I started the week with an injured foot, so I knew this would be an “opportunity” to modify exercises and learn to cope with the situation. I’ve heard athletes talk about weeks and months of recovery from much more serious injuries. My rule of thumb was to exercise as much as possible, without aggravating my condition. After all, I can’t float around or hop on one foot for the rest of the day, so I have to take it easy.
My workouts this week:
Monday: What kind of cardio can I do with a bad foot? Not Plyometrics, that’s for sure. I did the Warrior Phase 1 Cardio, and modified moves such as Deep Lateral Leaps (no leaping, just side-stepping) and the Fast Feet Football Drill (replaced by P90X Steam Engines, which are not the same, but I wasn’t jumping).
Tuesday: Resistance. Hmm, what was that I read about no weight-bearing exercises? I was feeling a little better, and I hope I didn’t overdo it. I was encouraged that it was a better workout than Saturday, but I’d better take it easy tomorrow. I can work my abs and stay off my feet, right?
Wednesday: I thought about doing 30 Day Shred again, because I got up late, but then I thought maybe I could do Warrior Phase 1 Cardio and just do as much as I could, as fast as I could, in the time I had. After 35 minutes, which included a longer warm up than Shred does, I had not reached the same calorie burn, but close I guess. I think 30 Day Shred is still a great “bang for the buck” in terms of workout time, cost of the DVD, and full-body exercise. Maybe next week?
Thursday: Resistance, shortened because I was running late, but I did more than I was expecting in that amount of time. My foot didn’t hurt as much afterwards as it did last week.
Friday: No yoga in the morning, but for a good reason, honest! Sometimes my family needs me to do something during my exercise time, and I can’t just tell them to take it up with Tony, right? So in the evening, after a larger-than-usual dinner (oops!) I decided I might want to fit in a workout. 30 Day Shred to the rescue again! I got all hot and sweaty, with a good calorie burn, in 30 minutes flat. Of course, then it was time for an evening shower, too.
Saturday: Resistance. I did it! I finished the entire Warrior Phase 1 workout! If you include the P90X2-style warm up and cool down, plus a little time to straighten up, the whole thing took 95 minutes (an hour and a half). Not 55 minutes, Tony! The exercises alone took me 65 minutes. I guess if I was even more of a “warrior,” I could get that part done in 55 minutes, but warm up and cool down take 5-10 minutes each… Anyway, back to the point: I did the whole thing! OK, enough patting myself on the back, for now.
Sunday: Happy Mother’s Day! No workout today, as usual for me, and as a bonus, we had a family day at the movies (The Avengers!). A little popcorn and soda (shared), some ice cream after dinner… To her credit, my wife requested homemade tuna steaks, baked potatoes, and asparagus, which was very reasonable calorie-wise, to balance out some of the other stuff.
Bring It! Tip of the Week: When you are injured, DON’T do activities that will aggravate the symptoms or prolong recovery time. DO find alternatives that will challenge you and keep you motivated. Even complete rest from strenuous physical activity can be an opportunity to pursue other interests, like reading, light yoga, etc.
