CrohnsChicago's Fitness Journey

CrohnsChicago · May 7, 2014

Tonight is my first very serious commitment to better physical well being since crohn's. I have an appointment with a personal trainer for a physical assessment.

I've been in my first remission for some months now and my weight has fluctuated so much since my first flare in 2012. I have lost a lot of muscle mass. And now that I can eat again, I have a hard time balancing out my foods even when I make good choices. I have gained about 15lbs this Chicago winter (I was never a small crohn's patient) I'm now nearing 200lbs. and it concerns me because I am afraid if I don't take care of this it will trigger another flare somehow.

Thinking of how to explain all of this to the trainer. I don't want them to push me too hard or recommend things that I fear will trigger some discomfort but I do know that I have to make a change and take some chances.

Any who a little nervous and hoping to have some accountability support to get back to better health...wish me luck!

Cat-a-Tonic · May 7, 2014

Good luck, Chicago! For what it's worth, I haven't been assessed by a personal trainer but I have been assessed by a physical therapist. Like you said, I knew I had put on a bit of weight and lost some muscle mass, but I didn't think it was too terrible. I also figured she'd just assess my bad hip, but she assessed my whole body, and it wasn't pretty. My good hip was as weak as the bad, my knees were very weak, ankles, etc and I had very little muscle mass. My whole body needed help! It was horrifying and made me ashamed, but it was also that push I needed to start working out in earnest and take back some control over my body. So, even if the assessment with the trainer isn't particularly positive in terms of muscle mass and so forth, don't let that make you feel ashamed. Use it to push yourself forward towards better health. Good luck! I am sure you'll do great once you start getting more into fitness!

CrohnsChicago · May 7, 2014

I totally forgot about my hips and knees! hahahaha

I also have a bad hip (I have no cartilage and it has a pin in it limiting my range of motion) and my knees are turning to crap since crohn's and steroids were introduced to my body.

You are right, I've mentioned my struggles and desires towards getting fitter a few times on the forum. If anything this will give me the rude awakening that I need to get on track and STAY on track. Maybe this thread should be renamed "Chicago's Exercise Diary"

Thanks for the support!

Cat-a-Tonic · May 7, 2014

I'll be here to encourage you if you want to regularly provide fitness diary updates! I'm sure you've seen my exercise diary thread, I think it helps keep me accountable and it's also helpful to get feedback from others in that thread. It's definitely a good thing to keep a diary like that as long as you regularly update it.

Ouch, your bad hip sounds worse than mine. My bad hip has been tentatively diagnosed as, "Maybe some type of arthritis in the sacroiliac joint or maybe it was just a blur on the x-ray and we don't really know."

(My quote, not theirs, but that's the gist of it!) I will say that physical therapy really helped me not only learn some exercises to help my hip, but it also helped me learn how to ease into a fitness regimen. It wasn't until I had the PT exercises pretty well down pat that I was brave enough to step into a gym and use the weight machines. I'm sure you know this already, but start slowly and listen to your body - those are the two most important things I have learned about exercise. On a bad day, my body will tell me to rest, and even though I want to go to the gym, I have to hold myself back and let myself heal. It's frustrating, there will be setbacks, but don't let them get you down or deter you from meeting your goals.

Sorry, that turned into a bit of a ramble. Anyway, if you want somebody in your corner, I'm there! I'll be watching this thread for fitness updates from you.

KyleB · May 7, 2014

Good luck. Don't overdue it. People think they get in there they have to be intense. You don't need to go all out.

theOcean · May 7, 2014

Aw, good luck, CC! I started working out recently with a personal trainer too, and it's been wonderful and I think it has been really improving my moods. I hope it goes well! :hug:

CrohnsChicago · May 7, 2014

Thanks everyone for the support!

Arthritis is not fun at all I know Cat. Sounds like the PT was successful at getting you on the right path. You are definitely a bit of a fitness inspiration on this forum!

I will definitely do my best to go slow, I've got a lot to work on and want to do it right.

I did the assessment and I am in desperate need of some guidance to make this stick. Turns out I can barely do diddly squat when it comes to what they tested me on. We did some wall sits, step ups, squats, planks and lunges to test my core and lower body strength which I want to work on the most in addition to weight loss. I've got about 25lbs. shed/replace with muscle and get into a healthy body fat percentage. I will keep up with them for a while and see what type of improvements come because I want to be ready to run my first 5k that I registered for in August.

I'm actually looking forward to some weight and resistance training, I need to learn how to properly do these things. Changing the name of the thread to CrohnsChicago's Fitness Journey. I'll use it to try and keep tabs.

And it turns out explaining it wasn't too hard. Apparently my trainer's sister in law has crohn's. How is STILL that everyone knows someone yet we all never find each other?? LOL

(P.S.- I would like to make the following statement on record: I always have and I always will hate planks! lol :yfaint

Cat-a-Tonic · May 8, 2014

As I said earlier, I was in a similar boat with regards to having too much flab and very little muscle mass when I started working out, too. (I had been on Entocort which made me gain weight, plus corticosteroids actually rob muscle mass from the body, so I was in rough shape even though I was in remission.) It took quite awhile for me to get the flab noticeably shifting into muscle - it was probably 6 or 8 months after I started working out that I noticed a difference in how I looked (I felt much better from the beginning though so it didn't bother me too much that it took so long to notice a difference on the outside - what's going on on the inside is more important to me). So, in a nutshell - don't get discouraged if you don't notice results within the first few months. Sometimes it takes awhile - just keep going!

It sounds like you're in a good, realistic mindset about fitness and that's a great start.

Ha ha about hating planks.

I don't mind them myself - with my severe GERD, I've been told to limit my abdominal exercises, but planks are fairly easy on me. I think it's because, with stuff like sit-ups, there's a lot of squeezing and relaxing going on with the abdomen and I think that kind of repetitive squeezing motion tends to send more reflux up my throat with each rep. At least with planks, there's no reps and even pressure the whole time so it doesn't make me reflux so much. That's the one abdominal exercise I can do even on an iffy GERD day.

CrohnsChicago · May 8, 2014

Funny because in the beginning steroids gave me so much energy I couldn't sit still and wound up doing nothing but working out or walking about the city when I was well enough to do so. But that was only the first two times I was on steroids that happened. My body adjusted to that medication and that level of energy wasn't as apparent even though all of the restlessness was still there.

I've always been a soft girl since childhood but I currently have 35% body fat which isn't all that great so replacing some of that is key to my overall health.

I think my dislike for planks is more mental than anything. I loathe stationary and repetitive exercises. They mentally bore and stress me out a bit.

For example most people I talk to hate burpees but I love, love, love them for the variety and energy they offer lol. They are hard as hell to do after a while but I love them anyway hahaha! I also like the medicine ball alternating v-ups where you switch the ball with your hands and feet as well as any type of fast paced cardio. I've always been the type that needs variety and movement throughout my routines so I need someone to help me figure out things that would work to my advantage especially when it comes to strength training.

Also I have a habit where I constantly yawn when I exercise and stationary things make me focus on yawning even more

. I heard that yawning during working out is a result of not getting enough oxygen into the body but I don't know how accurate that is even though it sounds logical. No one has ever had a confident answer for me when I ask about that.

Keeping my energy levels up is going to be important. Diet, rest and keeping my b12 injections coming routinely is a necessary. I always get a little extra fatigued around the time I am due to get my b12 from my doctor.

Tonight I'm going to try a few of those v-ups and continue on with my couch-to-5k journey. It's finally NICE in Chicago for a change with temps reaching the 80s for the first time since I don't know when. I want to attempt the run outdoors before the rain sets in.

theOcean · May 8, 2014

Couch-to-5k sounds like a great plan to me! And definitely take advantage of that nice weather while you can.

(Also, you talking about yawning made me yawn.

)

Cat-a-Tonic · May 8, 2014

Chicago, with the yawning thing - I just saw an article on CNN about yawning. According to this, maybe your brain gets too hot?
http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/08/health/time-yawn-brain-hot/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

CrohnsChicago · May 9, 2014

oh wow that's interesting Cat. If that is true then I wonder how does that apply to those instances when you are just plain tired and can't stop yawning. Sometimes when I am dead tired I yawn consistently to the point where my eyes start to water. I could see how this theory would apply to exercise though. Man, I must be one real hot head (literally) according to this article!

Managed to get my Couch to 5k run in yesterday it was beautiful. Decided to make it an outdoors run along the lakefront. I've only ever attempted to run outdoors once before and while it felt good it only lasted two weeks because I pushed myself a bit too hard. I need to get used to running outdoors for this race. I will be more mindful and keep things slow and steady as I learn.

I was reading somewhere that especially if you are a beginner you should run even slower than you think you should. Whatever pace you are at naturally is probably too fast to start off with. Actively slowing down gives your body time to build lasting endurance and get used to the pavement and is more likely to help prevent injury down the road. I always felt that I should be running at a sprinters pace but this definitely felt good, I was able to keep momentum and follow through with my intervals more comfortably. It also gave me a chance to pay attention to my posture and breathing. I worked up a sweat for sure, but I didn't die in the process so that's good lol. Even took a slightly extended walk afterwards.

Stretched really well, I probably only jogged a good 8 minutes out of the 25 total in Day one of the program but the combination of run/walk and hilly pavement worked my core and lower body good.

Today is my rest day (or possibly Sunday). I may do some light cardio or strength training tonight if I am up to it but I will be playing a grown-ups game of tag tomorrow afternoon and will be getting plenty of running in for that! Lol.

Cat-a-Tonic · May 9, 2014

I believe I've read that when a person is falling asleep, their body temperature lowers slightly. So, if this theory about the brain being too hot causes yawning is correct - then perhaps the body and brain are slightly too hot to fall asleep, so yawning is essentially aiding the brain to cool down enough for sleep? That's just my guess.

That's really interesting about purposely running much slower than your natural pace when you're starting out. I think my natural pace is pretty slow to begin with, so I'd have to walk to start out with!

My bad hip won't let me jog though so walking is pretty much it for me anyway. How'd your bad hip respond to your jogging yesterday?

I want to know more about this grown-up game of tag! It sounds like fun.

CrohnsChicago · May 9, 2014

That's a good point, the body does fall asleep once it is cooled down. Cat you're so S-M-R-T!

Hahaha we have a number of tag enthusiasts here in Chicago. There is one major game that happens each year (and is coming back later this month) where strangers from across the world come to Chicago and try to track down and tag each other out. All you are given is a map of the city where the game will be played and an armband to indicate whether or not you are a "tagger" or a "runner". Then you have to figure out what strangers on the street you either need to chase or run away from. Without going into great detail it get's pretty intense because no one knows each other so it's all very real in the sense of adrenaline and "fight or flight" responses lol. It's been pretty successful at scaring neighbors and onlookers who have no clue what is going on only see two or more people chasing each other on the streets and down alleyways. Tomorrow though I am playing a milder version of that game but with friends and acquaintances in a large park. I may know at least 10% of the people there

My hip held out okay yesterday. They were sore overall because of the strength exercises I did the day prior. I just make sure to stretch them out extremely well and if I feel any sort of odd discomfort I stop automatically whatever it is I am doing. Today my hip feels normal. I'm sure at some point in my lifetime I will need hip surgery but I am doing my best not to aggravate it and make that surgery a necessity sooner rather than later.

Cat-a-Tonic · May 9, 2014

Wait, so the entire city is the tag game? Or just part of the city? Either way, that sounds insane (in a cool way) that you just look for random strangers on the street wearing the armband to tag or run from.

There was something similar here on campus, some sort of zombie game, but it involved something like nerf guns or squirt guns I think? I never participated but I think the object was to shoot the zombies with your nerf/squirt gun, or if you got tagged by a zombie then you became a zombie too, something like that. But too many people called in complaints about "people running around with guns" (even though they were obviously not real) and the cops shut it down. Chicago's version sounds much better - I don't like squirt guns (particularly since they apparently played the squirt gun game in the winter! Brr!).

Yeah, I've read that about how the body sleeps once it's cooled down - I never fully believed it, though.

I find I have to be warm to sleep, if I'm too cool I cannot fall asleep nor stay asleep. Even now that it's springtime and reasonably warm-ish weather, I still need to have warm fuzzy socks, sweatpants & a sweatshirt, and several blankets including my electric blanket on in order for me to sleep comfortably and stay asleep. Particularly if my feet get too cold, I keep waking up. So for me at least, it seems I need to be warm when I sleep. I may be totally weird though!

CrohnsChicago · May 9, 2014

The game is within a 5 mile radius of Chicago with multiple checkpoints you have to get to along the way towards your final destination. The goal is to get to all checkpoints and your destination without being tagged. The challenge comes int he fact that you cannot use cars, taxis, bikes or roller blades (Public transportation is okay although taggers could also be hiding on buses and trains as well). Taggers however can ride bicycles to chase you on the bus.

I think a part of it may also be that once we fall asleep our body temperature starts to drop even more and puts you into a deeper sleep (just my own theory on this). I also need to be comfy when I fall asleep, I need to be under warm covers but I can't have my feet covered or I feel like I am burning up and suffocating. But when I wake up in the middle of the night or early morning I feel like I am freezing even though the house is reasonably warm. That could just be my anemia/b12 issues enhancing that feeling as well, who knows.

theOcean · May 9, 2014

@CC: City-wide tag? I'm so jealous right now. The closest I ever got to that was doing something similar with my whole school, throughout this massive ravine system.

@Cat: I'm the complete opposite for sleep! I need everything to be as cold as humanly possible. Windows wide open when it's -40 in the winter, heat turned down. And even then I still get too hot. So the summer months will be interesting for sleep. That said, my SO tells me I have no understanding of my own body temperature. I'll tell him I'm freezing cold and he'll say I'm boiling hot and to get away from him. So: a mystery.

KyleB · May 10, 2014

Good luck!

Cat-a-Tonic · May 12, 2014

Chicago, how did the tag game go? Have you guys been getting a lot of thunderstorms too? Hopefully the weather didn't affect your tag game.

CrohnsChicago · May 12, 2014

I was just typing when you posted!

Thanks KyleB! This weekends tag game was super fun! The weather was GORGEOUS on Saturday. I spent the entire day in the park...a good 9 hours. Even got a good book in and a nap before playing tag. There was about 20 of us and we hid in every corner of the park that we could find. At one point I went up to a family watching their kid in a t-ball game, explained what we were playing and asked if I could hide in the crowd and sit with them. So I won that round because they helped hide me and I was cheering on the t-ball game and that family's kid..no one ever found me hahaha! There were a lot of regular park visitors that day so a few other times I would just try to blend in and lie on the grass face down as if I were napping

I got some good running/sprinting in from that experience and then went home and STRETCHED and slept. The past few days of physical activity definitely is helping me sleep more quickly and more soundly.

The storms rolled in yesterday evening for us. The lighting was mostly on the lake from what I saw. It wasn't too terrible of a rain though. I enjoyed the breeze because it has been a bit warm for us these last few days and I am not ready to turn on the air conditioner ($$$). Unfortunately I slept with the patio door open, forgot to close the screen door and woke up to a missing kitty only to find her on the ledge of the balcony, outside of the fence portion and freaking out because she couldn't remember how to get back into the house. She kept trying to climb the side of the building but when she realized it was impossible she would freak out even more. So I spent this morning trying to coax her to the appropriate part of the fence that she could fit and crawl through. I think the gloomy, wet weather didn't make her feel very comfortable out there either. She got LOTS of loving when I finally got her back in :heart:

Tonight I have a personal trainer at the gym and will start to develop some sort of plan to move forward with. Was tracking my meals this weekend as well because they want to see what my diet looks like. I swear, when you write down what you eat it really is an additional slap in the face that you need to get your act together! LOL

Cat-a-Tonic · May 12, 2014

Good luck with the trainer tonight! I'll be interested to hear how it goes and how the plan develops.

The tag game sounds fun, especially the part about blending in with the t-ball crowd. The strategy involved is very interesting! I think I've heard a saying, something about how a person has more anonymity when in a crowd than when alone - sounds like that worked for you.

Oh, and glad to hear your cat is okay! I bet that was worrying!

theOcean · May 12, 2014

Ahhh, I wish we had something like that going on in Toronto!! That sounds like so much fun, CC. What a great way to get some fun exercise, too.

And oh no, poor baby getting stuck outside! I'm glad she didn't wander far at least. I'm sure she's getting some very good care after that.

And HAHA, I had the same experience the other day when I saw my GP and had to explain what my diet was like. It's terrible realizing how much work you have to do! But at least now you can get an idea of a better direction to go in and what to potentially cut down on. Good luck with your personal trainer! I'm excited to see how that goes for you.

Axelfl3333 · May 12, 2014

I find the cross trainer to be a really good work-out and has less impact on joints also a bit of a fan of the rowing machine as well,really good cardio work out which surprised the hospital when I did a cardiac stress test,did the full 12 minutes,they asked if I did the gym but I said no for a childish reason they mentioned my weight and recommended more exercise before I did the test,ha!got them.

CrohnsChicago · May 12, 2014

I would love to give rowing a try, it truly is a workout! lol I'm just too weak right now I have to work my way up to that.

Had my physical training session tonight. We talked about my goals and decided before we can do anything major we need to focus on strengthening my core and balance. We did a number of body weight exercises that targeted the core, glutes and balance, some using medicine balls, steps and benches and even used the adjustable pulley weight machines to do some squats and PLANKS!!!! :ybatty: That was the last exercise he had me do. I didn't have the strength to stay up for more than 5-10 seconds at a time.

After all of that he thew me on the treadmill for some interval training.

Overall I managed a lot more than I thought I could, I just needed someone to give me a little push. My core is begging me for relief right now.

Stretching, dinner, my TV show, and sleep. That's exactly what I need now.

Tomorrow he's letting me come in during his free time and will give me some ideas of things to do until the next time I see him in two weeks.

theOcean · May 12, 2014

Congrats!! It always feels great when you're able to accomplish more than you thought you could. To me it sounds like you already have far more stamina than I do, especially when it comes to running/jogging.

That's awesome he's letting you see him on his free time, too. I hope you get to sit down and come up with some good goals!

Cat-a-Tonic · May 13, 2014

Chicago, as far as rowing goes - can you rent a kayak (maybe on the Chicago river)? Kayaking is a super fun thing to do and is a great arm/shoulder workout! I own a kayak and I love it. It's not too difficult to do. It would be a good idea to build your arms up a bit first, but you don't need a ton of arm strength to kayak - it's easier to get forward momentum in a kayak than in something like a canoe.

How are you feeling today? Pretty sore I bet? Sounds like you had a good first session, even with the dreaded planks.

CrohnsChicago · May 13, 2014

My butt is terribly sore lol. My hips are a little and my core is tighter than usual but I stretched very well last night and this morning.

There are a few places to Kayak here in Chicago both on the river and on Lake Michigan even a couple large ponds. I have kayaked in Wisconsin and the Chicago River before with one company it was a lot of fun but it definitely was exhausting towards the end in my arms and again because of my weak core. But I would love to do that again kayaking is fun!

More than anything I just want to take a nap right now. I worked out a bit late yesterday so I couldn't fall asleep until around 1 a.m. I would love to become one of those morning workout people but I can only bring myself to get up that early maybe 5 times a year for special occasions or bouts of insomnia

.

theOcean · May 13, 2014

Haha, me too, CC. The only time I see 5AM is from staying up too late or some lovely insomnia.

Cat-a-Tonic · May 13, 2014

I totally understand that, I'm an afternoon/evening exerciser myself. I tried working out in the mornings, but my GERD just won't let me. I need to wake up, take my GERD meds and drink some water, and let my stomach settle for a couple hours. Then I eat breakfast and let that settle for a couple more hours - and then I'm able to go work out. If I try just waking up and working out without eating first, it's like my stomach acid is not yet diluted enough and it hasn't had any food to work on, so my reflux goes nuts. It's so much more tolerable if I wait, eat, and wait some more first - but that means I can't really work out until noon or so at the earliest. Which is fine, I'm willing to work with/around whatever my body throws at me and I have no problems with working out in the afternoons and evenings. But I am with you, I'm just not built to be a morning exerciser I guess!

kel · May 13, 2014

Does your gym have rowers? Usually they say concept2 on them. You can adjust the amount of resistance so I don't really think there is a way to be "too weak" for it.

CrohnsChicago · May 13, 2014

I have seen some rowers at my gym I don't know what brand or series they are though. Good to know you can adjust resistance, I've never used a rowing machine before. I will look into it some more, thanks kel

Axelfl3333 · May 15, 2014

I do 3000/4000meters on the rowing machines but I,ve had to build up to it,there a really good cardio work-out and they help me with constipation
P.s I alternate with the cross trainer 10minutes then 1000m

CrohnsChicago · May 15, 2014

@Axel - it definitely does sound like a good workout!

I'm going back to the gym today to try and get some cardio in. I had to take a break on Tuesday because I was too sore in the glutes to do much. I was also incredibly exhausted considering I have not worked out like that since around the time I first had crohn's in 2012!

I also had to work all day and then a meeting in the evening yesterday that prevented me from doing any activity. HOWEVER, I tried for something and both days took (steep) stairs about 5 flights for majority of the day instead of the elevator. Since I sit at a desk all day at work I'm going to make it a point to go 5-6 flights of stairs once per day or more when I can.

Winter air plus rain returned to Chicago today so my plan to run outdoors has been squashed. I will come up with a treadmill activity instead and do some additional core exercises.

Cat-a-Tonic · May 15, 2014

There's no shame in taking a rest day when needed - letting your body heal after a workout is an important part of the process. The important thing is to listen to your body and to give it rest when it needs it, and it sounds like you did that just fine. And yeah, I sit at a desk at work all day too so I also try to come up with ways to be active during the workday. Do you have an office or a cubicle that's at least semi-private? If so, you can do things like squats, lunges, pushups, etc in your office, and tricep dips from your desk chair. (You could even do... the dreaded plank!

) Or on breaks you could go for a walk if it's a nice day. Even offering to carry a heavy box for a co-worker can get you a bit of bonus strength training.

We've got the colder weather back today too - brr! I am wearing a sweater and I'm still a bit chilled, and it's been rainy and overcast and just kind of yuck. Have fun with your treadmill workout - between doing intervals of run/walk and ramping up the incline, I'm sure you can challenge yourself on a run even if it isn't outside.

Axelfl3333 · May 15, 2014

Forgot to say if it's hurting stop!must admit I feel guilty if I don,t go to the gym,maybe it's because of the cost,not.I enjoy it but have been slowly building up what I do but everyone must listen to what there body is saying if your under the weather a 10 minute walk on the treadmill does fine those days and a sit in the sauna is pretty good as well.

CrohnsChicago · May 17, 2014

Updates: yesterday I got a bit of Cardio Interval exercise in (crunches squats wall sits pushup and jumping jacks) and a brisk walk.

Today I had another strength training session and this one was an all body workout. They've been having me use the pulley machines a lot for upper body and even lower body weight exercises. I've never used that machine before. I've always been intimidated because it has so many detachable parts but now I'm learning some interesting ways to use it. After that session I did a couch to 5k run om the lakefront. The weather is a tad bit crisp today but when the sun came through it was really nice and the running part of the session kept me comfy throughout the whole experience.

I think it will definitely take me some time to get used to running. My body is showing me how much it really hates it but is willing to try anyway lol. Slow and steady.......A little treat after the run was to walk over and check out the annual garden sale in the area. Boyfriend met me there and we bought some tomato plants, rosemary, spearmint, hot peppers and can tip (for kitty). I have no green thumb but he claims to have done this before so we will see how well this goes lol

Cat-a-Tonic · May 19, 2014

What's your body doing that it's showing you it hates running? My body will give me tremendous hip pain during running - I can make it to about 1/2 mile and then the pain sets in. If I stop right there, I might get away with just having pain for the rest of the day but feeling okay the next day. But if I push myself to finish the mile (because it's embarassing to not be able to run a mile and I feel like I should be able to do it!), then the pain gets worse, and the pain will stick around for about 4 days. I've tried running numerous times but that's always the result, pain and more pain. If your body continues showing you that it hates running, you may want to consider trying something that's less high-impact. Do you have a bicycle? I find biking is far easier on my joints than running is (although biking seems to be rather tough on my core & guts so I struggle in general with cardio!).

Ooh, gardening, how fun! I'm making more of an effort this year to have a nice garden, too. I've got some seedlings going - peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, pumpkins, bell peppers, cilantro, basil, stuff like that. And we just got some strawberry plants & a raspberry plant, plus we have mint and ginger plants that come back every year. I have a hard time with most of that stuff, but I can throw it in my juicer if I can't eat it. I've never grown catnip though - you'll have to keep me posted on how that goes and if your cat likes it!

CrohnsChicago · May 19, 2014

It's more of a feeling of complete exhaustion in my legs while I run. It comes on quickly. Mind you this is my first real attempt to run outdoors and I am running along the lakefront trail which has fairly flat or gravely paths as well as light and sporadic inclines/declines on the trail. There's no pain other than typical light soreness that I get after any working out so I'm not doing anything that is noticeably hurting my body. I feels more like I am trying to push through a mental wall of running more than anything I guess.

My increments are 1 minute jog / 90 seconds brisk walking for approx. 25 minutes with both a 5 minute warm up and cool down. And like I said before I am not trying to run at a sprinting pace, just a very simple, light jogging pace.

I never learned how to ride a bike so that's not an option for me. Kinda embarrassing but makes for interesting conversation lol.

I just realized that my phone spelled "can tip" instead of catnip in my previous post hahahaha! Good deciphering on that one, Cat!

My plan is to do the jog/run interval again after work today if the weather cooperates.

Cat-a-Tonic · May 19, 2014

Ah, okay. No pain is a good thing! Sounds like you just need to build yourself up to running more and you're doing that, so that's a good thing too.

No need to be embarassed about never learning to ride a bike! My mother-in-law didn't learn how to swim until just recently and she's nearly 60 - the weird part is, she grew up on a farm that has a swimming pond on the property! Anyway, just like with my m-i-l, you can still learn that skill even though you're an adult now. If you're worried about maybe tipping over, they do make 3-wheeled bikes for adults. My grandpa had one for awhile because his balance wasn't good enough for him to ride a regular bike. They're not just for grandpas though! They are actually a lot of fun, we all took turns riding my grandpa's bike and I wish he still had it (he's in a wheelchair now so his bicycle days are over).

I don't know if they're all this pricey, but this is similar to what my grandpa had:
http://www.target.com/p/schwinn-adult-meridian-26-3-wheel-bike-blue/-/A-10438285

Yes, I saw on facebook that you had bought a catnip plant, so because of that I was able to decipher "can tip"!

Good luck with your run tonight, I hope the weather cooperates. It's been rainy here off and on, and we're supposedly getting thunderstorms this evening.

CrohnsChicago · May 20, 2014

Oh my goodness I love that bike! I would totally use that thing unfortunately I don't know how easy it would be to ride that in Chicago. Chicago has a very large biking community but you are only allowed to ride bikes on the street which is difficult enough as it is since there is barely any room on the road for bikers. Consequently, drivers and bikers do not get along on the road or in conversation in this city lol. Plus I'm sure I would get laughed at but I'd still ride it anyway! hahaha. I'm going to save that link thanks Cat!

Got my jog in last night. It drizzled a tiny bit along the lake but it didn't stop anyone from getting their running, walking and biking in. The jog/walks felt much easier to accomplish today. I use the C25k app to time my jog/walk intervals and it crashed on me halfway through. I had to make up my own interval by timing via the songs I was listening to on my phone. I'm pretty sure for at least 3 intervals I ran a bit more than I normally do during this program and with a bit more ease. I'm wondering if I should expect waves of good days like this one and not so good jog days like the one I did this weekend.

I get impatient when I want change I often want to see it happen right away. I like what happened yesterday but I need to keep reminding myself it's ok to push once in a while but it's best to take my time and do it the right way.

Cat-a-Tonic · May 20, 2014

I'm lucky, in Madison we have tons of bike paths and wide bike lanes, it's a VERY bike-friendly city. Is there not a bike path along the lakeshore in Chicago? Bike riding through Chicago traffic does sound like not very much fun (nor safe!) so I understand why it's probably not feasible.

And oh yes, you will have good workout days where you feel energetic and strong and fast and you can just cruise through your workout with ease and do more than you usually do and feel great the whole time - and likewise, you'll have workouts where you feel sluggish and weak and everything seems to take more effort than usual and it's a struggle just to do what you normally do in a workout. I definitely have those days! I don't think it's even a chronic illness thing, I presume "healthy" people have ups and downs like that as well. You just have to appreciate the good workouts and push through the rough ones. Don't let the rough days discourage you because a good day could happen tomorrow! Just keep going no matter how easy or hard it seems on any given day.

CrohnsChicago · May 20, 2014

Oh yeah, there's a bike path along the lakfront. About 19 miles of trail. But it is shared with walkers and joggers and depending on what part of the trail you are on it can get a bit congested from pedestrian traffic. The part of the trail south of downtown is a lot quieter and relaxing because majority of the active population in Chicago is downtown and on the north side. Have I told you how much I love Wisconsin? I think it is such a beautiful state and I love the lakes and camping up there in the Summer or checking out special events. I bet biking in Wisconsin is pretty awesome. I have yet to sweep through Madison but I occasionally hit up places like Milwaukee, Delavan, Lake Geneva, Alpine Valley, Door County and other small areas of Wisconsin

Thanks for the pep talk. I almost did talk myself out of jogging yesterday but glad that I didn't because it felt better than I was imagining it would.

Cat-a-Tonic · May 20, 2014

Yeah, Wisconsin is pretty great in the summer for outdoor activities! Winter isn't so great, I go snowshoeing and I try to ice skate, but mostly I just count the days until spring, ha ha.

Now that it's almost summer, it's fantastic - hiking, kayaking, biking, so much to do outdoors! And oh yeah, Door County is gorgeous, we used to take trips up there every summer when I was a kid and I have lots of fond memories of bicycling through Peninsula state park. Lake Geneva is beautiful too although I've only been there once. (Fun historical fact - infamous 1930s bank robber Baby Face Nelson loved Lake Geneva so much that he wanted to retire there - it didn't quite work out for him though and the FBI actually located him in Lake Geneva and chased him down to Illinois where he died in a gunbattle with the feds.) Anyway, I'm rambling again. Yes, Wisconsin is very pretty when it's not covered in snow.

You're welcome for the pep talk. I find that to be the case sometimes too - if I'm not sure that I'll have a good workout, that I'm feeling iffy and it could go either way, more often than not I do end up surprising myself and having a really good workout and I'm glad I did it. I think there's a saying that goes something like, you only regret the workouts that you don't do. And that's true, even with the tough workouts, I don't regret doing them! So keep going and don't let a rough workout get you too down. Regroup, take a deep breath, and keep going.

You got this!

CrohnsChicago · May 21, 2014

Last night I took a Body Works plus Abs class at my gym. Lots of free-wight training using steps as well as mats. I used 2.5 lb. and 5 lb weights. Lots of focus on the arms and lots of lunges. It was intense but I managed to get through 40 minutes of the class. I did a series of ab exercises but wanted to leave when it was time to do the planks my body was broken down by that point lol.

While I wussed out on the planks I DID succeed in the longest wall sit I have ever accomplished of around 1 minute!

She had the class hold their arms out with weights in their hands while doing the longest part of the wall sit. I wasn't strong enough for that but I did hold my arms out by themselves and participated in the motions of lifting weights while doing wall sits

Funny I find challenges like these (wall sits and planks) a lot easier to accomplish when I am doing it as part of a group and someone is barking orders at me to keep going. Had I done this on my own, my mind would have had me quit very quickly

It drove me crazy that the air conditioner in the class wasn't on high enough. It was incredibly humid!. I left the class early because of that and because a storm was coming in and it was nothing but lightning for a full 30 minutes. I wanted to get home before the rain got really bad, which it eventually did. I needed that workout last night. Good stress reliever.

Cat-a-Tonic · May 21, 2014

Oh, I know what you mean, if it's not cool enough in the gym then I have a very hard time too. My guts tend to cramp up in heat & humidity, and it's just plain difficult to work out when it's too warm/humid, so the air conditioning has to be on full blast in the gym and fans going too to circulate the air, or it just sucks and I'm miserable. I don't know how people can do that "hot yoga" stuff, that sounds awful to me!

Sounds like you had a good workout in spite of the AC in the gym not being adequate! I'm fortuante that I don't need a trainer yelling at me, I yell at myself in my own head.

But it's good that the trainer got you to do things that you wouldn't have pushed yourself to do otherwise! You still gotta work on that plank though, ha ha.

kel · May 21, 2014

Cat-a-Tonic said:
Oh, I know what you mean, if it's not cool enough in the gym then I have a very hard time too. My guts tend to cramp up in heat & humidity, and it's just plain difficult to work out when it's too warm/humid, so the air conditioning has to be on full blast in the gym and fans going too to circulate the air, or it just sucks and I'm miserable. I don't know how people can do that "hot yoga" stuff, that sounds awful to me!

Sounds like you had a good workout in spite of the AC in the gym not being adequate! I'm fortuante that I don't need a trainer yelling at me, I yell at myself in my own head. But it's good that the trainer got you to do things that you wouldn't have pushed yourself to do otherwise! You still gotta work on that plank though, ha ha.

And I yell out loud

CrohnsChicago · May 21, 2014

Lol kel funny you should mention yelling out loud. I have to give my trainers fair warning that they should know they are working me hard by how frequently I randomly spit out swear words! Hahahah I can't help it. I literally get a curl in my upper lip and develop the mouth of a sailor

Cat-a-Tonic · May 22, 2014

Ha ha, Kel and Chicago, too funny! I sometimes talk to myself if I'm alone in the gym, count reps out loud and stuff like that, but I don't actually yell at myself out loud.

Maybe I should yell and swear though? Does that seem to help you guys' workouts?

kel · May 22, 2014

I think it can be helpful sometimes but it doesn't really make too much difference in the end if you're doing it out loud or in your head. If you don't want people to approach you in the gym I promise yelling and screaming with headphones in will do the job.

And CC that bit about swearing made me laugh. I'm a bit of a potty mouth myself.

CrohnsChicago · May 22, 2014

Honestly it feels like a form of tourettes for me when it happens I don't know I'm doing it until it already happens/I have no control over it.

It's what happens when I'm really trying to push myself past my perceived limits. I'm super nice and enthusiastic and then all of a sudden I start swearing at the hard stuff. It does feel good after I do it but then I get a little red in the cheeks because I think my trainers or whoever I'm working with probably believes I'm a bit rough around the edges

Oh and kel I know what you mean. There's this guy who wears his headphones at the gym all the time, does the treadmill and feels the need to sing out loud! Needless to say all of the equipment that surrounds him when he is there doesn't get much use hahaha! :ylol2:

As for today: Today is game one of my kickball league. I'm the captain so I most likely won't play too much though. I decided I will let everyone else play the field and if there are spots where someone doesn't want to kick or run bases I will fill in there. I'm going straight after work so I packed up my gym clothes and brought them with me to change. Since the game is in a park I was hoping I could get a quick jog in but then I realized I can't because I have to lug all of my bags around. womp womp.

If I get home soon enough I will try to get to the gym before it closes I guess or ATTEMPT to wake up super early tomorrow to get something done. I will be on vacation starting tomorrow for a weekend camping trip so I won't have time to get a good workout in for a few days.

Cat-a-Tonic · May 22, 2014

I giggled at the thought of yelling and screaming with headphones on at the gym - I do like being left alone during my workouts so I'm slightly tempted to try it. Do I get bonus points if I yell and scream swear words in Korean?

Chicago, as captain of your kickball team, can you at least get in a quick workout by perhaps leading your team in a warm-up? Have everybody (yourself included of course) do jumping jacks, jog a couple laps, planks (just kidding), etc. At least that way you'd get in a quick bit of fitness! And as for camping - stuff like chopping & hauling wood could be a good workout! Or hiking, etc. Have fun on your camping trip!

CrohnsChicago · May 22, 2014

If you scream in Korean then not only do you get bonus points but you also get your photo on the wall of awesomeness at the gym's front desk!

Unfortunately this camping experience is more of a special event type of camping so there won't be much time or space to do any exercise. I will be attending the Indy 500. I would LOVE to get some hiking in but it doesn't look like we will have any time to do that. Maybe I will get up early in the mornings and do some core exercises before everyone wakes up.

I SHOULD consider making them do drills. They would get a kick outta that for sure lol! It's a social league so I'm sure they are more interested in grabbing a drink and mingling than doing drills.

I'm going to see if I can get a quick stroll in before I have to meet everyone. The weather is beautiful yet again. I'm loving this. No more winter!!!

Cat-a-Tonic · May 22, 2014

Ha ha, I doubt I'd get my photo on a wall of awesomeness. Probably more like, a wall of "do not let this person enter these premises" photos.

Oh, that is a very different type of camping than I was picturing! I figured you'd be out in the woods somewhere. I didn't even know that camping was a possibility at an event like that (I'm not really into cars/races though so I know next to nothing about this type of thing). Well, have fun! I would say don't worry too much if you can't get a workout in while you're there - just pick up where you left off when you get back home. And yeah, make your kickball team do some warmup drills! Make them earn those drinks afterwards!

kel · May 22, 2014

You will receive 10 bonus points for each korean profanity uttered.

Cat-a-Tonic · May 22, 2014

Sweeeeeet. Michinnyeon! Saekkiboda! Um.... *looks back on my notes* Noppeun nome! There, that's +30. I feel like my workout has improved.

CrohnsChicago · May 28, 2014

After a few vacation days of doing nothing and a diet that wanted to be good only about 40% of the time, I'm back in the saddle.

Funny, once I got home I had this desire to get out and run (never thought I would say that!) Unfortunately the rain and cold is keeping me away from this at the present moment. I settled with a DVD of Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred - Level 1 to help get me back on track with my training. It wasn't easy after the lazy few days I felt a bit sluggish and stiff but I accomplished it. A few strength training sets, cardio sets and ab sets for about 25min and I felt good. There's a routine called the Anterior Raise + side lunge (you use weights for both) it's so challenging! I have done this DVD off and on for over a year now and this move always seems to be the most difficult but I keep trying anyway.

Tomorrow is another kickball game. Weather permitting on Friday I can get back out and jog again.

Cat-a-Tonic · May 29, 2014

I'm glad to hear you had a desire to go for a run! It's too bad the weather didn't cooperate, but just the fact that you wanted to exercise is fantastic.

I can relate, before I got sick I hated to exercise and never wanted to do it but I would force myself to work out from time to time. Then I got sick, I realized how important my health was, and once I got into remission and started exercising, I loved it and wanted to go to the gym all the time! Pre-IBD me would never have done that. I'm rambling, but anyway, it's great that you wanted to go for a run! And I'm glad you were able to do a different form of exercise when running wasn't an option.

CrohnsChicago · May 30, 2014

Finally got my Couch to 5k jog in today!!

I decided to push myself and jump into week 2 of the program. It was not easy. 90seconds jogging 90seconds walking. Those 30 seconds are a lot when you are jogging outdoors. I had to jog a bit more slowly than the 1 minute jog but I managed. And when I thought I had a few more jog intervals to go I realized that it was already over because I had altered the interval times. PHEW!!! I didn't think I had two more jogs in me lol

At one point I tried jogging on the grass to see if it was easier than pavement like everyone said. I actually thought it was more challenging because of all the clumps and uneven, soft field.

I also got a good, brisk 30min walk in for the day.

Tomorrow I am volunteering for a fun run for kindergarten - 5th graders to promote healthy lifestyles in kids. Super excited. Maybe I can jog along them for a bit for fun to help cheer them on!

KyleB · May 31, 2014

Nice work!

theOcean · Jun 1, 2014

Aw! I hope the volunteering goes well.

It sounds like that could be really fun, not to mention great for the kids.

CrohnsChicago · Jun 1, 2014

The volunteering was great. The kids ran one mile. The preschool and kindergartners blew my mind they sprinted through the entire trail leaving theirbparents behind! Lol We cheered them on gave high fives and drew fun and inspiring images and words in chalk on the ground that they could see as they run. They celebrated so much after it brought a smile to everyone's face.

Today i have to run some errands. I live in Chicago so cars are an unnecessary financial burden. Using my two feet I trekked through the city for about 4 hours in 80 degrees and humidity! Needless to say I was sweaty, hungry and craving a nap when it was all over ! I did a Google search and it estimated that I blew through at least 900 calories during my adventure.

My bed is calling me.

theOcean · Jun 2, 2014

Oh my gosh! I swear, little kids have way more stamina than I do.

That sounds like it was so much fun -- even hearing about it is making me smile.

And good for you toughing out the humidity! My city is super walkable too, but we also get the awful humidity here. You definitely deserve some nice rest for the great day you had.

Cat-a-Tonic · Jun 3, 2014

Chicago, my hubby lived in Chicago for 4 years when he went to art school years ago, and he actually did have a car during the time he lived there (so that he could come back to WI and visit me and his family - we did the long distance dating thing when we were both in school). But yeah, it was a massive pain. At first he paid something like $120 per month for a parking spot in a ramp, but then he moved to a different apartment and just parked on the street. Between searching endlessly to find a parking spot on the street, parking tickets, hit & runs, break-ins to the car, etc - it was just ridiculous. At one point it appeared that some homeless guy broke in and spent the night in hubby's car, as everything of value had been taken but the passenger seat was reclined flat and there was a random bag of clothes left in the car. So yeah, I hear you, cars in Chicago are so not worthwhile, just an expensive headache! It sounds like you're doing fine without a car and getting some exercise in too, so that's very good.

And oh yeah, little kids crack me up.

They have no concept of "pacing yourself" so they just run at full speed - I can remember being pretty little and my mom entered me in a race, and she ran with me and told me not to use up all my energy and to run slower. Well, I did that and came in last place because every other kid just ran at top speed.

I wish I had 1/10th of that energy now!

CrohnsChicago · Jun 3, 2014

I honestly forgot it was possible to have that much energy at some point in your life until I saw these little preschoolers and kindergartners running a mile and then getting on stage and jumping/dancing around after. Watching them I thought of all of my b12 injections and longed to have some of that youthful energy back. hahaha!

Yeah if your hubby thought parking was bad then it's even worse now. You can't be anywhere close to the center of the city without having parking troubles. And you need a permit to park in most areas. By my old apartment it takes an average of 20-45minutes to find street parking. OR you are parking further away than you'd like and consequently have to walk a bit to get where you need to be.

Parking fees are ridiculous. And even side swiping is a problem. I just recently witnessed a car drive by and knock the side view mirror off of a parked car. If you do have a car, it's definitely in your best interest to find a place with private parking or rent a private garage. Definitely stick to buses and trains or bikes or just go walking/running if you can manage lol. We've got those Divvy bikes now in Chicago (a public rent-a-bike system)

Cat-a-Tonic · Jun 3, 2014

Yeah, we have a public bike rental system here too - ours is called B-cycle. It's fairly expensive though, I think it's something like $16 for 30 minutes? I've never rented one but the local news had articles about it when they first started the bike rental thing here a couple years ago, and I recall being appalled by the cost. Around that time I bought myself a bike instead, as that seemed like a much smarter investment (after a few hours' worth of riding, it pays for itself compared to the cost of renting!).

And yep, my car got side-swiped once when parked on a Chicago street while I was visiting hubby. I didn't lose my mirror, but I did lose a tail light and had a lovely scrape along the side of the car. That was not fun.

CrohnsChicago · Jun 24, 2014

I've been away. Not ignoring my need to work out but life kept me from keeping things routine. Some sporadic 7 hour walks, Jillian Michaels DVDs and an occasional jog but mostly SLEEP because my personal obligations have kept me mentally/emotionally stressed and running about til I was ragged. I was also experiencing some mild digestive issues that got me a bit concerned so I took it easy for a bit and things are now back under control. After a b12 injection I was able to pick back up some and now I'm back on track and ready to get going again.

Sunday I went for my first jog, started a different program than the C25K but same concept mostly because my app keeps freezing on me for some reason and crashing right after I finish the intervals but before my phone is able to save the record :ybatty:

The weather, though rainy/foggy, has cooperated with my runs. Due to the lack of consistency I started from the beginning again to ease my body back into the idea of running, I think I should be able to progress more easily this time though.

Yesterday I did my strength training class. He worked me HARD. He wanted to test my ability to do certain hip exercises (I have limited motion in one hip due to surgery) so we did some adductor/abductor exercises using weights on a cable pulley machine. It was incredibly hard to do. And the machine almost yanked my bad hip out of it's socket because I did not have enough strength to control my motions. Better to be safe than sorry and not use that machine again to do such exercises, I don't need any new surgeries in my life any time soon!

The rest of the routine was nuts. Upper body and core exercises all using the pulley machine. The most interesting thing of the day was that as weak as I am with all of these upper body and side routines, I appear to have great form, strength and control in my quads. He had me do a deep squat + torso twist using the pulley machine.....I got through 90 of them with little problem!

He even said that I have one of the best forms out of all of his clients which, given my weak performance in other areas, shocked him as much as it did myself. Guess it's better to be good at at least one physical activity because I absolutely suck at the rest! LOL.

This morning I hurt. hahahahah. I am sore, but the good kind of sore. And hoping to get a jog in this evening.

Cat-a-Tonic · Jun 24, 2014

Yay, Chicago's quads!

And wait, 90 squats??!! That's awesome! I can do like 10-15 deep squats and then I get tired.

Doing 90 is fantastic, great job! Have fun with your run tonight too!

CrohnsChicago · Jun 24, 2014

Hahaha thanks. I think what helped was that (1) they were in 6 sets of 15 squats with me shaking out my legs for about 10 seconds after each set and (2) I used them while also having one hand on the cable pulley machine to twist my torso afterwards (though I had 12lbs of weight tacked on the pulley machine).

Can I do it WITHOUT the cable pulley is the ultimate test. I bet I could do half of that. Not sure about the whole 90. I will have to try again once my quads stop feeling a little like gelatin LOL. Lots of muscle repair going on in my body right now.

Cat-a-Tonic · Jun 24, 2014

Ah, I see. I haven't ever done squats with a pulley, I've done them just regular or with dumbbells in my hands (that's tough to do too!).

I'm sure you probably already know this, but after a workout like that, make sure to eat something high in protein. That will help with that muscle repair process and you should theoretically recover faster and with less soreness. I've read that it's best to eat something within 20 minutes of finishing your workout - so sometimes (when I remember to do so) I bring a banana and a little individual packet of almond butter in my gym bag and scarf that down in the changing room right after my workout. Not sure if it's been helping but it can't hurt? And weirdly enough, I've read that one of the best things to alleviate soreness, is to exercise the sore muscles! Don't go crazy of course, but if your legs are sore, maybe take a short walk and that should actually help. I've gone into the gym with sore muscles before and come out with no soreness, so I know it can work.

CrohnsChicago · Jun 24, 2014

I'll keep that in mind. I had some salmon no more than 30min after the workout and this morning I had a banana/almond milk/almond butter/chia seed smoothie.

I've also heard that working out after soreness helps too, in the past I have been too exhausted and sore to try.

However, for as sore as I am at the moment I still think I can manage a light jog/walk interval for about 25 min tonight. I've already walked around a little bit (short walk to work and around the office). I massaged the muscles a little bit yesterday before bed and I just know that I owe myself a good deep stretch this evening.

CrohnsChicago · Jun 25, 2014

The rain came last night and prevented the run. More importantly, my soreness progressed (could barely lift one arm without some discomfort) so I decided it was in my best interest to ice it down and rest for recovery.

Today I was searching online for free workout/strength training generator websites and came across this interesting site. The web page is a bit difficult to navigate at first but so far I like the options they have and stats they allow you to record in their free version and am thinking of setting it up to help me get a more routine and strength training schedule going outside of my 2 personal training sessions per month. Going to talk to my trainer and see what he thinks about the program as well.

http://fitsync.com/

I used to use a program called ActivTrax but you can only find that in certain gyms (not mine unfortunately).

I hope to get back on track with some very light exercise tonight and tomorrow after my busy schedule then back to jogging on Friday.

kel · Jun 25, 2014

I would never ever twist the spine while weighted.

CrohnsChicago · Jun 25, 2014

it was in this order

1. Full squat then come to a stand (while holding the cable)
2. Pull the cable straight back with one arm (similar to the image below but with arms straight out at start as well) and return to original position
3. Repeat

[/IMG]

This was the easier exercise surprisingly!

Honestly the soreness came mostly from this lying cable pullover exercise. I have terrible arm strength so it's going to take some work on my part to get things in shape up there:

kel said:
I would never ever twist the spine while weighted.

kel · Jun 25, 2014

That is probably OK.

CrohnsChicago · Jun 26, 2014

Feeling MUCH better today. Got a 45min walk in yesterday evening since I was already out and about.

Tonight I go to the kickball fields and get to fool around a little, the goal is to do some light core work as well before bedtime.

Jogging returns tomorrow.

Cat-a-Tonic · Jun 26, 2014

Glad to hear you're recovered from the zillions of squats!

Have fun with kickball and jogging. Have you guys been having a lot of rain down there? We had I think over a week where it rained (sometimes very heavily) every day - it finally stopped raining yesterday. So if you've had similar rainy weather, I hope the weather dries up and allows you to have a nice time jogging & playing kickball.

CrohnsChicago · Jun 26, 2014

Yeah it's been raining pretty often the past two weeks here in the city. This past week and weekend we had a lot of heavy thunderstorms so doing anything outdoors you had to make it quick before the clouds rolled in. My games have been cancelled recently due to rain. I took a quick day trip to chinatown this weekend to buy some fresh fish and got caught in a bright and sunny rain shower...fortunately the trip was done before the downpour came.

It was still a tad drizzly here this morning but hoping things clear up some. It's kept me from jogging when I am available to I'd really like to hop back on it but the weather has not been showing us Midwesterners any love this year.

The treadmill is another option for me if things don't work out.

Hope the weather starts to clear up for you too!

CrohnsChicago · Jun 30, 2014

I got my jog in on Saturday morning. It's been a pretty hot and humid weekend here in Chicago. My jog ended and I got home 5 minutes before a brief thunderstorm hit. PHEW! I also took outdoor dance instructions Saturday evening. Then got caught in a second storm

Sunday I marched 4 miles in the Chicago Pride Parade. It was so hot I was ready to fall out towards the end, but it's always this hot on the last Sunday of June.
At the end of the parade I was trying to catch a bus home. I noticed the bus about 250 yards from where I was and attempted to make a mad dash to catch it. I was successful and when I finally got into the bus and sat I noticed something really important....I was not out of breath!

I used to gasp for air attempting something like that. These jogging efforts must be paying off. It's always nice to see some sort of physical progress even if the visual isn't there yet. It helps keep me motivated.

Tonight is personal training session.

CrohnsChicago · Jun 30, 2014

Training tonight focused on upper body, especially arm strength. Basically it came to this because I could barely do planks and side planks. The thing making it hard was not so much about my core, it was more that my arms struggle to hold up my body after about 10-15 seconds. I have been focusing on the cardio/ jogging a lot I need to make sure I am more regularly incorporating my strength training in addition to the cardio.

The dangerous storms hit the area almost immediately after my strength session ended. I had no choice but to stay in the gym and keep working out until the storm calmed

CrohnsChicago · Jul 2, 2014

Jog interval of 18:30 min yesterday approx. 1.4 miles. My average jog time and distance have increased by a few seconds and two-tenths of a mile this past week according to the phone app + GPS that I use when I run. Small progress a success I am willing to claim.

This jog was a little bit harder at first for some reason but then it got better. I assume it's one of those bad days that everyone experiences. I just wasn't into it mentally when I started out, I wanted to just give up but as I continued I built some energy and momentum and focused on following through and finishing. I think it all came to a transition point when I changed the music I was listening to. If I need to push myself more I am finding that I need some alternative/rock music to do so lol.

Also managed to get a few core exercises in before bedtime.

Orchid · Jul 2, 2014

That's quite an improvement for one week, we're not marathon runners so we don't need to torture ourselves over making the sort of leaps they can make. Just focus on your own progress.

Cat-a-Tonic · Jul 2, 2014

Chicago, yes, it seems to me that all athletes have those days where the weights feel heavier or you have to put in more effort to keep your feet moving forward. I definitely have those days and they don't necessarily seem to correlate to when I'm having a bad tummy day. I do notice, however, that if I've pushed myself to work out a few days in a row without a rest day (even if do different things, like if I do yoga one day, weights the next, bike the next, etc), then I will usually have one of those "everything is heavy and difficult" days. So in my experience, it's best to just take a rest day after that happens and pick yourself up and start again the following day. Don't let it discourage you, just rest a bit and then get back to it.

And oh yes, what's on your workout playlist is vitally important! For me, I need to have a good pumping beat, that seems to be the most important thing. Slow, introspective music is okay for yoga and even for weights sometimes, but if I'm doing cardio like biking, then I absolutely need a good beat to keep my feet moving. You may want to set up a few different workout playlists and see which ones best keep you moving. I know I'm always tweaking my workout playlist, adding new songs and removing ones that are too slow or have become stale in my ears. Keeping it peppy and fresh works best for me.

CrohnsChicago · Jul 3, 2014

Yep, last night was my rest day. Still did a small amount of ab work but stayed away from cardio and intense training to allow some rest/recovery.

If I'm doing cardio I need a pumping beat as well. But I notice when I jog it needs to be a hard, pumping beat. Something with a little intensity because I naturally find the act of jogging terribly boring, especially if on a treadmill. The thing that prevents me from giving up these jog intervals I currently do is that I am choosing to do them along the lakefront so I get a good breeze and beautiful scenery with the cityscape in the background. The added music keeps me focused on the goal.

Playlists are very fun to make. In addition to my music player, I make them via Spotify. I also like the variety that some of the Spotify radio stations give because they offer new and fun music I haven't heard of and it keeps things fresh and keeps me on my toes. I feel like I sounded like a mini commercial there for a second hahaha.

Cat-a-Tonic · Jul 7, 2014

I can totally relate to finding treadmill jogging boring. I can't jog, but when I ride the stationary bike, I often get really bored with that. I love riding my bike outside and seeing the scenery, but basically all winter long or during bad weather in the warm months, I can't ride my bike outside and am forced to ride the stationary bike indoors. It's soooo boring! I know I need the cardio so I basically just make myself do it, but it's not enjoyable. Even with something good on the TV, that only keeps my attention for so long and I find myself looking at the clock a lot. My actual bike, I can ride it through the arboretum and see nature (sometimes I have to swerve my bike to avoid turkeys!), I can ride around the outside of the zoo and hear the lion roaring, or I can just ride downtown and people-watch. On my stationary bike, obviously I can't leave my house so nothing interesting ever happens.

It's a static environment versus a dynamic environment, and if the weather would just behave (who even needs winter anyway) then I'd pick dynamic every time!

CrohnsChicago · Jul 7, 2014

I've been able to keep up with my workouts finally! I got a couple more jog intervals in since last post. And after a stressful day I even managed to sneak in a 20 minute swim at the gym which not only served as exercise but helped relax my mind and body. I've moved up from 1 minute jogs/90 second walks for a total of approx. 25 minutes. I am now at 90 second jogs/2 minute walks.

When I become more comfortable with this change the Couch to 5k program will try to advance me to a switch-off between 90 second jog /90 second walk AND 3 minute jog/3 minute walk for about 25 - 30 minutes.

It's getting a little easier to push through when I feel like I can't do anymore. I'm notorious for stopping immediately when I feel my body is being put to work. But if I don't challenge it even slightly now and then I won't get anywhere. I'm doing the program a little more slowly than I should but that's because I am still getting comfortable with the idea of jogging. I know there is some progress because I feel the desire to jog and definitely feel somewhat guilty if I'm not able to get it in for one day. I don't jog for at least two - three days out of the week and try to incorporate something else into my fitness routine.

Cat-a-Tonic · Jul 7, 2014

I think it's fine to do the program at your own pace, as long as you continue with it and keep making progress and keep enjoying it and all that good stuff. Feeling the desire to jog definitely sounds like progress!

Well done!

Swimming sounds lovely. That's like the one thing I don't do, my gym doesn't have a pool and the one public pool in my city always has a zillion people in it so no chance of swimming laps or even just having a leisurely float around. I suppose I could swim in one of the local lakes, but they're still pretty cold plus they're really gross.

CrohnsChicago · Jul 8, 2014

Yeah I don't even go into Lake Michigan here in Chicago. I learned as a kid you should never go in that water above your knees if you are not out past the safety lines. Illinois is ranked one of the lowest in water quality along the great lakes and east/west coast and with the constant beach closures for contamination it makes perfect sense why. So I don't mind getting my feet wet but I will keep my swimming activities limited to pools and deep bodies of water lol.

Rested yesterday. Today I was so tired I couldn't mentally get into jog mode so I opted to hit up the gym and do the elliptical for 45 min at Incline 10 and intervals of 1 - 8 resistance. Its funny how much easier it felt to do this now that I have been jogging. My endurance is improving more with each day. That incline and high resistance would have tired me out before but I felt I had some energy after which felt good.

Cat-a-Tonic · Jul 9, 2014

Our local beaches get closed due to bad water quality all the time, too. And our local lakes often have something called blue-green algae, which is apparently toxic (potentially fatal I think?) if you ingest even a little bit of it, so between that and all the other ickyness of the lakes, it's just so not worth it to swim in the lakes. Yeah, like you said, I'll wade in but that's about it, and I make sure to wash my feet/legs off really well after wading!

CrohnsChicago · Jul 14, 2014

Today got my strength training session in. I feel my core getting stronger and able to handle longer exercises than it used to. Lower body, core and arms today. Medicine ball, giant swiss/stability ball, cable pull machine and some body weight exercises.

I think I enjoy the exercise ball the best. We did windshield wipers on the swiss ball that gave my hips and core an intense but interesting workout. You put the ball between your legs, raise your legs up in the air and then and sway your lower body from side to side. Swaying from left to right is one count. It's something I could definitely see myself doing at home outside of the gym.

We also did some scorpion exercises on the bench which also worked my hips and core. It looks so simple but after doing a good number of them lifting your legs into the air and crossing over becomes harder than you realize. This exercise is supposedly really good strengthening for runners and also easily done at home.

I like that I am learning all of these new moves. It really helps make things interesting. I'm more likely to give up with repetition due to boredom so I like that each week my trainer shows me at least one or two new moves.

Didn't get to jog the last few days due to rain and a bad sore throat/congestion situation but it finally is clearing up. I got some walking in this past weekend though when it didn't rain on me.

Cat-a-Tonic · Jul 15, 2014

Sounds like you're doing well and making good progress! I really need to do more with my exercise ball, too. Whenever I inflate it, after a day or two hubby feels like it takes up too much space and he deflates it.

CrohnsChicago · Jul 16, 2014

Yeah I used to constantly have to deflate my ball as well. But now I have a corner to stash it into.

The journey is getting more tolerable. Went jogging today after missing almost 5 days and even though my jog was a bit slower, the overall journey was a lot more manageable than I have ever known it to be.

In a day or two I will be extending my jog. I honestly feel more confident about it than I have so far. I'm a bit sore from the last two days and am running g off of 3 hours of sleep so I think tomorrow will be a much needed rest day.

Cat-a-Tonic · Jul 17, 2014

3 hours of sleep!? Due to work or stress or symptoms or...? I hope you were able to get some sleep and feel better!

CrohnsChicago · Jul 17, 2014

Stress and work. I was unable to relax my mind the other night and it kept me up until about 4:30am.

That jog yesterday actually served purposes beyond fitness. It was a good stress reliever: the weather was very comfortable yesterday and the lakefront was quiet and empty...I even jogged along the beach and the shoreline for one of my intervals. It also helped me to fall asleep more easily and comfortably last night. Maybe that's why I REALLY enjoyed that jog yesterday!

Today I will just focus on some stretches and some core exercises at home. Then sleep.

Cat-a-Tonic · Jul 17, 2014

Sorry to hear about the stress keeping you awake! Do you ever take anything to help you sleep? I'm on amitriptyline which helps me sleep, but it's not always strong enough if my brain won't shut off. Sometimes I take a benadryl to induce drowsiness, that usually works.

And yes, as you said, exercise is a fantastic stress-reliever! Sounds like you had a really great run.

I love those exercise sessions where I feel good and really enjoy it, and it's just exactly what my body needed.

CrohnsChicago · Jul 19, 2014

Last night I progressed into a 90 sec. jog, 90 sec walk, 3min jog, 3min walk, then repeat.

That's my longest outdoor jogging attempt thus far. It's so fascinating to me that I can jog 15min straight on a treadmill but jogging on concrete is taking me forever. The challenge was there, it was getting hard to push through towards the end of the 3 minute jogs. There was a moment during the first 3 minute interval where i was able to push past it a little longer and it didn't feel as terrible. The program has you do each interval phase 3 times before moving up to the next phase but I think it's a good idea to work on this interval phase for a few more runs before progressing to truly get comfortable in it.

Today I somehow managed to wake up early this morning and took an outdoor pilates class. Chicago does this on Saturday mornings in the Summer for free and I have always meant to try it out. This year I finally did. There were people of all shapes and skill levels joined on a giant lawn in the heart of downtown Chicago trying to do something healthy for themselves. It was a lot of fun and a good attempt at pilates. The sun beating down made it a tad uncomfortable at times but the scenery and the act of doing this outdoors outweighed everything else.

Something I'm noticing. My knees are not what they used to be. I need to learn how to take extra special care of them. One specific thing I am noticing is that my left knee cracks/crackles when I walk up stairs sometimes. I can both hear it and feel it. It doesn't hurt at all but it is a very weird sensation. And it only happens when I walk up steep stairs.

I first developed weird knee issues when I started prednisone for Crohns. The knee symptoms have lingered off and on even after stopping steroids over a year ago. Most days are fine, but every now and then these sensations happen. And resting my knees on hard surfaces (like when exercising) is sometimes impossible now. I should honestly have a doctor look at them at some point just to be safe. I have had bone density tests done last year which said everything is okay but times do change things and I wonder if arthritis is slowly developing.

CrohnsChicago · Jul 20, 2014

This morning I had further realization of how hard pilates is. I was expecting to be sore in my core and lower body area (which I was), however I did not expect my shoulders to become sore as well even after stretching. Lesson learned, stretch my arms out even more if I do pilates again.

I had an itch today, I thought it was hunger for a while but then I realized my body just needed to get outside so I tried the 90sec and 3 min jog interval again.

It was muggy out, first time I've jogged in this condition. Uncomfortable, but I managed by focusing on controlling my pace. I found trying to breathe in that condition to be not too great. I'm working on breathing better when I work out. My trainer pointed out to me the other week that he notices a vein bulge in my head when I work out and it's because I don't always breathe properly. My way of trying to overcome this is to make slightly dramatic exhales because it reminds me how important it is to breathe properly and consistently when exercising.

More deep stretching tonight then early to bed.

Cat-a-Tonic · Jul 21, 2014

Do any of your other joints randomly crackle/pop, or is it just your knees? I've had crackly joints for years, well before I got sick or took corticosteroids, so for me it's just something I've always had. My wrists and elbows have been crackly since like high school. When I lift weights, sometimes my shoulders pop with every rep. Before I started working out, sometimes if I knelt down, my kneecap(s) would spontaneously dislocate and I'd have to pop it back in which hurt like crazy! Now that I've been working out, my knee muscles are apparently stronger so they don't dislocate anymore, but they still make popping sounds like the rest of my joints. Oh, and oddly enough, my bad hip doesn't make any crackling/popping sounds, but my "good" (less painful but still arthritic) hip sometimes clicks with every step I take. My body is super weird.

But anyway, my rambly point is, it's not necessarily due to steroids/Crohn's. Hopefully it'll get better as your knees get stronger.

Orchid · Jul 21, 2014

My joints make lots of popping and clicking noises, to the point my fiancee says I sound a bit like a mechanical typewriter. Though I've never gotten so far as to have to put the joint back in the socket. That sounds horribly painful.

CrohnsChicago · Jul 21, 2014

My bad hip with no cartilage and the metal pin connecting it to my joint clicks sometimes and is uncomfortable for obvious reasons.

When I lift weights my right shoulder pops lightly on occasion but it's not often at all that it does that. My knees do it on a more regular basis. My shoulder and my knees don't hurt when they pop or crackle though. it's just weird. I had my boyfriend place his hand on my knees this weekend when I bent it and he could feel it sort of grinding (for lack of better word) when I would bend and straighten them both.

Part of me wonders if the weight gain (almost 20lbs since winter) has kept this lingering in my knees due to additional stress on the joint. Maybe it's just what my body has decided to do now that I am getting older. Maybe steroids just made these symptoms more prominent. Who knows maybe its a combo of all of the above.

Either way it's now additional incentive to get into decent health.

CrohnsChicago · Jul 23, 2014

I kind of hate that I have not exercised in two days. Only one of these two days was supposed to be used for rest. Time really slipped past me. I've been a bit mentally stressed and tired AND running around, but I DID manage to do a quick squat challenge with a phone app last night and got 36 squats in before bed. Like I said in theOcean's post, every minute of activity does count.

I was able to reflect a bit while running about this past week and I really need a routine. I have tried and failed at this many times and it's far too easy for me to give up at the end of the day. I am not a morning person at all but seriously something has got to give.

This needs to become a better habit. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it. Sacrifices need to be made in order to accomplish this and I have resolved to starting my day earlier than I have been. Not just for exercise, but to get things done around the house so I am not so stressed, tired and unable to accomplish everything I want to during the evening. It will also give me time to myself before the house wakes up and takes over the rest of the day. Plus I would sleep better at night.

This week is pretty hectic so I am going to jog when I can and prepare myself so that when Monday comes next week, I will be focus on adjusting to a morning routine of exercise and other activities.

That's it. Nothing more for today. Unable to get moving today due to a gathering I am hosting in my place right after work. Tomorrow, Saturday and/or Sunday I will have plenty more opportunity to get my jogging back in. To supplement for today's loss, I've taken the stairs instead of the elevator at work. I also made an extra trip outside to get some extra walking in.

CrohnsChicago's Fitness Journey

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