Work smarter, not harder?

SRP

SRP

Cathlete
Okay, I'm not even sure if what I'm asking is possible. I'm afraid that what it's going to boil down to is that I want it all without having to work for it. :)

My situation is this: Arthritis in my hands and wrists prevents heavy lifting and a lot of body weight exercises. Getting older and a strong tendency for tendinitis and foot injuries prevents most high impact cardio, especially HiiT. That stuff slays me. So basically, I can't and won't do the exercises that current science is telling us is best: heavy lifting and short, intense cardio.

LOVE Cathe's low impact stuff - it's a life saver. I still do the older step routines, like Step Blast, etc., with modifications where necessary. Weight lifting ... I do my best. Example: I did a pyramid workout for lower body last night. Despite using lifting hooks, my right wrist was killing me by the end, and to top it off, I woke up with a sore knee this morning. Nothing major, but not DOMS - more ligament-feeling, and something I don't want again.

I stay in pretty good shape, but I've definitely lost my edge over the past few years. I consider myself advanced, but maybe lower-level advanced, if that makes sense. I'm not ready to drop down any further yet, so I'm looking for ideas to keep myself fit without further destroying my joints. Also, I've been feeling bored lately with the old workouts and am looking for some sort of inspiration to rejuvenate my workout routine.

FYI, I don't own any sort of cardio machine. I'd love an elliptical but that sort of thing is simply not in the budget.

So ... any and all ideas are welcome. Thanks in advance!

Shannon
 
Shannon, I hear you on getting older. I also had my share of injuries the last few years. I had PF/heal spur for over a year, I couldn't do any high impact workout. What helped me to stay is shape is walking :) I love walking. You can do indoors or outdoor walk. Besides taking my dogs for walks, I did Jessica Smith's youtube walking workouts. Most of her stuff is low impact. I also used Cathe's step workouts without a step and make it low impact. I love Cathe's low impact HiiT workouts. Jenny Ford on youtube has great low impact cardio workouts, like step and marching (walking) Barre workouts are great to stay in shape, lots of body weight workouts and low impact. As far as weight lifting goes, go lighter:) No shame in going lighter. You don't need to lift very heavy in order to get a good workout in and see results. I am seeing better results going light in weight than I did lifting very heavy lifting :D I have a lot of back problems bulged disc, I have to be careful not to mess up my back with high impact/heavy lifting..I am just started doing high impact workout again, but only 1 time a week and modify as needed. I do prefer walking over HiiT workouts anytime:D I also love Kickboxing workouts.
 
I gave up heavy lifting a few years ago and don't regret it. How about barre work? You could start with Cathes Turbo Barre. I also like Suzanne Bowen 's Amped series, Physique57, Sadie Lincoln's Barre3. They all use light weights and while it may not seem challenging it is.
I look good. I feel good. While I may have lost some strength I gained flexibility. I can still lift that 40lb bag of dog food.
 
SRP said:
Okay, I'm not even sure if what I'm asking is possible. I'm afraid that what it's going to boil down to is that I want it all without having to work for it. :)

My situation is this: Arthritis in my hands and wrists prevents heavy lifting and a lot of body weight exercises. Getting older and a strong tendency for tendinitis and foot injuries prevents most high impact cardio, especially HiiT. That stuff slays me. So basically, I can't and won't do the exercises that current science is telling us is best: heavy lifting and short, intense cardio.

LOVE Cathe's low impact stuff - it's a life saver. I still do the older step routines, like Step Blast, etc., with modifications where necessary. Weight lifting ... I do my best. Example: I did a pyramid workout for lower body last night. Despite using lifting hooks, my right wrist was killing me by the end, and to top it off, I woke up with a sore knee this morning. Nothing major, but not DOMS - more ligament-feeling, and something I don't want again.

I stay in pretty good shape, but I've definitely lost my edge over the past few years. I consider myself advanced, but maybe lower-level advanced, if that makes sense. I'm not ready to drop down any further yet, so I'm looking for ideas to keep myself fit without further destroying my joints. Also, I've been feeling bored lately with the old workouts and am looking for some sort of inspiration to rejuvenate my workout routine.

FYI, I don't own any sort of cardio machine. I'd love an elliptical but that sort of thing is simply not in the budget.

So ... any and all ideas are welcome. Thanks in advance!

Shannon
Click to expand...


Hi Shannon:

continuing our conversation...

I am trying everything and anything as I deal with similar problems. I am just like bayerngirl: adore walking, do it daily, either a 6-7 mile local running errands and dragging my husband away from his sedentary lifestyle, or my 11-13 mile powerwalks around town, hitting every hill in the place. I walk fast, can do 12 min pace, so 5 miles per hour, though it depends upon the terrain. This keeps me in great shape, and very healthy. My lower section and core have definition, no heavy weights in sight. I listen to books on cd or fab up-tempo music and it keeps me happy. The kind of shape I am in with this? I can go to the gym at any time and bang out a 5-7 mile run with a few 1 min walking breaks. I test it out every now and again!

I am going to start Ilaria's Bodystrikes lower body work, Leah Sarago Ballet/barre/pilates fusion DVDs that look awesome and i just ordered them last night (!), and Sylwia's Toniques, as new ways to work the body without having to lift a 30 pound dumbbell. I am trending toward doing more of the Afterburn type exercise routine these days rather than heavy lifting, so the weights and cardio are combined. I do a lot of Kelly Coffey-Meyer workouts because I find her weights work can be sectioned off by premixes from the cardio and mashed together for more of this Afterburn type routines that I put together (heaviest weight used is 20's).

How does kickbox sound to you? Boxing? Wrap/tape your wrists for greater stability and less flailing around at the joint? Ride type workouts, as another poster suggested, if that appeals to you?

Check out also Mindy Mylrea's latest stuff on totalfitnessdvds.com, where you can watch longer clips. She has innovative exercise approaches that do not use heavy weights at all. She does BOSU work, uses bands, medicine balls, lighter stuff. A ball is easier to hold with arthritis that dumbbells, yes? Check out also Patrick Goudeau's DVDs: he has several that use medicine balls for all over stamina building routines. I just bought one, haven't tried it yet as as soon as I bought it, I had to go back to the UK for several weeks (hence never got to respond to your latest message, so sorry). Would you like to borrow it and try it out? I could lend you my Bodystrikes and a Tonique DVD also if you'd like to try them out and see before buying?

Maybe try streaming from different sites to see if you like certain styles before buying DVDs? I know you can get 1 month free trials from many sites, including, I think, the Daily Burn, some yoga sites and PilatesAnytime.com (with coupon code 6394DDK). Ilaria also has streaming now, I believe (powerstrikes site)?

Hope some of tis helps, have to go, off to movies now!

Clare
 
Hi ladies - thanks so much for all your thoughtful replies!

Belinda - walking ... absolutely! Love it! I walk all weekend - my dog and I cover a lot of ground. :) I'm no good at power walking though. For some reason it screws up an old hip injury every single time, no matter how careful I am. But yeah - If I could walk every day, I would, and be perfectly happy. The timing in the evenings after work usually means I need an indoor workout though (after dark). I still love step, so that's what I usually do.

Phyllis - Sorry, I just can't handle barre work. :-( I re-explored it and looked at many of the suggestions here. It just gives me the heebie jeebies thinking about doing all those zillion reps. Once in a while I'll do Turbo Barre to get out of a rut, and usually when I'm done, I think, now I know why I haven't done that one in a while. :) Actually I like a little bit of it at a time, like how Cathe added a section in to XTrain Legs. I've started researching non-weighted leg workouts and have done a few of those. I really like them - disc work, etc. And I'll probably start adding in a bit of barre that way for variety.

Gratefuldog - I've never tried spinning, but I used to have an elliptical and loved it. Unfortunately, even a $200 price tag doesn't fit the budget right now. But one of these days, I'm gonna get another elliptical!!

Justine - THANK YOU!

Clare - well, hello there. :) I seriously wish I had the time to walk as much as you do. I am green with envy. I could easily do away with every single cardio DVD if I could do that. You saw my comments on Barre, so nope, no Sylwia. I'm still on the fence about Illaria's stuff - I hope you'll give a review when you try it. The budget might allow a new DVD or two, maybe for Christmas. What do you think about the Atletica series? The previews seem similar to the AfterBurn style of metabolic, which I adore. Okay - if I walked every day, I would still keep AfterBurn. :) I should like kickboxing. I've tried. Really. But the punching combos bore me to tears. I had several and gave them all away. Sometimes I regret it though. I will check out Mindy's stuff - thanks. What about Patrick G? All his new stuff, which seems so fun, is super high impact, which has scared me off even though I like him.

Horselady - I've never tried Zumba. Can you recommend some good ones, and maybe clips that I can preview?

Well, this is long enough, so I'd better quit typing. Thanks again!
 
Zumba is dance fitness with mostly Latin music, but I do a lot of top 40 songs! I will post a link from my computer at work later.
 
I love Zumba :) Very fun. You can find lots of full Zumba classes on youtube and Vimeo for free:D This way you can try and see if you like Zumba before you buy them. I couldn't walk outside with all the snow we got this winter, I did a lot of indoor walks. They are fun!
 
bayerngirl said:
Shannon, I hear you on getting older. I also had my share of injuries the last few years. I had PF/heal spur for over a year, I couldn't do any high impact workout. What helped me to stay is shape is walking :) I love walking. You can do indoors or outdoor walk. Besides taking my dogs for walks, I did Jessica Smith's youtube walking workouts. Most of her stuff is low impact. I also used Cathe's step workouts without a step and make it low impact. I love Cathe's low impact HiiT workouts. Jenny Ford on youtube has great low impact cardio workouts, like step and marching (walking) Barre workouts are great to stay in shape, lots of body weight workouts and low impact. As far as weight lifting goes, go lighter:) No shame in going lighter. You don't need to lift very heavy in order to get a good workout in and see results. I am seeing better results going light in weight than I did lifting very heavy lifting :D I have a lot of back problems bulged disc, I have to be careful not to mess up my back with high impact/heavy lifting..I am just started doing high impact workout again, but only 1 time a week and modify as needed. I do prefer walking over HiiT workouts anytime:D I also love Kickboxing workouts.
Click to expand...

I second the Jenny Ford workouts! She's really fun, really sweet, and really good at cueing (IMHO). I cannot seem to get kickboxing to work for me. No matter how hard I try to engage the core and power move my way through, I find it dull and I can never get my heart rate up enough. Never a problem with step routines!

I did The FIRM for many years, and still rotate the workouts into my Cathe rotations. I find The FIRM easier on my joints, because they move between different activities more than Cathe does (typically) within one workout. I don't want to load you up with the list of workouts from them I recommend for the arthritic - which I am myself - but I'll be more than happy to share that info with you, if you want it. :)

Yoga and Pilates can be a welcome change from the weights and cardio, working us in a different way. I loved Brooke Siler's "The Pilates Body" book- great Pilates foundation from a classy lady. :)
 
If you need help with finding Zumba or dance workouts on youtube :) I am more than happy to share my playlist on youtube with you :D
 
Justinef said:
Being 'fit' means having a healthy body...and you should do what achieves that goal, not what the latest fitness craze is. Good on you for realising that HiiT and super-heavy lifting aren't for you. Best of luck.
Click to expand...

Exactly. One should do what they love; what will leave them with better endurance, strength, and flexibility than a sedentary lifestyle would do; and whatever else works WITHOUT causing "bad pain". Anna Benson wrote that the Greek language has six different meanings for varying levels and kinds of pain, while of course English doesn't. I think many of us Cathletes can easily walk that fine line between good pain (stretching ourselves beyond current boundaries to get more fit) and bad pain. Cathe has a spirit of excellence that I think we're both drawn to and want to emulate. That's a good thing! But occasionally we cross the line in an attempt to be our best, and I know I can lose my perspective. Just today I realized I'm working out at a level even 3 months ago seemed impossible to ever reach for me. But I had to overcome my first thought process, which was something like, "I should be able to do this without a water break! I can't believe how inflexible my knees are. I can't do this on an 8-inch step like so-and-so does."

Sometimes I wonder if we don't equate suffering with "results". I just don't think that's true. Research really is not a perfect thing, and we need to listen to our bodies. HIIT and heavy training are great, but not technically necessary to be "fit", depending upon the quite variable definition of what that word means to each of us. I mean, 25 years ago there were far fewer workout systems on the market. But we all survived. :) If a person did a combo of step aerobics, moderate weight-training, and some athletic stretching 30-45 minutes a day, 4 or 5 days a week, they would still be far better off than the vast majority of the U.S. Add clean living to that and you're really doing well! :)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top