14 bunnies

I haven't posted in a few days, but I haven't been sitting on my duff!
Tuesday and Thursday I had PT. My PT on Tuesday was intense, so I took Wednesday off. Friday I mowed the lawn, which is an hour and thirty minutes of hard work, so I definitely count that as a workout. Saturday, I did a yoga session from Yoga Today. Sunday, I pulled my daughter in a trailer to church and back, which is about a hilly 6 mile trip, then we walked around the Des Moines Art Festival for 2.5 hours.

This morning, I got up and went for a jog. The PT said I should start to try jogging again. It was a slow, easy jog with an average pace of 12:10 over 2.18 miles.

I managed to see 14 bunnies today, which might be a record. I didn't count a couple that were farther away from me and didn't run away. It was a beautiful morning. Lots of tweeting birds. Not much traffic. I even got to greet someone on the path.

So far the knee is good. I ended the jog for other reasons of Mother Nature. argh.

Watching what I eat

Well, I've proven that I can't trust myself to watch what I eat long term without tracking. The scale just creeps up and up and I don't stop myself when I should. It would be fine if I were still following what used to be Weight Watchers' Core plan, but I've added back so many things that I would have to count, that it really wouldn't make sense to attempt that. It's not that I'm eating horribly, I just need to get my portions under control and start saying "NO!" to most sweets again.

Sweets are my downfall. I think they are like a drug to me. I need to stay away, otherwise I go overboard. If I stay away, I don't crave them. If I allow myself more than a tiny bit, then I won't stop myself from having more.

I've added a link at the right to my food journal at FitDay. So far, I like the simplicity and thoroughness of this journal. I actually canceled my Weight Watchers eTools subscription, although that will run until September, because I had recently renewed for three months.

I'm going to try to bring my macros more into alignment with what is laid out in New Rules. They recommend calorie distribution of 40% carbs/30% fat/ 30% protein mix. Judging from yesterday, which was typical besides limiting overall calorie intake, I'm heavy on the carbs and light on the fat and protein... and that was even after adding some cheese. The point system at Weight Watchers was nice and easy, but it wasn't able to track macros. So, we'll see how this new thing works out. FitDay has a premium option for $5.49/month. They also have a PC based version. I wonder what the difference is. I'll give the free version a while before deciding to pay. I have no problem paying if I get benefit out of it, though.

So, I weighed myself this morning and I'm starting at 154lbs. That's even considered an overweight BMI again. *sigh* I know if I build muscle, the BMI won't mean much, but my clothes are tight right now. I'm definitely not a lean, mean muscle-machine. I wore a skirt on Sunday that was a size up from what I've been wearing lately and it fit well. A few months ago, it was too big. So, back to the downward motion of the yo-yo. Hopefully, I can do one of those yo-yo tricks where you make it spin at the bottom and don't jerk it to make it roll back up.



I haven't worked out since Friday. The sun burn is finally calming down. I moved my PT appointment from yesterday to today in the hopes that it would be less painfull. Sliding my back on the wall was NOT going to happen yesterday. It might not happen today, either!

End of Stage 3

Today was Stage 3 B4, the end of stage 3. It was an ok workout, but not very exciting. I couldn't really increase the weights. I also left off the intervals.

Saturday, I got a bad sunburn, and it's still hurting. That really zaps the energy out of me.

That's all.

Balance Trainer

Because I'm soooo enthusiastic about these bikes here is a picture I took of my daughter last night:


Notice the shoes on the wrong feet. ;) With as fast as she's able to ride now, we probably need to get her a helmet!

Better lifting today

Today turned out better than Wednesday. I had more energy and was able to increase some of my weights.

Since two guys were already in the small weightlifting area of the gym, I started off with the intervals. Maybe not the optimal configuration, but it didn't seem to have negative effects.

I did the intervals on the upright stationary bike.

Then I proceeded to Stage 3A4 of New Rules.

1 arm db snatch: 2x30#ea then 1x35# each. (powerful! I had to retry one of them because the weight didn't get all the way up.... that really emphasized how this is primarily a lower body exercise, not an arm exercise!)

db single leg rdl: 3x35# ea (not bad, keeping my balance better... maybe could increase weights if my grip would hold out that long!)

bb bentover row: 1x80#,1x85#,1x4@90#,2@85# (nice strong feeling with this one, a little grunting and fighting an urge to cheat!)

db single arm overhead squat: 3x15#/30# (partial squat due to knee, so increased the weight)

db incline bench press: 3x30#ea (30# over my head is scary, it'll be a while before I trust myself with 35#)

planks: 3x90sec (I made it all the way from 100 to 1 then back up to 10 on the last set... remember to breathe!!)

rev woodchop: 3x41# (will I ever be able to increase these??)

The physical therapist again wore me out. When I got home, I was beat and my knee was sore. I think I'll try to do those same exercises tomorrow.

Just ok

Today (Wednesday) was 3B3. it was just ok. I didn't increase weights. I didn't feel very strong. I did intervals on the stationary bike. The cool thing about that is that I could read.

That's all.

continued... almost chin-up and balance trainer bike

While we were on our walk last night, we stopped by the playground. While we were there, my husband grabbed a bar and did a chin-up. He challenged me to try, so I did. First, I tried a pull-up (hands facing out) but only got half-way up. Then, I tried a chin-up with a little bit of jump and did it! I'm sure with some work in stage 6 of New Rules, I will be able to do a straight-arm chin-up. I was worried I wouldn't be able to, but now I have hope. Maybe I should set my sights on pull-ups! Today, I actually feel it in my shoulders. I can't think of anything I did at PT to make my shoulders sore, so it must have been the chin-ups. I did a couple of them with the initial momentum addition. The jump wasn't a whole lot of help, it's not like I jumped to the top. The bar was well over my head. Standing flat footed, my arms were almost straight reaching it.

Since I mentioned my daughter riding her balance trainer bike (aka foot-to-floor or pedal free bike) I thought I would put a plug in for it. I strongly feel this is the best way for kids to learn how to ride a bike. Both of my kids have learned on this bike, starting at about 2 years 4 months. Basically, as soon as they were big enough to touch the ground with the seat all the way down they were on it. Both had a good grasp on balance after only about 3 walks. After a month or so, they are flying down the sidewalk, gliding with each step. It is really a sight to behold. It is actually a bit easier for them going up a slight hill than going down, since slowing down is harder. They have limited the turning range of the handlebars so that the child cannot turn too fast and jackknife. Sure, we have a few accidents, but the accidents with these things are MUCH milder than with bikes with training wheels. With my son, after a summer on this, the next summer, he was riding a bike with pedals. He was 3 1/2 years old.

Below is the type of bike we have for the kids, although we didn't have a piece of padding on the handle bar. We paid something like $70 for the thing, which I felt was a lot, but it has now taught three kids how to ride. I definitely think it is worth the money. Ours was imported from Germany, but slowly I'm starting to see similar bikes available locally. I have no idea why it took so long to catch on here. With my son, I don't know how many comments we got from people who saw him. Everyone was in awe.

12inch Kettler balance trainer bike

PT and a bit of running

Boy, I taunted my physical therapist yesterday by telling him to put more weight on the partial leg press. Then he proceeded to kill me! Haa. Like holding a sitting position with my back on the wall for two minutes and lots of exercises in a squatting position.

Then, after dinner we went for a walk as a family. Well, my son and his friend rode their bikes and my daughter rode her pedal-free bike. Before she never rode very fast. Well, with the boys up ahead, she was motivated and rode like crazy. So, we actually had to jog along with her. I was still wearing my workout clothes from therapy, so that was good. I probably ran about a mile in total.

Biking, but not going anywhere

Not much to say about today's workout. Per the PT's suggestion, I rode the stationary bike today for 30 minutes. Not my favorite thing in the world, but I had too much pizza last night! And some of a berry milkshake. I told myself then that I would have to work out this morning, so I fought against talking myself out of it this morning and I actually won!

I would rather ride my own bike. But, I'm not sure about riding on the streets when it's still dark out and the people on the road are still half asleep and more concerned about downing their coffee. Also, the area around here isn't very challenging for bikes. Riding around the neighborhood sounds pretty boring. Maybe I'll try it some time for kicks. At least then I could use the GPS on my Garmin!

I set the bike to a "cross-country" course. There were some VERY steep hills. I definitely was sweating a lot. The nice thing is I could read a book. I actually was reading a book on speech writing. Not a bad book, but probably not what most people read while on the stationary bike! Ha!

I wore my padded bike shorts today. Probably a good choice. I don't like the seat on the bike, though. It's a big seat, like those you see on "comfort bikes." I'd prefer a normal narrower seat, not the super narrow kind some of the really serious bikers use, but a run-of-the-mill regular seat.

No Body Weight Matrix for me :(

Today I did Stage 3 Workout A3 for New Rules of Lifting for Women.
It was a good workout today. I was sweating up a storm! I felt strong.

I did these weights today:
1 arm db snatch - 1x25#, 2x30# (with 30# I felt really strong for some reason)
db single leg Romanian deadlift - 3x35#ea (got better with each set)
barbell bentover row - 3x80#
db single arm overhead squat - 3x12# & 25# (partial squat due to knee)
db incline bench press - 1x25#ea, 2x30#ea (limit of left arm, a little scary due to wobble!)
plank - 3x90s (sweat!!)
reverse woodchop - 3x41# lifted (~81# on the cable)

Instead of the body weight matrix of squats, lunges, squat jumps, and lunge jumps, I did an interval session on the stationary bike. My left knee was really clicky when I squatted, so I headed my physical therapists advice and skipped those. He said I should ride my bike a lot, so I chose that for the interval session.

All in all a great workout. Several of the exercises seem to get better with each set. My balance improved over time, too. Weird.

My heart rate actually didn't get much higher while biking. Probably because I was sitting. It doesn't show up for the planks, either, even though I was really working! Those first three big spikes were the 1 arm dumbbell snatches.

Heartrate for Weight Portion

Heartrate for Bike Intervals

Oh, my calves!

Today was NRoLfW Stage 3B2. It went fine. I didn't go down to horizontal on the partial single leg squats, but I don't think I'm supposed to anyway.

I did the intervals on the recumbent stationary bike. That went well. I set my Garmin to time me on those. It was kind of funny/embarrassing to have it beeping away at me. There was only one other person in the gym at the time, though.

Friday that physical therapist had me doing some good exercises. One was a calf stretch then calve raises. Holy cow. Saturday, Sunday, AND today my calves have been REALLY sore. It's the upper part right below my knee that is sore.

We went camping this weekend, including some mild hiking. I swear I was waddling a lot. Especially when I'd get up from sitting for a while. But, Friday after the PT session, my knee felt great and the clicking was gone for a while. But, it did come back.

Got the bike out!

Since the physical therapist wanted me to ride bike, I got it out tonight. I had a meeting about 2.5 miles away, so I rode there. I was running late, so I kicked it pretty good. Not much of a leisurely ride. I even broke a sweat, which means something because it was a nice, cool night and the ride wasn't very long.

I rode relative fast back, too, because the sun was going down. I had my lights and even my reflective vest, but twilight is the worst time for visibility. I even am wheezing a tad now. It was a tad humid, so that probably contributed. I did get up to around 160bpm a couple times.

While riding I sometimes felt my knee cap tracking problem. Now that I know what to feel for, I can tell sometimes. It doesn't hurt as it's happening, but a dull ache appears over time. I noticed a little behind my knee for a while.

It was a nice ride. There are lots of hills, so it's not that bad sometimes that I have a mountain bike. I have lots of gears to shift into and never am tempted to walk. Down one hill, I hit 23mph. Of course, on my way back, I had to punch it out at 5mph.

Back from physical therapy

I just got back from physical therapy for my ongoing knee problems. I was really impressed with the therapy I received. I have an appointment for Friday.

I'm going to take a few notes here so I don't forget what I'm supposed to do and what I was told. It is very possible that I am remembering incorrectly, or incompletely, this is just what I recall, and my memory can be lacking.

There were a few things going on that we are going to try correcting. Hopefully, this will correct the situation. Although the pain is relatively minimal now, it's been ongoing for 5 months.

Here are the contributing factors he identified:
1) Weakness in a muscle on the medial side of the knee... I want to remember the name of this... he said there are four muscles around the knee and this is the only medial one, it's the one you see large on Lance Armstong, he said. Biking will help strengthen this muscle. Maybe the vastus medialis? That looks right. Here is some info on it being weak. This sounds similar to what the PT was saying. That's right. Now that I read more, he was talking about the quads (hence, four muscles) and I remember hearing the term VMO (Vastus Medialis Oblique) which is the lower part of the Vastus Medialis. This link really confirms what was said, including the patella tracking, and this link sounds a lot like what I've felt.
2) Left leg is shorter - might have helped cause some of the other imbalances?
3) Left leg muscles are tighter and less flexible than right leg, especially calf, this tightness and limited ROM was pretty obvious when he compared with the right side
4) Hip bones out of alignment - apparently there are times of the month for women when the things holding the hips together loosen up and the hips can get out of alignment
5) Patella not tracking straight - it was pretty apparent the "detour" it took in the middle of the range of knee movement (probably very related to #1) - my right patella tracked straight as an arrow

He checked other things like my ACL and PCL and the meniscus, but all of those checked out fine. (I'm glad about that!)

So, he put a warm pack on my back for a few minutes and realigned my hips. That went quickly.

Then he used electromyostimulation or Electric Muscle Stimulation on my knee (I believe that's what it was). He put the electrodes on my knee and made my muscles pulse. He said that this would help get the little bit of fluid from behind the patella that was a result of the inflammation. My knee was clicking some which indicated some irritation from the patella rubbing. He wants me to take some ibuprofen to decrease the inflammation. Also, I should ice frequently to keep the inflammation down while I am working on correcting it.

He taped my knee using "McConnell taping", which is basically pulling the patella medially to try to help it track better. (I'm unsure of how you use that in a correct grammatical way!) I'm not sure this is totally correcting the situation, because I can feel the clicking still. I think my vastus lateralis (outer quad muscle) is just plain strong.

I have a list of stretches and exercises I am supposed to do 3 sets of 25 of each day. I'm not supposed to run for a while and I'm supposed to avoid squatting, especially deep squats, until we get this fixed. Those activities would keep the inflammation going. So, I'll be modifying my weights and not running for a little while.

All in all, I think it was a productive session (almost two hours) and I was impressed with the therapist who saw me. I am satisfied that we're looking in the right direction and that I'll be able to correct the situation!

Wobbly legs

Not a lot of time to blog today. Just returned from Stage 3A2 and my legs are still wobbly!

Not much new right now. I improved my body weight matrix times to 3:40 and 3:30 this time. Although, for the last rep, I short squatted about the last two or three squat jumps. Should I take a 5 second penalty? :)

I'm getting the one arm dumbbell snatch better. Although, it's going to be a huge effort to go from 25# to 30#. Especially for my left arm. My right arm does ok with 25#, but I can tell it is on the limit for the left. I wonder if I should use differing weights or let my left arm catch up?

The dumbbell incline bench press is still good. I don't know how I'll ever be able to go from 25# to 30# each on these. I wish I had a way to go by 2.5# increments.

Plank were TOUGH. yikes. Especially that third set of 90s.

Tomorrow is my PT appointment. I hope they have some input for me. Lately, if I have soreness, it's above my knee cap. I have no clue why it moves around like that.