“Where food meets faith” is the tag line of one of my new ‘fav’ blogs that I have latched on to this year as a place to go for wisdom, godly reminders and health that fits my belief system. Isabel D. Price shoots out regular blogs and this one really caught my attention. It was titled “3 steps to your BEST exercise routine”.
Let me pose the REAL question – do you HAVE a routine? Define that as exercising consistently in the manner that benefits your body and reverses the oh-so-bad habits (like sitting for long sessions in front of the computer without getting up and moving around or putting off the “daily” walk until it becomes the “bi-weekly” walk or fooling yourself into believing you are doing the exercises you know you should do with any modicum of regularity).
OK – here’s the context. Over the past year, the weakness in my left hip that was just bugging me turned into a bigger pain, a definite limp, and finally such difficulty in movement that I could no longer play pickleball. Truly hit me hard when I reached that stage.
A great masseuse whom I met at our photobooking retreats over a year ago identified muscles that were weak (IT band) and muscles that were overworking (front and back of my hip). He offered some movements of exercise plus a few Thai yoga positions that might help. I trusted him so I tried them here and there. Yep, it was the “here and there” that just wasn’t enough.
And then, as it had worsened, earlier this year I searched the internet for a program – found one that was reasonable in price and was a “follow along” type. I thought most of it was helpful (and I went to the deeper levels they offered) and I did it faithfully on a 6 day a week regularity. But parts were really hard and just made my hip scream. Surely, if I keep going….I thought. Nope, months later, the hip was a stronger limp and not better.
I had others offer good exercises they had discovered or had recommended. I tried them for a while along with my daily online program I had going. But I didn’t see much difference and dropped them.
Finally, I went to my primary medical person, a D.O., and she prescribed Physical Therapy. Opened the door to “lots more learning”. It has been 2 months in which I have learned that stretching has to be interlaced with strength building and I watched how he tweaked various movements to get the one that was right for my situation.
He also was able to do great pain-relieving stretching and movements for my hip – unfortunately, all of these did not turn around this year-long progression of “getting worse”. But after the hip replacement surgery that is now scheduled, I will go back under his wisdom for the exercises that I need for post-surgery strength and flexibility.
Now here is the nugget I want to share with you. I realized my trying to piece together the what and how much and when of exercise had not worked well. But what I learned (and will still be learning) from the physical therapist is what is MY best exercise routine given my body, my lifestyle, my work and my personality!!
Guess what! Isabel’s blog on this matched exactly what my physical therapist had been teaching me.
“Start where you are at” says Isabel, and that is just what my P.T. said. Both mentioned the internet is full of exercise choices, and it is hard to know where to begin. Start simple, they both said.
Wisely, Isabel warns to not pressure yourself to take on some incredibly time-consuming, back-breaking exercise program that may bring on more harm than good. She has seen many unknowingly cause themselves serious injuries that way – and burn out, exhausting themselves and eventually giving up. Here I stand – a true demo student to make her point. It is just what I did on my own. It is not the same as finding a You Tube video which walks you through how to defrost your icemaker!
Her “guidelines” match what my P.T. guy has been showing me these past few months.
Are you walking? She says it is one of the most underrated forms of exercise available to us. We spend so much of our days in a chair (and many, slouched in front of a computer). She recommends starting with 30 minutes, or break it up into 3 small walks. Keep the body moving and out of the chair.
Stretching? Isabel reminds us, as did my P.T. guy, that if your workout does not include a stretching component, you may want to add one. Her experience was previously doing a rigorous workout routine that did not include stretching. She ended up with a pretty severe foot injury that could have been prevented with proper stretching before and after the workouts.
Muscles? Isabel points out the #1 mistake she sees most women make is spending all their time on cardio and no time strengthening their muscles. Cardio helps heart and lungs be strong but strength training keeps muscles and joints strong plus prevents declining muscle mass as you age.
OK, for you “bottom line” folks, Isabel gives a simple and effective routine outline: 10 minutes stretching every day, 15-30 minutes walking during lunch break 3 times a week (or whenever it fits your day) and 10-15 minutes of strength training 3 times a week. That routine will cover your bases and help you feel great.
Of course, I am happy to point you to her blog which also mentions her programs – click HERE
And I would be so bold as to suggest another idea. Especially if you already have some ‘issues’ in play that concern you. Ask your primary medical person to point you to a good Physical Therapist – set up a few weeks of sessions and have them construct with you the right balance of walking / stretching / muscle building exercises for you. That would be “Your Best Exercise Routine” which you can trust!
There is power in our collective learning – may you be blessed!
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