Something about Kathy Smith annoyed me-she would scream and cheer in the one I had!!I only watched previews for Cathe’s step workouts and got dizzy!!!I hate workouts where I finally learn the move they did and they’re already 4 moves ahead!!Thats why you’ll never see me at Zumba!!!
That’s a neat idea! and on a completely different note, and nothing to do with this
I did those too. Haven't touched them in years.
Thank you for sharing your story. Wishing you a speedy recovery as well. When I was in my 20's, I dreamed of a career in the fitness industry and instead of just getting my trainer certification, I decided to go all out and get a kinesiology degree. About that time, my mom remarried and I let my step-dad talk me into majoring in business. Accounting class ate my lunch and elements of calculus and trigonometry finished me off and I never finished school. I'm 46 and workout with Cathe 6 days a week, but because of some health issues, I couldn't keep up with something like teaching group classes but back in 2012 after being laid off from a less than satisfying job, I was going to get my trainer certification, but that was shot down because my husband was totally against it because he didn't want me working around men in that particular setting. I tried to tell him that I probably wouldn't be training male bodybuilders, but to keep peace, I dropped the subject. I hope you can fully recover and get back to teaching because you're an inspiration to me that you're still teaching at age 69. And because you've been able to work in a field you're passionate about. I guess that's why my work life has always been so unfulfilling because I've always worked jobs I've tolerated but never gotten to be in the fitness industry, which is my love. Pretty much my step dad told me not to build a career in a field where one injury could put me out of work.
I totally get that. I kind of fell into my current career as a hazardous substances' consultant. It has allowed me to be self-employed but I'm not passionate about it.
So that’s where “haz” lady comes from!
Exactly. I was an industrial chemist working in factory laboratories doing quality control testing and developing new products. After 8 years of lab work, I started getting sensitized to the chemicals and had to stop working with them and change my career. I moved into a health and safety role with the same company with the major focus being chemical safety. In New Zealand, our chemical regulations require sites using large quantities of chemicals to be audited and certified annually. I left my health and safety role and joined a consulting company that was doing these site audits. I turned up one day to a site and the older gentleman who managed the site said, "Here comes the hazardous lady!" and it just kind of stuck.
That would be neat, ashaw……..go for it! Hey, maybe you’ll end up making dvds…So ashaw, there's still an opportunity for you to pursue your passion too!
Yes, I've definitely seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. The ugly is scary!
Thank you! These are great suggestions. Because my hamstring has a high-grade tear where it attaches to the pelvis, almost anything leg-related has been completely out. I can't even walk very well (but couldn't walk at all at injury...so it's improving). Standing is actually the easiest, but I am sitting better now. Can't get to the ground very well either...but it's coming, slowly but surely. I'll definitely consider these when I'm able to. This seems like a good progression, and I hope to get there soon! Right now, I have light PT exercises for lower body, so I'm just following my treatment plan for lower. Which unfortunately includes absolutely no deep stretching, as the fibers need to repair/reattach. I guess stretching is a big no-no. I am looking for new upper body workouts for a little variety...I will look into some of the boxing ones and see how I can modify to use only as much lower as able. Thanks!A few years ago, I had an ankle injury that I had to work around. I found an old thread where people were giving suggestions of kickboxing in reply to someone else that was only able to work their upper body. I can't seem to find it now though. Anyways, I did upper body premixes from some of Cathe's strength DVDs (sometimes adapting a bit, because I had to sit in a chair). Then, a couple of days a week, I did one of Cathe's boxing or kickboxing DVDs seated - only doing the punches - just to add a bit of variety. One of her videos worked better for that (less kicking), but I can't remember which one. I did push-ups on my knees. Most of my ab work wasn't affected. For my legs, I relied on floor work from a couple of her DVDs. If you're interested in that, there are members on this site that know what's on which DVD that can help you out. I, unfortunately, can't even remember what day of the week it is half the time (menopause sucks)! Fire hydrants and leg lifts are not my favorite workouts, but they did a great job of keeping me toned and maintaining enough strength that I was able to get back to lunges and squats quicker than I'd expected. When I was finally allowed to put weight on my ankle, I went for short walks, then added walking on a hiking trail that was made of dirt so that it wasn't rough terrain, but it wasn't flat either. It helped strengthen some of the smaller muscles that had gotten weak. Next, I did Jessica Smith walking videos (following her mom's modified examples when needed). Last, I was back to Cathe (started with Basic Step and worked my way back up to her advanced step DVDs). I don't know if your doctors recommend it or not, but I used some of my workout time for Cathe's chair stretch (From ICE or LITE - can't remember). Since you're allowed to stand, you might be able to do her other bonus stretches, stretches from Stretch Max, or some of her recovery workouts from her new STS? I figured since I was forced to recover, I might as well do active recovery type workouts more often than what I normally had time for. I mean I wasn't doing downward dogs or anything that put strain and weight on my injury, but basic stretches felt pretty good as long as I listened to my body. It sounds like it's been a lengthy process for you. I hope you are completely healed soon.
Thanks for sharing! I also have a high-grade tear of proximal hamstring (left). It was an acute injury--tore it sprinting (leg collapsed, hit the ground) and knew immediately it was bad news. But I probably also had some overuse and am very tight. Worst pain I've ever had. Could not walk, stand, sit or anything but lie on my back with my knees bent in the first days. Lots of cramping, massive bruising, hematoma, urgent MRI that showed tear of the conjoint tendon (where two of the hamstrings meet and attached to the ischial tuberosity)...the third hamstring muscle was normal, so my sports med doctor didn't recommend surgery. I'm expected to make a full or close to full recovery (sprinting days are probably over). My treatment plan is 3-6 months, and if not well in 6 months will consider other options (including surgery). But my prognosis is good. It's just the recovery is so much slower than I had anticipated. I guess it is a serious injury. I'm at 8 weeks post-injury. Slowly, I've been able to bear weight and walk on crutches...then down to one crutch, then a cane. Now I can walk on my own (still limping...we're doing gait training in PT) but still need the cane for walking around a lot (like in a store). I can take walks at home (pavement, no hills) but am very slow and can't go too far. We started working on stairs in PT, and that's going okay. I just got in the pool for the first time (wasn't physically able to get in a pool before), and it felt so good! Good luck with your recovery!
Thank you! I’m glad that you are getting in the pool. Hamstring injuries sure do not heal quickly. Kudos to you for the progress that you are making!
Stairs is a new trick, and I’m not great at it yet. Just a few of weeks ago, I took a normal step without thinking about it, and it was immediate pain, weakness, shakiness (I did this a couple of times).
What you're describing about your sitting bones pain sounds very similar to what my mom has dealt with for years now. She's 75 and for probably the last 10 years that I can remember, she's had pain in her sitting bones. She's not really sure what caused it because she didn't sustain any sort of injury and her only exercise is walking on the treadmill everyday. She does have an autoimmune condition called Sjogrens's which causes dry eyes and dry mouth, I'm not sure if its related to the sitting bone pain. Because my mom can't sit for long periods of time and my step-dad can't fly due to ear problems, they can no longer travel. Before covid hit, they took a few short car trips (3-4 hours away) and would stop for lunch and sometimes extra just so my mom could stretch her legs. When she and my step-dad go out to lunch, she has to bring a pillow to sit on. I looked up those Ayilo cushions and I'm going to show it to her because maybe that would be better for her than the plain small pillow she's using. For the most part, I think she's stable now, but I know that she's had flare ups in the past. I also think she got cortisone shots and it really didn't help.
Her doctor might consider an MRI to see exactly what's going on. Or maybe look into proximal hamstring tendinopathy, which is more of a chronic condition as I understand it. My tear was an acute, high grade injury that caused the pain, but I think tendinopathy would cause similar issues. I don't know a lot about it, except what I'm learning from having this injury. Hope she gets some relief!
I emailed the people who sell the Ayilo cushions with my questions — excellent customer service. I ordered the cushion from Amazon and I believe you can try the cushion for 100 days and return it if it doesn’t work for you. I use my cushion whenever I sit down. I recently took a 5 hour road-trip and it was great for my sit bones.
