Starting couch to 5k again
9.21.2009 at 10:57:37 PM
I did the couch to 5k program last summer. It went alright. I made it into week 6 which farther than some go. And it did feel good to be running. But for whatever reasons (that I'm sure are on my blogs from that time), I stopped.
After all the injuries of this year (neck, shoulder, back, etc.), I'm really taking it easy. I'm going to be really focusing on doing light exercises. That means cardio, including walking and jogging. I'm going to try doing couch to 5k and see how that goes. But if I feel any part of me resisting, I'm going to take it easy and go slow. And those light exercises also mean I'm going to be really taking it easy at the gym.
Oddly enough, I was already going slow at the gym. I could have progressed quicker but I'm in no rush to turn into a big muscle man. I just want to lose weight. While I was toning up, I wasn't improving certain aspects of my health. Because of my injuries, I've talked with several doctors including general physicians, an orthopedist, a chiropractor, and physical therapists. Yeah, it sounds like I'm a mess. But from that and my own knowledge of my body, these are my findings:
1) I had bad posture and I'm still working to improve it. Slouching all day and spending all waking hours at a computer with bad posture is not healthy. What I've learned is that spending a few hours a day doing physical activity does not suddenly fix the bad posture I had for the rest. I have to focus on this or my back will hurt again.
2) I have mild scoliosis. It's nothing too noticeable, but my first back injury this year occurred immediately adjacent to the bend in my spine. Back posture plus lifelong scoliosis plus gym/softball may have caused my back injury. Or maybe not. It's hard to say.
3) I have two vertebrae in my neck that don't look right on an x-ray. My doctor asked if I had been in a major car accident or had any significant neck trauma. But apparently I was likely born with this and it isn't causing me any problems. I actually wonder if this may contribute to my neck pain, but maybe not, which leads me to...
4) Don't crack your neck. I have for years and now I spend my days with a hurting neck. Thankfully I now have some exercises to eliminate my neck strain and some medication to help me through the next few days until I'm better. But it takes a lot of focus to not crack my neck. It became so second nature to me that it's like breathing. I just don't think about it.
5) Softball is dangerous. It won't stop me from playing, but almost all sports can lead to some sort of injury. But we don't have much time on this earth and it's not worth worrying about what could happen. If we all did that, we'd never walk out of our house. The most dangerous thing I do every day is drive to work. My brother went skydiving recently where a couple mistakes can lead to death. He was fine. I played one season of softball and hurt myself multiple times. I guess my luck is just worse.
I need to close off this rambling at some point and this seems as good as any. 2008 was interesting. I got another promotion at work and lost 30ish pounds. However, my friends and family went through deaths, illness, and hardship. I spent a lot of time last year worrying about other people. 2009 has been a lot more of me worrying about myself. I haven't lost the weight I hoped to lose and I've hurt myself a few times. But I regret nothing. I learned a lot this year and I still have a few more months to lose that weight.
After all the injuries of this year (neck, shoulder, back, etc.), I'm really taking it easy. I'm going to be really focusing on doing light exercises. That means cardio, including walking and jogging. I'm going to try doing couch to 5k and see how that goes. But if I feel any part of me resisting, I'm going to take it easy and go slow. And those light exercises also mean I'm going to be really taking it easy at the gym.
Oddly enough, I was already going slow at the gym. I could have progressed quicker but I'm in no rush to turn into a big muscle man. I just want to lose weight. While I was toning up, I wasn't improving certain aspects of my health. Because of my injuries, I've talked with several doctors including general physicians, an orthopedist, a chiropractor, and physical therapists. Yeah, it sounds like I'm a mess. But from that and my own knowledge of my body, these are my findings:
1) I had bad posture and I'm still working to improve it. Slouching all day and spending all waking hours at a computer with bad posture is not healthy. What I've learned is that spending a few hours a day doing physical activity does not suddenly fix the bad posture I had for the rest. I have to focus on this or my back will hurt again.
2) I have mild scoliosis. It's nothing too noticeable, but my first back injury this year occurred immediately adjacent to the bend in my spine. Back posture plus lifelong scoliosis plus gym/softball may have caused my back injury. Or maybe not. It's hard to say.
3) I have two vertebrae in my neck that don't look right on an x-ray. My doctor asked if I had been in a major car accident or had any significant neck trauma. But apparently I was likely born with this and it isn't causing me any problems. I actually wonder if this may contribute to my neck pain, but maybe not, which leads me to...
4) Don't crack your neck. I have for years and now I spend my days with a hurting neck. Thankfully I now have some exercises to eliminate my neck strain and some medication to help me through the next few days until I'm better. But it takes a lot of focus to not crack my neck. It became so second nature to me that it's like breathing. I just don't think about it.
5) Softball is dangerous. It won't stop me from playing, but almost all sports can lead to some sort of injury. But we don't have much time on this earth and it's not worth worrying about what could happen. If we all did that, we'd never walk out of our house. The most dangerous thing I do every day is drive to work. My brother went skydiving recently where a couple mistakes can lead to death. He was fine. I played one season of softball and hurt myself multiple times. I guess my luck is just worse.
I need to close off this rambling at some point and this seems as good as any. 2008 was interesting. I got another promotion at work and lost 30ish pounds. However, my friends and family went through deaths, illness, and hardship. I spent a lot of time last year worrying about other people. 2009 has been a lot more of me worrying about myself. I haven't lost the weight I hoped to lose and I've hurt myself a few times. But I regret nothing. I learned a lot this year and I still have a few more months to lose that weight.
Don't give softball a bad rap. I'm going on my 3rd injury-less season. Sure it's a sport, so like any other it has potential for some injuries. But if you are aware of your body's limitations, and don't push yourself beyond them, you'll be fine.