I need help from you educated ladies.

E

exercise forever

Cathlete
I have achilles tendonitis,so I have had to cut out all cardio until its better. I'm able to work abs, upperbody, and floor legs, so I was hoping that some of you could put some weight,abs and floor legs together in a rotation for me. This is really hard for me to accept that I can't do cardio and especially this time of year. I like Slow and heavy, GS, and pub/plb. I also have all of her tapes. I want to try to build muscle during this time.


So If you could help me and give a rotation that can give me some motivation. Thanks to all of you. I know I can turn to all of you.

kim
 
Hi Kim,

I'm not exactly sure what's involved with achilles tendonitis, but I'm wondering if you have to cut out ALL cardio, or just what involves impact on your feet. Swimming is a wonderful cardio w/o and I wouldn't think it would affect your achilles. Just a thought.

I have just recently come off a three week S&H rotation followed by a three week pyramid rotation. Loved it. It looked like this:

S&H Tris & Bis/CTX Step & Intervals
MIC
S&H Legs & Shoulders/Abs
Tae Bo
S&H Chest & Back/20 min Hi/L0
IMAX2

PUB/core max
IMAX2
PLB/1/2 LoMax
Stretch Max/Core Max
PUB/short interval cardio
4 mi run
PLB

As you can see, I really like cardio. After these, I did a week of circuits and total body endurance w/os. Hope this gives you some ideas. Good luck in your healing!

Kerrie
 
Hi Kerrie,

Thanks for the rotation, this gives me some idea of how to work things into a rotation. And I can't do any kind of cardio containing cathes tapes. I can't run or do any standing leg work. this has really made me sad, especially when I like cardio just as you do. Your rotation has been a help to me. Thank you.


kim
 
Can you use any of the cardio machines at the gym? If not, can you at least get out for a walk?

As bad as it may ssound, your life won't end because you can't do cardio for a few weeks. Try to be patient: your foot needs to heal and it needs time. Meanwhile, you can build a strong upper body and core, right!?

Try the Slow & Heavy series if you haven't already. Not being able to do cardio is actully a blessing for this series as it will stop you burning off the muscle you build during intense cardio sessions. And since you have the time, you can do each body part twice per week and still get enough rest. Wow! This would be awesome! And, it would give you time to really go to town on your flexibility training with Cathe's Stretch max and yoga workouts, right?

You could, for example, do:


Mon: S&H Chest and back, core work from MIS + planks from CTX series
Tues: S&H Shoulders, triceps and biceps, + core work from PUB
Weds: GS Legs, just floor work + Stretch max, all of it or yoga tape
Thurs: S&H chest and back, core from Core Max, section 1 & 2
Fri: GS legs, just floor work + S&H shoulders, MIS abs + section 3 of Core Max
Sat: S&H triceps and biceps, core work from Boot Camp
Sun: rest or yoga tape or Stretch Max, all of it

How does that ssound?

And if you don't have or plan to invvest in the S&H series, substitute with the new Gym Styles series for the upper body. it'll work a treat!

Good luck and rest that foot/leg!

Clare
 
Hi Clare,

That routine looks awesome. I was wanting to do upper body twice a week, just didn't know how to put it together. You have really made me feel better. I probably do a semi-brisk walk on the treadmill.


Thanks for the tips and ideas anyone gives.

kim
 
Kim:


you are most welcome. Hang in there, build that awesome upper body, do indeed bring in those brisk walks for the heart, get well and you will soon be back where you want to be, but stronger than before!

Clare
 
Hi Kim,

How bad is your AT?

I have it too, but now just slight pain and stiffness and large nodules on the tendons. Years ago I had lots of pain, small nodules, and lots of "crackling" noises. Yuck.

While you're off your feet, try massaging the tendons firmly. That really helped me, as did icing and anti-inflammatories.

Now I just make sure to stretch really well before Cathe cardio and during if they start to feel achy or stiff, and I try to stretch afterward as well.

I also found that switching to cardio on the elliptical trainer wasn't as irritating to the tendons, so I did that for awhile before I got back into step workouts.

Hang in there!

Joni
 
Hey Joni,

I have not been to the doctor, but I have all the symptoms. I would some mornings feel a little pain there. It would not happen all the time, it would go away after about 5 minutes. Well three weeks ago I got out of bed and felt the pain, and I could not walk down my stairs. I thought it would go away,but it hasn't.I tried to be stubborn and still try to do cathe's cardio workouts but I could not jump without it hurting. I could not do leg press on the step. I talked to a pharmacist to maybe see what could help. She said to take advil because all the doctor would give me anti-inflammatory pills, and it would do the same thing.

What should I do? It has been three weeks and I can't do cardio and its just aggravating. I take advil twice a day, and some days even though I still feel it, the pain seems to lessen and I get my hopes up only to be dissappointed. I went shopping yesterday and wore sandals like a nut, not thinking that would be the worst thing right now. Well after about 6 hours of shopping and walking around my foot would hurt when I'd walk. And I could see some of the inflammation.

Did you experience that when you got out of bed in the morning you could feel the pain, but after a while of walking it would lessen the pain? How should I care for this. I read some articles online sayingthat if you did not ice it right after it happened it would not do any good to try it later on. Some say get medical attention. What did you do? All of your advice and your experience would help me a whole lot.

I want to do the right thing. I am a dedicated cardio person. If I have to hold off, I at least want to work on getting this better. All all I know to do is take advil.

PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!


kim
 
Joni I was reading back over you reply and your said ice and use aniti-inflammatory with massaging. Do you think icing it so late in the game will do any good? and should I get the medication or still use advil?

kim
 
Hi Kim,

My docs told me to ice twice a day for 20 minutes and I'd had AT for several months. I think anything you can do to keep the inflammation down will help. Advil is perfect. I personally take about 400 mg, which I think is twice the dose than recommended on the bottle - although I'm fairly certain (you might want to check with your doctor) that's still a conservative dose.

I really think good stretching and massage is what helps me the most. To stretch, I hang my heels off the back of the step after I warm up and lean forward slightly so that I can feel the stretch all the way up through the entire calf muscle. Because all those muscles are connected to the tendon, you really have to stretch the whole area. After that stretch I do a good hamstring stretch in a position where I can feel it all the way through my glutes.

For the massage bit, I take my thumb and massage the nodules in circles with a fair amount of pressure. It actually feels really good. I think the theory is that it stimulates blood flow which will help heal the tendon. I got that tip from a runner's forum.

Hope that helps!

Joni
 
Yep - that sounds exactly like what I experienced. The pain was definitely worst in the mornings, and I remember hobbling down the stairs. I have it in both tendons, so it was not fun when it was bad.

Advil is an anti-inflammatory, (so is aspirin), so it's basically just a lower dose of what a doctor will prescribe.

A couple of other things I just thought of. I've noticed that if I were aerobics shoes that rub against the tendons they hurt and tend to get stiff more during cardio. I actually gave up my Rykas in exchange for running shoes which has helped some.

Also, just to tell you more about my experience, my doctors told me to avoid weight bearing exercise indefinitely to allow the tendons to heal. Well, I took their advice to heart and avoided it for FOUR! years, and it never really got better. In fact, I gained a bunch of weight (due to lack of exercise among other things) and it got worse. It was only when I got back into working out on the elliptical trainer, and started stretching religiously, that it got better.

You should check out some of the runners forums - there's a lot of good information there. I recently read about heel inserts and/or arch supports (I have a crazy high arch) on one of these forums:

http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/news/article.asp?UAN=231
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,5033,s6-78-79-0-401,00.html

I also found these products online. Not sure whether they work, but they may be worth checking out:

http://www.footsmart.com/ProductList.aspx?productCategoryId=190

Good luck!
 
Hey Joni,

You have helped me so much with this and I will try all of this. But one thing, I can't stretch my calves like on the stairs. It would hurt to lower my foot like that. Also doing the hamstring stretch would hurt. So I don't know how I will stretch this. I really hope this won't last a long time. Right now I can do just weights, but I will get to the point I will want to do cardio again.

Thanks for all your help. If you think of anything else, feel free to share.

kim
 
I feel your pain!

Maybe try stretching just a little at a time - very very slowly. A stretch that might be good to start with is one where you lean forward against a wall and step back with one leg keeping your foot flat on the floor behind you. This is similar the the stretches Cathe sometimes does where you extend you leg back and raise and lower your calf. For tendinitis, you should hold the stretch for a good 30 seconds or so, which is why using a wall helps for balancing that long. This is the stretch that my doctor recommended when I was first examined for achilles tendinitis. He suggested I do that stretch several times a day.

Another one is to plant your hands on a table or desk, stand up and, keeping your heels firmly on the floor, bend forward until you feel a slight stretch in the calf. It helps to stick your butt out a little almost like you're going to sit back into a chair.

If you have the band that comes with the Hardcore series, or even a towel, you can lie on your back on the floor, place the band behind your heel, lift your leg up and pull gently on the band to stretch the heel and calf. This also stretches into the hamstring, but you have a little better control of the pain threshold because you can lift your leg higher (like pulling your knee toward your face) to increase the stretch, or lower your leg to decrease.

I really think stretching is key, so you should maybe just start a little at a time and build up to deeper and deeper stretches.

You may want to play it safe and see a doctor just to make sure you're doing everything you can to recover as quickly as possible and to make sure it's okay to do stretches like these. It defintely sounds like achilles tendinitis, but it might not be a bad idea just to make sure.

I can't remember if I mentioned this earlier, but when I saw the doc, he fitted me for a cast-like splint to sleep in that would keep the tendon extended. I never used it because I couldn't sleep in it, but they sell similar devices on the Footsmart website - maybe it would help you...
 
I actually went to my physician who referred me to a sports medicine specialist because mine was somewhat advanced. (lots of nodules and crackling noises every time I moved my ankles - grossed me out!)
 
maybe I will see my physician first to see what he would say. My ankles are not making crackling noise.

Well wish me luck, I'm going ahead to the doctor. I was trying to put this off.

kim

Thank you so much for your help. I will let you know what I find out.
 
Do keep me posted! Mine started more than 10 years ago, so maybe there's some new "cure" or therapy he'll tell you about!

Good luck!
 
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