Take Care of Your Body. Fuel it, Nurture It, Heal It, Love It. Because It's the Only Place you have to Live
These past couple of weeks have been full of ups and downs for me. I have had some great days and some bad days. Some very happy days and some sad days. One of the hardest things for me has been an old injury flare-up, on one of my knees. I believe it was due to a mixture of things, too much physical activity and pressure on my joints, upping my weights for certain exercises too quickly and stress. But, I am unsure of how it happened exactly. I have been working hard and pushing my body to new limits, but perhaps at a pace that certain parts of my body could not keep up with. So, in the past week+ I have forced myself to take a few extra rest days, and focus on other things, like stretching and a bit of yoga. This might sound easy to some, but for me it has been a real challenge, as working out is a regular part of my routine. I still managed to have 3 good workouts last week, focusing on Core, Arms and Cardio, but in the past 10 days or so, I have been avoiding putting any real pressure on my knee (i.e. weighted squats of any kind or high intensity exercises such as Jump Lunges, Box Jumps, etc.). If I felt any kind of exercise was putting too much pressure on my knee I stopped, and adjusted the exercise or moved on to a different one. I have been doing my best to let it heal, while still staying active the best I could.
Exercise is a form of therapy for me, its precious time spent taking care of my body. Whether its a guided routine from the BBG2.0 or a Heavy Lifting Session, it helps me clear my head, helps me feel energized and makes me feel stronger both physically and mentally. Exercising has been a huge part of my life the past year, and even more so the past few months. Not being able to workout as I normally do has been mentally challenging, but I know it is so important to not keep pushing the body, as a more serious injury could occur. So, this past week plus I have been giving my knee some extra time to rest and recover, by avoiding heavy leg workouts, doing some extra yoga and stretching and refueling my body with healthy food and lots of water and it's feeling much better. And as of today, I will be jumping back into an adjusted version of my routine. I will be continuing with Kayla Itsines 2.0 Bikini Body Guide and do a few extra weighted exercises after, but I will still avoid any heavy squats, as these seem to have possibly triggered the injury flare-up in the first place. I will primarily focus on the workouts from the guide, i.e. resistance sessions, HIIT and steady state cardio and limit heavy lifting, focusing on form, not weight. (Updated Workout Schedule for the Week is lated at the bottom of this post)
Our bodies are Amazing! They keep us going, moving, exploring. They keep us breathing during the night, heal our wounds and fight off sicknesses. They are amazing and deserved to be loved and respected for all that they do. For a long time, I put my body through unnecessary yo-yoing of unhealthy eating habits, different diets, binge eating and purging, too much drinking, working out too much, to not doing any form of physical exercise at all. It has taken me years to finally move past all that and truly appreciate and take care of my body, but I am still learning more everyday. And with each new experience I am seeing what I am capable of both mentally and physically. Little things like this, help me realize and truly appreciate how grateful I am for my health and my body. And I am going to do my best, day in and day out to keep taking care of myself by eating healthy, working out (but not overdoing it!) and giving myself the proper time to rest and recover.
Today is a New Day, a New Week, a New Chance to Set some Goals and go out there and do your Best to accomplish them! I know I'm feeling excited about this, ready to get back in the gym, focus on creating more healthy meals and get better organized! This morning I wrote down a list of goals I have for the next few weeks, and I plan to start working towards them Today. I am determined to make the most of this day and every day that follows and really finish 2014 on a strong and positive note! I encourage you all to do the same. And as a reminder, listen to your body and take care of it the best you can! If you feel like you need to rest, rest. If you feel as though an injury is coming on, take the proper precautions and try to avoid using that part of your body (something I did Not do). Keep pushing yourself, but remember it's Not a Race!
Workout Schedule
Monday, Dec. 8th: BBG2.0 Legs, followed by a few additional Leg exercises, targeting the hamstrings and glutes, stretching. ~Finished! Went pretty well~
Tuesday, Dec. 9th: 35-45 Minutes of LISS (light impact steady state cardio, fast paced walking with incline intervals), a few Ab exercises + lots of stretching and Yoga.
Wednesday, Dec. 10th: BBG2.0 Arms, followed by additional weighted Arm exercises (free weight & machine).
Thursday, Dec. 11th: 35-45 Mins LISS + 10-15 minutes HIIT. Lots of stretching.
Friday, Dec. 12th: Active Rest Day (my boyfriends Birthday). Plan to do Yoga and do a lot of walking.
Saturday, Dec. 13th: BBG2.0 ABS + 25 minutes HIIT(including warm-up and cool-down)
Sunday, Dec. 14th: Personal Challenge from BBG2.0, 1000 Rep Challenge (if my knee is feeling okay). Yoga and lots of stretching.