Training my person.
Aug. 25th, 2002 06:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rivkaSo ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
curiousangel and I joined a gym.
This is so utterly unlike me that I can't even believe I typed the sentence. I'm the one who always had a doctor's note to be excused from gym class. I'm the one who walked with crutches five and a half years ago, and had to give serious thought to whether I was up to walking two city blocks. And while the bionic hip has done me worlds of good, I still have such a feeling of awkwardness and alienation from physical activity that the idea of me voluntarily going somewhere people exercise is just... well. I never would have imagined it.
But we've been trying to stick with the program we started last May, exercising every day, and that's been hard to do in 100-degree heat. And both of us have been feeling like we want to do something besides walking for our exercise time. So here we are with gym memberships. And Tuesday evening, I'll meet for the first time with my personal trainer. (I shake my head in disbelief. Me, Rivka, with a personal trainer.)
I've been thinking about what I'll want her to know about me - because my body and its needs and abilities are, um, pretty complicated and non-standard, and so are my feelings about physical activity. So I've been trying to figure out what needs to be said before we get started. (I'm expecting her to call me Monday night, because I have logistical questions, so I'll probably let her know some of the basic stuff then.) I'm mostly writing this down to clarify things in my head, but you're also welcome to comment or make suggestions if you'd like.
My body.
I have congenital disabilities affecting several major joints and bones. I've had a lot of orthopedic surgery. My orthopedist has cleared me for certain kinds of physical activity, and I've seen one of the physical therapists who works out of this facility. She's willing to consult with you on an exercise program for me, but for the most part I know myself, my limits, and my body's signals. If I shouldn't be doing something you suggest, I'll be able to tell.
My right hip was completely replaced by a prosthetic about five years ago. I had been disabled for long enough beforehand that my right leg is still pretty weak, and I have an unconscious tendency to favor it. My right hip and femur and the right side of my pelvis are full of old breaks, some of which have healed better than others. Sometimes they ache, but in general exercise is not bad for my hip - it seems to help reduce problems with pain and stiffening.
Because of my multiple hip surgeries, my right leg is about an inch shorter than the left leg. I wear orthotics in my shoes to partially correct the difference. I also had scoliosis (curvature of the spine), which was corrected by surgery. My lower spine was partially fused in that surgery and is not very flexible.
My right arm is about half as long as my left arm. The elbow doesn't bend at all, and I have a limited range of motion in the shoulder. I have normal use of my hand and wrist.
I have rosacea, a mild skin condition. This is only relevant because even small amounts of heat or exercise make me flush bright red. It doesn't mean I'm about to have a heart attack.
My fitness level.
I began an exercise program in May, starting out with just a few minutes per day of walking and working up to at least 30 minutes of exercise per day, six days a week. Mostly I've been walking at around 3.5-4 mph over mostly flat ground. I also do English Country Dancing once a week, which is probably about the same level of intensity as ballroom dancing - some of it's fast, some of it's slow. Here in the gym, I've been doing 18 minutes of a hill program on the exercise bike, followed by 8-10 minutes on the elliptical trainer, both with low levels of resistance - and that pretty much takes me to the limits of my capacity. I've also been doing some cross-country hiking - I can comfortably go about 2.5 miles over hilly ground, without resting.
I'm happy with my diet. Right now I'm eating about 50% carbs, 30% fat, 20% protein, with a moderate calorie intake. I eat five servings of fruits and vegetables and two servings of whole grains per day. I eat a lot of fish and drink a lot of water. I'm willing to consider dietary changes for fitness' sake, but I'm not interested in dietary changes aimed at weight loss.
My feelings.
For most of my life, I've dealt with disabilities and chronic pain. I don't have chronic pain anymore, but along with the leftover deconditioned muscles I've got leftover feelings of shame and embarrassment and dislike of my body, which sometimes get in the way of physical activity. I've also got a lot of ingrained habits designed to keep my motions at the absolute minimum - left over from when every movement was painful.
I've spent most of my life thinking of physical exercise as something that I absolutely couldn't do. I feel really weird and out of place at a gym. I'm nervous about working with a trainer, because I'm afraid you'll think I'm ridiculously weak and incapable. Obviously, I'm trying to work through these feelings, and I'm really excited about the progress I've made on my own with walking and hiking. But I want you to know that the feelings are there, and I'm struggling with them.
On the other hand, even small improvements in my strength and endurance are going to be a big deal to me, because I never knew there would be a time when I would start getting better, instead of getting steadily worse.
My goals.
I want to improve my strength, flexibility, and endurance. I don't have any idea how much I'll be able to improve - my doctor told me to do as much as I can tolerate, but I don't think he knows what my upper limits are either. They may not be very much higher than where I am right now, but I want to do what I can. I'm particularly interested in improving my hiking endurance, and in seeing what I can do to develop my upper body strength so I can do more canoeing and kayaking.
Weight loss and an attractively toned body are pretty low down on my priority list. I'm hoping to lose some weight as I generally become more fit, but if we focus on comparing my body to some sort of thin muscular ideal, it's going to trigger body image issues that will interfere with my progress. Shame and trying to be like other people are really, really bad motivators for me.
I can commit to coming to the gym three times a week, and doing at least 30 minutes of exercise outside the gym, like dancing or walking, three times a week. I can commit to working with determination. I can commit to listening to you and taking what you have to say seriously, although I'm also going to be paying close attention to what I know about my own body and its limitations.
curiousangel and I joined a gym.This is so utterly unlike me that I can't even believe I typed the sentence. I'm the one who always had a doctor's note to be excused from gym class. I'm the one who walked with crutches five and a half years ago, and had to give serious thought to whether I was up to walking two city blocks. And while the bionic hip has done me worlds of good, I still have such a feeling of awkwardness and alienation from physical activity that the idea of me voluntarily going somewhere people exercise is just... well. I never would have imagined it.
But we've been trying to stick with the program we started last May, exercising every day, and that's been hard to do in 100-degree heat. And both of us have been feeling like we want to do something besides walking for our exercise time. So here we are with gym memberships. And Tuesday evening, I'll meet for the first time with my personal trainer. (I shake my head in disbelief. Me, Rivka, with a personal trainer.)
I've been thinking about what I'll want her to know about me - because my body and its needs and abilities are, um, pretty complicated and non-standard, and so are my feelings about physical activity. So I've been trying to figure out what needs to be said before we get started. (I'm expecting her to call me Monday night, because I have logistical questions, so I'll probably let her know some of the basic stuff then.) I'm mostly writing this down to clarify things in my head, but you're also welcome to comment or make suggestions if you'd like.
My body.
I have congenital disabilities affecting several major joints and bones. I've had a lot of orthopedic surgery. My orthopedist has cleared me for certain kinds of physical activity, and I've seen one of the physical therapists who works out of this facility. She's willing to consult with you on an exercise program for me, but for the most part I know myself, my limits, and my body's signals. If I shouldn't be doing something you suggest, I'll be able to tell.
My right hip was completely replaced by a prosthetic about five years ago. I had been disabled for long enough beforehand that my right leg is still pretty weak, and I have an unconscious tendency to favor it. My right hip and femur and the right side of my pelvis are full of old breaks, some of which have healed better than others. Sometimes they ache, but in general exercise is not bad for my hip - it seems to help reduce problems with pain and stiffening.
Because of my multiple hip surgeries, my right leg is about an inch shorter than the left leg. I wear orthotics in my shoes to partially correct the difference. I also had scoliosis (curvature of the spine), which was corrected by surgery. My lower spine was partially fused in that surgery and is not very flexible.
My right arm is about half as long as my left arm. The elbow doesn't bend at all, and I have a limited range of motion in the shoulder. I have normal use of my hand and wrist.
I have rosacea, a mild skin condition. This is only relevant because even small amounts of heat or exercise make me flush bright red. It doesn't mean I'm about to have a heart attack.
My fitness level.
I began an exercise program in May, starting out with just a few minutes per day of walking and working up to at least 30 minutes of exercise per day, six days a week. Mostly I've been walking at around 3.5-4 mph over mostly flat ground. I also do English Country Dancing once a week, which is probably about the same level of intensity as ballroom dancing - some of it's fast, some of it's slow. Here in the gym, I've been doing 18 minutes of a hill program on the exercise bike, followed by 8-10 minutes on the elliptical trainer, both with low levels of resistance - and that pretty much takes me to the limits of my capacity. I've also been doing some cross-country hiking - I can comfortably go about 2.5 miles over hilly ground, without resting.
I'm happy with my diet. Right now I'm eating about 50% carbs, 30% fat, 20% protein, with a moderate calorie intake. I eat five servings of fruits and vegetables and two servings of whole grains per day. I eat a lot of fish and drink a lot of water. I'm willing to consider dietary changes for fitness' sake, but I'm not interested in dietary changes aimed at weight loss.
My feelings.
For most of my life, I've dealt with disabilities and chronic pain. I don't have chronic pain anymore, but along with the leftover deconditioned muscles I've got leftover feelings of shame and embarrassment and dislike of my body, which sometimes get in the way of physical activity. I've also got a lot of ingrained habits designed to keep my motions at the absolute minimum - left over from when every movement was painful.
I've spent most of my life thinking of physical exercise as something that I absolutely couldn't do. I feel really weird and out of place at a gym. I'm nervous about working with a trainer, because I'm afraid you'll think I'm ridiculously weak and incapable. Obviously, I'm trying to work through these feelings, and I'm really excited about the progress I've made on my own with walking and hiking. But I want you to know that the feelings are there, and I'm struggling with them.
On the other hand, even small improvements in my strength and endurance are going to be a big deal to me, because I never knew there would be a time when I would start getting better, instead of getting steadily worse.
My goals.
I want to improve my strength, flexibility, and endurance. I don't have any idea how much I'll be able to improve - my doctor told me to do as much as I can tolerate, but I don't think he knows what my upper limits are either. They may not be very much higher than where I am right now, but I want to do what I can. I'm particularly interested in improving my hiking endurance, and in seeing what I can do to develop my upper body strength so I can do more canoeing and kayaking.
Weight loss and an attractively toned body are pretty low down on my priority list. I'm hoping to lose some weight as I generally become more fit, but if we focus on comparing my body to some sort of thin muscular ideal, it's going to trigger body image issues that will interfere with my progress. Shame and trying to be like other people are really, really bad motivators for me.
I can commit to coming to the gym three times a week, and doing at least 30 minutes of exercise outside the gym, like dancing or walking, three times a week. I can commit to working with determination. I can commit to listening to you and taking what you have to say seriously, although I'm also going to be paying close attention to what I know about my own body and its limitations.
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no subject
Date: 2002-08-26 08:18 am (UTC)In mid-October (prime fall foliage viewing season), my county's Parks & Recreation department is leading a five mile hike (http://www.co.ho.md.us/recparks/rpout.htm#Hikes) up Sugarloaf Mountain (http://www.wam.umd.edu/~pkflick/690/sugar.html). It looks like moderate gains in elevation - nothing awful. I'm not sure enough that I'll be able to walk five miles to actually register for the hike, but I'm thinking about it.