, 3.5 years after my first surgery, and 1.75 years after my final surgery), I was given a full clearance to do whatever I wanted--bike, swim, walk, anything I could do given the limitations of a fused ankle.
Some things came up even after that, between then and now, including a broken hand, back spasms, and a very hectic time at work. I joined Worldgate Sport and Health in September and am now swimming and biking. Between the workouts and the modified diet, I've started losing some of the surgery and depression weight. But now, the time for excuses has past. Now it's time to get back to my old body, especially in light of the wedding I have to be in come late March. Now's the time I call and take the next step to focus my workouts to reach that ultimate goal.
And so, the next chapter begins...
Stories start best from the beginning, and the beginning of this story is in 2001, when I was in arguably the best shape of my life. I was doing marathon training, was playing soccer on a high-level women's team and on a beer league team, was swimming about 3 days a week, and doing Tang Soo Do (a Korean martial art) about 4-5 days per week.
The story begins on July 3, 2001. I was playing soccer with my beer league soccer team when I went up for a head ball and came down on the outside of my right foot, instead of on the balls of my feet. On a "normal" person, this would probably crack the heck out of their ankle. For me, with strong bones and hyperflexible joints, it popped all of the ligaments on the outside of my right ankle. I figured it was just a bad sprain, as I was sort of prone to ankle sprains already, and in less than a week, was walking (with a noticeable limp) and trying to play soccer again. I was scheduled to have my right shoulder fixed on July 26, 2001, so was eager to keep in shape and highly active until the surgery, so that during the recovery I could ride my bike (on an indoor trainer) to stay in shape so I'd have minimal physical impact from the surgery (other than that my right shoulder would stay in socket).
Fast forward to April of 2002. I've now had BOTH shoulders repaired and am starting to play soccer and run again. The first thing I notice when doing both is that my ankle isn't behaving well. Even after a "normal" outing, it was swollen beyond belief, and was rolling a LOT. I mean, when I was walking on perfectly flat, smooth pavement, my ankle would roll underneath me. Realizing that the injury from 2001 probably was to blame, I found myself back in the orthopaedic surgeon's office. He said it looked like a bad sprain and perscribed PT to strengthen the muscles. After a month of PT, my ankle was still incredibly unstable and it was obvious that PT hadn't helped any. My doc recommended surgery, and I went through with it.
In that first ankle procedure, August 15, 2002, the surgeon took some of one of the tendons on the outside of my ankle and weaved it in and around my ankle bones to become the new ligaments. He'd said that prior to the surgery (after the anesthesia took effect), they could move my ankle more or less anywhere, and when he got in there, there was nothing left for him to "tie up," as everything was shredded and gone (i.e. PT wouldn't have helped). The surgery left my right foot a bit stiff, but all in all, much more stable.
In March of 2003 I started trying to play soccer and run again. Even though I'd been cleared to do so by the orthopod, very quickly I realized that things still weren't good. My ankle was loosening up again and it was extremely painful to run or walk on. I sought out the opinion of Dr. Paul Cooper at Georgetown University Hospital.
Based on my complaints, and confirmed by an MRI, we discovered that the tendons that were used for the ligament graft in the first surgery had become weakened and as such, tore. He also thought I probably re-tore the ligaments, or that the first surgery didn't otherwise hold. I had my second ankle surgery on August 6, 2003. In that procedure, Dr. Cooper repaired the torn tendons and re-repaired the ligaments. As he is a foot/ankle specialist, I had high hopes that this would be the last surgery on my ankle and that I'd be back playing soccer by summer, 2004.
Needless to say, I was wrong. While in rehab after my 2nd ankle surgery, I felt something on the outside of my ankle pop, and the pain returned. Only 4 months after surgery number 2, an MRI confirmed that the tendons were re-torn and that I'd need another surgery. The surgery, on December 24th, 2003, didn't go quite as planned. Dr. Cooper intended to use a cadeaver tendon and graft it in to form my new lateral tendons (peroneus brevis and longus). For some reason, the graft wouldn't take. Dr. Cooper mentioned something about the place where the tendon would "plug into" at the mucle was quite atrophied and not fit for the graft. This probably had to do with the fact that I was barely walking, much less exercising/working out since the surgery in August. Instead of using the cadeaver graft, Dr. Cooper ended up taking a tendon from the bottom of my foot and re-routing it behind my leg to form the new tendon. With this surgery, if it worked, I'd be back to "normal" and would even be able to play soccer and do karate again.
While things looked good at first, they steadily went downhill after I got out of the walking cast and into PT. Whether it was all the trauma to my ankle of the 3 surgeries, or just bad quality tissue, a combination of all of these, or just fate, I was walking worse after the last surgery and was in even more pain. It was to a point where my limp was quite pronounced, and even then, walking 100 yards would make my ankle swell and make me want to cry. I went to see Dr. Mark Myerson of Mercy Hospital's Institute for Foot & Ankle Reconstruction.
After watching me walk for a few minutes on a treadmill and after some other tests, he decided I needed my ankle completely fused--a triple arthrodesis. He also determined that I needed to have a portion of one of my ankle nerves removed, and said I'd probably need the ligaments re-re-reconstructed. On June 24, 2004, I had my fourth surgery, to fuse my ankle, remove part of the sural nerve, and perform a Crisman-Snook lateral ankle ligament reconstruction. This is a surgery not usually done on people who don't qualify for AARP benefits, and was done on me (at the age of 24) because my foot was too far everted (possibly a remnant from previous surgeries?) and because I was in a LOT of pain.
Happily, after the fusion, a lot of the pain went away. Unhappily, with the fused ankle, I will never run or jump again, and I had to learn to walk all over again, with a significantly stiffer foot. 7 months after my surgery I became unemployed, having graduated from the University of Maryland with my MS in Aerospace Engineering. I'd been making good progress in PT, though still wasn't 100% pain-free, nor was I walking quite right, but with no job, I had no insurance, so I had to stop.
I remained unemployed until September, 2005. During that time, I must admit, I became depressed. I was jobless, bored, and frustrated, and the things that used to keep me sane--running, playing soccer, martial arts, were no longer an option for me. Between not being able to walk much (and not able to work out at all) from late 2002 on and the depression, the weight added on.
Finally after I got a job, I resumed physical therapy, where I finished learning to walk properly, pain-free. In February, 2006 (4.5 years after my initial injury, 3.5 years after my first surgery, and 1.75 years after my final surgery), I was given a full clearance to do whatever I wanted--bike, swim, walk, anything I could do given the limitations of a fused ankle.
Some things came up even after that, between then and now, including a broken hand, back spasms, and a very hectic time at work. I joined Worldgate Sport and Health in September and am now swimming and biking. Between the workouts and the modified diet, I've started losing some of the surgery and depression weight. But now, the time for excuses has past. Now it's time to get back to my old body, especially in light of the wedding I have to be in come late March. Now's the time I call and take the next step to focus my workouts to reach that ultimate goal.
And so, the next chapter begins...
Restructuring A Bit
So it's been a LOOOOOONG while since I last posted. Stuff has happened, things have changed, and in general it's all for the good. I haven't felt a "need" lately to post to a blog, nor have I really had the time. Now things have changed a bit, though. I think I'm going to take this blog in a slightly new direction, and I hope my "regular readers" will bear with me and still come to read it.
So here's what's up. My best friend is getting married in just under 5 months. I love the guy she's marrying, he's a wonderful man, and I can't wait to see them finally get married. Unfortunately, I'm to be the Maid of Honor in the wedding, and right now, physically, I'm not ready.
As most regular readers know, since 2002, I've had some problems, and have put on weight. I'm not the "small" (a relative term) person I used to be, and honestly, it frustrates me. I know there are reasons, and I know that a good portion of the reasons were mostly out of my control. But it's time to take back my body, and do something about it.
I've started by dieting, and have already dropped a bit of weight, so now's the time to get back into shape (physically and to some extent mentally), more like I was in 2002. Since I'm going to have to pose for bridal party pictures, I want to get everything trimmed down. I've decided that the best way to do this is to focus my gym time better. Currently, I'm swimming 3-4 days a week and biking when the weather cooperates (read, it's warm enough for me to not wuss out). Now I've decided, though, to take a further step to getting back to my old self. Tomorrow I'm calling the gym to look into personal training, and hopefully the guidance of a personal trainer combined with some serious work ethic will make me more in shape overall, help me drop more weight, and generally make me feel better about being in my best friend's wedding.
I'll be posting my progress here, now, in addition to whatever else I'm thinking about. Topics will probably include my workouts, beer brewing, politics, gadgets....well, really, whatever gets in my head. Talk to y'all soon.
So here's what's up. My best friend is getting married in just under 5 months. I love the guy she's marrying, he's a wonderful man, and I can't wait to see them finally get married. Unfortunately, I'm to be the Maid of Honor in the wedding, and right now, physically, I'm not ready.
As most regular readers know, since 2002, I've had some problems, and have put on weight. I'm not the "small" (a relative term) person I used to be, and honestly, it frustrates me. I know there are reasons, and I know that a good portion of the reasons were mostly out of my control. But it's time to take back my body, and do something about it.
I've started by dieting, and have already dropped a bit of weight, so now's the time to get back into shape (physically and to some extent mentally), more like I was in 2002. Since I'm going to have to pose for bridal party pictures, I want to get everything trimmed down. I've decided that the best way to do this is to focus my gym time better. Currently, I'm swimming 3-4 days a week and biking when the weather cooperates (read, it's warm enough for me to not wuss out). Now I've decided, though, to take a further step to getting back to my old self. Tomorrow I'm calling the gym to look into personal training, and hopefully the guidance of a personal trainer combined with some serious work ethic will make me more in shape overall, help me drop more weight, and generally make me feel better about being in my best friend's wedding.
I'll be posting my progress here, now, in addition to whatever else I'm thinking about. Topics will probably include my workouts, beer brewing, politics, gadgets....well, really, whatever gets in my head. Talk to y'all soon.
Saturday, March 11, 2006
I'm Still Alive
Hi everybody! (response: Hi, Dr. Nick!)
Just wanted to let everybody know that I am still alive, despite not posting here for quite awhile. As it turns out, shortly after my last post, which was on 8/31/2006, I got a job interview, and less than a week later, I started a new job and promptly moved. Things have been absolutely crazy since then, and everytime I think to myself that I really need to update my blog, I get super-busy and it slips my mind.
Fear not, folks, I'm still here and I'll be posting entries more regularly now. :) But for now, I have to run up to the Columbia area. More soon!!!
Just wanted to let everybody know that I am still alive, despite not posting here for quite awhile. As it turns out, shortly after my last post, which was on 8/31/2006, I got a job interview, and less than a week later, I started a new job and promptly moved. Things have been absolutely crazy since then, and everytime I think to myself that I really need to update my blog, I get super-busy and it slips my mind.
Fear not, folks, I'm still here and I'll be posting entries more regularly now. :) But for now, I have to run up to the Columbia area. More soon!!!
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