I actually meant to post this yesterday but forgot to due to some house work that I was doing. So another day of physical therapy done. Today was a really fun one I have to say. I was feeling pretty strong today and some of the exercises felt a bit easier but still kicked my butt and arms.
We did a little "toe yoga" as my physical therapist likes to call it. A little backstory: I have been having pain in my right big toe lately. It hurts when I walk so I have to walk as if I'm limping so it doesn't hurt too much. If I try walking normally it would feel as if my toe would possibly disconnect. I don't think it would though it just feels that way. Anyway, so the toe yoga I think is helping. Basically, what I need to do is alternate between lifting my big toe and the other four toes. Keep my big toe on the ground while lifting the other four toes and then lift my big toe while keeping the other toes on the ground. It's difficult to say the least. Does anyone (who's tried it) have a hard time doing that too? Hopefully the way I explained it made sense. It's a lot easier for me to do barefoot without socks on. My left foot is easier than my right but it's still difficult. What makes it hard is that my second toe always tries to lift with my big toes and keeping it down is hard. I recommend trying it if you haven't. It's pretty fun to do to see what kinds of things different parts of our bodies can do.
I also wanted to say I managed a few more victories too. It felt so good but again eye-opening. I got to use the physioball/swiss ball or whatever you call it again. I always find it fun because it really helps me engage my core which you need to do to balance on it. I did some Close Rows and an exercise that I don't know the name of. I'm going to try to explain it and hopefully someone knows what I mean and can give the name of it. You start out sitting upright on the ball as if you're sitting in a chair. Back is straight and core is engaged. Your arms are out striaght in front you at shoulder height. Keeping them straight you bring them down and behind you where your hands are where your hips are but a bit further back ( depending on the flexibility of your shoulders) and then you bring them (keeping them straight) back up to shoulder height. I hope that made sense. I tried to find a picture but couldn't. Sorry about that. 😅 Either way it is a back and shoulder exercise and I felt strong doing it. I used resistance bands. It was fun. Does anyone else feel strong doing back exercises?
What really made me happy (other than what I mentioned) was doing bicep curls with both arms instead of one with 4lbs in each hand. So that's one of the victories I managed to accomplish. It was something else. Let me say 4lbs is no joke. 2 sets of 10 reps was a burner but I loved it. I miss feeling the burn doing exercise. It was a challenge but fun. I also had to remind myself of form and I also didn't need breaks either (except between sets).
Another thing was doing tricep extensions with the 4lbs as well except one arm at a time which was still a HUGE non-scale victory for me in general. Before all my pains all I could do was 3lbs per hand with tricep extensions but now with my pains and therapy I can do 4lbs even if it's one arm at time so that made me really happy. 😁 It was a huge burn too because I held each repetition for about a second or two. I was also reminded about form for those as well.
One thing I noticed while doing these exercises was my left arm had a way easier time than my right arm. I'm not surprised considering my dominant side is my left side but that means I need to work on getting my right arm to catch up. Has anyone worked out to see both sides are equal? Anyone to that point yet? I've also heard people ask if it's possible at all for both sides to be equal. I honestly don't know but it's worth a try.
Wall squats have to be the toughest exercise I've done in physical therapy but today (yesterday) it felt easier but still tough. I had 5lbs per hand and for some reason it was easier. Maybe I'm getting stronger OR it was just a stronger day for me. Either way I'm really happy and proud of my progress.
What really helped me with doing these exercises was my physical therapist and her assistant telling to always check my form and correcting where I don't realize I'm making mistakes. I always feel like I'm doing things right but then when I'm getting corrected I don't even realize that am or am not doing something. I'm ALWAYS being told to look in this HUGE mirror that they have in the "gym" area. It's a really cool little place. That mirror has really helped to see what I look like and what I need to adjust and where. This is why I'm happy to start over, I know it sounds weird, but I truly am because this whole time I have been working out I have been making mistakes with form without even realizing it. That's why Kelli and Daniel recommemd mirrors so you can see for sure that things are where they should be. If you don't use a mirror I HIGHLY recommend it OR have someone who knows about good form watch you and make sure everything is in check.
The big reason why I never used mirrors before is because...well I don't like looking at myself in the mirror when I do certain things. I always think I look stupid or too weird or just not good enough. I know it sounds bad and it is. I shouldn't be ashamed but I just felt dumb. But now I don't anymore because I need to see to fix what I need to fix and love what I see regardless of what it looks like. Sometimes we all need a good laugh. I tend to laugh at myself when I mess up sometimes and look like a weirdo. Am I the only one?
I feel like this a long post and I apologize but I didn't realize I had a lot to type. So anyway thank you for taking the time to read and possibly comment. All your thoughts, advice, encouragement really mean a lot to me and I appreciate it all immensely even if I don't get to reply to you guys. 😅
Physical Therapy Day 9
Hello Blender Peeps!
I actually meant to post this yesterday but forgot to due to some house work that I was doing. So another day of physical therapy done. Today was a really fun one I have to say. I was feeling pretty strong today and some of the exercises felt a bit easier but still kicked my butt and arms.
We did a little "toe yoga" as my physical therapist likes to call it. A little backstory: I have been having pain in my right big toe lately. It hurts when I walk so I have to walk as if I'm limping so it doesn't hurt too much. If I try walking normally it would feel as if my toe would possibly disconnect. I don't think it would though it just feels that way. Anyway, so the toe yoga I think is helping. Basically, what I need to do is alternate between lifting my big toe and the other four toes. Keep my big toe on the ground while lifting the other four toes and then lift my big toe while keeping the other toes on the ground. It's difficult to say the least. Does anyone (who's tried it) have a hard time doing that too? Hopefully the way I explained it made sense. It's a lot easier for me to do barefoot without socks on. My left foot is easier than my right but it's still difficult. What makes it hard is that my second toe always tries to lift with my big toes and keeping it down is hard. I recommend trying it if you haven't. It's pretty fun to do to see what kinds of things different parts of our bodies can do.
I also wanted to say I managed a few more victories too. It felt so good but again eye-opening. I got to use the physioball/swiss ball or whatever you call it again. I always find it fun because it really helps me engage my core which you need to do to balance on it. I did some Close Rows and an exercise that I don't know the name of. I'm going to try to explain it and hopefully someone knows what I mean and can give the name of it. You start out sitting upright on the ball as if you're sitting in a chair. Back is straight and core is engaged. Your arms are out striaght in front you at shoulder height. Keeping them straight you bring them down and behind you where your hands are where your hips are but a bit further back ( depending on the flexibility of your shoulders) and then you bring them (keeping them straight) back up to shoulder height. I hope that made sense. I tried to find a picture but couldn't. Sorry about that. 😅 Either way it is a back and shoulder exercise and I felt strong doing it. I used resistance bands. It was fun. Does anyone else feel strong doing back exercises?
What really made me happy (other than what I mentioned) was doing bicep curls with both arms instead of one with 4lbs in each hand. So that's one of the victories I managed to accomplish. It was something else. Let me say 4lbs is no joke. 2 sets of 10 reps was a burner but I loved it. I miss feeling the burn doing exercise. It was a challenge but fun. I also had to remind myself of form and I also didn't need breaks either (except between sets).
Another thing was doing tricep extensions with the 4lbs as well except one arm at a time which was still a HUGE non-scale victory for me in general. Before all my pains all I could do was 3lbs per hand with tricep extensions but now with my pains and therapy I can do 4lbs even if it's one arm at time so that made me really happy. 😁 It was a huge burn too because I held each repetition for about a second or two. I was also reminded about form for those as well.
One thing I noticed while doing these exercises was my left arm had a way easier time than my right arm. I'm not surprised considering my dominant side is my left side but that means I need to work on getting my right arm to catch up. Has anyone worked out to see both sides are equal? Anyone to that point yet? I've also heard people ask if it's possible at all for both sides to be equal. I honestly don't know but it's worth a try.
Wall squats have to be the toughest exercise I've done in physical therapy but today (yesterday) it felt easier but still tough. I had 5lbs per hand and for some reason it was easier. Maybe I'm getting stronger OR it was just a stronger day for me. Either way I'm really happy and proud of my progress.
What really helped me with doing these exercises was my physical therapist and her assistant telling to always check my form and correcting where I don't realize I'm making mistakes. I always feel like I'm doing things right but then when I'm getting corrected I don't even realize that am or am not doing something. I'm ALWAYS being told to look in this HUGE mirror that they have in the "gym" area. It's a really cool little place. That mirror has really helped to see what I look like and what I need to adjust and where. This is why I'm happy to start over, I know it sounds weird, but I truly am because this whole time I have been working out I have been making mistakes with form without even realizing it. That's why Kelli and Daniel recommemd mirrors so you can see for sure that things are where they should be. If you don't use a mirror I HIGHLY recommend it OR have someone who knows about good form watch you and make sure everything is in check.
The big reason why I never used mirrors before is because...well I don't like looking at myself in the mirror when I do certain things. I always think I look stupid or too weird or just not good enough. I know it sounds bad and it is. I shouldn't be ashamed but I just felt dumb. But now I don't anymore because I need to see to fix what I need to fix and love what I see regardless of what it looks like. Sometimes we all need a good laugh. I tend to laugh at myself when I mess up sometimes and look like a weirdo. Am I the only one?
I feel like this a long post and I apologize but I didn't realize I had a lot to type. So anyway thank you for taking the time to read and possibly comment. All your thoughts, advice, encouragement really mean a lot to me and I appreciate it all immensely even if I don't get to reply to you guys. 😅
Have a Blessed day!