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Weight Training Update

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I wanted to give an update on the strength training and the T25. 🙂 I have temporarily shelved the T25, but have plans to return to it once I get stronger. I found that although it didn’t bother my hip, it was starting to bother my knees….which I found strange. Again, I think it’s the strength issue. I think my joints need more muscular support from all the “helper muscles” to keep my joints stable when going through the T25 routines. Also the extra weight I am trying to lose is a factor in any joint pain from the lower back and hip on down. So for now it’s shelved but I will pick it back up again.

I did start lifting at work like I had planned. Kirmayer Fitness Center at KU Medical Center has an awesome weight area, two areas in fact. I headed for the machine area and I loved all of them. I had to overcome my inherent shyness because I picked the busiest day of the summer (when they were holding a student resources fair in Kirmayer) to begin my weight training and both areas were very busy. But I didn’t let it deter me and I felt good about making the effort.

Then my sister found a personal trainer here in town that used to work at Haskell as their certified trainer for their athletic department. She visited with him and discovered he was running an intro special on individual training sessions. He does Olympic-style weight lifting, something I didn’t have a clue about but was interested in. So Sharon set us up with an appointment last week and I’m heading into my 3rd session with Travis.

I was able to visit with him before we started our first session and I told him my health history and my goals. He did an excellent job of explaining how Olympic-style weight lifting will benefit me and my hip OA. He is very personable and very encouraging. You can tell immediately how knowledgeable he is about his work. From what he shared with me, Olympic-style weight lifting is all about learning how to do the “Clean and Jerk”, and I am fortunate that he is acquainted with a power lifter who has gone through total hip replacement surgery and still returned to lifting heavy

My sister and I are doing 2 individual training sessions per week with Travis. It’s fun working out with my sister again, so I am very grateful to her for finding this and encouraging me to try it. Right now we are all about learning technique and proper form. I really like how I can feel the different muscles in my back firing as well as the muscles that I know need to be strengthened around my hips and legs. We are learning at a good pace where I can tell later that day (or the next day) that I’ve put in some work, but I can still move around. My favorite thing about this is that it’s brand new to me….so it’s really interesting. I’m learning something new and it’s helped immensely at getting me motivated to lift again.

Travis has just created a website for those in my area that may be interested. Here is the link:
http://www.travisbarrett.com/

He also has a Facebook page, Barrett Sport Performance LLC.

I’ll update this later as I progress through this individual training program. I have another session today and I’m looking forward to it. 🙂

Strength Training Motivation….finally.

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I’ve been having a great summer so far. Dancing when we can, and doing alot of sewing. Different factors determine how my arthritis feels from day to day….my diet, the weather, if my hip is out, etc. I’ve noticed that my recovery time from dancing at powwows is longer than it used to be. I’m very sore until Wednesday following a powwow. It makes it difficult to work-out on a regular basis between powwows because some days I am so sore that I can’t bring myself to go to the gym and it hurts to walk. I just try to be patient, try to manage the inflammation with my diet and rest, but it is taking a toll on my conditioning.

I danced at Prairie Island Wacipi 2 weekends ago. A family “adopted” me, took me as a daughter in that community, so it’s always felt like my 2nd home. My adopted dad has been gone for 10 years now, and this year dancing in his home community was the best experience I’ve had in years.

That wonderful spirit I felt in the arena, and outside of the arena….getting to visit with friends I had only known through FaceBook, seeing old friends I haven’t seen in years, and having so much fun dancing and spending time with my family and extended family….was such a good experience that it’s hard to put into words.

What I can describe is how it has motivated me since then. Yes, it still took several days after we returned home from PI to stop being sore. Took several days to feel rested. But I found a renewed interest in strength building after PI. I used to lift weights regularly, it always enhanced my running and dancing and other training. But ever since I had my 2nd baby, I have had ZERO desire to get back into the weight room. And my 2nd baby is 8 years old now. Something about dancing at PI this year made me want to get stronger….not like dance for 10 songs strong (which I can’t do right now anyway), but to really concentrate on increasing my muscle mass. I think I’ve realized that my path back to running and to continuing to dance will not rely on cardio conditioning alone. I need to focus on getting stronger. If I have strong muscles, those will support my joints more effectively. Did I mention before how darn heavy my new beadwork and shawls are?? Yes…strong muscles will help me support my heavy outfit too. Lol.

So tonight I headed for the stadium steps. When I was recovering from my 2 C-sections (not by choice) and I wasn’t cleared to run, I walked. Walking quickly became boring and I couldn’t seem to get my heart-rate up. So I started walking stadium stairs. That was the fastest way to safely increase my cardio and muscle mass. And it helped immensely with my dancing. Today I picked up my kids and nephew from bible school and we headed for the track. I did 1.5 stadiums and sets of girl push-ups (yes, GIRL push-ups…gotta start somewhere) in between stadium sides. I thought about doing another half a stadium, but I’m trying to train smart and not over-do it when I haven’t walked steps in forever. My kids did a run/walk program I downloaded on my phone around the track while I was on the stairs.

Tomorrow I’m going to get on the elliptical only long enough to warm up and then I’m hitting the weights at the fitness center at my work. Free weights, some machines and some planks. I’ll announce when tickets to the “GUN SHOW” are ready to go on sale….hahahaha.

My search for wellness continues….it’s a constant learning process as I figure out how to best deal with osteo-arthritis. But I feel like I’m still moving forward and that’s what matters most to me. It matters that I keep trying. It matters that I don’t give in to OA. It matters that I still have a goal of running one of these days. I refuse to give up on my own health.

#GoDownSwinging

Motivation….that elusive “thing”

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I have osteoarthritis in both hips. I am only 46 years old and I am looking at total hip replacement surgery sometime down the line. It’s hard for me to run because of the ensuing joint pain and I’m losing range of motion in my right hip. It’s painful to tie my shoes or tape up my moccasins when I dance. I can’t dance the way I used to even 2 years ago….I have to modify several of my steps or just not do them.

I am getting a good lesson in dealing with a chronic condition….like diabetes or lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. It’s hard. It’s hard to get motivated to find what works to manage the pain. It’s hard and very emotional when I look at what may be down the line for me…it’s hard when I think about losing the things that have been such a big part of me for so long. Like running and shawl dancing. I have a lot of ups and downs and it’s hard to tell anyone about it because I don’t want to drag anyone down, and I don’t feel very many understand. I just recently went through a very difficult and emotional time, one of several that I’ve experienced in the last 20 months.

But this week I have felt awesome. Really really good. I feel like I have found and gotten a good grip on that thing that health educators talk about all the time…”motivation”.  Defined as “the general desire or willingness of someone to do something.” In order to make positive change, we must be motivated to do so. I remember working a social work job and one of the social work specialists said, “They don’t train us in this job how to motivate people to change.” Which is true. While psychologists or public health workers can be trained in motivational interviewing (a technique used to evaluate the level of a person’s willingness to change and help push them forward), most people in the helping professions are at a loss as to how to motivate people.

There are 2 types of motivation: “Intrinsic” and “Extrinsic”. Extrinsic motivation is where your motivation comes from an external source….like getting good grades because your parents offer to pay you for every A on your report card, or buying you something if you make the Dean’s List. There are endless examples of extrinsic motivation….but this type of motivation is short-lived. It may last until the reward has been earned and then it’s gone. It may disappear before the reward is earned if the reward seems too far away or unattainable. Point is, It doesn’t last long. Intrinsic motivation, is the internal desire to change….it can be based on some type of perceived reward or fear that hits close to home. My best example of that is when a grandparent makes long-term changes to their health regimen in order to be able to see their grandchildren grow up. Or a person decides to lose weight or exercise more, not because they want to improve their appearance alone, but because they want to FEEL better both physically and emotionally.

My motivation has had some severe ups and downs since my diagnosis. I believe I’ve had a string of short-term motivated times because my motivation has been extrinsic…I’ve been motivated to do my PT exercises until I felt it wasn’t really helping the pain or help me get back to running. I’ve been motivated to just keep doing what I’ve been doing, kind of like rebelling against my OA, only to be struck down by debilitating joint pain. I’ve been motivated to try all different kinds of supplements until I overdid my activity and felt miserable because of the pain.

These days I feel very motivated. And I believe the positive vibe I have going is because I’m finally sorting out everything I have tried before, which includes changes in diet, supplements, hot yoga, biking, reaching out to friends and family, and changing my way of thinking of my dance career. A few weeks ago I was looking at the near-end of my shawl dance career….I thought that I could last another year or two at the most and then I would be done. And when that sunk in, I grieved….like I was losing a life-friend. Thankfully my friends, my companion, and my family pulled me out of that pit of despair. I have a sense of hope now….which feels brand new to me. And I have a deep-seated confidence, which is also new, that I will achieve my wellness goals that I have altered in a positive and realistic way. Both of those feelings, the hope and the confidence, have boosted my motivation.

My motivation comes now from knowing that I can manage my OA pain. It’s not hopeless. A good quality of life is not out of my reach.  I’ve had several weeks of pain-free joints and I’m confident that what I’m doing is working and that I can continue. I KNOW what works now. Limiting carbohydrates in my diet, taking some supplements that are working, including Xyngular’s Global Blend, alfalfa, Omega-3, a B-complex, and drinking my turmeric tea. Drinking alot of water. Eating alot of nutrient rich vegetables. Avoiding commercially raised feed-lot red meat and switching to grass-fed beef. I love the elliptical machine…it feels like I’m running without the joint pain. Stretching, I am learning to love and get better at. And getting my rest. My motivation increases each day that I wake and can walk with little to no pain. And my shawl dancing….we’ll see how that goes. But I’m hopeful. I’m focused and grateful for what my body can do….instead of obsessing about what it can’t do. I’m looking at all I have to gain with maintaining these positive changes, instead of thinking about what I am losing. When I make food choices in a restaurant I think about what will help me the most, and that means selecting salmon and spinach and broccoli and giving away my bread and NOT ordering dessert. I don’t think about HAVING to give up a French Dip sandwich or a slice of lemon meringue pie, I think about all the good things the salmon and the Omega-3 and all those green veggies will do for my body and my joints. So my motivation comes from a place of positive thinking, encouragement, helping and healing my body. Because I want to feel better. I love how I feel when I do these things. The changes make my bad days not so bad and make the good days that much better. I’m making myself better, which will make me better for all those around me.

I really want to publicly thank my husband Joe B…who has had to put up with my mood swings but he never gives in to my negative thinking. And I want to thank my sister Sharon who is my biggest cheerleader and always finding new things for me to try. My sister Sandy, who with my sister Sharon, always keeps it real with me, and my BFF, my Maske, Erica….my example of perseverance through tough times. My brother Elwood because he has no idea of how special he is to me. Special acknowledgement and thanks to Mike LaFrombois and Kevin Tacan….the male version of “maske” for me. They both have such positive outlooks even with all they deal with, and lend me their good vibes all the time. They are excellent listeners, and Kevin recommended the alfalfa supplements. These people help hold me up even if they don’t realize it, and I’m eternally grateful. Wopida tanka to each of you, and to the others I didn’t mention (you know who you are) who have helped me in any way.