Need to increase my fitness levels

Ok all you fitness gurus, I need to get my fitness back up to peak condition for my next grading which is in July! I've been laid up over the past 3 years with many injuries from that fall to the whole right side of my body so its taken a lot of time to heal up and get working properly.

So what do you recommend for an old lady who can't run due to back and leg injuries but needs to get cardio and general fitness back up to a good level so she can survive 30+ 3min rounds of sparring?

I have minimal free time, no gym and limited equipment - I do have weights, swords, weapons and my horses to work as well and I'm spending a lot of time riding so am very flexible. Can't do press-ups because my right elbow tendons are stuffed and I'm forbidden by the specialist to do them so have been doing planks and lots of crunches.

I have been doing a fair bit since the end of last year, so my general fitness is increasing. Just started skipping this week so hope that will help too. I also have asthma but have been working up my fitness slowly without using my puffer.

Thankfully I'm not having to run the dojo as well, I decided to give that a miss this year and its been helping my spare time a lot!

Shouldnt be a problem. A few questions.

1. Do you live near a swimming pool, and if so, have you found the atmosphere in municipal pools to be ok regarding your asthma?

2. Aside from press ups, are there any other movements / exercises that your medical team have defined as contra-indicated?

3. In your sword work/MA practice/current conditioning regime, are their any movements/exercises that you yourself, have found uncomfortable or an inability to complete?

Hi Cord

I actually don't have any available free time to go anywhere other than doing my workouts at home or in the dojo these days, so whatever I do has to fit in as a home programme or I will go mad!

1. I would love to have time to go and swim however its impossible as the closest pool is half an hours drive from home in the wrong direction to work which is 45mins drive away already. And the chlorine atmosphere there is pretty nasty too. I don't have any free nights left during the week and my weekends are all full up with farm management, working horses and looking after the family... and to be honest I do need some time off for good behaviour as well.

2. I have to be careful with twisting motions on the spine [I have 2 pinched nerves in there as well!] otherwise I can do planks, crunches and have started doing skipping which seems to help a lot with the fitness. My knees aren't that flash either but I am thinking about putting in some Hindu squats to help strengthen my legs a bit more.

Currently the very low shikodachi stances in kata such as Seiunchin are extremely painful to do because of the damage to the hamstring and glutes.

I am considering going back to the physio for more work on the hamstrings + glutes as I feel they are still not right yet. When I went late last year for a couple months she said it was no wonder I was in so much pain because I had a "Sh-- load of scar tissue in my leg and arse!"

I hate to say it Reiki, you need to find that extra time to make any sort of difference. Without adequate time to do anything you will only be putting in very marginal effort and get nothing from it.

Pain, I totally understand it. C5, C6, C7 vertebrae in my neck that were crushed. Had surgery on my left knee for severed ACL. Surgery on my left elbow for bone fragments and bursted bursa sack. Torn right distal bicep tendon. Torn right hamstring starting from my butt down. Broken toes that the little toes come out of joint very easily; many times with minimal pain. I am a walking bill board of pain BUT it doesn't stand in my way.

You seem like a very busy person Reiki, maybe more so then most. Most people I know believe they are busy and come up with every excuse why they can't workout but I guarantee you that if they took a real look at their lives, were honest and got off their lazy a$$es, they'd find plenty of time. For yourself you may have to arrange some things, perhaps even give up some things in order to be able to do it all. That is the reality unfortunately.

I understand you want to workout at home so perhaps getting a total gym, bowflex or something like this might benefit you. They can be limiting as they are easily outgrown but it may be a good start for you. Anything WILL work as long as you work at it. And for cardio, are you able to skip? This is very good benefits and also can be done at home.

I wish you the best of health, the best in life.

The most important aspect of advising on anything, is knowing when you are unable to give the best help in that situation, and that is where I find myself.

In my opinion, nobody with trapped nerves should be doing high impact work (skipping), nor even contemplating pushing their body at maximum levels in an event such as an advanced grading. The movements and exertions will be contraindicated for your situation.

It would be my advice to throw all your energies into exercise and movements that centred purely on addressing your medical related issues to ensure a further improvement that you say is still required and possible. Anything else is the equivalent of taking a car onto a track without spending time tightening the wheel nuts- you may get away with a lap or 2, but push hard, and your gonna end in disaster.

Your physio and medical team would be your best port of call at this stage, discuss the grading, what it entails, and get advice direct from those handling your case on the best way to proceed.

Your situation is just too unique to offer help in such a remote medium, I hope you understand

Thanks guys! There's some food for thought in there.

Cord my back coped just fine with a 2 day high intensity pre-Shodan grading a few years ago, followed by an even higher intensity 4 hour Shodan grading so there isn't any problem with it doing stuff like skipping, planks crunches etc but I can't run much, I find it really makes everything too sore.

Last night we did about an hour of skipping & running interspersed with lots of kicks and punching drills. Then followed it up with about 1.5 hours of some very high intensity workouts. No problem.

I appreciate that Reiki, but you are coping fine with things that should be causing you serious problems 'on paper', so its difficult to advise without a 1st hand consultation, as there may well be things that are safe 'on paper', that with your unique individual situation, cause you a set back, and I wouldnt want to be responsible for that.

Your physio will be an experienced kinesiologist, and will also know your case, so by talking it through with them- what you are finding ok, what you have in store in the grading, they will be better placed to recommend exercises safely than I. Its a limitation of the medium- I cant see you, spend time with you, watch you work out etc, and I dont want to make things worse.

Hello Reiki:

Sorry to hear you are suffering...

Quick story, my wife was injured in a car accident several years ago. The kids were in the car, another car ran the red light and she T boned them

NEVER EVER get the LIMITED TORT insurance....


Got x-rayed at the local "hospital" <ssi>, and proceeded on vacation. Eight years later the full extent of the damage was eventually discovered after years of proceedures and eventually surgery(ies).

C4-C5 fractured; bone chips/shards found on the spinal cord, found only when they were fusing them together.

C1-C2 fracture; a broken neck. Discovered and fused by a neurosurgeon after 8 years of pain, suffering, migranes.


My wife literally ignored her pain and could easily have died. If I am her only headache it is a GOOD day! Please do not minimize your injuries. They can cause meaningful problems if you do...

Jeff

what about heavy bag work, are u able to do any of that?

The first advice;

Seek the advice of a physician first

Still hard at it guys, the workouts are getting easier and I'm getting fitter!

The elliptical machine would be good. I have a friend who can't do hard running because of injuries in Afghanistan and he says the elliptical machine really helps. And like someone mentioned, swimming is great.