Coming back...

We all get injured sometimes.  It may be as simple as getting our fingers confused with the veggies we’re chopping while making dinner or as complicated as a car crash.  No matter what, we have to figure out how to deal with the results.

Things like cuts and bruises are not that hard to work around.  We throw on a bandage and try not to put pressure on the boo-boo.

When we have overwork injuries like tendonitis, it gets harder.  We have to rest.  Time off actually does wonders for most folks in this regard, but since we get these injuries doing what we like to do, time off can be somewhat purgatorial.  When we do return to our beloved activities, we may need to go slower, refine our form, and/or add support.

Catastrophic injuries like broken bones require all of that and more.  Physical therapy can make the difference between an injury that lingers and one that really goes away.  Many health plans minimize or eliminate physical therapy; we need to kick up a ruckus if necessary to get this important treatment.  And then the hard part:  we have to DO the exercises our physical therapists assign.  Only after we’ve completed that course of therapy should we return to our normal activities.

When we do get back to our workouts, we may have to start more slowly than we’d like.  We need to take baby steps, mastering each increment before progressing to avoid setbacks.  Excellent form is our friend, even if it is not always fun to achieve.

(I am not a doctor or a physical therapist.  I will not diagnose or treat injuries.  I will strongly suggest talking to those professionals when clients experience beyond-normal discomfort.)

Injuries happen, but we can bounce back.

Real self-care

Self-care is a popular topic in our world.  We are often advised to take a bath or meditate or otherwise chill out.  I am not opposed to any of those things.

However, real self-care does not always feel warm and fuzzy.  Real self-care might mean cutting out the junk food.  It might mean hitting the gym.  It might mean extracting ourselves from a toxic relationship or job.  It can be messy and uncomfortable in the moment.

Other people or entities may not want us to do real self-care.  They’d rather sell us some bubble bath or wine.  They like when we assume that we have to keep doing things the way we always have, no matter what it costs us in health and happiness because they are benefitting from it.

We have value.  We deserve to be strong and powerful and happy.  Let’s take the time to think about what we really want and need to be our best selves and do that first.  We can take a spa day later if we still think it will do us good.

Monday Workout: New Toy!

I got some new toys, so we’re going to try them out this week.  Sliding disks are another way to recruit core and work on balance because they create instability.  The only exercise that doesn’t use the disks is brains, but I thought we should end with something familiar that involves lying down.  Three rounds.

Sliding Discs
mountain climbers	30
lateral lunges	20
hamstring curls	10
speed skaters	30
outstretched plank	20
open close pushups	10
plank jacks	30
crisscross jacks	20
brains	10