The Chances

How a 250+ Pound Couch Potato Got Healthy

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Cross Training/Recovery Workout

Yes, I'm still alive. Yes, I'm still having leg issues. I wish I could report better news, but I haven't run since last Thursday. Today was my first visit to the gym since Friday.

I didn't post, because honestly I didn't want to turn into one of those people who every day posted, "Still not doing anything", then complained about it. I figured I'd spare everyone that pain.

I tried making an appointment with the doctor on Monday, but it was a holiday. I didn't even realize it was a holiday, since I worked. Anyway, I called on Tuesday morning, only to find he's on vacation for another week. What luck, eh?

There is hope though. I have a book I've had for quite a while called The Runner's Repair Manual, and I was looking through it when I found an exact description of my problem.

Pain on the Inner Side of Leg

You feel this pain deep inside the leg. Press the inner side of your leg - the line between the calf muscle and the big shin bone. If that's painful, you've put some strain on a muscle that runs from the shin bone around the ankle and attaches the ball of the foot. This muscle gives some support to the arch of the foot.

Most likely, your arches "fall" when you run. Read the section on weak foot, and follow those procedures - the arch supporting strapping, the commercial arch support, and the heel pads.

You should also do stretching exercises to stretch the calf muscle. Wall Pushups is a good one. And your first aid is the same as for anterior shin splints. Wrap your leg in an icy towel after running. Take two aspirins with each meal. Don't try to run through pain. You've got to rest.


I've got the resting part down. So looking at the section on weak foot, in particular this part stuck out:

[One symptom of weak foot is that you] can't stand very long without rolling your feet toward the outside.


Uh, yeah. I've done this my whole life. This is why I found it strange when Fleet Feet told me I was a pronator. If you recall, they re-evaluated me after my injury and told me I don't pronate, that I supinate. Totally consistent with this. The book goes on:

The inner side of the arch is weak, so people with this problem direct the weight toward the outside. This is a good exercise for you, by the way. And it's just what an arch support does - it tilts some of the weight toward the outside of the foot.


It certainly sounds like what I'm already doing.

Meanwhile, next Monday is a seminar at Fleet Feet put on by Mercy Health called [url=http://www.getbackyourgame.com/cm/content/gbyg_intro.asp]Get Back Your Game[/url]. Apparently some sports doctors are going to be there, along with instructional videos. Information, basically. Specifically, there will be some people there I can talk to about my problem.

Today would normally have been a weight workout day in the gym, but I took it as a "cardio test" day. I did:

30 minutes elliptical, 285 calories burned
5 minutes rowing machine, 43 calories burned
24 minutes spin bike (DVD), 252 calories burned

It was a good workout overall, but my primary goal was to do some cardio I hadn't done before, and see how it would go. I'm happy to say that on the elliptical machine, I didn't feel like I'd fall off! I guess my balance & equilibrium has changed the past year and a half since I last tried. My only real complaint is that I didn't burn near the calories I would have burned running for the same amount of time. I burned almost 100 calories LESS than I would running.

The rowing machine was a little bit different story. I only did 5 minutes because as I was going along, I could really feel it in my leg. So I think for the problem I'm having, the rowing machine is out.

I was also going to do the same 30-minute spin DVD I did before, but my feet kept coming out of the stirrups! I don't know if this has happened to you, but those pedals keep going. After it happened the 2nd time I just decided to give it up.

In the end, I burned 580 calories total. It felt good to be back in the gym, this was my first time in there since Friday.

While in the spin room I also wrote down what the DVD's were, if anyone's interested.

Spinning Spin & Burn
Johnny G Live
Spinning Spin & Slim Express
Spinning Spin & Sculpt

I spent tonight icing my leg while watching Lost. I don't know what I'm going to do when that show goes away.

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