Setbacks Become Successes

If you have been following me you know I have been struggling with a knee injury (IT band) for about two and a half months. I have been going to physical therapy to work on my flexibility and strength. I must say therapy has really helped, because my IT band no longer bothers me. I started swapping the bike for the treadmill as a warm up....one minute at 2.0 speed and 5 minutes (somewhere between 3.2-3.5) nothing higher. Just a light jog to get my heart rate up and making contact with my knee. Then up to a total of 8-10 minutes or until I no longer can. But let's be honest eight minutes is the max I can do! It is hard to listen to someone else when all you want to do is push yourself harder, but you know if you do it could not end well.

I started to be very cautious of how I run/walk. Because instead of my original issue it was as my right foot was landing my knee was going in, causing the inside to hurt & then I was feeling burning underneath my knee cap (tendinitis)

How are my feet landing?

Is it something I can do to prevent it? 

Should I take bigger strides?

Come down softer on my feet?

The PT asks how I feel as I'm winded (since its the only cardio I have done in 2 months). I tell him I try to consciously make an effort of thinking how to land and he says stop, don't do that. Because this simple motion should be natural. So my next step is to ask, "how does this get fixed?" it all comes with practice, working on my at home exercises, and having someone watch me/video tape me as I'm doing my agility work to see what I'm doing. 

The struggle is real. It's difficult to be told no. It's hard accepting you are limited to exercises you should do. No one wants to be told don't push yourself to hard. And everyone wants to be fixed, but QUICKLY!

But how do your struggles become your successes?

 

Every struggle pushes you to your limit. You listen to your body and understand exactly what you need. This diagnosis may seem so little to some, but to others it may be a different story. But we all have two choices: you can either accept it & push forward doing all the things you can to make yourself better OR you can throw your hands up &give up....the choice is always yours.

That is EXACTLY what I did. I could have told the therapist no, I don't care about never running again. Is it a life or death situation? No, but it would be nice to run when I can. But I choose to fight. I choose to do whatever it takes to be able to jog or sign up for another 5k. And in the process I grew my muscle strength, flexibility, and overcame it. But it is nice to enjoy your hard work for just a little while. 

Only for a little while? YEP! Because in the middle of fixing my IT band (which it is strengthened) it has brought out another issue....not because of fixing it, but because my IT band has never been properly functioning neither have other parts of my knee. I now either have a stress fracture or petula tendonitis. How fun right?

So now that physical therapy has come to an end, what does that mean? Do I stop and quit doing all the exercises that were given to me. NOPE! I still continue to do them. Practice makes perfect and I have to continue to build up that strength & I have to continue to work on getting my knee straight. If I stop doing what I have been doing for the past two months all my hard work is going to get thrown out the window and honestly it will all be for nothing. That first time I run; I will be right back where I started. So even though we have overcome the first issue (success) we now have another issue on hand (another setback). And that is just okay. Because every little setback makes up for a bigger & better comeback.

 

When you receive bad news, get diagnosed with a health issue, or you become injured...YA it is never fun & you may not know what you are going to do, but you have two choices when this happens. You can either throw your hangs up & give up before the journey starts. Or you can choose to fight this battle full force and give it everything you have got.

 

Your setbacks make you into the person you are today and the person you will be down the road. The choices you make today help determine your future. Like the book "the slight edge" says stay consistent over time, there may be things you do not always feel like doing, but do them ANYWAYS.

 

Consistency is KEY! 

 

And that is what is going to make you stronger. That is what is going to allow you to overcome your struggles and your setbacks!

 

PIYO Week 2: Update and Results

 

 

We have another week done with Chalene Johnson. I have to say she is by far my favorite trainer, no matter what workout I am doing I feel amazing after the time stops! And sometimes it feels like you have just started a workout and you are already done. Time flies (literally). I cannot believe I am half way through month one.  I have to be honest, I did not think PIYO was going to be enough. Even though cardio is not my favorite but I do like to get my heart rate moving. But even if you are aren't jumping around doing agility you still work up a sweat & you are still moving. You are moving in a different way, but you will work you bootay off!

 

Thirty minute workouts give or take low impact do you think you are going to get something out of it? You are using muscles you truly do not use in your day to day routine. When starting any new routine you get nervous and worried you will not see the results, but you have to trust the process. And I truly believe that is why some people do not stick to programs in the first couple weeks and throw in the towel. WHY? Because sometimes they do not feel challenged enough. It isn't hard enough. This program is something they typically do not do normally. You just want to give up and go back to your "normal" routine. That is where most people fail and hit a plateau. If you stay in your normal routine you continue to work those same muscles & you won't see results as much as you would like too. You have to step outside your comfort zone every once in a while.  Work new muscles, try new things...you never know what could happen?! Try the program for 30 days..see it through to day 30; following the program to a T, then make your decision about quitting & moving onto something else.

 

Bummed Knee

Unfortunately, when it came to working out I did not have a choice. If I wanted to get back to it PIYO was the only thing I could do or lightly walk. You can't see the picture to good, but my knee gets tapped every time I go to PT so I can warm up with running. It's not comfortable believe me. The white tape is the bottom layer & the brown tape we push my knee cap over from the right side to the left so it is "centered." The goal is to keep it on for 48 hours, if it is uncomfortable it can come off. It hasn't lasted more than a day, but I do honestly try to keep it on that long & workout with it because if it helps, then it could help my knee issues a little bit. But I must say I am very glad that PIYO is the only program I can do, because I truly enjoy it. I get frustrated sometimes because my muscles need stretched and it hurts, BUT it is working! It tests me and it is mind over matter. I try to push myself a little further each day.

Believing you can is the first step. Next come up with an action plan. Write a schedule of your workouts down (even though you get a schedule), but that way it is visible and you know what you are doing each day. If it helps start creating a vision board with your goals (weight loss, what size you want to be, maybe your future swimsuit you want to wear). When you put your goals in front of you where you can see them everyday, it makes you work ten times harder.

Motivational/Goal Board

What does week 2's schedule look like?

Monday - Sweat
Tuesday - Define: Lower Body
Wednesday - Core
Thursday - Define: Upper Body
Friday - rest
Saturday - Sweat
Sunday - Core

I can't exactly say what my favorite workout of Piyo is just yet. And I only say that because I have not done all of them yet. From the ones I have completed so far I would say Sweat and Upper Body. Upper body is a little short for time but you still can get a great workout, you can always add something else to workout longer.

I have been delaying writing this post not because I don't have words to say or I don't like piyo. It is because I didn't really give my all. It has been getting to me. I had a bad week during physical therapy. I really was struggling with not being able to workout during PT days and when I was having a hard time running,I just felt defeated. It's hard to accept I can not physically run when I want and some plyometric exercises still bother me. It is hard to be "restricted," but I have to learn to work around it and do what I can. If I push myself harder, I could hurt myself more & set myself back. And if I quit what does that say about me?

So onward and upward. I gave myself some time to sit and think about where I am, how far I've come, and where I want to be. It is just a chance for me to regroup and get my mind right. So, I have the right mindset & ready to kick butt on week three.

 

If you would like more information on joining my next Piyo Accountability and support group to get customized meal planning, tips and recipes to help you start and complete your Piyo Journey please contact me below!

 

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