Weekly Rundown- The Week of Strength?
Ah, this was a week of so many things- Strength, hope despair… well, maybe “despair” is too strong a word- it never got that bad! But there were some definite ups and downs. Thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting… let’s get into the details. Sunday The week began so hopefully! I started with a 1 mile walk and then a 3 mile run… unfortunately my calf issue persisted. I tried some run/walk intervals, but it didn’t make any difference. That painful pulling feeling wouldn’t go away. In the afternoon I was feeling pretty down, so I decided to do a lower body strength workout from the Sally McRae app. It made me feel SO MUCH BETTER, and I decided that since I wouldn’t be running this week, I would do a strength workout every day. The “Week of Strength” begins! Monday But I didn’t want to do ONLY strength… I need my cardio fix. I started the day with a 45 minute pool run… … and then after work fulfilled my strength requirement by doing the Caroline Girvan deadbug workout. Tuesday Gym day! I did 30 long minutes on the stair climber, and then upper body strength. I haven’t done bench press in a long time, and it was immediately apparent. Wednesday In the morning I did a 3 mile walk, where I sadly did not set any new walking PRs. Later in the afternoon I did an upper body “pull” workout. Thursday Leg day at the gym! All the usual moves, but I really focused on squats. I hate them. In the afternoon, I had a dry needling treatment on my calf!!! The PT did a full evaluation first, and told me I need to stretch my IT band (or, more accurately, the muscles around my IT band- IT bands aren’t meant to stretch) and strengthen my piriformis on both sides. Yes, ma’am! Now please stick those needles in. I’m very hopeful this is going to help me, and I made another appointment for next week. Meanwhile I’m stretching and strengthening those muscles! Friday I had been sleeping poorly for the last several nights, so I decided to switch things up. I slept later in the morning, then did the CG deadbug workout before going to work. In the afternoon, I did a 45 minute pool run. A couple people asked about my flotation belt… you can see it here. I think I got it on Amazon? It was years ago, and not expensive. It works just fine though. Saturday Well, the “week of strength” fell apart today, unless you count the PT exercises for my piriformis. No? Then this was just a day off. Sunday The PT warned that my calf might be a little sore after the treatment, but not to worry as it was a good thing- in this case, pain=healing. But she recommended no-impact activities for the time being, so on tap for today- an exciting pool run! Sigh. It was a hard week because I don’t like not running. But, the extra workouts helped my mood tremendously, and I feel like I’m moving in the right direction with the dry needling. So- onward! How was your week? Any unusual ups or downs? Strength of cardio? – I’m obviously a cardio addict, but I have to admit those strength sessions helped my mood this week. Top photo by Victor Freitas on Unsplash