All in all a good week. Goals of getting to both rinks and getting comfortable with them were met. My total exercise time was 3:30, with something done all seven days. Two skating sessions, 4 Stretch-It Sessions and 3 Fitbit Coach Sessions. Blood pressure was in the 117/75 area, which is good. My weight continues to rise at a bit of an alarming rate. Its not as if I’m pigging out or anything. So I’m going to go one more week and start tracking my food again. I would have to take this data to the doctor anyway, so I’ll get a week or so down and then see where I am next week.
I can’t be building all this muscle weight, can I? LOL. By the way, the only restriction I have on fitness as far as being a kidney patient is that I can’t lift weights. I have about a 25 lb. “everyday lifting” limit, which is just what you can carry around. I still drag around 40lb bags of dog food but I try to drag them or push them rather than dead lift anything that heavy. It has more to do with the restriction of proteins and that my muscles have more trouble repairing themselves after a sudden “trauma” which is what heavy weight lifting really is at the muscular level. My kidneys spill protein and I also have a 20% (of my daily calories) restriction on eating protein, so that is the kidney concern, that the burden on my muscles to rebuild cannot be too much, too fast. Also there is concern about inflammation and my back. So, that is it. I can do “body weight” exercises, like TRX or Pilates, where I am lifting my own weight. But it is a matter of pacing and not increasing the exercises too much too quickly. But no bench presses or leg presses on the big machines. Otherwise, exercise is good for kidney patients.
This is why my stretching and fit coach apps are only 10 to 15 minute things. They are just enough to get my body and circulation moving, get all the kinks out, but not over stress me for the longer workouts like skating or an hour long yoga class (after walking a mile to the gym.)
As far as anxiety, I was laughing when I was on the train going to skating because I was having such anxiety about skating but skating was supposed to be helping my anxiety. I was like, I just got my skates sharpened! Am I going to crash and die? Am I going to bumble around and smash into someone and something? How will I know when to get off the ice when its zamboni time If I can’t hear the PA and don’t notice the others leaving? Will I be able to find the bathrooms? The lockers? Will the lockers be accessible? Will the staff help me if they aren’t? Am I going to look ridiculous (probably)? Am I going to get treated badly by the staff? Why am I even doing this? I have other things I need to do! But both times, after I got out there and skated for about 5 or 10 minutes, my anxiety went away. So, hopefully, the on the train to the rink anxiety will go away as it becomes more routine.
In any case, this was the week that this blog started actually being a SkateTherapy blog and I actually got out on the ice.
SkateTherapy 