What Are YOU Doing To Move Today???

Good Morning.... How about that storm last night?  Good thing I worked out during lunch, because by the time I fought the storm and walked in the door...I was done for the day.  So...no run (except from the building to the car in the parking lot - haha). Which means that I have to fit in a run tonight (along with the many other things that i have to get done tonight - UGH!).  it's all good, though.  Eye on the prize!!!! So...what are YOU doing to move today? Until tomorrow.....

Well, I did get into the gym as I had planned, but got very disgusted because the knee pain came back when I tried to run and I thought for sure my new shoes would help that problem. I spoke with a trainer, who feels that I need to focus on strength training right now to rebuild strength in that area of years of abusing my knees with excess weight. She also felt a visit to and orthopedist would be wise to make sure there's nothing medical going on, like arthritis or something degenerative, because I do have arthritis in my hands and it runs in my family. She also suggested sticking to the elliptical, walking or spinning. So, I immediately went into on of the studios and joined the strength training class, which kicked my butt and hurt my knees some, but not so bad I couldn't do anything. I felt soooo weak compared to the other people in the class, although I am pretty much the same size they are. So that's my plan for now...focus on building strength and flexibility (yoga) and then try, try again with the running as time goes on.

Having had knee surgery 6 weeks after WLS, I feel your pain. Concentrate on building up your quads and hamstrings which support your knees.  A seated leg press is wonderful for this.  Save leg curls and leg extensions until you build up using the seated leg press. AND START SLOWLY!  You'll get there! PS - I still can't do much walking (hmmm, is it the knees or the extreme boredom?) and I use a recumbent bike in the gym.  Outside in the real world I have no problem with my hybrid  bike (part road/part trail bike).

Now, having not done an assesment on you, I can only give you advice based on what you have written here. Definately work on the ellipticle - much lower impact.  Careful on the walking...sometimes it can aggreviate the problem - listen to your body.  Spinning can be iffy.  If you stand up a lot to do hill type work you could be putting some pressure on your knees to do that - BUT....play with the resistance to find one that works for you (a challenge without hurting you).

You also have to be careful with strength training.  While rebuilding the area, you could potentially damage it.  If you elect strength training, make sure that you do not work the same muscle groups on consecutive days - your muscles need time to repair themselves.  So, for example, on Monday, do arms and shoulders, Tuesday do the treadmill for 30 minutes, Wednesday rest, Thursday do full body strength training and ellipticle for 30 minutes, Friday rest and Saturday do ellipticle for 30 minutes and then chest and back strength training. The flexibility is also very important and yoga is a great way to stay injury free....HOWEVER....make sure that you are taking a true beginners class, as some of the poses may be more advanced and may cause damage.  I recently read an article on this very topic and the fact that many instructors really aren't knowledgeable and people are getting herniated disc problems.  So....be careful!