Welcome to the first of my weekly Training Logs! This week’s theme is Stop While You Feel Good.
It’s high time I start sharing a glimpse into my weekly training. Eating a healthy diet that makes me feel good is super important, but my training is even more important.
Why I’m Training
My training is what holds my body together – literally. I am extremely hypermobile. Actually, I have a working diagnosis of hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (waiting for the final confirmation from a Geneticist in December). If this diagnosis is correct, it means that the connective tissues in my body don’t function as well as they should. This leads to widespread instability, joints that don’t always stay in place, and pain.
The best treatment for hyper mobility is training the muscles and tendons to improve their strength and endurance. Training helps me maintain better skeletal alignment, improve my energy, and reduce my overall pain. To get the most out of my training, I have to be really careful to stop while I feel good. If I push too hard, it takes forever to recover even if I rest and eat properly.
While I may be working around a hypermobility disorder, my training goals are still similar to many of yours. I want to be able to keep up with my kids and go on all the adventures my family can dream up. The only way to achieve that goal is by training regularly.
Training is a very individualized experience. No one does the exact same training routine nor experiences it in exactly the same way. You don’t just commit to a fitness regimen and then progress perfectly without any bumps along the way.
That’s why I will be sharing my weekly Training Logs. So you can get a realistic picture of how I work with my body, navigate the bumps and push when I’m able.
Let’s get to it!
Training Log: Stop While You Feel Good.
Just over a month ago, I got a stomach bug that took me out of commission for a week. Without training, I lost my skeletal alignment. My first vertebra in my neck, a vertebra in my mid-back, and my right hip all moved out of place. My awesome Physical Therapy team has been helping put me back together a little each week while I do my part: my workouts. There are a lot of factors that seem to affect whether I lose alignment so this has been a month-long process.
The more I stick with my workouts, the better my joints stay in place and the better I feel. Makes sense right? But it’s never a great idea to push yourself when you’re physically out of whack. So my training lately is focused around challenging my body but making sure I stop while I still feel good.
Monday
45 min Hips & Core + 1 mile Run
Today I did my core and hips workout – these are tougher versions of the exercises my PT originally started me on. This is the workout I come back to when my body is asking for some extra help stabilizing things. After my strength exercises I was able to do a short run. That was just enough for me to stop and still feel good.
Running for me actually seems to help. I think because I’m very mindful of my breathing and form, the rhythmic movement often helps my body settle back into where it needs to be.
I had to check in with my body every couple of minutes to make sure I felt good and was maintaining good form. Some days take a lot of extra mental energy to coordinate my body and this was definitely one of those days. I stopped when I felt like I wouldn’t be able to maintain good form which ended up being a little over a mile.
Tuesday
8 minute Warmup + 45 minute Run/Walk
I felt like I was just going through the motions this morning as I got to the gym. I woke up hurting and just didn’t want to face the day. But I know very well now that I always feel better after I get moving. A gentle workout is a guaranteed way to feel better physically and get my head in the game for the day.
So I did a quick warmup to remind my hips and core how to hold everything together and hopped on the treadmill. No distance or intensity target other than to feel good while I went. When I felt like walking, I walked, when I felt like running, I ran. At 45 minutes in, I knew it was time to stop so I would feel good. Let me tell you I felt so. much. better. And happier. Yes!
My treadmill time is also podcast time! Here’s what I listened to today:
Earn Your Happy with Lori Harder: Episode 381: Why and How to Decide Now!
Wednesday
Active Recovery: 10 minute Walk + 50 minute Foam Roll
Hubs and I decided we were both so sore and stiff that today we would do a foam roll session. We did a quick, brisk walk to get us warmed up then spent the rest of the hour hitting every. single. muscle. that was bugging us. I felt even better after that long foam rolling session than I did after yesterday’s run!
Thursday
Mobility + Neck Strength
Yesterday afternoon, I saw my Atlas Orthogonal Chiropractor who specializes in putting my first vertebra back into place. It was the final step to get my body back into alignment after this last month of feeling wonky. The first 24-48 hours after an adjustment, I take things really easy to let my body settle back into its proper position. I used to get really sore after an adjustment because my muscles had been so used to supporting my misaligned skeleton and they didn’t know how to relax into the right alignment. That’s not much of an issue anymore since I’ve committed to physical therapy and consistent adjustments.
All I did today was some spinal mobility and stability work – Cat Cows, Bow and Arrows, Dead Bugs, and some gentle neck strength exercises. I stopped before I felt I’d even done much! Then Hubs and I took the kiddos to the zoo and enjoyed walking around.
Friday
40 minute Core, Hips, Balance Strength Workout + 20 minute Incline Walk
Today I was ready to get back to the gym and start doing some light strength training. I was very careful to coordinate my breathing with each exercise and stop and feel good. In the case of strength training, that means I could still maintain perfect form. Don’t want to throw my neck out yet!
Running is a bit too much impact this close to an adjustment. But the rhythmic movement of walking can actually help the body settle into its proper alignment. I set my treadmill to a moderate incline then spent about 20 minutes focusing on good breathing mechanics, finding my rhythm, and enjoying a light challenge. Check out my Getting Started with Cardio Program if you want to give this type of cardio a try!
Saturday
Warm Up + 60 minute Long Run
With my first 10k coming up in just over 3 weeks, and my body nicely realigned, I was ready to do a long run today. I took it at an easy pace that felt too slow initially. But I was able to maintain that pace for the entire 60 minutes. I even felt better in the final mile than at the halfway point! My hips and core were getting a bit lazy halfway in so I really tuned into my form. I focused on how my feet hit the ground, my stride, and keeping my hip and core active – which helped a lot.
Sunday
45 minute Full Body Workout + 1 mile Run
I’m starting a new workout this month. I can only do the same workout so many times before I’m ready to move on! I’m focusing on training balance and hip/core control. Whenever I start new exercises, I get a little nervous. One, I don’t know how my body will respond. Two, I get a little gym-intimidated.
My way around both these issues is: start off with a light weight and focus on form. When I focus on form and my breathing, I stop caring about whether other people notice me in the gym.
I think this new workout is going to be exactly what I need. The exercises made me feel strong and energized (guess I picked the right amount of resistance!). And when I did a quick recovery run, my form and breathing were perfect. No complaining from my hip flexors! Woohoo!