Kicking LEs butt!! Exercise & Self Care Log
Comments
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I knew someone here would know what bridges are! It is a simple one but I do it as part of a group of stretches I do every gym session. The stretches keep my hips feeling pain free and good and it really is helping my wicked bad bladder issues!
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Wonderful ideas ladies. Thank you! Sue
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milehighgirl, here's a link to the dvd I think many of us use (lebed method): http://www.gohealthysteps.com/store/?productID=3
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Thank you Carol!
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Actually I use the newer $12.00 DVD Healthy Steps Class #1 with Sherri and Mary. You might find this one useful Mile high...Sherri goes through the LeBed exercises standing in front of the camera while Mary does the same exercises sitting on a chair. The set up with the camera is pretty basic but the DVD comes with the same bubbles and blowup ball as the other.
I initially ordered this one because I am in Canada and have to pay extra for International postage so total cost was a factor.
Kathy
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Kathy, thanks for that information--I could use a change of DVDs to follow, so I might get the new one myself. I didn't know it existed.
Yesterday and today I got in lots of steps, but no cardio. Today was great though, a trip to the zoo with my daughter and grandchildren, who are little enough to want to make all the animal noises and just be silly. I did just under 12,000 steps today, and yesterday it was about 10,200, including multiple walks to a nearby grocery store as I ran errands to help prepare for my grandson's birthday party. It's so much better when walking is not just for walking's sake, but part of a fun day when you can forget it's exercise!
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It is boring going to the gym. I need to figure out a way to make it more interesting.
3 mins on Arc trainer,, something was wrong with that particular machine, the resistance kept doing weird things, so I got off of it.
5 mins recum bike
3 min elliptical (30 sec increase!)
back to another Arc trainer,,, 5 mins
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for me at my gym, I talk to folks and it makes the time go faster. Many folks have ear buds to listen to music
what helps me is a weekly session with my trainer, only 30 minutes but I feel accountable to him
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I did an hour of strength training and ab work at the gym, ending with some great, great stretches. I also did 20 minutes on a recumbent bike there. Also did some energetic stepping on a rebounder for 30 minutes, which did a pretty good job with the heart rate, and not so much pressure on my bum knee. A good day, except I think I ate too much today!
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8 min arc trainer6 min recumbent bike (increase)
3 min 30 sec on elliptical (baby increase) Yes, I'm going really slowly,,,, by the time I'm up to a normal person's endurance,, it will be time for surgery. oh well. I just dont want to flare anything up.
i do really like the arc trainer thing. I just need to get ear buds for listening to the TV's.
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glennie, you are doing just what you SHOULD be doing to build up endurance with LE's mischief at play in the background. And I think that as you recover from the surgery, you'll find that your work now will bring some nice benefits. Your heart is already stronger than before you started, and you'll find that exercise-wise, it's not two steps forward/one step backward--the surgery/recovery interruption will be a half step backward at most.
The best part of your post is the part about really liking arc training. That's what will get you motivated to return to exercise when you're cleared to do so, but still feeling sluggish. (Spoken from experience--I started working out a few weeks before surgery, out of terror of being in an OR for 12-15 hours and thinking my cardiovascular system wasn't in shape for that. I was stunned to learn how much I loved how I felt after exercise. Memory of that full-body 'ahhhh' feeling after workouts is what got me back after bmx/diep, one baby step at at time, even when I often felt more like gluing myself to the recliner.)
You are doing great!!
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I had this crazy idea last night and I cannot let it go without asking for opinions here. What if we had a patient-initiated and run LE compression and exercise weekend somewhere? As in, get together, round up some friendly exercise trainers/instructors who are also schooled in LE, find a fitness facility willing to provide space and equipment, and have lots of sessions where we can learn about and try different forms of exercise, including adaptations for our fitness levels and our LE needs, and learn about precautions, etc.? Also try to interest the various garment vendors to come and show their wares; and we all bring our drawersfull of compression garments for some show and tell and lots of chatter about what we've tried, what worked, didn't work, etc? I don't suspect it would be cost free to do this--I'm thinking of a few true exercise experts who might donate their time, but travel costs would have to be covered, and the gym or fitness center might need to recover some costs. And of course, we would have to pay to travel, stay, and eat. If we did this, would enough people be able to pay to travel to the event, plus say, $50 toward the event costs, to make it happen? And where (what city) is the most accessible place, with low airfares and hotel prices? I wonder if it's Las Vegas. I thought of this crazy idea in an email conversation with a friend late last night and really could not get to sleep for all the thinking about it.
Thoughts? I know that air travel is spooky for lots of people with LE. I do fine with it (in sleeve/gauntlet, of course), but I wonder if it's an impediment to organizing a gathering like this. Who would travel to a Lymphedema Kick-Butt Weekend?
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Carol,, what a FAB idea!! I would love to attend. I would love to get some exercise tips from LE qualified instructors.Vegas is a possible,, but also consider Orlando. Direct flights from many places and TONS of hotels.
Edited: to say,, Disney is always trying to suck people down to Orlando. If we plan this for the "off" season, I think we could do well on hotels and so forth. May and Sept/Oct/early Nov usually good months. The first 2 weeks of Dec are beautiful,, rates and weather wise,,, but a lot of people would probably hesitate to travel between the two major holidays,,, which is why things are so cheap then!
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And THANK YOU for the encouragement! The elliptical is harder, but feel like I should be doing that for my arm. But I do prefer the Arc Trainer. So that will give me motivation to keep going and improve my cardio before surgery. One month and 2 days to go. I gotta do kick some butt now!0 -
congrats to finding a machine you like! We all are dif and it is great to have a place with lots of options. I change up every so often. Recently, my trainer showed me some new things to do with the ball for my balance and I am loving it, doing it at home, and improving greatly! matter of fact, need to get my butt going as my apt is today!
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Cardio 3 days in a row. A new record!Elliptical: 4 mins (baby increase again) why is this machine so hard for me? I don't get it. It always has been. Even before BC. I keep do it cuz it's the only cardio machine that moves the arms. Am I making sense?
Recum bike: I swear this is mostly a slight cool down between machines. 6 mins.
Arc Trainer: a whooping 10 mins today. Woot! It is a weight bearing exercise, like elliptical, but yet I enjoy it more and it's not as hard to go the distance. I just don't get why. On the Elliptical, my HR was at 146 after 1 min. On the Arc Trainer, I stayed in a good exercise range. Go figure.
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glennie, woot, woot! Great work today! And Orlando is a very good suggestion for a get-together location. Lots to think about!
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Carol, what an amazing idea! Love the idea of inviting the garment folks to show up.
Orlando's not exactly central, and harder for our Canadian gals. But Vegas's off season is nasty hot. Still, even in-season it's relatively reasonable.
How would we get the word out? And is this just about bc-related LE or is anyone with LE welcome? And how about the lipodema gals?
And where on earth are you going to come up with savvy trainers?!
Better go haul out the suitcases...
Binney0 -
Trying to research the difference between the elliptical and the Arc trainer. The foot plates move differently, and the Arc trainer is supposed to be easier on the knees. Also the Arc "feels easier" yet you are supposed to burn 16% more calories using it than the elliptical. I just wish my gym had one with the arms. Maybe I'll try just pumping my arms on the machine, like I do when walking and see how that goes.Orlando is definitely not central,, I was just thinking of a place with a major airport and tons of not too expensive hotels. My main thing about Vegas is that it is HOT!! And I live in FL and say that! To me, that dry heat is way worse than our humidity! I love the idea,, and I would definitely go if I can get there.
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So, the first step is to use our collective intelligence and wisdom to identify a location that is thought to have relatively inexpensive flights and hotel accommodations. So, where do the low-cost airlines fly?
Binney, if on a weekend, I am optimistic that I could convince a few people to donate their trainer expertise, especially if we did exercise sessions all on one day, i.e. Saturday, and they could get home before the end of the weekend. Travel expenses would need to be covered, but I just think there are some wonderful folks out there--such as an OT who is about to release a book featuring Pilates workouts for BC survivors, and another great person, a personal trainer who helped run the PAL Trial. Wherever we might do this, there may be a lymphedema clinic or a hospital within range that offers Lebed programs, and whoever does that might donate time. As to whether to include others besides BE-related LE, certainly no philosophical objection, but I do think that the narrower the scope, the simpler and more likely successful a program that meets the needs of all the attendees. First time to do something like this--keep it simple if possible. But that's sure something to think about.
This is such a huge, huge 'maybe' --but it will never happen if we don't imagine it first!
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Vegas or Orlando. TONS of tourists go to both places. Not so much business travel as say, NY or Boston or DC, etc. Everyone goes to those places to PLAY, and the airlines cater to that,,,, in my opinion. And I think both places could be sources for cheaper hotels too. Some bigger cities may be more centrally located, Chicago, say,,, but I think hotels would be more expensive. Or do you think a smaller, but more centrally located city, like Cleveland or Kansas City? I just checked and Southwest flies to all of these cities. They are on the cheaper side, I think.side note: a pilates book for BC survivors?? Interested!!
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Hmmm, Cleveland. I have lots of peeps there that would make it convenient to spend time there investigating the possibilities.
The book is just about to be released on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Pilates-Breast-Cancer-Survi...
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Being an Ohio girl, I like Cleveland. I have a good friend here in Dayton who is a trained Myofascial and Craniosacral Therapist who is writing a book on Breast Health. She is also a breast cancer survivor. She would probably be open to presenting. She has treated me throughout my surgery and recovery which has helped tremendously. As I work in the schools, I prefer a summer conference but a weekend might work. Great idea, Carol.
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And they say Cleveland ROCKS!0 -
Cleveland is often misunderstood. There's a lot to love about that place! (And it's where my grandchildren are, and some lifelong friends, so I'm just a bit biased I guess!)
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Wherever this dream event might take place, we need to find a not-for-profit organization willing to participate to the extent of being the funds collection and disbursement agent. I organized a small-scale workshop here in Michigan a few years ago, for trainers and LE therapists to learn the exercise program used in the PAL Trial, and finding a money manager was no small feat. Local hospitals and a company donated money to help cover expenses, but they would not do so unless the recipient was a not-for-profit organization. And that organization needed to be willing to take credit card payments from attendees. Also, there's a chicken-egg challenge of sorts: sponsors/garment makers and presenters won't want to come unless they're sure there will be a good turnout, but most of us wouldn't commit in advance, let alone pay, until we're sure that there's a good program of presenters / exercise leaders and that there really would be enough of the different garment makers to have a chance to a lot of comparison-looking.
Whew, lots and lots of details to figure out!
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Carol, there are trade shows where all our dealers show up. If we could piggy-back on one of the trade shows they might be more willing to attend our event. Or maybe the trade-show folks would let us have our own event in conjunction with theirs? Worth a shot. I can't remember the name of the trade show Kira and I attended, but she'll know if you ask her. I suspect there are others as well, and we could no doubt find them if that seems like a good possibility to you.
Binney0 -
Binney, that's so smart! A few friends at the garment makers and dealers might be willing to help figure out some possible avenues here. Juzo wants us all (sincerely) to 'get moving' so they might well take a request for help to heart. I'll make some inquiries; if anyone else has well placed garment friends, PM me and we can coordinate efforts at some preliminary fact-finding along these lines.
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Exercise report: 10 mins on Arc Trainer, 8 mins on recumb bike. Lots of stress going on today and just didn't feel like doing the elliptical. Still really liking the Arc trainer tho.0 -
glennie sounds good to me!
me, no gym today as I have 4 hunkie guys installing a new heating and cooling system!! not thinking I will make it to the gym today
so it is a day off for me
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