Beginning Exercises For Core Strengthening & Stability

Here are some exercises that I'll be doing as I work to completely heal and recover
from my lower back strain.

After walking for about 10 minutes, I will carefully go through these 5 exercises.

If there is no pain, I will repeat this again later this afternoon for a total of two times
today.


Exercise 1  -  Foot Lift

Exercise 2  -  Knee Extension

Exercise 3  -  Single Leg Fall

Exercise  4  -  Hip Flexion

Exercise 5  -  Toe Pointing

* I am not a physical therapist, and did not receive these exercises from a physical
  therapist.  I found these through internet research and decided on my own to try
  them.  If you suffer from any type of lower back pain/strain, please ask your own
  doctor before attempting these at home. 

The Latest and Weekend Recap

Well, it's been 10 days since I hurt my back at work.

I'm slowly becoming a little more active. I can walk around relatively pain
free, I just have to be super, super careful not to twist or turn. As long as I
walk straight and cautiously, I do okay.  (Think walking on eggshells.....
...that's me!) Bending, reaching, and lifting still cause a lot of discomfort. :(

My goal for today is to try to walk for about 10 minutes on my treadmill.

From what I understand, walking (without overdoing) and light, gentle stretching,
should help me to feel better, and that is definitely my goal!

Ugh!

My house is such a mess! It's driving me nuts not being able to clean it. I can
wash clothes, but I've been too chicken to try and drag them out of washer and
into the dryer. Also, I'm not able to get them out of the dryer to fold.

Oh well, things could be worse, so I'm not going to complain. (too much, haha)

I'm just happy to be able to stand upright, and walk a little.

I know there are many, many people in the world that are not able to do that,
so I realize that I'm blessed.



Over the weekend, we went with friends to Huntsville to the Josh Wilson, Colton Dixon
and Third Day concert.

I almost cancelled on going even though our tickets had been bought for over a month.
I was scared that I would be in pain and miserable, or that I would cause them to have
a bad time.

They were super understanding, and dropped me off right at the door of the concert,
and were totally fine with me sitting down through most of the concert. Everyone had
a good time, and I'm so glad that I ended up going.


I still haven't gone back to work. I'm hoping to go back on the 20th. The doctor said
it could take 3 - 6 weeks for me to feel "back to normal."

I've got to be patient, and just be thankful for what I CAN do!


Mother's Day was a little low key (other than the concert.) Hopefully I'll be feeling
better by the weekend, and we can celebrate a little more.


I hope you're having a great week!

Still Alive

Happy Friday!

I'm still alive! I'm finally moving around a little better. My back still hurts, but not as
badly as it did last weekend and at the 1st of the week.

I went to the doctor on Wednesday because the muscle spasms were really bothering
me. I've heard that the 1st step to beginning to heal is keeping the pain manageable.

If you're stressed, upset, and in pain, you're body can't do what it needs to do to start
the healing process.

I knew I needed a prescription to help the injured muscles in my back to relax.

I got 2 shots, 1 for inflammation, and the other was a low dose steroid. (Not sure what
it was really for...)

I also got a prescription for muscle relaxers.

I was given strict orders too.....

No bending, stooping, reaching, or lifting until Monday.

Do you have ANY idea how much of your life involves one of those things???

I feel so lazy and helpless! But I can't argue, because if I do forget and attempt to
do one of those things, my back lets me know IMMEDIATELY that I have to stop it!


This week has been such a blur. I haven't been able to work at all this week, so the days
are running together. 

I'm just happy that I can walk around for brief periods of time now. I still have to be
super careful, and take it easy, but at least the pain isn't constant anymore.

I'll take any small improvement that I can get!

I hope I can start back doing a little cardio and stretching next week.

I did try riding my recumbent bike yesterday. I made it 5 minutes before my back
started hurting.

Slowly but surely, I will bounce back.  I'll just have to be super, super, careful and
cautious for a LONG time.


In other news.....

Our chocolate lab got bitten by a snake in our backyard yesterday.

Scared me half to death!!!

He came inside and had two "episodes" that kind of looked like small seizures.
He couldn't walk and had a "spaced out" look in his eyes. It was awful!

Poor baby!

He is fine now, but I am terrified to let him outside.  And what if the snake had
bitten my dachshund?  Poor little 10 pound baby probably wouldn't be here with
me today.  :(

Hubby is on a mission now to find, and kill that snake!



How's your week been?

If you are injury free, with no snakes in your yard, you are doing better than me, haha.


And now for a Friday funny...

Have a great weekend!

No Flowers Or Rainbows Here

The past 4 days have not been very good days for me.

Part of my job as a personal trainer at the Y is to periodically walk through
the gym area and make sure that weights are put away.

For some reason, we have a big problem with people not putting away weights
and equipment after they use them. It drives me crazy!! I've even joked that I
want a shirt made that says - "Yes, I am a personal trainer..." on the front,
and - " No, I am not your maid."  on the back.

Apparently karma didn't find my "little joke" funny because while I was working
on Friday, I made my walk through the gym, to find there were two 45 pound plates
laying flat on the floor in the free weight area. When 45 pound plates are left on machines,
or bars, they aren't too terribly hard to move. Yes, they're heavy, but at least I can
kind of squat under the weight and lift it keeping it close to my body.

Well, when it's FLAT on the floor, that isn't possible. I picked up the first one,
without too much problem. The second one however was a totally different story.

As soon as I stood up with it, I knew it wasn't good. Each step forward that I took
only served to prove that it really, really wasn't good.

I re-racked the weight, and immediately headed for ice.

I layed on the floor on ice for 15 minutes, and took 3 ibuprofen.  I somehow managed
to stay one more hour until my shift was over.

I came home and continued with ice, and ibuprofen.

After all, Ladybug wanted to go shopping on Saturday for her graduation dress and also
a dress for her banquet/dance. I HAD to be fine by Saturday!

Plus, Hubby and I had a date night planned for Saturday night. (We have about 2 date nights
a year, so obviously we were really looking forward to it!)

I had to be fine by Saturday!!

----------

Saturday morning came, and so did the tears. And then more tears....

Tears of disappointment, tears of discomfort, tears of depression.

Saturday involved plenty of tears, and pain, and unfortunately no shopping or date night.

------------

And here I am on Tuesday....  still experiencing pain.  NOT COOL!

I'm doing ice, and ibuprofen, and Ben Gay, plus lots of laying on the floor, in the bed,
and sitting up with a pillow behind my lower back...anything to try and get comfortable.

This is not fun, and I would never wish back pain on anyone!

I'm supposed to work on Thursday, and supposed to go to a concert two hours away
on Saturday.

I'm worried, but hopeful that I'll be better by then.

Healing thoughts and prayers, please!

And remember....

P.S.  -  I promise to NEVER take my health for granted again! Once I'm able to
           exercise again, I won't ever waste another day by being "too busy" to work out.

The Week That Got Away

Oh my goodness!

Where did the week go?

Not only is the week almost gone, the month of April is gone as well.

(Hello May!)

I know I've said it 1000 times on here, but man, time sure flies!

How about a quick recap of this week?

Monday  -   ran errands, and worked...didn't manage to make time for a workout....ugh!
                 Hubby spent the night at a sleep clinic & found out that he will have to get a
                 CPAP machine. We really weren't surprised by this news, just surprised at just
                 how badly he needed one.

Tuesday  -  managed to get in a full body workout between clients! yay!

Wednesday  -  spent the day with my parents....shopping and having lunch. Then church, so
                     again no workout. Oops, again.

Thursday  -  clients, chores around the house, quickie mini workout


Well, as you can see, my workouts have not gone as "planned" this week.

I'm not going to stress about it though. I'm fighting another cold (thanks for sharing germs
Ladybug,) and tomorrow is going to be another busy day at the Y, so tomorrow's workout
may not happen either.

Also, Ladybug has to have a dress for 8th grade graduation, and the banquet and dance, so
it looks like Saturday will be a full day of dress shopping. * insert exhaustion here *

But, I'm staying positive, and plan to get back on track next week!

How's your week been?

Do you ever have weeks that just get away from you, and before you know it, the
weekend is here again?

Man, time flies!  (That makes 1001 times!)

How about I leave you with a scary thought for the day?

--  I need to work on this area too....Sweet & Low, Equal, and Splenda are scary things.
    I think we should all seriously decrease our use of these things!


Oh, one more thing....

One of my awesome blog friends, Lindsay shared a link on facebook this morning that I thought
was really interesting and helpful, so I wanted to share it here as well. 

You can read it HERE. Thanks Lindsay!!

Doing What Works For Me

The way I see it, there is no better time than the present to start fresh and be
successful.

I had a little hitch in my week last week, so I'm starting fresh this week and plan
to create my own happy ending.

I'm creating my own plan for the week because a plan that is FOLLOWED is more
successful than a plan written by even the most famous personal trainers if it isn't actually
DONE.

I know my schedule, and I know the limitations of my body, so this is the plan that I'll be trying
this week. If it goes well, and works for me, I will keep this general schedule and switch up
exercises, reps and sets every few weeks.

This is what I'll be trying this week:

Monday      -    Back/Arms/Shoulders

Tuesday      -    Legs/Abs

Wednesday  -    yoga/mobility

Thursday     -    Chest/Arms/Shoulders

Friday         -    Legs/Abs

Saturday      -    make up day if needed

Sunday        -    yoga/mobility

** I will do cardio, and foam rolling as I feel like it....probably 4 - 6 days per week.

** I will stretch after every workout.


Other plans for the week:

-- Tackle the dingy linoleum floor in the laundry room.

(Hubby installed the cabinets that I've been wanting in my laundry room, and I am SO
  happy with them. Now it's time to tackle the sad floor.)

According to this blog post I will only need a few supplies and a little time.

I will need baking soda, a spray bottle with vinegar and water {50/50}, and a sponge mop.
Baking soda has a little texture to it, it’s the perfect product for cleaning the uneven, grooved
surfaces of linoleum floors!

Here’s what I'm supposed to do:

• Sprinkle baking soda on the floor {working in 3 foot sections}.

• Next spray the floor with the mix of vinegar and water.

• Scrub the floor using a sponge or a mop with a sponge head.

• After scrubbing each area of the floor, rinse away baking soda “film” with wet sponge or rag.

• Add a little lemon juice to leave your floor sparkly clean and smelling fresh.

--  I'm also in need of sandals. I've got plenty of flip flops, but no sandals. Sometimes when I
    actually try to dress up a bit, I just feel too casual in flip flops. So, I'm going to try to find
    sandals that look cute, but are still comfortable. Yep, I'm that girl who wants to look good,
    but isn't willing to be miserable to do it!

        What are your plans for the week?

        Are you a flip flop fan?

        Do you ever sacrifice comfort for fashion?

Oops, I Did It Again... Talking It Out

Dang, I've gone and done it again.

You see, I have this ridiculous problem of making things way more complicated
than they need to be.

I also have issues with psyching myself out.

One bump in the road, and I act like the whole road is closed.

Rather than simply slowing down, and figuring out a smarter way to get to my
destination, instead, I make a u-turn, and go right back down the path that I was
trying to leave behind.

It's silly, and I really am smarter than that!

What am I talking about???

Well, a couple of things in particular threw me off this week...

THIS was my "PLAN" for the week:

Mon  -   Back, Delts, Biceps  +  Push ups & Pull ups  +  cardio  +  stretching

Tues  -  Legs  +  Core/Abs  +  Lower Body Mobility  +  Stretching

Wed  -  Chest, Triceps  +  Push Ups & Pull Ups  +  cardio  +  stretching

Thur  -   Cardio  +  Core/Abs  +  Upper Body Mobility  +  Yoga

Fri    -   Legs, Glutes  +  foam rolling  +  stretching

Sat   -  Delts, Back, Arms  +  Push Ups & Pull Ups  +  cardio  +  stretching

Sun  -  Core/Abs  +  Yoga  +  Mobility/Stretching


Well, no sooner than I hit "publish" on this plan, I KNEW that just LOOKING at it
made me feel overwhelmed! 

1.  Yes, I do want to follow the Beverly International "Figure Competitor" training plan.
2.  Yes, I do need to do lots of stretching, core, and mobility work.
3.  Yes, I do cardio (mainly walking) frequently, because I enjoy it, and it helps me relax.

BUT, here's the problem....

1. I did work (outside the home) 4 days this week.
2. I do have a life, a family, a home, pets, and errands to run.
3. I am pretty bad at time management, and planning ahead.
4. I read some article on a fitness blog that totally upset me.

(The article said that too much steady state cardio was the main cause of metabolic 
 damage.)

That article threw me, and got inside my head, and what did I do next?  Sadly, I got some
chocolate and hit the couch.

Smart? No way! But, old habits are really hard to break! So, in the face of a potential
problem, I turned to food and felt hopeless.

I allowed myself to get preoccupied with work, home, and life.  I lost my focus, and let
fear steer me off my path.

I exercised Monday and Tuesday, blew Wednesday and Thursday, and here it is Friday.  

I am now faced with a decision....

I have to decide, "Where do I go from here?"

"What will I do to get back on track?" 

And, "What do I need to do to insure success next time?"

Let's face it. 

Life can be complicated. 

Life can be messy. 

People will say things, do things, or write things, that will upset you. 

I've got to stop letting outside forces affect me. I have to make decisions for my life, 
and my body, that will cause me to live a life that I am happy with.

So, right now, I'm heading to my treadmill. I know it's not what "some people" would
recommend. I know that I would burn more calories by weight training. I know, I know,
I know!

But, taking a nice, long walk on my treadmill makes me happy. It boosts my mood, and
it helps me deal with stress.

I don't have to leave home to do it, I don't have to inhale toxic amounts of pollen to do
it. I don't even have to brush my hair, or put on matching work out clothes. I don't have
to make small talk with people at the gym.

I can sing along to my music. I can totally be me!

And....

After I enjoy my walk, I will probably feel good enough that I will want to lift weights.

Will I have followed the "correct protocol" of weights first, and then cardio second?

No.

But, I WILL have exercised, and I WILL feel better.

I will be a better wife, a better mom, and a happier person.

I call that a successful day.

Helpful thought for the day: