2677: Back to the Basics: Recovery and Foundation Building Plan by Lea Genders of Lea Genders Fitness

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_00]: This is Optimal Health Daily.

[00:00:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Back to the basics. Recovery and Foundation Building Plan by Lea Genders of LeaGendersFitness.com.

[00:00:09] [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm Dr. Neal Malik.

[00:00:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Hey there, happy Saturday! Thank you so much for being here and welcome back to Optimal Health Daily

[00:00:16] [SPEAKER_00]: where I act as your narrator of the best health and fitness blogs all for free.

[00:00:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Alright, and with that let's get right to today's post and start optimizing your life.

[00:00:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Back to the basics. Recovery and Foundation Building Plan by Lea Genders of LeaGendersFitness.com.

[00:00:38] [SPEAKER_00]: I have some bad news to share. I'm not perfect. Shocking, I know.

[00:00:43] [SPEAKER_00]: It happens to the best of us. I got injured.

[00:00:46] [SPEAKER_00]: I know I talk a lot about injury prevention for runners here but this wasn't a running injury.

[00:00:52] [SPEAKER_00]: But it is preventing me from running. If you've been injured, you know it sucks.

[00:00:56] [SPEAKER_00]: I was working really hard on my push-ups. I was progressing quickly.

[00:01:01] [SPEAKER_00]: I was feeling so great and confident about it that I pushed my progression too quickly.

[00:01:07] [SPEAKER_00]: I know better. Slow progression should always be the goal but I got overconfident and pushed too far.

[00:01:13] [SPEAKER_00]: I pulled a muscle. This is real life and I am far from perfect.

[00:01:18] [SPEAKER_00]: I made a mistake by pushing myself too hard but I was ready to take corrective action.

[00:01:23] [SPEAKER_00]: After I realized I did some damage, I immediately stopped lifting any weights.

[00:01:28] [SPEAKER_00]: You don't get better by pushing through. You get better by resting.

[00:01:32] [SPEAKER_00]: After I hurt my arm, I started running more than usual.

[00:01:36] [SPEAKER_00]: I still wanted to work out and instead of dwelling on what I couldn't do, I decided to focus on what I could do.

[00:01:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Besides, I love to run. I didn't think twice about it.

[00:01:46] [SPEAKER_00]: But time had passed and it wasn't getting any better. In fact, it seemed to be growing worse.

[00:01:51] [SPEAKER_00]: My shoulders felt sore and tight all the time and that pain in my arm wasn't going away.

[00:01:58] [SPEAKER_00]: It occurred to me one day after a six-mile morning run when I was in a lot of pain

[00:02:03] [SPEAKER_00]: that the arm swinging motion from running was making the problem worse.

[00:02:07] [SPEAKER_00]: If I was going to get better, then I needed to rest it. Really rest it. And that means no running.

[00:02:14] [SPEAKER_00]: I spent about a week feeling sorry for myself and not doing anything but my bare minimum goal of 10,000 steps a day,

[00:02:22] [SPEAKER_00]: which by the way is a lot harder when you don't run. It's time to get over it.

[00:02:27] [SPEAKER_00]: I decided that this is a great opportunity to get back to the basics.

[00:02:32] [SPEAKER_00]: I will focus on what I can do, not what I can't do.

[00:02:37] [SPEAKER_00]: What does that mean when you can't lift weights or run?

[00:02:39] [SPEAKER_00]: It means focusing on lower body, core exercises, balance, mobility and flexibility.

[00:02:46] [SPEAKER_00]: It's a great opportunity to return to the basics and rebuild a strong foundation while my arm and shoulder heals.

[00:02:54] [SPEAKER_00]: It will be frustrating to eliminate weights even from my lower body exercises.

[00:02:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Lifting a water bottle with my left arm hurts so I have to be careful not to put any unnecessary pressure on it.

[00:03:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Even holding a weight while performing lunges or squats will be too much.

[00:03:09] [SPEAKER_00]: I am mentally prepared that this will feel like a giant physical step backwards,

[00:03:13] [SPEAKER_00]: but to stay positive as to how consistent work on the basics will propel me forward in the future.

[00:03:20] [SPEAKER_00]: I am breaking out the BOSU ball to work on balance, foam rolling to work on mobility and flexibility

[00:03:26] [SPEAKER_00]: and bodyweight exercises for hip, ab and glute strength.

[00:03:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Who knows, maybe this was a good thing.

[00:03:32] [SPEAKER_00]: It's forcing me to take a step back and rebuild my foundation.

[00:03:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Once my base is strong and balanced again and my arm is fully healed,

[00:03:40] [SPEAKER_00]: I will be in a better position to get stronger than ever.

[00:03:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Stay positive, right?

[00:03:45] [SPEAKER_00]: So what does that plan look like?

[00:03:47] [SPEAKER_00]: It looks like a lot of exercise plans I have shared with you here

[00:03:50] [SPEAKER_00]: so I thought I would round up my best recovery and foundation building exercises.

[00:03:54] [SPEAKER_00]: 1. Foam rolling

[00:03:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Foam rolling can play an important role in muscle balance, injury prevention, mobility and flexibility.

[00:04:04] [SPEAKER_00]: 2. Prehab

[00:04:06] [SPEAKER_00]: I will need to regress some of these exercises so as to not put any pressure on my arm or shoulders,

[00:04:12] [SPEAKER_00]: but many of these will work in my recovery plan,

[00:04:15] [SPEAKER_00]: back to the basics of clamshells, hip raises and glute bridges for me.

[00:04:20] [SPEAKER_00]: 3. Lower body strength

[00:04:22] [SPEAKER_00]: There's always benefit in working on lower body strength

[00:04:25] [SPEAKER_00]: and this is a great opportunity for me to focus on balance and unilateral strength

[00:04:30] [SPEAKER_00]: since heavy weights are not an option.

[00:04:33] [SPEAKER_00]: 4. Cardio

[00:04:35] [SPEAKER_00]: Since running is not an option, I will continue to walk on the streets with my partner

[00:04:39] [SPEAKER_00]: but will also work on treadmill hills to increase the intensity of my walks.

[00:04:44] [SPEAKER_00]: I think I should be able to do it without much arm motion.

[00:04:46] [SPEAKER_00]: I'll let you know how it goes.

[00:04:48] [SPEAKER_00]: I know I can't push recovery any more than I could push progression,

[00:04:52] [SPEAKER_00]: but I'm hoping to be able to run again by the end of September.

[00:04:56] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm running the Rock and Roll Half Marathon in Vegas in November

[00:04:59] [SPEAKER_00]: and I'll need the time to get back up to speed with my training.

[00:05:02] [SPEAKER_00]: We'll see how it goes.

[00:05:08] [SPEAKER_00]: You just listened to the post titled

[00:05:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Back to the Basics Recovery and Foundation Building Plan

[00:05:13] [SPEAKER_00]: by Leah Genders of leahgendersfitness.com

[00:05:16] [SPEAKER_00]: and I'll be right back with my commentary.

[00:05:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Dr. Neal here for my commentary.

[00:05:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Let's first wish Leah the best of luck

[00:05:23] [SPEAKER_00]: and send her healing thoughts as she trains for her half marathon.

[00:05:27] [SPEAKER_00]: And yes, just as Leah said,

[00:05:29] [SPEAKER_00]: the pain means it's time to stop,

[00:05:32] [SPEAKER_00]: not time to push through the pain and see how it goes.

[00:05:36] [SPEAKER_00]: When the pain does stop

[00:05:37] [SPEAKER_00]: and you think you're ready to go back to normal activities,

[00:05:40] [SPEAKER_00]: please take it slowly.

[00:05:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Be very slow and intentional with your movements.

[00:05:45] [SPEAKER_00]: You don't want to have a setback that delays your healing process.

[00:05:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, and if the pain doesn't get better with time or gets worse even with rest,

[00:05:54] [SPEAKER_00]: that means it's time for a visit with your doctor.

[00:05:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Alright, that'll do it for today.

[00:05:58] [SPEAKER_00]: I hope you're having a great weekend if you're listening in real time

[00:06:01] [SPEAKER_00]: and I'll see you back here tomorrow for the Sunday show

[00:06:04] [SPEAKER_00]: and where your optimal life awaits.