Kicking LEs butt!! Exercise & Self Care Log
Comments
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Hugz, I think you won the walking-environment sweepstakes this week!
Dawne-Hope, it's not realistic to get all the exercise in every single day. A lot of days mile steps are not very aerobic, and I'll bet that even though you think you didn't 'exercise' yesterday, you still moved, and that counts a lot.
I've been getting my steps in, for just over 4 miles the past few days, and Monday I was in the gym and did breathless intervals for a half hour on a treadmill. I find that to be hard work and tedious, but my trainer promises me that it's a great way to build fitness. Also did my usual weight routine with him that day. Today I'll walk around home, and outdoors if it's not windy. I've actually been having some kind of LE honeymoon for about a week and have skipped a lot of MLD with no consequence. It would be nice if this lasted, but of course, it won't!
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Morning group, copied another guy at the gym last night regarding a stretch that looked good for my tight hip.
lordie but the hip is feeling better today so need to do that more often. It was just using massage table to put one leg up, bent and sure did the trick. Also gym has new elipticals that I am really really enjoying. Never really liked some of the older models as they were not me freindly. But working on building up time on this guy. Heart rate sure goes up more on them then on any of the other things.
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Top of the world all:
Proud, Thanks for that stretch info, I enjoy reading all the different hip stretches as my hips are a big problem. I asked physio yesterday if I should try hills and stairs and given that my hips still hurt although the stretches she gave me are helping she still said.... NO
It will be one year in May that I have had to refrain. Use to do 16 flights of stairs 3 times a week. What were the yoga stretches that someone here posted a link to for hips? I can't find the post. One was pigeon pose and I can't remember the other. The pigeon was difficult for me to do, I may need to modify. Was it the yoga girl that posted them?
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I found an interesting article about using rhythmic belly breathing while running to minimize injury. I'm no runner, but I wonder if the same principles apply to walking and to all our various exercises that have us using our feet. As we know, belly breathing is a solid LE strategy, but I'll bet that we're all breathing at the chest during most exercise.
Here's a link to the article, which includes a video. I got this link in a newsletter from Zensah, the compression shirt maker. http://www.runnersworld.com/running-tips/running-air-breathing-technique
What does everyone think? Could this help us move lymph while helping to prevent injury?
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Happy baby was the other yoga stretch suggested, no idea how to do it~
I need to look into that one as well, guy at the gym was suggesting the yoga classes to me but honestly, they are so crowded you have to get there early to get a spot!
I think deep breathing helps in many ways, for me it helps my asthma and when I used to do spin class, I thought the deep breathing there helped a lot...note to self, need to get back into spin class again!
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Nibbana, Thanks. That baby pose is very similar to the one I do in bed every morn before I touch ground. It has been a lifesaver.
Be careful anyone starting out with tight hips and glute/medius. When I started something like babypose in bed last summer if I wasn't careful I would feel my glute/medius pull then ripping
sensation slightly as I was pulling. (don't want anymore scar tissuse than I already have.
)They were such tight muscles back then. Much better now.
Here is a hip/back stretch I love. Bed stretch. With one leg on the floor have other leg with a bent knee (about 90 angle) on bed. Lean over your bent knee towards the mattress stretching hip and back. Kills two birds with one stone!
I truly believe stretching is the only answer to stablizing my hip/back problem. With myofascial release and stretches I have been slowly stablizing.
Seems more girls then guys end up with hip/periformis tightness. I wonder if I has something to do with our female body mechanics.
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I'll be trying that baby pose tonight. My hammies are very tight, so I also do something much like what Hugz describes, which elongates the hamstrings nicely.
Got my 10,000 steps in today, with an hour of some nice moderate walking that elevated the heartrate without rendering me breathless.
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7808 steps today. Getting back on track with the exercise.
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Today I'll walk around home, and outdoors if it's not windy. I've actually been having some kind of LE honeymoon for about a week and have skipped a lot of MLD with no consequence
Carol
When you are doing all that walking, do you wear a sleeve?
My LE'ist has suggested that I was a person who really should have been told to wear a sleeve ONLY for EX. She is advising me to wean off the sleeve ( EXCEPT for exercise ) but wear my glove all the time , since I have a spot there that flares.
I am finding it difficult!
"First of all, it makes me nervous, since I am so used to wearing the sleeve all day. Still, when I think of it , I was ' prescribed' the daily use by a totally incompetetnt LEist so...Anyway, going w/out the sleeve also seems to make exercise more inconvenient, as I dont feel like getting dressed/undressed everytime I go to walk ( and dont forget I am at work all day)
What's a girl to do ?!0 -
Purple, I always wear the sleeve when weightlifting, and also when I'm doing very purposeful cardio work, such as when I'm walking at 4 mph or faster, or doing my intervals on a treadmill or elliptical, or a Leslie Sansone or other video that has me doing lots of arm movements and leg kicks, squats, etc. And jogging. And when kneading bread!! I put it on an hour or so ahead of time, usually, and I always leave it on for at least an hour afterward.
But two or three days a week, my goal is simply to get the steps in, with some moderate heart-rate elevation--not breathing hard at all, but aware that my heart is beating a bit faster than a la-dee-dah pace. When I do that walking, I'm not in the sleeve. Unless, of course, I'm feeling heaviness or achiness in the arm, in which case I'm in the sleeve because it feels better and I know some trouble is brewing. I do wear my Solaris Tribute to bed every night, and I wonder if that helps me to skip the sleeve during most days. I've had it since January, and it's comfortable to sleep in and I feel like I'm working on my lymph flow during the least intrusive part of my day.
When I wear my sleeve, I'm always in a gauntlet too. When not traveling, my work is writing, so I'm at my keyboard all day long, and often well into the evening (bad, bad!). The gauntlet makes me crazy when I'm typing. For some reason, it always seems to catch a few keys that do things like automatically open the 'start programs' window or worse. You should hear me sometimes, cursing at the stupid thing. That's part of why I really do not like to wear the compression get-up all the time.
I don't have near the LE problems that many of the women here do, so I have no reason to whine about a little keyboard inconvenience. LE is so random, I think it's just the luck of the draw and I'm fortunate to have a pretty mild case of it.
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Thanks, Carol.
Oh yes- I am typing in a glove all day long :>)
I did ask my LEist about a night garment , but she seemed to thing it was overkill. It IS however, the ' least intrusive' time as you put it, Perhaps I should re-visit the idea.
Many thanks
OH- also.... I would like to ask the others :
Do many of you think it is okay to put the sleeve on and exercise 5 mins later (and wear afterward for at least an hr ?) OR do you make sure, as Carol does- that its on for at least an hr before, as well?
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Purple, I usually put the sleeve on an hour or so ahead of heavy exercise, but once in a while, it just doesn't happen and I don the stuff right before starting. In truth, I have never noticed any difference in outcome, but just to be safe, of course it's probably better to try to remember to put the sleeve and gauntlet on well before starting. I'm interested in what everyone else does, too.
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Carol
I just purused a site with TRIBUTEs with a Candadian number.,..sure wish I had saved it. SO many pics .
I like the looks of the UE-AE which goes from the hand to the elbow and offers optional finger spacers which is what I imagine I might need. I'm sorry to take us off the EX topic, but just for a moment - can you (and others ?) tell me about how you get these night garments, general RX and INS requirements etc .. I know they are very pricey.
Thanks once again!
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Purple, I worked directly with a DME in Chicago, called Luna Medical. They work mostly with therapists around the country but will also take self-referrals. They handled all the insurance issues for me--faxed a request to my primary care doc to write a prescription (I dropped a heads-up note to the doc's office first), and then did the pre-clearance with my insurance. Then I went to their offices and was measured, and went back a few weeks later to check the fit and take it home. Easy peasy, except the 3 hour drive and the cost of course, but I was able to do this at the end of December when we'd met our deductible, so I had only a co-pay, which was about $200. Your therapist should be able to help you, even if she thinks it's overkill.
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Actually Purple, keep in mind that there are many night garments available, so in a perfect world, your therapist would agree that it could be helpful and if you want to proceed, help you choose from all that's out there. Some are less expensive than others.
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I don't put my garments on an hour before.
I always leave them on for at least an hour after.0 -
I finally got enough garments to dedicate a set as exericse garments.
Did barbell squats and good mornings today. Will walk lots of stairs for my quadriceps.
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Carol, That was an interesting article on breathing you posted. I am trying to belly breath more and I have noticed that I need to really remind myself when walking. About every 5-10 minutes I make myself do a few deep belly breaths for LE. That tai chi breather I posted a while back is pretty good too when I am at home or in the office.
Finally worked myself up to 5.45 miles today. I am not really enjoying the last 2 miles but am determined to do it a couple times a week. I really had no excuse today as the tide was out and the sun too. Had to cover up so I wouldn't burn. Yah... its the west coast, tomorrow it will probaby snow so with that in mind I try to get out as soon as the sun peeks thru. Thats what happened a couple weeks ago.
Gotta go finish my stretches. Off to do happy baby pose
Did lebed opening before exercise.0 -
Hugz, that article is interesting. Today at the gym I was on a treadmill for half an hour, and I tried out the method of alternating which foot starts an inhale. Not so easy! After a while it was easier, and then I tried really concentrating to make the inhale, which lasted 3 footfalls, be a belly breath. Really not easy, because it's hard to do that fast! Worth thinking about, though.
Gym today, so weights, and despite doing intervals on the treadmill for half an hour, I'm still short on steps. DH and I are about to step out for dinner out to celebrate today's wedding anniversary, so I don't know that I'll get the missing 2,000 steps in, but oh...what the heck!
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Carol, Yes I think one would have to be coordinated to do that step and breath.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY CAROL, I BET YOUR STYLING IN THAT HOT BOD YOU WORKED SO HARD FOR! NOW GO SHOW IT OFF IN THAT CUTE OUTFIT!
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I went out for a run in the rainforest today, in Mt Rainier's small section of rainforest.
There's something really primal about running in near bare feet in a rainforest.
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Nibbana, how fabulous! And in the past two days, I rode in a car! Traveled to see family, and especially little ones, for some bunny fun, with little personal time, so I decided not to worry about it. Back home now and hope to get back into my normal exercise habits starting tomorrow.
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Welcome back Carol!
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I'm back in exercise mode! 4.8 miles, mostly very fast on a treadmill with some jogging to boost the heartrate every few minutes. Did my usual weightlifting in the gym, plus stretches and core work. And I exercised my fingers a lot because I did a heck of a lot of work at my computer today!
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Went for a hike today, almost 3.5 miles but the beauty of it was being OUTSIDE! It was the perfect LE hiking day ... about 50 degrees ... just beautiful. Wish it would stay this cool throughout the summer! Went to yoga tonight, did some intervals on the bike. Now I'm listening to some baseball. My world is complete. LOL!
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Dawne-Hope, I want to be in your world! Snow flurries here yesterday! Winter, leave me alone! If the snow's not deep enough to play in it, I want it banished!
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The exercise-with-LE resources on stepup-speakout.org have been updated, mostly with more extensive information about Pilates in the trainer's version. Here are the links to the revised documents:
stepup-speakout.org/Trainer%20...
stepup-speakout.org/Handout%20...
These links take you to downloadable, printable PDF documents.
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Today's exercise report: 5 miles, from walking in airports and (mostly) walking in the chilly but sunny beauty of Washington, DC. A chill in the air makes you want to scoot along even faster!
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I have been running 2+ miles 5 times a week and do upper and lower body stretching exercise. My lymphedema is getting better and i have lost 30 lbs in this one year. I do lymphatic fluid drain exercise on my lymph removal side and it is helping a lot.
Take care.
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