Exercise, Again

It's not easy to get into an exercise routine. For anyone. But you've got to be strategic. It's got to be right for your body type, something you actually like doing and the right frequency to keep you from just giving up.

As you may know, I am now recovered from what was a terrible problem with my posture that resulted in muscle imbalance and pain. Unfortunately for me, after recovering, I had a few set backs, including a tonsillectomy and then a back injury last summer from moving house that was totally unrelated (apart from the fact that I am hypermobile, which means I will probably always be a little more prone to injury than most people).

So it's been a long time since I've had a regular sustained exercise routine for more than a few months – besides walking. And that's been tough. Both physically and mentally.

But last October, the stars finally aligned and my physio cleared me to start exercising again. First, I started going back to Bikram yoga. I was thrilled– but had to remain calm about the whole thing and not overdo it. I just went once a week. I also went back to my tap dancing class. This was all amazing.

And then, it got better! I was cleared to do some aerobics again, so I started getting back into Zumba (a dance exercise class). This trio of activities got me through the five months prior to the wedding.

So what happens now? I've been getting stronger and although I don't want to overdo it, I wanted to up things a little more, considering that tap class doesn't happen every week and sometimes we don't even really work up a sweat (we all usually just wear our work clothes). And even though I'm not sure I'll settle at this level, I think exercising three to four times per week seems like the right amount for me.

I'd been toying with a few ideas – including going to yoga twice a week. I tried it, but it was just too much for me. I know that the Bikram yogis swear you have to go at least that much, if not everyday, but it's expensive, and it's time consuming. Apart from being a 90-minute class, you get so sweaty that there's no way you can leave the building without a shower. Plus there's the 15 minutes I spend after class sprawled on the floor unable to move before I can even get to the changing room.

Going once a week is still really challenging, but I also don't dread it. For now, that's my Bikram yoga equilibrium.

One thing that has influenced my decision about what to add in next is a pesky bit of a click in my right shoulder (not sure how else to describe it). According to Super Physio, this will go away once my right deltoid (the big shoulder muscle) gets just that bit stronger to hold one of the joints in my shoulder together better.

I have weights that I use to do specific physio exercises with, but SP said that I need to do more varied work (i.e. faster and in more directions) to actually get that deltoid muscle as strong as it needs to be to stop said pesking 'clicking'. And this doesn't mean I need to become a body builder – no, it means going to Zumba and waving my arms around more and doing things like swimming or tennis or golf.

So I've now started adding swimming back in on Thursday nights. In the past I've struggled a bit with trying to incorporate swimming into my routine. But I am pretty interested in getting rid of that click and I think it's probably the safest bet right now as I don't feel ready for tennis or golf yet. Also, there's the added incentive of a little lie down in the sauna afterwards.

There's a lot to think about when it comes to exercise for me. I can't just plow ahead and try out every new exercise fad that comes along (and who really wants to fly with Jukari or throw those kettle balls around anyway?). Sometimes it stinks, but I know that in the end my body will thank me for it. I have to be my own expert, as only I know the type of exercise that works best for me, what I really like and how I can make it sustainable. And I think that might even be true for everyone, even if you don't have a pesky shoulder click.

Related Posts:

• Keeping Score
• Our Bodies, Ourselves

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Tap Dancing And Mind Shifting

Last night, I went back to my tap dancing class. You've never seen someone so happy to be tap dancing.

If you've been following the saga of my back injury, last we spoke I was on the road to recovery but needed to do some serious hip stretching while we were on our holiday in San Francisco. (If you want the background story, click on the label 'back pain' and you'll find the entries concerning it.)

I visited my physio last week extremely jet lagged, generally cranky and stiff from the 9-hour flight, but still, triumphantly, she said things looked good (gold star for me!). My hips are nearly stretched out and my tummy is stronger (from all the crunches) and now we just need to do a few more bum-toning exercises (who would reject that?).

But at the same time, I'm allowed – in fact, instructed – to get back into doing regular exercise to keep building up the right muscles. Of course, everything needs to be done in a controlled manner, and I need to do the physio exercises and stretches to make sure everything that is supposed to stays loose (like my lower back and hips) and everything that's supposed to stay strong, does (like my tummy and bum). But still, it's good.

Because I'm used to being disciplined in doing the exercises, I've been able to recover from my back injury quite quickly. Also, and this is important: I didn't need the same level of patience that recovering from a long, chronic injury requires. So if you've had back problems for a very long period of time, you have to remember this – if the problem has been stewing for a while, it's going to take a while to fix. But it's still worth doing as soon as possible, because procrastinating and leaving it for longer isn't going to help.

It's funny, because this back injury was located so quickly, and was acute instead of chronic, I'm able to see the recovery process in a totally different way than my very long saga with my neck/shoulders.

I used to view my physio exercises as something isolated from the rest of my life. And in a way, that was necessary for quite some time with my neck and shoulders. Everything was in pain and I had to stop all my other activity and focus on slowly coaxing my muscles out of their imbalanced state.

But I thought there was going to be a day where I just stopped doing the physio exercises and resumed regular life. Like there was going to be a switch that got flipped.

There will be a day where I don't need to do them every day; in fact, I was at that point with my neck and shoulders right before I hurt my back. But, I'm starting to view the physio work more as a tool than just an isolated process. For example, last night before I went to my tap class I could feel that my back was pretty stiff from sitting at my desk all day. So I went to the gym on the way to my class and stretched out my back using my stomach work, so I could go do some dancing. I think in the past I would have thought I had to do one or the other – and would have also in a way resented doing the floor work – but I'm finally understanding that the physio work needs to be viewed as a means to an end.

Don't get me wrong here, once you've done the main work, and your muscles are in the right balance, and you have the proper posture to remain pain free, there's not much that can swing things back the other way (a strong muscle stays strong, because it keeps working).

But the exercises are now more of a top up – a way of keeping everything running smoothly, like oil in your car engine. There will definitely be times where I don't really need to do them. And there will be other times when I'm stressed or have been working long hours or have added in some really new exercise that has stiffened things up and I will find them helpful.

I think in the past I've been so angry about what happened to me that I wanted the physio work to be something that eventually I could just cast off. But now I realize it's actually an incredible gift that I've got this tool. I've learned so much about the way my body is supposed to work that I can hopefully keep active well into my old age (if I make it there, let's not assume anything). I won't need a hip replacement or a knee replacement and I'll be able to walk and sit up tall.

I think I'm actually starting to feel lucky, instead of incredibly unlucky. Years ago when I thought I might never be able to type again, if you had told me I'd feel this way eventually, I just wouldn't have believed you.

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Exercise And Perfectionism Don't Mix

I definitely feel better when I'm exercising. But there's no greater mood killer than feeling like you have to exercise. I've seen a lot of articles written about finding exercise that you like to do, and I think there's no better advice.

But the other thing I've struggled with on the exercise front is being a perfectionist about having an exercise routine. Perhaps because you hear so much about the importance of getting into a routine to form habits. However, there can be a step too far.

After I got better enough from my RSI/postural problems to start regular exercise again, I got a little crazy (this happens to me often). I probably could have been mistaken for a general planning a war exercise with the way I made up spreadsheets, tables and maps for all this exercise I was planning to do.

One of the specific things I wrestled with was my determination to keep a weekly swim in my routine. My gym is right next door to my office, I like swimming, it's really good exercise, and if I didn't do it every week, what was the point of doing it at all? Ah, the all-or-nothing trap. It's a fail safe way for any perfectionist to get paralyzed.

But finally, I wised up. I also admitted to myself I need some routine. I have my Monday tap dancing class. I go to yoga on either Saturday or Sunday – at whatever time works that week. I also attempt to fit in one other dance or aerobics class during the week (right now I'm a big Zumba fan). I really love dancing and I like yoga – or at least the mind and body benefits I get from it. But the thing I do that keeps me the sanest is walking. Although some people think isn't 'real' exercise, I have a lot of time for walking (it probably merits its own post). When I have a pain flare up it saves me as I know it's something I can always do. Also, if I'm too busy for other exercise I know I can still fit in about 25-30 minutes of walking a day – usually on the way to work or home. And that's enough exercise to get the necessary health benefits.

And swimming? Now I reserve that for when I feel like it. Sometimes there's nothing better than going to the pool after work, swimming for as little as 20 minutes and then stretching out in the sauna. In the winter when it starts getting dark at 3 p.m. in London, my gym turns on colored lighting in the pool area and pipes in music that I can only describe as 'light techno'. It's weird, but strangely calming.

I also try to avoid this idea that you have to do a certain kind of exercise a certain number of times per week. At Bikram Yoga the teachers always say that you should go a minimum of twice per week. Why? In the past, someone saying that would have made me fall in line like a little lemming. Now I know that my body can only handle Bikram once a week. But it's still helpful to me, and I can even see changes in my body from it. I try to ignore all the noise from people who don't know me very well. Please remember, it's your life – and you're the expert.

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