Tuesday, January 15, 2013

People may think that once a person gets in shape, it’s easy for them to maintain such. It can be. But just as with other aspects of our lives, many influences measure whether we’ll maintain top physical shape…or…slack a bit. 

The hustle and bustle of everyday life is enough to challenge even the most devote to keeping in shape. But, add to that additional stress, illness, life changes, etc, and you’ve got a cocktail for pounds and inches creeping back on that you’d rather not see return.

For me, a person who loves to work out, I find great comfort in doing so. The added benefits I gain to help strengthen and reinforce my injured areas is icing on my physical workout cake. But, just as others find it hard to balance life, kids, family and work while squeezing in routine workouts, so do I. 

Over the past six months, I haven’t been able to work out as regularly as I’d like. Part of that was due to time constraints. But more stemmed from the emotional drain I felt due to my divorce, moving out on my own and buying my own house. So…time between workouts got a little…broader while the intensity of said workouts diminished. 

Lucky me…since I’d been in top physical condition due to running marathons, etc, my physical appearance appeared the same…for a long spell. But, sooner or later, diminished physical exercise coupled with bucket loads of stress was bound to take their toll. 

My friends and loved ones assure me I look fine. But to me, looks aren’t enough. I know that I must hold myself to a higher standard of staying in shape than most. Why? Because I have multiple lifelong injuries. So, where others might think gaining five to ten pounds is no big deal, to me, it can mean the difference between navigating through my day with ease or hurting every step of the way.

I’m not a fan of the latter, so, now that life has finally settled into a workable routine, I’ve resumed my workouts. This time, however, I won’t be striving to run any marathons. Not saying one isn’t in my future, just that I’m no longer setting my entire workout routine towards that end. Remaining dedicated—at first—isn’t easy. But I’m determined to reclaim control of being physically fit so I can make it through my days relatively pain free.

And, just like any other person who’s slacked with their workouts, getting back in a routine is hard. The biggest challenge is to psyche myself up to a daily workout—one that will help strengthen, tone and firm my body to the shape it needs to be in order to protect my injured parts.

Took some doing, but I’ve come up with modified workouts that I think will accomplish my goal. Course, time will tell. But for now, I’m just happy to be working out again—daily. Pushing my body hard, yet not so hard as to risk hurting it. With so much of my life having changed—drastically—over the past year and a half, it feels good to reclaim control over this part of my ever-evolving life. 

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Woot! Woot! For the first time in over two weeks, I was able to exercise. That may not seem like something to celebrate, but for someone who is not only used to but needs to work out seven days a week, it’s huge.

A couple of weeks back, I re-herniated two of the disks in my lower spine. Doing what? Who knows? That put an immediate stop to all my exercising. There are a lot of injuries that I’ll continue to train through—always have. But back ones aren’t amongst that list.

I’ve had two serious injuries to my lower spine. One destroyed a vertebrae in my lower back when I was fourteen years old, the other created herniated disks above and below that degenerated vertebrae when I was twenty-five. I’ve spent the past thirty-one years learning how to function with those impairments.

In the process, I self-trained my body to mend, rebuild and become stronger than it was before—something a host of specialists and therapists could never accomplish. Part of that has been to strengthen all the muscles around my injuries and to create the best built-in back brace I can—rock solid abs.

But to maintain those, takes continuous training. So when I get injured, I grow distraught, knowing that each day that passes without my being able to train is a day closer to an even worst injury as things can weaken, allowing old injuries the chance to surface.

Although I have tweaked my back from time to time, this is the first time in many years that I’ve had to stop all training to let it heal. Not fun, but necessary. As an athlete, I’ve had to teach myself how to recognize which bodily aches and pains are safe for me to ignore and train through. (Athletes always have something or other that hurts—part of the territory.)

The smartest thing I ever learned was to not ignore my lower back when it acts up. Maintaining that philosophy is what made it possible for me to get back to working out today. Tomorrow I’ll attempt to bump things up a notch with a run/walk. But should the slightest twinge occur in my back, I’ll slow things down to just a walk.