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It’s been a while since I posted about the current state of my physical fitness. Though I don’t mind rambling on about how I’m doing, I know that it gets old listening to other people talk about their physical woes and successes. Still, it’s time for an update.
Have a heart
I’ve been especially pleased with the ongoing improvements to my aerobic fitness. My heart rates have been dropping slowly but steadily over the past few weeks. This tells me that my lung capacity is improving.
Subjectively I’ve noticed the difference, too. The big hill a couple miles north of the house is still a pain, but not as much as it used to be. Earlier this year, I had to get off and walk my bike to make it to the top. Then I got so I could ride up, even though it made me feel like death. Now I can get up with only a moderate amount of panting. Before long it’ll be easy!
My improved cardiorespiratory endurance has also helped on the long marathon training runs.
Stiff as a board
There have been some setbacks, too, though. As you’ll recall, my doctor declared that I was as flexible as a two-by-four, and instructed me to stretch several times a day. I’ve been doing that. At first it seemed to help, but now I feel as if the stretches don’t do much. (Maybe it’s time to add something new?)
This is a problem because I’ve come to realize that many of my aches and pains really are related to my lack of flexibility. Yesterday, for example, I stood from this chair to go do my noon stretches, and in doing so I pulled something in my right hip. Just by standing! I feel like an old man.
A sore knee
My worst current injury, however, is in my left knee. When I awoke on Saturday to go for our sixteen mile trail run, my IT band pain was gone but my left knee was sore. (This was new. It hadn’t been sore before.) I ran a couple miles, but the pain just seemed to increase, especially when running downhill. Eventually, at mile four, I stopped and turned around. I walked out of the forest to my car.
Mentally, this sucked. Physically, the pain isn’t too bad for most normal movement, but it comes on strong when I walk down stairs or when I walk across our uneven lawn. My knee even hurts a little when I’m biking.
I suspect this may just be the problem with my IT band, but moved lower on the leg. Before, the pain was about mid-thigh. Now it’s directly at the side of the knee, which I understand to be a common place for IT band to manifest itself.
Whatever the case, I don’t like it.
Moving forward
Meanwhile, I continue to progress with my weight-training program. After a longish plateau, I bumped some of my weights up last week. Also, I’m ready to try some new exercises (including the barbell bench press).
I’m doing fairly well with my water-only routine for July, and feel better because of it. (Maybe this is only mental — I don’t care.) I’m focusing on portion size a lot lately, and have been trying to choose fruits and vegetables more.
Now, if only my body would heal itself completely, I’d feel like everything was peachy!
Mac
11 responses so far ↓
1 J.D. // Jul 15, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Just found this article, which is the best IT band article I’ve found so far. Yes, my knee problem is probably still my IT band, but now in the more traditional location. The solution? Add the stretch that Chris and Jolie showed me a month ago! I’ve been doing other IT band stretches, but not this one. Also, the article warns against running on crowned roads. (Or always running on the same side of crowned roads.) Oops. Guilty as charged.
I’ll work on this…
2 fit36.com // Jul 15, 2008 at 12:53 pm
How cute, you and Mac weigh exactly the same amount. It’s like you’re “body weight buddies” now.
3 J.D. // Jul 15, 2008 at 1:08 pm
4 Sam // Jul 15, 2008 at 1:37 pm
That’s exactly where my IT band problems were bothering me. Luckily, mine have seemed to go away. I didn’t do anything all that special other than stretching a moderate amount and cutting back on my running. Basically, I would run until I felt my knee starting to go, and then I would stop immediately. Over time, the pain went away and I could return to doing my normal mileage.
5 Amy // Jul 15, 2008 at 1:39 pm
I don’t know if you have ever considered it but adding an hour long Yoga class to your exercise may be what you need to eliminate the 2×4 syndrome. I have been going for years and about 6 months ago a guy started coming to our class once a week. The difference between him then and him now is incredible. If nothing else going for a while will help you get a better feel for the types of stretches that your body needs.
Don’t roll your eyes at it till you have given it a try at least twice.
6 monica // Jul 15, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Sigh, I sympathize with the knee pain. I have had chronic ankle pain for the last several years. It only hurts when I run. And every time it acts up I stop running. I just started again last week, taking it slow. But yesterday after about a mile of running the ankle started tweaking and only got worse. Ok now I’m totally using your post to whine about my own problems. Hope your knee sorts itself out. I’d never heard of IT bands until I read this… interesting!
7 Andrew is getting fit // Jul 15, 2008 at 4:03 pm
I keep hearing good things about Yoga for flexibility.
8 greenman2001 // Jul 15, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Can you tell us more about your weight routine — which exercises, what weights, how many reps, and so forth?
9 Alex // Jul 15, 2008 at 5:46 pm
I had some pretty significant knee and hip problems (I also have extremely tight IT bands, every physical therapist I’ve ever seen has commented on how little outer leg rotation I have) and I had no idea what to do about it — I had just gotten new sneakers, so I thought that should have solved the problem. But instead the pain was worse than ever.
I ended up going to a podiatrist (different from the first guy who fit my orthotics) and she was seriously the best thing that ever happened to me. She gave me a lift to correct the difference in my leg lengths (which the last guy had said wasn’t a problem) and then she had me walk and run on a NASA-esque treadmill to image my gait. Now I have new orthodics, new sneakers that she recommended to me (I’ll use the other ones I bought for cross training) and the pain is totally gone.
I’ve still gotta go to yoga to deal with the IT bands, but I think soon I’ll be able to run again!
10 gizmogirl // Jul 15, 2008 at 7:45 pm
JD - check out Active Isolated Stretching. Here’s a link about it: http://drbenkim.com/active-isolated-stretching.html
And here’re some videos: http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=jdcc33
The piriformis and psoas may be of special interest to you, since they’re in the same region as the IT band and you could really be tight throughout the area.
11 rho // Jul 16, 2008 at 10:50 am
Over the last year I’ve dropped a bunch of weight. In the past I have had major problems with my knees when trying to run.
This time around I started going to yoga (2-3 times a week) and running at the same time. My knees are much improved and I hardly have issues with them anymore (though I do tend to be a treadmill runner as I still get nervous about getting stranded with a sore knee far from home).
About 6 months ago my naturally-thin-but-stiff-as-a-board husband started going to yoga with me. He was really hesitant at first but he loves it now. His flexibilty improved very fast. I think he could almost join the circus now.
We go to classes at our gym (which is a university/public gym). They have an athletic, up-beat flavour. Many of the male varsity athletes attend the class too (coach prescribed).
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