Been Sick, Recovered, Need Advice

[TarHeelMom]

Hi folks --

Just putting this message on this forum too -- it's also in Ask Cathe, but I thought all of you might see it first here.

Long time no see! I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday and Cathe, that your vacation was great. I need some help from my favorite educated group.

I'm sorry to say I've been sick as a dog with a sinus infection and some resulting asthma and respiratory crud for three weeks. Waaaaa. We went to Arizona on a family trip after Christmas and all caught something. Picture me trying to nurse my very sick sons and my poor sick husband AND my puny little self. We were a sad bunch.

So I have not only done literally nothing to exercise in almost four weeks, but I also have that been-sick-feel-well-but-sorta-weak thing going on.

Y'all know I own ALL of Cathe's videos and DVDs, plus a lot of FIRMs, and I have a programmable treadmill and a programmable recumbent bike. Before this pitiful chapter in our life I would say I qualified as an "upper level intermediate" in terms of my strength, and about the same, maybe slightly less, for cardio (because I hate cardio work and tend to do the absolute required minimum.)

Cathe, and crowd, can you suggest to me maybe a three-week rotation for getting back into the swing? I'm sure I have residual muscle strength and memory and all that stuff, but I feel like I should be a little cautious and I really do feel like I'm mentally starting over, if not completely physically starting over. (I'm REALLY not looking forward to going through the soreness curve again!)

Thank you so much, you guys. It feels good to be able (and cleared by the doctor, I should add) to get fully back to normal.


Kathy S.

 

[fitnatalie]

:-( Take it easy, I didn't and injured myself. I was off for 10 days with an upper resp. flu. I worked out 4 times last week (one was cardio kicks. On the 4th day back I felt a twing in my back and knew I was hurt. This week, no weights. I hope to back to my Cathe weight tapes and the FIRM by next week.

 

[Lex411]

I know exactly how you feel, but don't worry too much. You're not starting from scratch, it takes longer than 3 weeks to lose all that you accomplished in terms of fitness. And the feeling of weakness will pass relatively soon. You will feel some soreness in the beginning, of course, but look at it as a good thing. A sign that you're doing it right, just don't get too sore, of course.

As for a 3 week rotation, I'll err on the side of caution and tell you what I'd do with what you have.

Mon- mild to medium routine on recumbent bike, 15-20 mins only
Tues- upper body weight training w/light weights (MIS upper, but no heavy weights, just to get used to doing it again)
Wed- walk/jog on treadmill, still mild routine, 15-20 mins only
Th- off
Fri-lower body weight training, light weights (MIS leg, to get blood flowing)
Sat- recumbent bike again, 15-20 mins
Sun- off

If you feel like that week was just enough, not too much, you could progress to the following program:

Mon- Cathe's CTX All Step (minus intervals at end) cardio, stretch only
Tues- MIS upper body, same as last week or slightly heavier
Wed- Cathe's CTX Kickbox (go easy, take it slow, stop early if too tired)
Th- off
Fri- bike or walk/jog for 20-30, moderate intensity
Sat- Cathe's CTX 10-10-10 (minus weights)
Sun- off

If all is going well with that, here's what I'd do for week 3

Mon- MIS upper, then 30 mins cardio on bike or treadmill
Tues- Bodymax, 1st Step section, cool down, abs (skip rest)
Wed- MIS legs, then Powermax, choose 2 of 3 sections, plus cool down
Th- off
Fri- CTX Step n Intervals (go easy, watch your energy so you don't push too hard)
Sat- MIS, all together
Sun- off

And I'd continue ramping up from there. That's just what I would do for myself, it's very similar to what I did do once. Took me about 4 weeks to get back to where I was before I got sick, but even by the end of the first week I felt so much better. But go slow, listen to your body, get lots of rest and fluids and good food and skip a day anytime you feel too raggedy.