A GOOD YEAR: Keep on truckin'

This is one of Cathy's last blog posts for her GOOD YEAR experiment of finding health that is sustainable.  SO I am proposing a new challenge to her, but also looking for a new candidate for a year long health overhaul.  Are you or someone you know ready to make small changes over a long period of time?

Email me at beth@gotrainingwithbeth.com if you or someone you know is all in!

This is Cathy's May/June summary.  We did make a monthly plan that included travel plans and ideas, and how many days are fair to expect to workout out while away from home.May was a huge traveling month for Cathy, and June was a journey to take some next steps for her low back, read on!

In May, I traveled for almost three weeks. The trip took me from Kalamazoo, MI to Charlotte, NC to Atlanta, GA. I would apologize when I show up at a friend's house to stay because my suitcase was huge and ridiculous. Moving it was serious strength training in and of itself.

I planned super carefully before the trip to keep up with my fitness routine and even joined Anytime Fitness so I had access to a gym everywhere I went. Ironically, the locations in Charlotte and Atlanta that were most convenient were also closed for renovations. No matter! I still got outside and got outside to walk a lot.

The entire trip was fantastic but the Atlanta leg was big for me. I went down to visit my friends and test out how it felt to be back in a city that was home for a long time. I moved down right after graduating from Michigan State for a job at an aeronautics manufacturing company. The intent at that time was to stay long enough to get some good work experience and then move back to the Detroit area. Thirteen amazing years later I finally found myself leaving a city I love, not because I wanted to relocate, but because I needed a lot of propping up from my family (biological family and friends-forever family).

I came back down twice in 2013. The first time to pack up my apartment and move everything into storage and the second time to visit with friends. Across both visits I was incredibly tense and anxious and found myself reliving a lot of the darker moments in recent history in my head.

This visit, however, was 100% enjoyable - I saw friends, stuck to my healthy routine, and even got a lot of walks in!  My friends were amazing - they went out of their way to go on walks with me, plan hiking adventures, and make sure I had food that fit my plan. The trip helped me realize that how truly fortunate I am to have such wonderful people in my life across the country.

Sweetwater Creek State Park - Great hiking trails with a great family! (I didn't take this picture but it was totally that pretty!)

When I got back from my trip i had another gnarly back flare up in May... then three weeks later in June. By that point, I was pretty fed up. So I finally went to a orthapedic surgeon and now have two weeks of physical therapy under my belt. It's been three weeks since my last flare up - a new record!

I also reworked my work station to put myself in a better ergonomic situation after some confessions to Beth about working from the recliner. Working at home has a lot of benefits, access to casual seating, it turns out, is not one of them.

Feeling better physically has made a huge difference in my perspective. I've talked about the power of pain before. When my back is out, it is crippling physically and emotionally. I still managed to stick pretty closely to my sugar free/no processed food lifestyle but did have a few days where the need for ice cream was stronger than my will power. Fortunately, with this lifestyle makeover I no longer give up completely when I experience minor setbacks and yeah, so a Dairy Queen cone and sprinkles found there way into my belly (read = processed and high in sugar) - I'm back on my game and on track.

My weight has remained flat - both a surprise and relief - and my enjoyment of exercise remains. I'm doing cardio four days a week and strength training twice a week at physical therapy. I'm focused mostly on upper body but it's a start and that feels good.

In addition, I'm back to yoga again and even got through my first vinyasa class the other day! Vinyasa is a more vigorous form of yoga that left me sweating at the end of class with sore muscles the next day. I have really come a long way with yoga this year. When I began this adventure, I found it so difficult to quiet my mind for any length of time and could not mentally let go in order to enjoy the class. But when I went this past Sunday I noticed I didn't have racing thoughts while I was there. I am able to listen to my breath, hear the instructor's voice, and relax. If the occasional stray thought does appear, I simply acknowledge it and let it go.

My next goal is to start meditating briefly throughout the day. I'm still guilty of clenching up pretty much constantly and while yoga gives me a break, there are still 23 more hours in the day. I've found that when I do meditate, even briefly, I can let that go and in those quiet and still moments, find real relaxation.

With all of this, I've felt so good and feeling good translates to steps forward! With that, my latest milestone has arrived.. I've found a fabulous pet friendly apartment that is walkable to a really nice litte downtown area here in Michigan. I move in August and can't wait for this next step. I was really, really torn between staying in Michigan and going back to Atlanta. This was especially tough after my trip in May because it really felt like home to be there. Having said that, Michigan is where I want that to be for the next step and I'll see what comes after that.

So where does that leave me? Careening toward then end of my GOOD YEAR! I began this adventure back in July of 2013 and I can't wait to reflect on all that can happen in 365 days!

A GOOD YEAR - Fitness Challenge: Yoga

I am totally impressed with Cathy's courage to try something new during an especially tough week.  Yoga has many, many faces!  The yoga that we do in studios in the physical limb of an ancient Indian practice that has spiritual and mental aspects as well. 

It is truly worth calling a studio and letting them know what you have going on, if your a beginner, any new or old injuries, prior to attending class.  The super flexible need to be careful of overextending joints, and the not so flexible, like myself, need to work within their own limits.  And what you can do on one side of your body may be vastly different than the other side.    Definitely start with a beginners class, and ask for modifications if they are not being offered up, as there is usually a similar pose to get a similar result.

 A yoga class is typically structured as such: 

• Usually starting seated on your yoga mat, the instructor may set an intention like letting go of fear or negativity or setting aside your to-do list.
• The teacher usually next asks you to focus on you breath.  Then encourages you to keep this ease of breathing and leads the class with some warm up poses.  If your breathing is compromised, you are most likely beyond your limits!
• The rest of the class progresses through poses that might be seated, standing, sidelying, prone, or any combination of!  The poses have Sanskrit names, and an English translation.  For instance, Downward Dog is translated from Adho Mukha Svanasana.
• The last pose of a session is called Savasana, or Corpse Pose, where you get to just lay on your back and relax.  I have fallen asleep during this wonderful let-it-all-go part of class.

Try a few different entry level classes and see what instructor fits you best.  Each instructor shines in different ways, just as each class is unique.  Also if you feel your ready to try something more challenging, ask the studio.  They know there instructors and classes best.  Also most studios have mats available, so you may not need invest in one prior to trying it out.

Lastly, be careful with yourself and stop if you are overextended.  Whenever I need a break in class, I take Child's Pose or Balasana.  

From Cathy:

To be completely honest, this hasn't been the best week.  The workout stuff is going really well.  I am feeling good, I have more endurance, and I am looking forward to my walks (even in the heat).  But I'm participating in this divorce recovery program this week in the evenings and I think it's consuming a lot of my time and eating up a lot of my mental energy.  I'm also working through some legal stuff and that's always hard too.  Anyhow, I've tried writing this post about going to a yoga class at least three times and feel like it sounds depressing which isn't at all how I feel about the class or the workout program.  If anything the workouts have been a saving grace.  They help clear my head and let me refocus my attention in the present and not revisiting the past or stressing about the future.

I guess that's why the tone of this post is so important to me.  I am getting a lot better physically and I think it's helping me to feel a lot clearer mentally.  My mood is better, my tension is reduced, and my energy is increasing.  So while things aren't perfect this week and I'm stressed and I'm tired, it's important that I properly convey how much worse it could be if I wasn't getting out and moving.

With that, I went to yoga on Sunday...

This month's challenge was to take a beginner yoga class.  It was my idea.  Overall, I have been feeling really good this month as I get more comfortable with the walks.  My body has started to crave more movement (which is really cool) so I thought I could add a little something else to my workout program. I also figured that practicing yoga will be incredibly beneficial to me while I'm healing from some emotional stuff.  As I understand it, yoga can help significantly reduce tension, relax muscles, and improve strength - all things that I could super use help with.

Having said that, it's kind of surprising (even to me) that I suggested yoga. I have tried yoga on a number of occasions but never really got to a point where a yoga class left me feeling like I got enough of a workout (see unhealthy thinking in my previous post).  At the same time, I didn't feel more relaxed after class either.  A lot of times I would end up getting frustrated while struggling with a pose or get mad at my body for lacking basic flexibility. But, in the spirit of starting over, I am erasing my memories of yoga not being super great and trying again.

I found Northville Yoga Center using "the Google."  Mostly I chose this studio because I liked their philosophy (which you can get a sense of from their homepage) but they are also reasonably priced and offer a good number and variety of classes. For all the classes I've taken in my life, I don't know much about the different types of yoga.  I've tried Bikram (hot yoga) but that's pretty intense and the heat would be too much for me right now.  When I dug into what each of the classes are I decided to try the Hatha class.  I'm sure Beth can tell you more about Hatha but I chose it because what I read made it seem like it used the building blocks of yoga poses and would be a good starting point. 

So like I said, making yoga my challenge this month was my idea.  But that doesn't mean I wasn't intimidated by the prospect of being the only beginner in the class.  To make me more comfortable and be accountable to someone so I didn't back out, I dragged a good friend with me to test out the class.  We went to a 9:20 am session on a Sunday.  The instructor greeted us as we entered the studio and was super nice.  Honestly, it made me wonder why I ever feel intimidated by these classes.  I've never met a mean yoga instructor.  They are always super nice and super helpful and just glad that I'm there (they also seem super at peace - almost zen-like in their calmness and energy).  Anyhow, we told her we were beginners so she could anticipate that we might need extra instruction/help with the poses.  If you are a first timer at a class I always think it's helpful to let the instructor know.  We obviously didn't really know what we'd need for the class and she helped us pick up the tools the class would be using:  mat, blanket, bolster, and block.

The yoga space itself was really cool.  The room wasn't huge and was set up so the instructor was in the center so it was easy to see her.  She also dimmed the lights, lit some candles, and played soothing music. I felt relaxed in the space and we hadn't even started!

The class started of slow and I really, really liked that. For our first pose, the instructor had us align the bolster with our spine and lay back on it.  She then had us stretch our arms out so that we formed a "T" (here is a picture of what we were doing).  That seems like a pretty basic movement right?  Well it wasn't, not for me.  I felt like there was a rope tied to each of my wrists and when I reached out my arms the rope was being stretched and I could feel a strong pull across my chest.  It was so eye opening for me.

When I first came up to Michigan in January after the separation I was kind of a mess.  Mentally, I was distraught.  Physically, I was so anxious that I was visibly tense and stiff in my movement.  I've worked hard across the last six months to get to a better place and while I had reduced my anxiety and tension significantly, I am clearly still carrying around much of the physical burden.  Honestly, for me it was a revelation that this tension was still such a big problem.  Since this yoga class, my awareness of the clenching and tension has increased significantly.  I still need to learn better techniques for reducing it in the moment, but identifying it feels like a big step.

So as the class progressed the poses became more challenging - moving from the floor to our knees and then up to a standing position.  The kneeling poses really hurt my knees but I learned that you can put a blanket under your mat (perpendicular to mat) and that will add some cushioning without disrupting your poses. By the time we got to the standing poses, I was working up a sweat.  If I'm being totally honest, this part was hard and not super fun.  I felt uncoordinated and didn't totally know what I was doing.  But fortunately I recognized my unhealthy thinking and responded by reminding myself that I am new to this and much of the experience is in enjoying the journey, so I tried to relax and kept going.  That doesn't mean it was fine after that, it was still hard, but I pressed on. I also started to focus on time at this point and was kind of ready to be done.  Fortunately, there was no clock in the room so I couldn't divert my attention to watching the the minutes tick by.  And after the most difficult movements we did go back to some super relaxing closing poses that felt really good.  

At the end of class we packed up our stuff and walked out of the studio.  A woman from the class approached us and told us that it was a really hard class for a first session and we should feel great for getting through it.  First of all, that was really nice of her to go out of her way to make us feel included.  Secondly, compared to other classes I've taken, this one seemed like a super good beginner class because the poses weren't complex contortions that left me feeling like I was trying to bend myself into a pretzel so I was surprised to hear that an experienced yoga practitioner found it challenging as well. 

I have to say, walking out of that class I realized that I felt lighter than I can remember.  My muscles were tired and I felt so refreshed and relaxed.  I'm not making that up!  I really did!  I couldn't believe how grateful I was for that feeling. The tension that I went into the class with had been lifted and I felt happy and calm.  I don't know if that feeling is the result of an overall improvement in my thought patterns and well-being or if it was just a really good class to start out with.  Either way, I immediately began to plan my next visit.  I have rearranged my schedule this weekend to go again - which is shocking to me that I liked it that much.

I can't say I'm "hooked" yet, although I could totally see that happening, but I do think even adding one session a week to let go of the stress (even if it does still come back a few hours later) would be so healthy for my body and my soul.   I hope I can start implementing some of the concepts from the class into my daily life (ex. focus on your breath) to help me reduce tension on an ongoing basis as part of the healing process.
 
I really didn't think going to yoga would be any different this time than it has been when I've gone before.  I haven't isolated exactly what made this class so special.  Maybe my attitude is better this time around?  Maybe letting go of some unhealthy thoughts allowed me to stay focused?  Maybe I'm just more determined?  Regardless, that yoga class made a significant difference in my overall mental an physical health and I am excited to go back.

Cathy in her best zen pose

A GOOD YEAR - Let's get moving

This is Cathy's initial plan post!  My preamble contains a few thoughts on physically getting started from a trainer's perspective

Regardless of research, known guidelines, and fancy book learning, as a brand new athlete, you have to start from the beginning.  And the beginning for each individual is different depending on lifestyle, time and family commitments, past medical history, etc., all the various components of life.  A good starting point is to gradually work towards getting in 30 minutes of activity (walking, swimming, biking) 5-7 days a week.  This life style change alone decreases the risk of all the gnarly diseases (cancer, heart disease, stroke...etc.) out there and promotes a healthier body.  

When Cathy asked me about a program, I asked questions....what has worked for you in the past?  How many days do you want to work out a week? How much time do you want to commit? What is your initial goal? Do you have any current aches and pains?

Cathy voiced that starting with three days a week sounded doable, and that walking was a good option. I wanted to take into account that she had not been in the practice of working out, and I wanted to gradually introduce stress to muscles, ligaments, and joints to avoid injury and build success.   When Cathy is ready, resistance training and balance will become part of Cathy's program too.  Cathy is working on diet a bit too, but really focusing on this new habit of walking right now.

This program is the starting point we chose because it is what Cathy felt she could roll into her life for right now.  This program requires no equipment, no prep, and no financial investment.  It also won't overwhelm Cathy's body so she is so sore she gets discouraged.  Most importantly, this plan will significantly decrease Cathy's risk of disease and seriously promote good things for her heart!

I love Cathy's insights below.  I too have had to start a weight loss and health journey and have wanted to just immediately jettison right back to my peak fitness. 

Cathy has made the first big step.  The "I am going to change" moment has come and it takes a lot of patience, faith, and self talk to stay in each successive moment.  Cathy deserves to revel in the small and big successes on the way.  She shares some amazing insight on finding how to support herself with positive internal dialogue below.

When you are getting started with a trainer, make sure you agree upon and start with a reasonable, doable plan.  Here is the questionnaire I use with my clients, and I feel this is a pretty good history and goal outline.  The trainer and athlete relationship really benefits from communicating needs and concerns frequently. Sometimes things need to shift into a higher or lower gear depending on how your body is responding.   I sometimes have individuals see their doctor if there are any medical or orthopedic issues that need addressing prior to getting started with me.  I check flexibility and strength, and balance prior to at my clients first session. 

The effort scale I introduced to Cathy is the Modified Borg Rate of Perceived Exertions scale.   It is a dramatic interpretation of the effort based scale you can see in the link above.  The goal is for the individual exercising to base effort on how they feel.  This scale has good correlation to heart rate and VO2 max.  More on this in future blogs.

Not sure if you are good to start exercising?  Check out this Par-Q.  IF you say yes to any of these questions, you need to talk to a physician prior to getting started. 

A couple resources for getting more "getting started"info:
The American Heart Association  (AHA) and American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommend adults get minimally 150 minutes of activity, and perform resistance exercise every week.  The ACSM goes on to say flexibility and balance work are key weekly parts of exercise.  If you are feeling unsure where to start, gradually increasing time and effort on one aspect of fitness is a good first step.  Then, once this habit is established pull in other recommendations.  The AHA and ASCM websites both have step by step guides for getting started!  OR feel free to contact GO Training for online or in-home training.  With or without guidance, you can change your body!

From Cathy:

It’s pretty hard to know where to start with a workout program when physical fitness has been the furthest thing from your mind for a while.  Where do you begin when you get winded walking up the stairs?  What do you do when you don't feel like your body is moving well?  How do you start when you feel so weak?

At my weight, getting professional advice on where to start was important to me.  I went from a pretty intense workout regimen three years ago to doing absolutely nothing.  That means that working my body at a high level of intensity is all I really know. After talking to Beth at GO Training and discussing my goals, we outlined a fitness plan tailored to my needs. It’s a walking program that will get me comfortable working out, buildup my endurance, and help make exercise a normal part of my routine.  In addition to walking,  I have also committed to go to one beginner yoga class this month - so if you have a recommendation of a good yoga studio in the Detroit area please add it to the comments section below or email Beth at beth@gotrainingwithbeth.com.

 

The day-by-day action plan is outlined in the calendar and levels of exertion below:

• Level 1: I'm watching TV 
• Level 2: I'm comfortable and can maintain this pace all day long
• Level 3: I'm still comfortable, but am breathing a bit harder
• Level 4: I'm sweating a little, but feel good and can carry on a conversation effortlessly
• Level 5: I'm just above comfortable, am sweating more and can still talk easily
• Level 6: I can still talk, but am slightly breathless
• Level 7: I can still talk, but I don't really want to. I'm sweating like a pig
• Level 8: I can grunt in response to your questions and can only keep this pace for a short time period
• Level 9: I am probably going to die
• Level 10: I am dead

Easy Pace means: walking at a 3-4, just move your body and enjoy.  You can easily converse!

On Interval Days: intervals at a 4-6, recovery 3.  It's OK if you are slightly breathless during an interval.

Long Walk: 3-5, make sure your conversational and able to talk the whole time.

3 Month Walking Program
Month 1
M	T	W	TH	F	Sat	Sun
	20 - easy pace		20 - warm up for 5 min, alternate 1 min easy, 1 minute effort pace for 10 min, cool down for 5 min		30 - Long walk - 5 min warm up, keep a nice clip in the middle, 5 min cool down
	25 - easy pace		25 – warm up for 5 min, alternate  2 minutes effort pace, 1 min easy pace for 5 rounds, 5 min cool down		30 Long walk -  5 min warm up, keep a nice clip in the middle, 5 min cool down
	30 - easy pace		30 – warm up for 5 min, alternate 1 minute effort pace, 1 min easy pace for 20 min, 5 min cool down		35 long walk-
	30 - easy		30 - 5 min warm up, 2 minutes effort pace, 30 easy pace for 4 rounds, 5 min cool down		40 long walk

So this is great.  I have a plan.  Fantastic!  Well it was fantastic until I got nervous about the commitment.  Well, not so much the commitment.  If I’m being totally honest, I was afraid I would fail.  I was worried I would get started and it would be too hard and the depression would come crumbling back down around me and I would give up.  This workout program is the first big thing I’ve tried to do for myself since the abrupt separation six months ago.   My focus since January has been on putting one foot in front of the other every day. I finally feel mentally in a place where I can do more than just subsist and to fail at something I want this much would be soul crushing.  So I let some unhealthy thinking take the reigns and decided to take matters into my own hands. 

Let me give you some background on that unhealthy thinking.  My memories of the way things used to be are seen through the rosiest of colored glasses. 

I like to think back to 2010 and remember all the things my body used to be able to do.  There was a lot of pride and good endorphins that came with being physically active and I was able to do a lot more.  My greatest fitness accomplishment was being in such good shape that I was able to climb the Great Wall in China.  I was and remain so proud of being able to make that climb.

But in spite of the positive aspects, there was an obsessive side of me driving things behind the scenes.  I like to forget the guilt that set in if I didn’t work out “enough.”  I choose to ignore the overwhelming self loathing that came with missing a workout or not pushing hard enough.  I pretend that I didn’t have a voice in my head that criticized me constantly for not doing or being enough. 

Well here we are three years later and it is apparent that old habits die hard.  Before kicking off the Go Training plan, I thought it would be good to go on a 20 minute walk to see how it felt and test the waters on this whole thing.  Well, it was hard.  It was really hard.  I was winded, but at the same time felt like I wasn’t walking fast enough. And I wasn't able to go at full speed the full 20 minutes.

Now if you read that last paragraph you’ll see that the reason my first 20 minute walk was hard wasn’t because I can’t walk at a casual pace for 20 minutes as instructed in Beth’splan.  The reason it was hard is because I let the memories of what I used to be able to do (run, spin, kick box) drive the workout I am doing now.  So I charged out the door, headed down the driveway and walked as fast as I could for 20 minutes.  I didn’t warm up, I didn’t cool down, and I didn’t stretch.

Based on that experience, I decided I would never be able successfully accomplish my new, carefully crafted fitness program if I didn’t start training for the training program (which as I re-read that sentence sounds insane).  Instead, I decided to go walking for 20 minutes, every other day, as fast as I could, for two weeks prior to starting the Go Training plan. Again, I didn’t warm up, I didn’t cool down, and I didn’t stretch. 

Surprisingly, it wasn’t hard to motivate to go walking.  I enjoyed getting a break from work and getting out in the fresh air.  But the walks were hard and frustrating.  And really, instead of feeling good about what I accomplished, I felt crummy for not doing more. So as the second week of this “pre-training, training” rolled around, I began experiencing pain in my feet, pain in my left shin, and pain in my lower back.  My last walk before I started the Go Training program was bad. The shin splint in my left leg hurt so much that it hindered my movement and made it hard to keep pace.  At the same time my lower back hurt a lot, forcing me to slow way down for the second half of the walk. 

Pain led to frustration and frustration led to self doubt. Self doubt sent my mind tumbling in a downward spiral.  Some actual thoughts I had in the final five minutes of that walk (I wrote them down when I got home so I could share them) included:

• “I’m too fat to start an exercise program.” 
• “Why even bother, this isn’t going to work.” 
• “Why did I think I could do this?”

Fortunately, I wasn’t ready to give up yet and the time came to start the Go Training walking program. After the two weeks I had just put myself through, it looked too easy.  I mean only three days a week?  Walking at a casual pace for the first and last five minutes of each workout? Well, it turns out that the program is more challenging than I expected.  I was surprised to find that I got the workout that I wanted but my body felt better because I gave myself more time to recover between walks.  Also, alternating between a casual and more vigorous pace pushed me but wasn’t painful.  My shin splint isn’t bothering me and my back doesn’t hurt.

I’ve read so many articles that tell you to take it slow when you first start a workout program. Honestly, I didn’t think that applied to me. I thought that was just supposed to keep you from burning out by setting expectations too high.  I never thought about injuries or pain.  I mean I’m not that old!  And did I mention that I used to be in good shape?  It turns out that by focusing on what I used to be able to do and by falling back into my pattern of all or nothing, no pain, no gain, workout until it hurts, I was setting myself up for failure. 

I’m starting from scratch on getting back into shape and if I push myself too hard I’m going to hurt myself.  Thankfully, I have Beth to sanity check me and keep me thinking realistically about what is doable and what is too much.  She also is very kind and understanding about the unhealthy thoughts that creep in and cause you to ignore the trained professional who is helping you. 

Based on these last couple of weeks, the biggest lesson I’ve learned, besides trusting your trainer, is to start slow.  If you’re anything like me it will probably feel like you will never reach your goals if you aren’t pushing yourself as hard as you can.  But seriously, take it slow.  

I will get stronger, I will build endurance, and I will be able to do more. 

If anything, this experience has taught me a lot about letting go of the past.  I’m trying to look at my life more honestly and think through what really worked and what really didn’t.  I’m recognizing that my rose colored view of things doesn’t allow me to move forward in the ways I need to if I want to do things better in the future. That’s true in my relationships with others and my relationship with myself. A big piece of that is learning how to be mentally healthy while working to be physically healthy.  And as part of the process I’m letting go of how things used to be to make room for where I am at right now.  

Cathy climbing the Great Wall in China (2009) - Her greatest fitness accomplishment...so far:).