Physical and mental health update
Jan. 21st, 2005 12:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sabrinamariI've been struggling with difficult emotions since last Friday, and I just broke free of them yesterday. Of course, the first thing I did when I descended into sorrow and grief was to stop working out. This is utterly ridiculous. For me, it's the equivalent of stopping your Prozac when you get depressed. Why can't I just internalize this? Why can't I just remember that when I want to lie in bed weeping all day I *absolutely* need to get some exercise?
The second thing I did was retreat from the world. In all fairness, my misery was accompanied by migraines, disrupted sleep patterns, exhaustion, sore eyes and feeling generally weak. It's hard to be social when you feel like crap both physically and emotionally.
But I've finally pulled out of that state and gone back to my health maintenance routines. This is what I'm doing, for those with interest:
I've been doing cardio on an elliptical trainer and a WaterRower, and the fabulous![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
amyslay is making repairs to my recumbent bike so that my household and friends can use it while watching Buffy episodes and DVDs. I am trying to contain my excitement about this development, but it's hard. This weekend may bring the actual completion of the repair itself (barely containable excitement)!
I just added weights back into my routine, and I'm using a three-day split system like this:
Day 1: chest and shoulders
Day 2: triceps and biceps
Day 3: legs and back
...with cardio and abs interspersed as required,and a goal of 4 days of 30 minute+ cardio and 2 days of abs within each 7-day period.
Since I'm easing in, I'm limiting myself to 2 exercises per body part and 3 sets pers exercise. I'm also using lower weights that allow me to go to 12-15 reps per set. I need to watch my connective tissue---it takes longer to strengthen than my muscles, so I need to add both weight and sets s-l-o-w-l-y and stretch alot. As a longtime bodybuilder, I also have an impressive set of former injuries that need to be babied along. All of this means that my weight training workouts are relatively quick and easy at this point, which is a good thing.
Additionally, my roommate Shannon is being wonderful---last night she held me accountable for my weight workout. That really helped. OK, local and LJ friends, when you see me descending into depression, tactic #1 is to remind me to GET SOME EXERCISE. Because you know, nothing sucks as badly after the joy of moving and using and glorying in your body(mind).
Plus, a nice little boost: I pulled a pair of jeans I've never worn out of my closet this morning, for reasons that I don't really understand. I've had them in there for about 2 years, but they've always been too small. This sucks, since they are new, petite cut jeans that I could actually wear without hemming (I'm not a tall woman). Well, today they fit me! So hey, that's a cheerful development.
My ultimate goal for this summer: get back into prime shape. That means that I should be able to:
1. Do 50 regulation push ups in a row, as I could when my brother and Christy got married 4? years ago
2. Do a set of 10 assisted pull ups, with light assistance
3. Get my blood pressure down into the healthy range and keep it there sans medication (this means learning to take my own blood pressure accurately, with the equipment that my friends Scott and Lisa gave me)
4. Be able to coax my body into doing any fun physical activity that catches my fancy (be able to hike, bike and play without being out of breath or overly limited by my fitness level and be invulnerable to asshole criticisms like 'you're not fit enough')
5. Be able to wear all of my super-sexy summer clothes so that I can enjoy them *and* I don't have to blow alot of money on new ones. Some new ones are OK, but I already have some lovely summer clothes that are just waiting to be worn in a playful way.
6. Enjoy my body and the sensual delights of being really, really fit!
OK, those are the specific goals.
Other good news: I recently discovered that no fewer than TWO of my friends are interested in becoming certified personal trainers. That really rocks my socks and excites me to no end. There's not much I love more than working towards fitness goals with my friends.
The second thing I did was retreat from the world. In all fairness, my misery was accompanied by migraines, disrupted sleep patterns, exhaustion, sore eyes and feeling generally weak. It's hard to be social when you feel like crap both physically and emotionally.
But I've finally pulled out of that state and gone back to my health maintenance routines. This is what I'm doing, for those with interest:
I've been doing cardio on an elliptical trainer and a WaterRower, and the fabulous
amyslay is making repairs to my recumbent bike so that my household and friends can use it while watching Buffy episodes and DVDs. I am trying to contain my excitement about this development, but it's hard. This weekend may bring the actual completion of the repair itself (barely containable excitement)!I just added weights back into my routine, and I'm using a three-day split system like this:
Day 1: chest and shoulders
Day 2: triceps and biceps
Day 3: legs and back
...with cardio and abs interspersed as required,and a goal of 4 days of 30 minute+ cardio and 2 days of abs within each 7-day period.
Since I'm easing in, I'm limiting myself to 2 exercises per body part and 3 sets pers exercise. I'm also using lower weights that allow me to go to 12-15 reps per set. I need to watch my connective tissue---it takes longer to strengthen than my muscles, so I need to add both weight and sets s-l-o-w-l-y and stretch alot. As a longtime bodybuilder, I also have an impressive set of former injuries that need to be babied along. All of this means that my weight training workouts are relatively quick and easy at this point, which is a good thing.
Additionally, my roommate Shannon is being wonderful---last night she held me accountable for my weight workout. That really helped. OK, local and LJ friends, when you see me descending into depression, tactic #1 is to remind me to GET SOME EXERCISE. Because you know, nothing sucks as badly after the joy of moving and using and glorying in your body(mind).
Plus, a nice little boost: I pulled a pair of jeans I've never worn out of my closet this morning, for reasons that I don't really understand. I've had them in there for about 2 years, but they've always been too small. This sucks, since they are new, petite cut jeans that I could actually wear without hemming (I'm not a tall woman). Well, today they fit me! So hey, that's a cheerful development.
My ultimate goal for this summer: get back into prime shape. That means that I should be able to:
1. Do 50 regulation push ups in a row, as I could when my brother and Christy got married 4? years ago
2. Do a set of 10 assisted pull ups, with light assistance
3. Get my blood pressure down into the healthy range and keep it there sans medication (this means learning to take my own blood pressure accurately, with the equipment that my friends Scott and Lisa gave me)
4. Be able to coax my body into doing any fun physical activity that catches my fancy (be able to hike, bike and play without being out of breath or overly limited by my fitness level and be invulnerable to asshole criticisms like 'you're not fit enough')
5. Be able to wear all of my super-sexy summer clothes so that I can enjoy them *and* I don't have to blow alot of money on new ones. Some new ones are OK, but I already have some lovely summer clothes that are just waiting to be worn in a playful way.
6. Enjoy my body and the sensual delights of being really, really fit!
OK, those are the specific goals.
Other good news: I recently discovered that no fewer than TWO of my friends are interested in becoming certified personal trainers. That really rocks my socks and excites me to no end. There's not much I love more than working towards fitness goals with my friends.
