Five months into... rehab-cercise
It’s been almost a year since the last pesky
knee injury and finally some great news :) The road to recovery was fraught with laziness and a general lack of discipline
(damn you!) But eventually, persistence, the threat of injections and an
operation has somehow worked.
I have to admit that once the initial pain was
dealt with, it took me longer to understand that my problems need long-term
work. My problem is slightly unique, if not a bit baffling. Apparently, all the
years of dancing, competitive sports, exercise classes and performing has taken
a toll. What’s funny is that my body has become so used to a high amount of
activity that it demands these activities be kept up! Lack of follow through on
my part will result in reigniting old injuries, aches and all sorts of pains. Isn’t
that wonderful?
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| Real Pilates: Home of great teachers and challenging classes |
Attempts of slothery (is that even a word?) now
aborted, I had to restart something. Trying to work out in the gym at the
apartment was thwarted because, surprise – the elliptical damned near wrenched
the knee. It became too hot to swim and the impact from Zumba was more jarring
that helpful. Good grief. Thankfully, my really cool physio, Jac came to the rescue,
suggesting I go back to Pilates and to keep that knee working, try Xtend Barre.
Whomever thought that Xtend Barre was easy is
completely nuts. It is a mix of mat pilates, barre exercises combined with
weights, toning balls and resistance. To me, it almost feels like my ballet
classes of yore, minus leaping about like a goat. Five months into what I dub as
rehab-cercise, and I’m up to three classes a week (mix of Xtend, mat and reformers),
plus a session of foam rolling every day. Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve slowly
inched back into salsa social. The result? I am mostly pain free! YAY!
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| Photo care of Ems Pen |
My little trick to maintain up all this is
simple. I do it on my own. That way, I only have myself to blame if things aren’t
up to speed. I’m not one of those people who need to have friends around when I
work out, so the routine has been great. I get a nice workout and some me time.
And the results have shown… no I’m not on my way to a six-pack, but my fitness
is up, as is core strength and stamina. So is cardio and being mildly vain, I’ve
tweaked parts of my diet so that my body can keep up. Oh and the drinks are
still there, I haven’t gone completely mad!
The lesson learnt is simple.
Self-discipline and persistence is essential. Not every exercise is for you, neither
are fad diets nor going with a crowd. For me, staying healthy means being
active, which meant finding exercises that are challenging yet strengthening. It
has taken some time to figure out how my body works and what it needs but it
has paid off. Oh, I look better too but you’re not going to see a damned selfie…*rolls
eyes*
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