Spring has sprung, I'm seeing all kinds of red robins and all the trees are in bloom. The weather is beautiful, gorgeous even. And I'm starting to hate it. The fiancee asked me today if I wanted to go for a run or a bike ride, and I had to say no. "Can't," I said, "either requires too much of my hip," while gesturing to the part of my body that has bothered me for pretty much a decade now and is on the cusp of being completely healed. It is so much better then what it was four months ago, but damn I wish I was healed and could get back in the game.
All I can do is wait. Thankfully I've been taking dance lessons for our wedding dance and that has sated some of my appetite for using my body. But while I'm learning all kinds of things that require concentration/coordination (Current favorite move, Tango rocks), I'm not doing anything that is pushing myself physically in an endurance sense.
Well, not in any way that I'm used to. I still swim twice a week and to be honest it's kicking my ass. I'm attending the 9am class so I'm the only guy in a class full of moms who have just dropped off their kids to school. Currently my threshold pace (brisk pace for 100m) is 1:40, and there are women there who have threshold pace's of 1:20. I can't even do 100m for 1:20 once, and that's their "good" pace. However, I'm able to swim 50m faster than anyone else (31 seconds). Still it's humbling because we don't swim 50m very often, so I'm usually last.
And I am able to do isolation exercises for my upper body. I can still do bench press and bicep curls (gag). Actually, I can even do certain leg isolation exercises. About that, my fiancee's family has a membership with a gym that's tied into Good Shepard hospital, and they put me on their family plan last year. So I have a membership at this gym that has ties to a hospital and is used to dealing with people recovering from injuries. Seems like a great place to ask for help right? Well, with membership comes your own free fitness assessment.
So I met up with the guy, Mark, who when I told him I am recovering from a torn labrum knew instantly what I could and could not do. When I talk to him, he actually knows more about what's going on than I do, and that's a first. I told him I couldn't do anything that used more than 20 degrees of flexion or external rotation, and he still came up with a plan to work my glutes and hip adductors/abductors. I have to use hip machine, and I use these four excercises, just with a much, much more limited range of motion.
I have Mark working with Dr. Hauser to figure out an exercise plan to get the hip used to working out once the labrum has completely healed. It feels pretty bad ass to have a group of people working so that I may get back in shape properly.
Ok, so as I've typed this I've realized I'm still getting in some cardio through swimming, I'm working on my kinesthetic awareness through dancing, and I am doing some strength training. I really shouldn't be complaining. I guess I just still feel limited, I still can't do what I want to, and that is what really is really bothering me. And now that the weather is becoming more pleasant, there is more that I want to do. I can't run, I can't bike, I can't squat, I can't do kettlebell swings, I can't do kipping pull ups, I can't box jumps, can't row, can't basically do any of the movements that they do in crossfit.
So I guess while I wait for the labrum to finish healing I have to just keep doing what I'm doing and wait. But damn I want this labrum to be healed and be able to go for a run.
No comments:
Post a Comment