Getting Fit While Rehabbing

[Susie Rosenberg]

Hey, folks!

I'm looking for suggestions as to structuring a week's worth of activity to regain a modicum of fitness, given some significant limitations. I'm a 53-year-old woman.

Here's my story in a nutshell:

Five years ago: 100 pounds overweight and sedentary.
Two years ago: Lost weight from low-fat, low-calorie diet, spin classes, and typical weight circuit on the machines.
One year ago: Lean, strong, and Crossfit with great endurance and growing strength. I felt tireless and wonderful.

Six months ago: had extensive surgery on my cervical spine, in the early recovery period, developed adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder, left side). The surgery and the pain from the frozen shoulder really knocked me flat. I'm just starting to feel remotely like my old self.

Here's what I can't do: can't run, can't lift with left arm, can't lift heavy, especially overhead. Can't walk more than 30 minutes without pain. Can't do anything explosive that puts stress on my spine, like cleans. I can't do pushups (except against a wall). Still in physical therapy, therapist says I can do rows, triceps extensions, and biceps curls. Of course, when I talk about squats, he says, "You don't need to squat." So I'm a little lost. (I can't do weighted squats now because of the stress it puts on my shoulder, has nothing to do with legs or spine.)

Here's what I can do: can walk for 30 minutes, can sit a stationary bike (not a spin bike, though), oddly enough, I can row. I can stretch, and I can lift light weight with my right arm. I can do unweighted squats and lunges and I can do declined situps and back extensions (carefully and slowly).

My diet stinks. Without the motivation of being athletic, and eating for comfort and pain relief, I've put on 15 pounds and I feel soft and mushy, tired and miserable. I know I've got to get it together nutrition-wise.

Given the things I can do, how would you put together a week's worth of activity for somebody as limited as I am? I used to LOVE the long Crossfit metcons, but I can't do Crossfit as written anymore because of my limitations. But I loved feeling tireless, and I loved being strong, and I'd like to start the slow return to fitness.

But how?

Any suggestions for programming would be very, very appreciated. My goals: lose weight, develop endurance, get stronger. My ultimate goal is to be able to ride a bike (albeit not a road bike because of positioning issues) for long distances.

Thank you in advance,
Susie

[Gavin Jones]

Hi Rosie,

Hope this helps....

- I would concentrate on getting back on track with eating properly, the better quality the food - the better the repair and recovery.

- Add some Vitamin C, MSM and fishoil supplements to your whole foods

- Walk for 30 mins every day. Preferably in the countryside and preferably with a dog

- Stick with the bodyweight exercises and build them up first

- Go along to your re-hab consistently

Gav

[Steven Low]

Stairs -- could be your new best friend.

Stationary bike -- can you do intervals? That was what the tabata method was originally made for... cycling.

Telling your PT to sit on the ground and then stand up with legs in front (aka a squat). At the very least, you could probably do squatting from a chair to stand if you wanted to.

Rows and pushups are good. How about lunges?

Diet as you know is diet. No excuse!


It's interesting that frozen shoulder tends to develop mostly in females when they get into their 30s onward. Keep working it and stretching. Depending on how bad it was you can get through that in a month or two.

[Ben Moskowitz]

Originally Posted by Steven Low

Stationary bike -- can you do intervals? That was what the tabata method was originally made for... cycling.

This is what I did while I couldn't do anything else. The interval may have to be a adjusted a bit to accommodate the nature of aerobic machines: more like 30 seconds on/30 seconds easy.

This website is pretty useful.
wfs

If the thing doesn't shut off, like a fully mechanical bike erg, than just set it hard and do the 20/10 like in the study.

here's some useful info from the study

They were encouraged by the supervisor to complete seven to eight sets of the exercise. Exercise was terminated when the pedaling frequency dropped below 85 rpm. When they could complete more than nine sets of the exercise, exercise intensity was increased by 11 W.

[Steve Rogers]

Farmers walks and swings with kettlebells or dumbbells might work for you.

[Patrick Donnelly]

You could always try hip-belt squats if you want to work on your strength.
http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=460624

No loading on the shoulders or upper spine.

[Susie Rosenberg]

These are great suggestions. I think I am ready to tackle Tabata intervals, and I can do those on stairs or the bike. Those hip-belt squats look terrifying, but give me food for thought, for sure, if I can't use my arms.

It helps a lot having these items on a "menu" to think about constructing a recovery program from.....

Steve, my orthopedist said frozen shoulder mostly hits women of middle-age under conditions of stress. Dealing with two kids' serious illnesses this year, pluse two spine surgeries qualifies as stress, I think. Orthopod also says the natural course of the condition is that it resolves by itself in about 18 months, but can speeded up with cortisone injection (which I had) and PT, which I'm religiously doing.

I'm feeling better enough to want to work out harder, but haven't been systematic about anything. These ideas are all helpful in thinking through what's possible and what's effective. Thank you all so much.

Susie

[George Mounce]

Walk, row, bike. I see kettlebells in your future as a possibility as well.

[Garrett Smith]

Susie,
Based on the frozen shoulder, dietary habits, and "stresses" lately (ie. surgery), you might want to try a trial run of B12 injections--since I know you have access to that sort of stuff. B12 injections are dirt cheap and easy to do. Don't believe that oral B12 works the same.

Here are some links that may be of interest to you.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16540210?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez. Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DiscoveryPanel.P ubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=1&log$=relatedarticles& logdbfrom=pubmed
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...ubmed_RVDocSum
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...ubmed_RVDocSum
http://www.newswithviews.com/Howenstine/james51.htm
http://www.theprrt.com/forums/Open-F...ishel-t51.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...ubmed_RVDocSum
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...ubmed_RVDocSum
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...ubmed_RVDocSum

FWIW.

Taking a course like Z-Health, joint mobility stuff, will be of great importance to your "physical" future. Muscles (strength) are ruled by the feedback that the joint proprioceptors give the nervous system.

The main tip I can give you is to always think about relaxing your suboccipital muscles during any exercise, and try not to lift past the point where it becomes necessary to "make faces" due to effort. Both of these things will help to keep unnecessary tension out of your neck muscles.

[Susie Rosenberg]

Garrett, thank you for all those informative links. I've skimmed through all of them, and find the B12 link provocative. Thanks for taking the time to post all that!

Susie