Update

Things have been going really well, and time is passing quickly - especially once the work week begins.

Last Saturday I went to the doctor to get my wrist checked. The good news is that it is healing well. Staying off it has been paying off. It's not back to 100% yet, but I have been given permission to start using it ... a little. I can get back to weights, but I have to restrict my movement to static movements. The main thing is that I shouldn't flex or twist my wrist. So, no front squats, no clean and press, nothing that carries a chance of having that cartilage tear some more. That kinda sucks, but I understand. At least there are plenty of exercises that I can do. I have to start with very light weights, as even the movement of getting into position can be risky. He recommends that I have someone hand me/position the weights to avoid that extra strain. I will also probably be using some of the weight machines. As much as I don't like them, at least it'll be something. Plus it'll be safe.

I still can't put any downward pressure on my wrist, so no push ups or anything that requires wrist stability. If I can do things on my forearms, then that's fine, but nothing on my wrist.

I'll go back and see him in 4-6 weeks and see how I'm progressing. In any case, I'll have to still be very, very careful over the next 3 months. We'll see how it goes after that.

Other than that, nothing too new going on. I've been hitting the gym every morning - cardio/weights, and doing my MMA training in the afternoons. I've been working with a client so occasionally I'll get in another workout (mild).

I've been doing really well with my food journal lately; however, I think I need to get back to actually tracking calories. My weight is hardly moving. I need to figure out how I can tweak my plan.

One of my recent workouts involved the Bosu ball, my speed jumprope (finally back to practicing double unders), steps, and weights -- it was so much fun!! 

Injury Update

The news at the doctor's office wasn't as good as I had hoped. I'm still trying to process it all. The basic diagnosis is that I have a partially torn cartilage in my wrist. The good news is that it is only a partial tear. The bad news is that it's there in the first place!

Without going into too much detail right now, the basic thing is -- no lifting, grappling, pulling/pushing, any pressure and very limited movement for at least a month.

There were other more invasive treatment options available, but for right now this is what I want to do. I don't feel ready to try anything else. I'm going to stay off my wrist for a month and then reevaluate my situation.

Upon leaving the doctor's office, I felt a massive wave of panic. One month? What am I going to do? Sure I could walk/run, but what else? I need to do more! What about my MMA training? No grappling or contact - are you kidding me? That type of scenario just doesn't fit in my reality at the moment.

Eventually I calmed down and thought -- I'm going to see this as a challenge. This is the perfect opportunity to put myself to the test and see what kind of fitness plan I would recommend if I had a client who was in my situation. I've got to take that advice and apply it to myself.

The two key things -- keep moving and watch my nutrition.

I'm hoping to keep staying positive and see this as an exploration/an adventure into what else I can do. I thought a lot about Leigh and how she got through her recovery when she had her broken ankle. I think at the beginning of an injury it seems like the day you're fully back to the activities you love seems like an eternity away --- but it's not. The day does come. I just need to be patient until I get there!

Wish me luck! I have a feeling I'm going to need it!!

Holding Still

The semester is winding down, so the next week and a half is going to be spent focusing on getting my students ready for their final exam.

Speaking of final exams -- I just submitted my Personal Trainer Certification final exam. I'm so nervous!! The last two sections of the exam were really challenging. I know I did my best, but the paranoid student in me is continuously second guessing myself. My main concern is - did I put enough detail?

Oh well. It's done now (yay!). All I have to do now is wait for the results.

In the meantime, there's much to be done!

The final exam was on my mind all day today. Even though I was stressed about it, I went to see an orthopedic surgeon about my wrist.

I thought the appointment would only take half an hour. Given that my appointment was at 11:30 a.m., I thought I'd be home by 12:30 p.m. or 1 at the latest.

That didn't happen.

He saw me at 11:30. After checking me he said that he wanted an MRI done. The fact that it's still hurting after 6 weeks (and of those six weeks 3 have been with rest, physiotherapy, and no strain) worried him. So I went for an MRI. I was in the MRI machine at 12:30 ... and I emerged at 1:15!! OMG. I'm not claustrophobic, but let me tell you, it was NOT FUN being in there for 45 minutes! The sound was so loud, and holding still for that long was a nightmare!

Anyway. I got it done. Results and a follow-up appointment tomorrow.

Time to go home -- shouldn't be more than 20 minutes.

How wrong I was! Apparently there was some sort of international conference in Kuwait today and many of the major highways were blocked off (so that the diplomats could have clear roads). It took me 1.5 hours to get home!!! I was at my wits end by the time I got here.

I don't mind the day passing by quickly and me being productive - but being stuck in traffic ... so not fun at all!

I had just enough time to eat a bit of lunch, do some work, and then get ready for jiujitsu class. Then it was back home to finish off my last bit of editing and submit the exam.

I'm so glad it's over!!!

I'm looking forward to staring a new day with that pressure off my back.

I'll leave you with a couple of pix from last night which is when I held my annual Secret Santa gathering. It was a lot of fun - a much needed break from everything else that's been going on!

I love the glow in the house during Christmas time! From the Christmas tree lights to the candles to the red and white all over the house - the house was definitely filled with holiday cheer :)

The gals and I in full Christmas spirit :)

Training with an Injury

Injuries suck.

I'm feeling so grumpy about it. I mean, I know that complaining isn't going to do me any good, but what can I say? I'm grumpy! All I want to do is hit the gym and lift some heavy weights. However, I'm trying to be sensible about it.

The weather in Kuwait is stunning at the moment. Cool mornings and evenings, warm afternoons, bright sunny skies -- really, really lovely.

Since I couldn't really do anything intense in terms of exercise, I decided to take advantage of the lovely weather and head outside for a walk/run. I had to even be cautious running because I was supposed to keep my arm as still/straight as possible. I'm sure I looked weird on the track having one arm dangling beside me -- but in any case, I went. I half walked half ran, worked up a good sweat and at least felt a bit less grumpy having gotten in some form of a workout.

Today I went into Jiujitsu class. I haven't been in a BJJ class since the end of September. I was SO HAPPY to be back!! My instructor already knew about my injury so I just took it easy and did what I could. I wrapped up my hand really, really well so that my wrist remained stabilized. I made sure not to fall or be grabbed by my right wrist. I did what I could to take the proper precautions and train safe while still being as focused on the moves as possible.

There were 2 other girls in class. They were new. One of them said she had come to Kajukenbo to watch a class and had seen me train before. Small world!

We learned a form of defense against a headlock. It was really cool. I love how the instructor breaks down the move and the builds it up. It's so interesting -- plus it's fun to do! I was totally beaming after class! (Plus I came out totally injury free; no swelling or pain - yay!)

Tomorrow I'm supposed to do weights, but I know that my routine (deadlifts, rows, bench presses) is totally out of the question. I'm thinking of maybe another run and/or some stability exercises (with a Swiss ball or Bosu ball). We'll see.

I had a big shop today. It's nice to have my normal foods back in the house again. Tonight I'm trying out a chicken dish in my crockpot. I'm still not 100% convinced about the effectiveness/efficiency of a slow cooker. I mean, yes, the meat becomes tender, but it still takes time to prep everything before putting it in the pot. If I could literally just throw in the protein and vegetables (without sauteing/browning or whatever) then I may be more convinced. For right now, I'm still trying to make up my mind.

tonight's dinner - slow cooked chicken drumsticks in tomato and onion sauce 

My Wrist

I had an excruciatingly painful session with my physiotherapist today. Tears sprung to my eyes more than once. There were definitely points during the session when I thought, 'Screw this, I'll just deal with the injury; the treatment is too painful.'

this is how my hand/wrist looked on Friday 

Part of my physiotherapy involves undergoing IMS - intramuscular stimulation (this is a great article explaining the basics of how it works). Basically needles are used to release tension/tightness in the muscles. By loosening the muscles in my forearm (and even upper arm), enough space should be created so that my wrist can be relocated in its proper place.

I had my 3rd IMS/physiotherapy treatment today, and it was really brutal. Tears sprung to my eyes, but I just grit my teeth and kept telling myself - if you want to continue MMA training, then you're going to have to deal with a lot more pain than this!

some of the needles in my forearm

So, my recovery seems to be taking a long time. I am not allowed to lift heavy things or do any pushing/pulling movements, so grappling practice and weight lifting have been ruled out for a while.

I'm not taking that news well at all!

Still, I know that I need to give my wrist a chance to recover. I'll be trying to do what I can to make sure I keep as active as possible.

In the meantime, I'm rocking a brace both day and night to help stabilize my wrist. I guess there will be a lot of cardio and core work in the upcoming weeks!

Momentary Routine

I’ve been back in Kuwait for 5 days now … and I’ll be traveling again in 4 days. That’s not much time to get back into a proper routine. After my last trip to London, I really struggled. I let the fact that I was only around for 9 days bring me down and distract me from what I really wanted.

Not this time.

I arrived on Tuesday morning and spent the day resting. Last time, I spent the time freaking out and worrying about whether or not I would have energy to go to the gym. I exhausted myself. I didn’t workout, and I felt guilty.

Not this time.

I unpacked, did my laundry, and I SLEPT. I was so tired. I slept for 4 hours in the afternoon and then I went to bed early. I needed the sleep. I felt much better after getting all that sleep.

When I woke up on Wednesday morning (tossing and turning from 3 a.m. and finally out of bed at 4 a.m.), I was ready to go.

I had 2 eggs with some mushrooms and tomatoes. I took my time getting ready and leaving the house (after all, I am on vacation!), and I made it to the gym by 7:45 a.m.

Some cardio and a body balance session was all I had planned for the day. The cardio felt good. I felt like I hadn’t missed anything because of all the walking I did in London. Body Balance, however, was tougher. I felt quite stiff. I didn’t stretch much over the past 2 weeks and it totally showed in class. (Note to self: get back to stretching daily!!)

Thursday was great – warm-up cardio, 1 hour weight session, and then 1 hour on the cross-trainer.

I really wanted to burn some calories so I just got on the cross-trainer, set it to interval training, and just zoned out and started sweating.

The weight lifting session was interesting. On the one hand, I felt strong. I think this is because I hadn’t lifted weights for quite some time so my muscles actually felt rested. On the other hand, I felt like I lost a bit of strength, particularly in my lateral pull-downs … but then, I’ve always struggled with those. I did 2 extra sets of each exercise with lighter warm-up weights. I didn’t want to strain myself (though I think I did when I was doing 15 kg (33 lb dumbbell per hand) dumbbell incline chest presses. It wasn’t the chest press as much as it was the movement of getting my arm in position to do the chest press). Anyway. I left the gym feeling good that I could complete those sets, but also felt a bit of a muscle strain around my left shoulder blade area. Must take care of that.

I went back to my normal Friday routine – which included 2 hours of Jiujitsu and sparring practice. Again, being away from training for 2 weeks really showed on the mats. It took me a while to both mentally and physically gear up for each move we practiced.

Yesterday I did something I had not done in a long time – burpees. I’ve been avoiding them. I’m avoiding them for the same reason that I took on this challenge – I hate them. They’re tough. They leave me breathless. I suck at them. 

This is why I must practice them!!

Perhaps I was too ambitious in my goal of completing 20,130 burpees by the end of the year, but that’s not an excuse not to practice them at least every other day, if not every single day.

The only thing holding me back is my mind – I am physically able to do them. In fact, the first 50 burpees (though tough) went down a lot easier than I had thought they would be. (Note to self: Stop second-guessing yourself and just do your damn burpees!)

So basically my strategy has been to just get back into my routine without giving it much thought. Being on vacation makes it very tempting to just sit back and do nothing but watch TV or read all day … but that doesn’t mean I can’t squeeze in an hour or two of exercise. I know that once I get started, I feel good – that’s why I try to workout first thing in the morning. At least I get it out of the way.

My food has been good since I got back. Like my workouts, I just went right back on plan. Lots of salads, lean protein, and vegetables. I bought some new spice blends in London - ones you can't get here in Kuwait - so that's helped give a bit of new flavor to my cooking.  I would say that my food is 90-95% clean. At the moment, that works for me. Gotta make the most of being home while I can. In 4 days, this momentary routine is going to seem like a dream … that’s when the real work is going to kick in!

By the way, my shoulder blade muscle strain is much, much better. Whew. 

Bewildered

I feel pretty confident that I know the difference between being sore and being injured. Although my arms and my thighs have been feeling crazy sore - the kind where you say ouch with every movement & you can't lift your arms to move your coffee cup to your lips let alone brush your hair - I really did put my soreness towards Monday push-ups/push presses & squats along with bike riding for the first time on Tuesday ...

The pain really did get quite bad so I took a painkiller. It didn't really help. This morning when I woke up, it felt worse (though possibly from inactivity during sleep). What really shocked me, however, was that both my triceps were swollen. My right arm was huge! I had never seen my arm react like that before.

Still, I'm convinced that it's not an injury. I guess my body just reacted negatively to the workout ... add the burpees plus the kickboxing from yesterday (particularly throwing elbows at the pads; that definitely didn't help), and I don't think I did my arms any favors.

I hate having to take painkillers, but I'm sticking to that at the moment. I decided to also try some KT tape. I really don't know if it works, and although their website is quite detailed, I have to admit that I'm a bit skeptical as to whether or not it really is effective. Still, it can't hurt, right? (I hope) [Has anyone ever used this tape? Did it help?]

This pain, unfortunately, has overshadowed the really big news of the day which is something that I've been looking forward to with great excitement and anticipation for the past two weeks ... I joined a martial arts academy!!

Sidekick Academy is the leading martial arts (namely taekwondo and jiu-jitsu) academy in Kuwait. I've heard many, many good things about it ... and today I decided to check it out. They told me you could try your first class for free - so I did and then I signed up! :)

I have quite a few things to say about the academy and my experience so I'll save that for another post.

In the meantime, I'm resting and trying to get through this soreness plus resist what feels like an oncoming cold (seriously?!).

My food was less than stellar today which surprises and disappoints me, but I know it's not a habit. It was carelessness on my part.

Today's Workout
Stretching: 15 minutes
Sidekick Academy: 1 1/2 hours (taekwondo/kickboxing & jiu-jitsu)
Burpees: 20 - arms and legs were just way too sore to continue past 20 {challenge total: 140/20,130}


Today's Food
Breakfast: Lebanese mezze with bread (again)
Lunch: Small baked sweet potato with black bean salsa (I've come to really like this combo)
Dinner: Pan seared white fish with half a baked potato and black bean salsa (as I said, I really like the combo plus I had made a ton of that salsa)
Snacks: cup of green tea; 6 chocolate covered coffee beans; 1 chocolate chip cookie; 1 chocolate tart (I'm not proud of those chocolate items; I think my emotions/general funk of my arm/leg pain got the best of me)

Rest?

For a day of rest, today sure was busy! I'm so glad today was my day off from the gym as I really don't know how I would have managed to fit in a workout.

I finally had my follow-up appointment with Dr. T about my leg. Since the pain is gone, there really wasn't any reason for a check up. The main purpose of this trip was for him to check my shoes.

I didn't really need a doctor to tell me that my New Balance shoes that I absolutely LOVE needed to be replaced. They should have been replaced ages ago ... and the fact that I did that 10K in them really screwed me up! I've been looking for a replacement for ages ... just haven't found the right pair. He told me that the average shoe life for my workout routine is about 100 hours, which basically means that I'd need to change my shoes about every 3 months! That's quite often ... and it's not like gym shoes are cheap either! In any case, gym shoes are something that I'll definitely invest in - I don't even look at the price. If it feels right (and looks right!) then I'll buy them.

He went over some interesting points on how to choose the best shoe for me. Each person is different, and because of the overall weakness in my left leg (extra pressure on the pad of the foot, slightly dislocated kneecap, broken thigh bone that didn't quite heal (very long story there), and hip pain from too much dancing in high heels (sigh, those were the good 'ol days when dancing salsa was the main thing going on in my life) ... anyway. All those combined made my left leg a big more unstable than my right, so I basically have to choose shoes that won't aggravate any of the old injuries ... not an easy task.

He did not approve of my newly bought Nike trainers:

Well, at least not for high impact cardio. He said I could wear them on days that I'm lifting weights or doing a class like Body Pump that doesn't require much stepping. So, the search for the right shoes is still on ... luckily I never shy away from a bit of shoe shopping :)

After the doctor's office I headed to the supermarket. I had my list in hand and was absolutely ready ... until I got there and I was completely overwhelmed by the number of people and kids. It was absolutely jam packed!! I never shop for groceries on the weekends ... and now I remembered why. It was insane. I had a lunch appointment so I knew I would have to rush ... I just headed straight for the produce section - grabbed what I could - and was out of there as quickly as possible (and even then it took too long). I can't stand having to shop for groceries when it's that crowded. A second trip will definitely be required as I'm sure I forgot many things that were on my list ... still, dinner for tomorrow is definitely ready.

The rest of the day was spent tackling a few errands and tasks around the house. Although I had a productive day, I definitely feel like I need one more day of no obligations/work so that I can make more progress through my never-ending list of things to do!

Stage 6 of NROL4W starting tomorrow! Yay!!

Improvising

Although I haven't been banned from the gym due to my injury, I do know that I need to take a little easy as I don't want to push too hard and negate the improvement that I'm already starting to feel from the anti-inflammatory meds.

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm at a bit of a loss without a plan for my workout -- so today's gym session wasn't as great as it probably could have been. Some warm-up cardio followed by Body Pump class. Pump was great - I felt strong, I lifted good weights, and I had good form -- I did, however, have to skip the lunge and squat tracks -- but for one of them I just did 5 minutes of sit-ups and for the other I went out and walked on the treadmill for 5 minutes. It's nothing much, but my goal was to just keep on moving.

So, I got in a workout, but it didn't feel as satisfying as I would have liked.

I definitely need to come up with a plan.

Diagnosis

I did not want to go to the doctor today for two main reasons:

1. I didn't think my injury was that serious. It feels like a muscle strain, and I know that all you really need to do is rest it up and wait for it to heal. So, if that was the case, I was being kind of silly going to the doctor.
2. I was afraid that it was more serious than just a strain and the doctor would tell me that I wouldn't be able to exercise and that I would have to stay away from the gym for a few weeks.

In the end, it was all ok.

He was a bit concerned that it has been hurting for almost a month now, but overall, he didn't think that it would be a problem. It is just a muscle strain of the rectus femoris (hip flexor). This particular muscle crosses the hip and the knee, which is why my hip (and even lower back) has been hurting as well. My knee hasn't been too bad.

In any case, I'm on muscle relaxants for 3 days and anti-inflammtory meds for 10. I'll go back to see him on the 29th and then he'll determine whether or not I need an MRI for further investigation or some physiotherapy to help with the recovery. He's also going to take a look at the shoes I've been wearing while training. He said that wearing the wrong pair of shoes could have an impact all the way from my foot (the pad of my left foot really hurts) to my hip/lower back!

As for working out, he didn't restrict me from the gym. He did tell me to lay off exercises that put pressure on the quads - no lunges, squats, leg presses etc. (darn, no squats, gutted lol). As for cardio, he said to use common sense - if it hurts to run, don't run etc.

So good news on the diagnosis front. I'll try and be sensible and focus more on other types of exercises that don't put pressure on my legs.

I'm at a bit of a loss workout-wise at the moment. I guess I could start on Phase 5 of NROL4W, but part of me wants to take a break and just do something different for a week or two. I guess I'll take a look to see what Phase 5 is all about and then either start with it tomorrow or put together a routine for the next two weeks so that I don't feel lost in the gym.

Today, 45 minutes on the cross-trainer followed by some triceps and shoulder resistance training. Not too intense, but just enough for the day.

NROL4W - Phase 4 Complete

Short blog post as I'm getting ready for a weekend trip away -- I cannot wait to get out of here and just let my hair down and relax.

So, the main update -- I finished Phase 4 of NROL4W!

My main obstacle has been my thigh injury. It still hurts pretty bad -- so I'm taking the next 3 days off (which works coz' I'll be out of the country) to just rest it up and ice it down --- hopefully it'll feel better by the time I get back. If not ... I may have to go see a doctor, but I really hope it doesn't come to that!

Anyway. As a result of this injury there were a few exercises I struggled with -- particularly lunges and the single-leg squat for my left leg. I'm having trouble balancing on my left leg. I just feel a great amount of strain on my thigh muscle ... so, as I said, a bit of rest will do it good.

Other than that, I think I did pretty good on my weights. I didn't see as much improvement in terms of heavier lifting in all the exercises as in the past ... for example, the YTWL shoulder raises -- that's a total of 24 shoulder raises x 3 sets ... I started off with 5 kg/hand and really struggled to complete 24 in a row, so I dropped it down to 4 kg/hand and it was much better ... My form was good, it was challenging but not crazy tough. By the end of the month I was able to go back to 5 kg/hand -- the last reps were still a bit tough. So, only a 1 kg difference, but definitely improvement in strength in terms of completing the exercise with good form.

The other exercise I really struggled with is the wide-grip lat pull. Pulling at 41 kg is fine, but the jump up to 48 kg (nothing in between) was tough. I still haven't perfected it ... but I'll keep working on it!

In any case, I know it's not about the final number. It's about doing it right -- and I can definitely say that I have concentrated on making sure I complete each exercise to the best of my ability.

So here are the numbers:

Workout A:

	Feb. 12, 2012	Mar. 12, 2012
One-armed dumbbell snatch	6 kg each hand	10 kg each hand
Dumbbell single-leg Romanian deadlift	7 kg each hand	10 kg each hand
Barbell bent-over row	15 kg	35 kg
Dumbbell single-arm overhead squat	4 kg+8 kg	5 kg+10 kg
Dumbbell incline bench press	7 kg each hand	12.5 kg. each hand
Plank (90 sec)	bw	bw
Reverse wood chop	8 kg	18 kg

Workout B:

	Feb. 14, 2012	Mar. 14, 2012
Barbell Romanian deadlift	25 kg	45 kg
Partial single-leg squat	5 kg	10 kg/hand
Wide-grip lat pull	41 kg	48 kg
Back extension	41 kg	72 kg
YTWL	4 kg/hand	5 kg/hand
Swiss ball crunch	100	150
Prone jackknife	12	35
Lateral flexion	24	30
Prone cobra	18	30

After returning from Bahrain I'll probably take a week off from the program to change up my routine a bit before getting into Phase 5.

Will blog when I get back!

Ciao!