Sidelined and on the Injury Reserve

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I'm not very good about listening to my body, resting or taking a day off from exercising. If I feel tired, have sore muscles, or a bit of pain, I just push through it. Due to unexplained lower back pain that travels down my leg, I've been sidelined until my primary physician is able to give a diagnosis. I've been in so much pain that, I knew better than to go to the gym or teach my classes this week.

I feel pretty good now that I'm taking prescribed pain relief medications and of course, I'm tempted to go to the gym for a workout. On the other hand, I know it's best to rest so that I don't make things worse. Besides, my family members would be very upset with me if I did. I still have to get an MRI to help determine if I have a pinched nerve or Sciatica. A pinched nerve happens when a nerve is injured or damaged by direct pressure and it's unable to send signals properly. Sciatica is an irritation of the sciatic nerve; the largest nerve in the body. While I wait to get an MRI, I'll focus on taking the medicines and rest. I'm worried about taking the entire week off from exercising but I know it's the right thing to do.  Planks will be the only strenuous activities I'll do as long as I don't have any pain.

Sometimes, our bodies have a way of telling us to slow down and this is mine. I've had dull lower back pain for years and would occasionally aggravate it from running or feel more pain because it's that time of the month. That always goes away in a few days. But I've never felt debilitating pain like this for several weeks and hope not to ever again after treatment. Resting does a body good. Here's to your health.

Helping Others Stay Fit Is What I Do

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I'm very happy that I'm back to teaching group fitness classes. I've been teaching step aerobics and body works (resistance training) for a large fitness chain for nearly three months and I'm having a great time. It makes me happy to lead a group of people and help them achieve their fitness goals.

Even though I enjoy teaching both class styles, the group resistance is my favorite. I like challenging the students in strength exercises using their body weight or free weights; especially to the females. Some women feel that strength training will make them too muscular or look like a man. That's not possible without the use of performance-enhancing drugs. I encourage strength training because lean muscle burns more calories even at rest, makes you stronger and transforms the shape of the body.

I get great pleasure teaching the students proper form to prevent injuries and work their muscles effectively for the long term. My goal is to make the workouts challenging and push them out of their comfort zone. For instance, if they always do 10 push-ups, I'll challenge and motivate them to do more because that's a way to improve strength. The flip side is that they motivate and challenge me as well.

Even though teaching group fitness classes isn't a full time gig, I'll continue it for the long term. When I find full time employment, I'll like to teach a class or two so that I can continue to teach and encourage others in fitness. Here's to your health! 

Olympic Inspiration

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Swimming, Water Polo, Beach Volleyball, Gymnastics, Rowing and 21 other sports are in the 30th Olympiad. Like millions of people around the world, I've been watching various athletes compete and I'm in awe of their bodies; especially the females.

Today's athletes are not our grandparents athletes. I admire their physiques and I'm amazed at the amount of hours they spend training and working out for their sport. Some athletes train as much as 40 hours a week. I workout for 10 to 12 hours a week. I'm not an olympic athlete but watching the elite compete inspires me to focus, continue my exercises, but challenge myself to go out of the box. For instance, instead of slowing down because my legs burn in spin class, I should push through it, so that I can get stronger.

Since several hours of training for a particular sport really transforms the athletes' bodies, it reaffirms that it takes time and dedication to build toned muscles, aerobic endurance, flexibility or lose weight. Staying in shape or taking weight off is hard work.

The London 2012 Olympics is for only two weeks and at the end, many of the 14,000 athletes will have their eyes set on the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics. The medal winners and non winners will work hard to give it their all in four years. I'll continue to dedicate myself to work out, and stay healthy.  Here's to all of our health!