Probably my favorite activity is Zumba. More specifically Nitro's Zumba (Yes, he goes by "Nitro" and yes it implies what you think it does about his Zumba).
On April 9 of this year, we were doing my favorite routine, "Fire Burning" by Sean Kingston. It's high energy, very "dancey", and just a whole lot of fun. There's also a lot of jumping. So imagine how it felt for me to come down on my left foot toward the end of the song only to hear an incredibly loud "POP", feel my legs buckle beneath me, and leap toward the wall for support. I think some of my fellow Zumba friends thought I'd run into the wall (as the move I had just completed moves forward quickly, and I'm a klutz by nature).
Sadly, my first thought wasn't, "I'm hurt and should stop walking." Nope. My first thought was, "what if this means I can't workout anymore???"
And so I couldn't. At least not how I had been. At this point in my weight-loss journey I was doing 10+ hours of workouts per week, including boot camps, Zumba, elliptical, weights, Turbo Kick, and much more.
Long story short....I went to the doctor, had an MRI done, and he confirmed that I had torn my meniscus. He scheduled me for surgery two months after my injury. My first question to him was "How soon can I get back to my regular activity?" His advice was, and I quote, "Pretty much anything you can tolerate. But I wouldn't run marathons or do Zumba or something like that."
Seriously? No Zumba?
So what to do next? I was on a mission to get these last 10 or so pounds off and activity was a huge part of that process. It was an identity for me even. So much so that when I put on makeup, did my hair, and wore something other than workout clothes, my kids wondered where I was going so dressed up.
After the injury, I gave myself a few days of rest. And then I went to the YMCA and worked on my upper body. My arms, back, and abs. A few weeks later, I added super-slow walking on the treadmill, as tolerated. Eventually, I was able to more than 2.5 mph on the treadmill. Once I could do that, I knew I would have enough strength in my knee to do light weight amounts on the Nautilus machines for my legs: hamstrings and quadriceps and calves. Eventually, I could walk farther and faster, and could add more weight for my leg exercises. The Saturday before my surgery I even jogged a 10K. And I didn't walk any of it. I was sore. And I cried when I finished. But it wasn't because I hurt - it was because I was amazed at what my body had accomplished. I had pushed myself farther than I ever thought I could and I came out stronger in the process.
And then I had my surgery, which sidelined me more than the initial injury. The doctor had recommended I rest, ice, and elevate my leg. So I did that as much as I could and continued working through the injury in the same way I had post-injury/pre-surgery. I worked my upper body first, then added walking, the added leg exercises. After I saw the doctor six weeks later, he was amazed at my progress. He also told me he always recommended physical therapy to surgery patients. But all my work and patience had paid off - he said I should continue as I had and increase my activity as tolerated. I had officially avoided physical therapy. Woohoo! That's what I had been working so hard to accomplish. That, and getting back to my Zumba.
I'm a really bad patient. I probably should have slowed my activity schedule and given myself more time to recover. But hindsight is 20/20.
Here's what I would recommend to anyone else who has an injury in the middle of a goal or for someone just used to being active:
* Take your doctor's advice. But be willing to ask questions. Tell your doctor what you typically do and ask for modifications or recommendations for alternatives. They may not know, but they should be able to tell you things you shouldn't do and you can find something that will work for their suggestions.
* Just because you're injured in your lower (or upper) half, doesn't mean you can't work the upper (or lower) half. There are always exercises to do for each part of the body. I was in "batwing elimination" mode during my recovery. I worked my arms. A lot. I still have batwings, but they're not as noticeable anymore. At least I hope. :)
* Try something new! I used the recumbent bike and the stationary bike at the Y during my recovery. I felt funny since I was able to do so many other things before my injury, but I kept moving on whatever piece of equipment my body would tolerate. And eventually I was able to welcome the elliptical back into my world. It just took time.
* Give yourself permission to stop if it hurts. I still have trouble running/jogging. It still hurts to do that sometimes. And when it does, I listen to my knee and I stop.
* Listen to your body - it will tell you what it can tolerate.
But here's the greatest piece of advice I received after my injury: (from my dear friend, Laura, who had injured her back previously and had been in a similar situation to mine)
FOCUS ON THE FOOD! Get back to basics and relearn the plan. Whatever plan you're on (mine is Weight Watchers), get back to the basics. Measure everything. Track everything. Make smarter choices. Now that I wasn't as active, I wasn't able to eat as much as I had while exercising so vigorously. So I did what she suggested. And I lost weight during my two recoveries (I consider my time pre-surgery as a recovery, too).
I hope this helps in some way. Being injured when you're working toward a goal could be a time to make excuses. Don't do it. I can't imagine backsliding just because of injury. Not saying I couldn't actually do it, but the thought of having to re-lose any of this weight sounds awful.
And now, we Zumba!
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