Update on the wrists

Today is my rest day this week so I decided to take off the wrist and ankle braces and just do some light stretches, staying off of them as much as possible but still testing them.  It will still be some time before I can use my wrists properly but I'd like to try to go back into week 1 PiYo starting Monday.  No weight loss, now weight gain, but again, really progress in muscle tone and flexibility, posture and balance, even with the injuries forcing modification.  I'm not sure why I haven't been able to lose weight yet, but that may be a thing I'll have to take to a doctor eventually.  I'm eating healthy and moderately (not starving or binging) and I'm getting a lot of great exercise so it's quite possible that not being able to be a normal weight is tied in with my chronic illness.  I won't give up on it-- I wanted this lifestyle change whether it meant having a bikini body or not.  I still believe that I can overcome obstacles and reach my goals, but I've become more realistic about it, given my age and health problems.  Being able to wake up and actually jump out of bed (not just roll or creak about) is huge.  Having more focus and energy is huge.  I'm thick, but I'm not huge.  Lol. I at least take comfort is that my weight is not in obesity.  There's comfort in simply being overweight, but I know I can go further and feel better.

I really look forward to seeing where things go into the next few months.  I'm learning more about myself than I ever thought possible.

PiYo for the chronically injured but determined

Okay, I've seen quite a few beginners and out of shape folks having the same issues and let's face it, some of us got through that first week of PiYo loving it-- until that wrist or ankle or back pain reared its ugly head when we tried to launch into Week 2s Drench...  Still with me?  Yeah, I managed to obliterate my wrists and ankles on those sit-up and side plank transitions...  I've had my ankles wrapped and my wrists in stability braces for days trying to correct the injury, but I haven't given up...

I didn't stop for one.  I have resorted to loop Lower Body this week with the caveat that down dog was definitely out.  For one, I have carpal tunnel and my ankles were previously injured so I have a good idea where I went wrong.  If, like me, your pain come from placing pressure on the heel of your hand and/or bending the wrist back, I have a quick fix and a long term fix ready for you.

Fix one:  posturing with fists
This is what I'm doing with the injury limiting where I can put the weight.  This is the same concept as using push-up bars (basically handles or hand weights used to keep your fingers curled and reducing pressure on the palm).  You just make a fist (I shouldn't have to say thumbs over fingers but I do) and I keep my arms locked just like you do for tricep push-ups but push with the fist.  Absolutely no need to turn wrists and it doesn't cause pain to the existing injury.  You can't go as low as with splayed palms but this is an excellent way to build or keep muscle while healing.

Fix two: splay your fingers!
Chalene mentions this in the video but after flipping through countless yoga journals it is super important, especially with down dog, to distribute that weight!  I am currently overweight so if you are, trying to bear this weight carelessly WILL get you in a bad place.  I found this really awesome article as well as a diagram for myself and anyone else to try.  I'll have to wait until my first fix isn't necessary but I can't wait to try it!
YogaJournal

This is not a good fix for down dog though and I did want to transition to more than child's pose, so, to help my sore arches and ankles, I went down on elbows and took a knee to do split.  Now, for one part prior to this, Michelle does a chair modifier but that is for three point and half moon-- I went to elbows and knees for the straight to floor parts toward the end.  It still kicked my ass but didn't cause pain while I'm healing as well as making my muscles feel stronger for when I can attempt it again.  When they swung through into pigeon, already being on a knee made this doable.

I am not a coach or fitness instructor obviously, so this isn't an official fix but if you're struggling to build some strength that while being discouraged by other health challenges, this might have a good fix for you until you can keep up with the demands of weight bearing correctly.  I learned my lesson and I'll be much more careful in the future.  My illnesses don't get to define my determination.

Do you have any favorite fixes for your most challenging moves?  I'd love to hear from anyone on that!  I still stand by the conviction that PiYo is for me-- I made some serious mistakes but if anything, I'm glad I did because I learned more about correct posture in the research.  

Over ambitious and ouch!

Ran into my first hiccup in PiYo.  Advice for anyone who is starting this with fibromyalgia-- don't jump into the calendar challenge.  The first week was great but I wasn't ready for the Core workout and I managed to make my wrists and ankles really sore as well as muscles in my lower back.  Might have to take a couple days to recover or I risk injury.  Will be doing some of the non weight bearing parts but have to really feel this one out.  Anyways, I'll be sticking to Lower and Upper Body and Sweat until I can get my ankles and wrists handling the weight.  It was the twisting transition between sit-ups and side planks that made me hit that brick wall but damn, only a week and a half in and I feel some great muscle developing already.  Can't stop pressing and flexing just to see and feel it.  Just have to really be careful with pushing it.  Chronic pain is a lifelong reality and I can't get overconfident and risk setting myself back.

A good change!

No weight loss (or gain) to report but I started PiYo, a Chalene Johnson series through Team Beach Body.  Absolutely in love with it after three days.  It's a very precise workout using flexibility and strength and it makes me sweat like crazy!  I actually have to stop to wipe it off the mat sometimes. No joke!  My muscles are improving a lot and I'm sure with my diet and cardio, the pounds will start coming off again.  Yeah, my metabolism and health sucks so I'm one of those people who isn't constantly gratified by a scale, but I will get there like a champ for all the extra work I've had to do to move things forward.  Beast mode engaged...

I'll be sure to post if I do see some milestone weight loss, but the fact that my overall health keeps noticeably increasing is motivation enough.  Skinny clothes...  Prepare to have a reunion...

Sick weeks

Had a couple of weeks in there where I was sick and while my diet was consistently low, I didn't get in much exercise.  Current weight at 194, which is another slowdown but still one pound lost when I worried I might see worse.  I'm attempting to get back on track but I'm not a fan of fireworks and the added stress didn't help.  Ready for some financial windfall so I can spirit away from here.  Sorry, but America doesn't do any favors for sensitive social outcasts like me.  I'm really done with the idea that freedom means tormenting someone else.  The "most free country in the world" is truly the most miserable and I wouldn't miss it.  In truth as long as I have a lot of land, no neighbors, it doesn't matter where beyond that.  Hell, give me happier people even rather than this miserable lot.  It's my Kryptonite though, exploding things in the hands of drunk amateurs.  The whole week has done little but terrify me.

I didn't mean to launch in the wrong direction since this blog is for venting with frustrations and announcing victories in my journey for weight loss.  My limbs are getting tighter and stronger at the least and I've started PiYo which I'm already in love with.  It's challenging enough to make you sweat like you're chugging away on cardio but it really stretches you out and relaxes you overall.  You breath right, keep good posture and, yes, if you're doing it right, you'll struggle to hold. It doesn't feel like working out as much as just asking yourself, can I do it a little better this time?  A series of mini challenges that transform you.

Other differences that I can notice.  Slimmer face, certainly, and I can feel hard muscle even under the soft layers.  I like the softness of being a woman and I'm not looking to Hulk out, and even when I was my smallest, I was always curvy, but I LOVED that.  I can only imagine how much better getting back to there will be when it's both earned and healthy.  There has been less swelling in hands and feet although we're talking about a lifelong condition there that never really goes away.  I've noticed my knees are more pronounced, less doughy.  I've always had strong calves but they're taking shape better too.  My knees and ankle have always been small, which is part of the reason weight loss is both tough and necessary-- they are the same size trying to carry a much bigger weight.  Okay, it's 45 pounds more, but that's a small child.  No, it's not as difficult as carrying a small child since it is distributed throughout your body, but it's still difficult.  I don't have the strength to do push-ups on my toes, so I do them on my knees, but I'm amazingly flexible somehow.  I can lay my hands flat on the floor again with my legs straight.  It's been a while since I was able to do that.  I'd love to really work on flexibility and strength together.  I had been a gymnast as a kid and I miss it.

That's about the size of it, where I'm at, and the determination and practice is still in place.  It's about learning and doing and I will get there, no matter how much being sick sets me back.