Cathe: No cardio for a while

V

val92083

Cathlete
Hi Cathe, and Everyone...

I have been in total denial about the intense pain in my left foot I've had for months, and have continued to do high impact aerobics. (I know, I'm an idiot.) I am seeing a doctor tomorrow (finally, after months of my husband nagging at me), and hopefully I will get help.

I'm pretty sure he will tell me to stop doing cardio for a while while my foot heals. I am hoping that I can still do weight training. Let's say that he lets me do weight training. Luckily, I am real close to my goals in inches and in how my clothes fit. My question is this: Will doing PowerHour 3 times a week and trying to eat clean allow me to at least maintain my body? I don't want to starve myself or go on a fad diet. I'm worried that I will gain pounds and inches because of lack of cardio.

I have all of Cathe's weight training tapes except the CTX series. I thought that PH would be good because the fast pace keeps my heart rate up somewhat, but if you all have any suggestions, please let me know.

This isn't the biggest problem in the world, and I am grateful that I will be able to do Cathe's cardio again "someday", but I worked hard to get where I am and I don't want it to slip away.

Thanks!

Veronica
 
Going to slip in and say

that with all of the lunges in Power Hour--you won't be able to position your foot safely for them while it heals. TOO DANGEROUS!! You will need to modify big time--Slow & Heavy or Pure Strength upper body--and squats may be okay--but not lunges where the foot is tipped onto the toe.
Pilates mat work--is good. Even some yoga poses where the foot is tipped may not be good. Let us know.
 
you can do other cardio right?

You can swim or bike (or take indoor Spinning classes) there's also a rowing machine and lots of other things you can do to keep up your cardio that you dont need to put pressure on your foot for.
 
RE: you can do other cardio right?

I don't belong to a gym, and really hoped not to have to join one. The at-home workouts work best for me, as I can workout around my work schedule.( I used the word "work" a lot in that sentence. Where's my thesaurus?) The gyms near me are packed right after work, and my husband ends up going at crazy hours just to avoid the crowd. So, if my rehab is not too long, I was hoping to get away with just weight training and clean eating. However, if I am told not to do aerobics for a long time, I might have to join a gym after all.

As for static lunges, the foot of the leg that is in back would be in a position that would stress the muscle or ligament (I don't know what it is) and keep it from healing.

Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions!

Veronica
 
RE: you can do other cardio right?

How aabout leg extensions and hamstring curls with ankle weights?
 
Hi Veronica,

I've been pretty much off cardio since the last road trip due to my sore feet. Instead, I've been focusing on my eating (smaller portions) and have not only kept off the weight I lost, but have also lost an additional 15 pounds and 2 dress sizes. Not too bad, eh? So, yes, you can keep off the weight from clean eating and weight training. Instead of the cardio, I've been doing alot of walking (that is, after my feet started feeling better).

Hope this helps you and I hope my personal story will help you.
Lorrayne
 
Wow! That's incredible! I can't tell you how happy I am to hear your success story...it gives me great hope! This convinces me of what I already knew but chose to ignore...exercise alone won't get us where we want to be. I've really cleaned up my eating, because before, I felt I could justify the junk I ate because I would burn it off during cardio. Of course, I ate way more than I could possibly burn off! Now, I am keeping a food journal, and it keeps me honest.

Thanks again for sharing. I'm going to print this out and post it on my fridge.

Veronica
 
What did the doctor say?

Veronica,

Thank you for your kind words. I've tried to ignore the clean eating for years and tried to get away with just cardio and weight training. Yes, I was in great shape and yes there were muscles somewhere underneath the fat, but I wasn't seeing the results I wanted. Then, when I got injured, I didn't have much choice and decided to try eating a bit better. Wow. The weight just started coming off. I've been able to keep off the weight for 9 months now. I would like to lose another 5 pounds, but I'm not complaining. :)

Don't worry. You, too, will maintain your weight. The bummer of the injury is not being able to go "all out" on Cathe cardio. I've tried modifying her workouts, but I find I tend to cheat and start jumping again. Do you have here Rhymithic Step video? This one is fairly good for the feet.

What did the doctor say about your feet?

Lorrayne
 
RE: What did the doctor say?

Hi Lorrayne!

I have plantar's faciitis. I wanted to see an ortho or a podiatrist, but the nurse practitioner wouldn't give me a referral. So, I will ice, rest, and take ibuprofen for a week, then, if not better, I'll go back and fuss at them until I get a referral. I also posted under in the open discussion forum in a post called "terrible heel pain", and people were so kind to write in with websites discussing PF. They were much more help to me than that nurse practitioner.

I love Rhythmic Step too! That will be the one I start back with when the time is right.

Veronica
 
Crowded Gyms ... but not in the pool

One way to avoid the crowd at the gym is to swim. For some reason, everyone hits the cardio equipment and the pool is empty at the club I go to. You can also swim at municipal recreation centers or the YMCA without having to join. Just a suggestion. ;-)

http://www.plauder-smilies.de/pyth.gif Gretchen
 
Hi Veronica and everyone,

I'm glad you got the answer to your problem. I just want to share that sometimes I will get terrible pain in the sole of my foot, or my calf, and my chiropractor husband does something to my foot, calf and knee that makes it all better. It can be a simple alignment problem. For me, it's because an arch in my foot will have fallen. It seems to happen when I do step several days in a row.

This week, I was having chest pains all week long and was starting to worry that I had a heart problem. Then I remembered I had increased the weight on my barbell Monday for pure strength chest/shoulders/triceps. My husband worked on my back and ribs and the pain is gone. He was able to feel exactly where the muscles were knotted up between my ribs, in front and back.

I'm pointing this out so people will remember to consider all their options for treatment, the solution to mysterious pain can be simpler than you might think.

I was really getting worried that I was having a heart attack!!!

Hope your foot is better soon Veronica. :)
 
What I did when I got PF

Hi Veronica -

I was diagnosed with PF about three years ago. I was told not to do impact cardio for two months. Two months sounded like an awfully long time, so I headed over to Oshman's to check out their exercise bikes. They were surprisingly inexpensive - I got a really nice one (not top of the line but better than average) for $130! Obviously I don't know what your fitness budget is but there seemed to be bikes in all price ranges. I bet at used sporting goods stores they would be even cheaper.

So for two months straight I alternated one day of biking (about an hour) and a strength tape (usually MIS - this was pre-PS). Obviously I modified some of the moves (as mentioned in the posts above).

After the two months were up, I eased back into impact with no problems at all! I maintained my weight and muscle tone. I did get really sick of biking, though. Now my husband uses it every night for his workouts. So it ended up being a good investment.

Good luck!!

Elizabeth
 
Thanks everyone!

Everyone on this forum is so helpful! I always get lots of great suggestions.

This whole experience has been an eye opener! Prior to this experience, I did cardio 4 or 5 times a week, and weight work for each body part once or twice a week. Not trying to lose weight, just trying to maintain. And I thought I watched my diet pretty well. Well, here's what's been happening to me. Prior to my first post on this thread, I stopped doing cardio. I did a Power hour and/or MIS every two or three days. BUT...I started keeping a food journal. Just jotted down everything that went in my mouth. I didn't worry about counting calories, I just wanted an idea of what I ate. And because I was recording everything in that journal, I really cut out the junk I had been eating. I was one of those "Oh, I'm doing cardio tonight, so I can eat that brownie now." Well, with the emphasis on weight training and since I've cleaned up my eating, I have lost 4 pounds. And the muscles are showing up better than ever.

How many times have I heard Cathe mention the importance of a clean diet? But it took this foot thing to make me realize how important it is to achieving my goals. I'm not starving, I am just making better choices and using portion control. And when my foot is better and I do Cathe videos again,(we all need cardio for our overall health) I may be able to maintain my weight loss with fewer sessions, which my foot will appreciate.

So even though I "knew" that fitness and weight control is a combination of cardio, weights, and diet, I placed too little importance on the "diet" part of things.

As Oprah would say, I've had my "Aha" moment. :)

Thanks for letting me ramble. I'm just so excited that what seemed like a bad thing turned out to teach me a lesson.

Veronica
 
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