Tread Mill

It’s been a difficult few days and not much has happened on the fitness side of life.  I went into the gym a couple of times to do some abs and an hour on the tread mill.  That was great and while I was working out it all seemed to be going very well.

I had the tread mill set at 6khp and the incline at 6%, so nothing drastic just a quick paced walk to get the cardio going and the incline just so I worked a bit harder.  The abs work out was short but sweet, mostly hip extension exercises to keep me on the ball and grease the groove.

The next 3 hours were excruciating, normally I could sit in a chair and relax or lay on my bed and feel comfortable with my shoulder.  Not any more, the pain was ripping through me and no position gave me any rest bite.  You’d have thought I would have learnt from the first time that maybe I should just leave the gym alone and wait to heel but no I went in the gym the following day and suffered the same pain again.

It was making me feel sick, so I’ve behaved this week and the closest I’ve been to the gym has been when I’ve walked past it on my way to work.  So what have I done this week, not a lot to be honest?  I’ve been watching what I eat, not going mad.  I’m eating 3 times a day a fairly good sized meals.  Plenty of meat and fresh veg and no whites, no potatoes, no rice, no bread, no sugar, no pasta and no salt.  It sounds a bit drastic but it’s not and not hard to do.  It’s not the law and I have had the odd pizza and I had chips last week.  I was on two protein drinks a day with a double dose each time, so in effect I was eating 5 times a day.  I’ve cut those out because I’m not training and not burning the same calories.

I’ve increased my water intake and that’s going very well, I think I have a bladder that would impress an elephant.  On a good day my intake can be 9 x 0.5L bottles and I try not to drop below 6.  It is certainly taking its toll on me, not being able to train.  I’ve gone from never training to not really wanting to train to missing it like hell.  I miss my hour in the gym, there is a great sense of achievement when you beat your own PB or learning a new move.  I’ve been reduced to cameraman for our site at   www.ultimateperformancecentre.com  The site is coming on well and we are adding more exercises and challenges every day.

The heeling process is a long one and I think the rehab is going to be just as long and something tells me it’s going to be just as painful.

www.ultimateperformancecentre.com

My journey to fitness and beyond: Frustrated

My journey to fitness and beyond: Frustrated: "Training didn’t go to plan, the training was great I did Abs, leg work and half an hour on the exercise bike. It went very well and I enjo..."

Frustrated

Training didn’t go to plan, the training was great I did Abs, leg work and half an hour on the exercise bike.  It went very well and I enjoyed it.  It was good to be back in the saddle so to speak and there’s something very satisfying about training.

But the feeling didn’t last long, within 3 hours I was in agony.  I couldn’t get comfy or find any rest bite from the pain.  It’s been 4 weeks today since I broke my collar bone and it feels like I did it today.  So what’s on the cards for my recovery, the worst possible outcome I think.

I cannot understand why UK doctors will not pin a collar bone.  Pinning a collar bone is the last option, for me I think it’s criminal.  Why leave someone in pain with a broken bone for up to possibly 6-7 weeks and then when it’s heeled all out of shape consider rectifying and pinning the bone.  I can guarantee it’s all about money.  Unless someone knows better, I’d love to hear it.

Any way for me my training is over for the foreseeable future until the mess of a collar bone that I have has joined back together in the wrong form and will never be the same again.  Am I bitter ?  Yes very.  The broken bone in question is my fault and I hold my hands up to that one.  But I seriously think doctors need a ******* good kick in the arse. 

www.ultimateperformancecentre.com

My journey to fitness and beyond: Starting again

My journey to fitness and beyond: Starting again: "Why is it when you sit down and try and put your life in order and just when you think you have, fate deals you a blow from under the table ..."

Starting again

Why is it when you sit down and try and put your life in order and just when you think you have, fate deals you a blow from under the table that you just don’t expect.

I love doing my fitness and I love my 1 hour in the gym.  I push myself hard with the help from Steve and I feel great for it.  A sense of achievement and a step closer to my goals, to cut a long story short, I have come off my pride and joy.  In doing so I have broken my left collar bone in 3 places.

So that has destroyed all my plans.  What I need to do now is sit down and redo my plan for the next 12 weeks.  The reason I have chosen 12 weeks as my basis to organise my next plan is because the doc advised me that it will take about 12 weeks for my collar bone to heal.   

So first things first.  What is my big WHY going to be ?  Put another way, WHY am I training ?  My WHY has to be big enough to motivate myself even when things are getting tough.  My WHY needs to empower me and drive me in the right direction.

My WHY is going to be “fit to train properly by week 12”   So how do I make this statement work for me ?  I’ll print a few of them off as big as I can and put them in places that are always in my view, for instance on the fridge, above the mirror in the bathroom  and on the inside of my front door. 

This is where you good people come into it, I’m also going to do daily blog on the forum about my progress and what progress I am making during my rehab.  What I’d like from you is a poke saying “Where is today’s report” if I miss one.  That in it’s self will be enough to keep me motivated and on course.

Now I need a training program, I need to take it steady and not go mad.  So this is where I turn for help from  www.ultimateperformancecentre.com  I need a training program that will suit my injuries.  My left knee is very sore but usable, my left collar bone is very painful and I can’t use my left arm.  So any upper body work is out of the question. 

Once I have my training program I need a start date.  It’s no good saying I’ll start tomorrow or on Monday, because we all know tomorrow never comes and Monday I’ll be too busy.  So I’ll start today and see how it goes.  It will only be very light to identify just what I can and can’t do.  An assessment really.  It’s very important that an assessment is done.  The first part of the assessment is a talk with the doc, just to make sure I am fit to start any physical exercise and at what level so I don’t hamper my recovery or complicate the injuries I have.

The assessment is also a great start point to refer to, so you can measure your progress and re-asses your training program.  Just because you have a training program in black and white that doesn’t mean you can’t change it.  The program might be too hard or not hard enough, there’s only one person who can dictate that call and that’s you, or in this case me.

Because it’s going to be a gentle start and so that I don’t overdo it, I’m going to work on a 3 day training week but I’m going to increase my duration.  I’m going to do Abs and leg work for about 75 mins.  The reason for that is the Abs work needs to be non invasive on my upper body and my leg work needs to be controlled so that I’m not using my arms.  As for the leg work I need to talk to Steve and put a program together that will suit my needs.

I’m looking forward to the next 12 weeks and my recovery to full health and getting back to full training, MMA mat work, weight lifting and endurance work.

www.ultimateperformancecentre.com