Ran/walked 2 miles (alternating running and walking… I walked far more than I ran, but that’s okay).

200 crunches on my stability ball
50 pushups

_{Like most of my goals, I’m way behind on logging this kind of stuff, too… so I’m just not going to worry about it and start logging from here.}13 months ago

...has been feeling pretty good the last 4-5 days. I haven’t had to use my cane. I’ve been going for quite a few walks, and today I even did some running. Still trying not to over do it, but I feel optimistic. I’ve been doing a lot of stability exercises, and it’s seems to be helping. 13 months ago

...a rough night last night. Just wasn’t feeling very well. I had a lot of pressure in my chest and back. I’m nearly 100% sure it was related to something that I am eating. I’m going to switch my diet to some very basic, bland foods for a while and then start adding more variety in as time goes to see if I can identify what is making me feel this way.

I’m also way behind (as usual) in logging my exercise. I’ve had several martial arts classes and walks since I last updated. I will try to keep a better record from here on out because I think the accountability helps keep me motivated. 14 months ago

3/12/2012 – I walked 2 miles on my treadmill at 4 mph and at a 5% incline. Burned approximately 500 calories according to my heart rate monitor.

3/13/2012 – Went to a 90 minute martial arts class last night. Afterwards, I did 100 crunches on my stability ball, 3 60-second planks, 3 60-second side planks (on each side), and 30 side plank lifts (each side).

_{My body has that natural muscle soreness after working out, but my hip does hurt a little bit today, as well. I think the key to me finding a workable solution to this hip thing is two fold:}

_{1. – I need to be realistic about what my limitations are (that could get better or worse over time) and choose appropriate exercises for myself. I still want to work my entire body, though, so I need to be creative and be willing to try some exercises that I haven’t tried in the past.}

_{2. – I really feel strongly that if I start to do some exercises that strengthen my core and smaller stabilizer muscles that a great deal of this hip pain and my mobility issues will work themselves out (or at least improve significantly). There are a lot of exercises in martial arts that I know that I can begin doing now to help with this, but I’ve also been reading about a lot of the benefits of yoga and pilates. Unfortunately, I don’t have a ready access to classes for either because I live in a rural area (I just lucked out that there happened to be a quality place to learn martial arts in my area 17 years ago, otherwise I probably never would have gotten started in that, either). I might find some work arounds with the yoga and pilates (or at least some ways I can learn to do a few things in the mean time), but I am doing to start learning more exercises that I can do using my stability ball and start using more of the exercises that I know through my martial arts training.}14 months ago

I seem to have caught a stomach virus that quite a few people in this area have gotten recently. Not a fun day. Yesterday (3/8/2012) was very unpleasant. The virus only seems to last about 24 hours and just leaves you feeling very weak for a few days afterwards. I feel quite a bit better today, but achy from laying around all day yesterday and very tired. I might try to go for a walk outside today since it’s a beautiful day… I think the fresh air might do me some good. 14 months ago

I walked 3 miles on my incline trainer at 3 mph at a 5% incline. Approximately 500 calories burned. 14 months ago

I worked out for about 90 minutes at my martial arts class tonight. I had a positive talk with my instructor and we are starting to find some ways to modify some of the routines, forms (hyungs/kata), and techniques to better suite my current needs and limitations while still being true to the spirit of what these routines, forms, and techniques represent. I was still able to get a good workout without hurting myself (much).

There may be some joint supplements and stability exercises that I can do to eventually alleviate the need for the cane, but this is actually allowing me to learn a lot from martial arts that I may not have learned otherwise. I’m starting to look deeper into the forms and movements and examine what it is that they represent or what they intend as an end result. By understanding the intent and purposes, I can make appropriate modifications to the techniques or forms so that I am not changing the purpose or the intent while at the same time making them more practical for my current situation. I see this as a great opportunity to grow as a martial artists because in many ways it will make the techniques come alive to me in a new way and may end up making me a more affective martial artists in both a practical way and increase my ability to teach. I came to the conclusion several years ago that the most valuable things that I have learned through martial arts, though, are the things I have learned indirectly. I only get so much out of learning new ways to either hurt or heal someone, but the character development I get through discipline, perseverance, maintaining focus, and giving and receiving respect are what is really making me grow as person and as a martial artist. 14 months ago

I walked about 3 miles on my incline trainer (treadmill). The speed was set at 3 miles per hour and the incline was set at 5%. It was a pretty good workout. I burned about 500 calorie according to the incline trainer/ifit software. 14 months ago

...progress yesterday and today. Some of it was physically and some just mentally.

I ordered a cane yesterday on Amazon.com and I got it today. It seems to be of a good quality and I used it tonight when I wasn’t exercising. It’s a bit awkward, but I’m sure I will get used to it. I can tell that it will help. It’s not that I can’t walk without (or even run without it) it’s just that using it, according to my doctor, could make the difference between having a pain free day/evening and a painful day/evening. I would rather use the cane than have to result to using prescription pain medicines. We’ll see how this goes.

I made the decision to order the cane after I remembered a documentary that I watched last year about a guy who is a double amputee (both of his legs have been amputated) that climbed Mount Everest. He had to accept what he was, but by not settling for what that would mean to most people he was able to do something he dreamed of doing. It occurred to me that he never would have been able to do this if he had still tried to live as if he wasn’t a double amputee. Through his acceptance he was empowered because that gave him an opportunity to use the appropriate effort according to his circumstances. I want to be like that. I may or may not need the cane for the rest of my life, but if this man could climb Mount Everest with no legs, I can still do anything I’ve dreamed of regardless of whether I need the cane or not. I don’t have to settle for the idea that having a cane means that I have less options in life, but if I don’t accept that I need the cane I will never be empowered to find the solutions to this personal challenge. 14 months ago

...to get back into shape.

I had lost quite a bit of weight over the past couple of years (quite a bit of it in the last year, too). I really had started to feel like I was taking back control of my health. Unfortunately, last November I got kidney stones and pretty much had to stop working out for a while. By the time those passed and the doctor okayed me to begin working out again it was time for the Thanksgiving, Christmas parties, Christmas, and then New Years. During that time I also moved into the house I had been building. I did not maintain a very good diet or exercise much between Thanksgiving and New Years (other than going for a nearly 40 mile backpacking trip through parts of Smokey Mountain National Park). I thought I was going to start working out again in January, but I kept having trouble breathing and finally a sore throat and a cough began to set it. I went to the doctor and they told me that I had “walking pneumonia”. The antibiotics cleared up the “walking pneumonia” fairly quickly but during the treatment I had some chest x-rays. The doctors guessed that I must have had the “walking pneumonia” for a while because there was some slight scaring in my lungs and my lung volume was WAY below normal when I took a breathing test. So, they put me on prednisone for nearly six weeks (I finally got to stop taking them about week and a half ago or so). During that time the doctor said I shouldn’t workout or do anything strenuous. Between not working out for nearly four months, having a poor diet around the holidays, and taking the prednisone, I’ve gained 25 lbs (most of it during the time I was on the prednisone… damn steroids).

It’s really stressful to see yourself lose weight and then gain part of it back again. I had mostly maintained a healthy attitude, though, because I kept telling myself that I lost the weight before and that I will lose it again. It just takes time and it’s for my health… the people in my life that love and care for me will accept me regardless.

I was really excited when the doctor told me I could start working out again and I could stop the prednisone after my lung volume tests improved dramatically. So I started upping my efforts in my martial arts classes again and I started doing some body weight strength training exercises, burpees, and jumping jacks. I was ready to start loosing weight and working towards being a healthier me. But now my damn hip is killing me.

I was born with a slight hip deformity and it has caused my right leg, hip, and knee to grow in a way that isn’t quite normal (you really can’t tell it… most people don’t notice a thing, but occasionally someone will ask me if I’m limping… I just walk slightly different than most people). I’ve had chronic hip and knee pain in my right leg since I was a teenager but it’s mostly been mild. The doctors told me that it would worsen with age and that eventually I’d probably need to use a cane and take pain medicine (they also said any corrective surgery would probably just result in causing it to hurt more, too).

This hip deformity hasn’t ever really stopped me before. I’ve always been active with hiking, caving, rock climbing and things of that nature. I got into running last year towards the back half of my weight loss. I ran a 5K obstacle course last year, and I’ve even managed to get a second degree black belt. I’ve always been determined not to let my hip hold me back.

But now the hip pain has gone beyond a slight chronic pain and is really starting to hurt. I’m sure part of it is that I’ve gained some weight and the tendons and muscles just aren’t used to supporting that kind of weight while doing strenuous exercises… but it’s a catch-22 because I feel I can’t lose weight without doing strenuous exercises. The burpees I’ve been doing lately really made me realize I’m getting older and that I need to start taking this hip things seriously. The past week (especially since I started a recent burpee goal) have been very painful… and it’s not muscle pain it’s joint pain. I know the difference.

I feel stressed about this and, to a degree, it’s making me feel self conscious when normally I would be optimistic and just try to keep things in perspective. I need to find a long term sustainable way to stay fit despite my hip. 14 months ago