I got a couple PMs asking for updates, so here goes. I went back to work about week 6 and got a new job week 8, so I've been very busy in my new job and working long hours and all that, so I wasn't on here for a couple weeks.
At 8 weeks post-op they told me I could start lifting weights, but to slowly progress, they didn't give me any more of a guideline than that. So week 9 I lifted 5 lb dumbells and tried some different lifts, like shoulder press, arm curls. I then waited 3 days to see if I got sore. I did not, so I increased the weight a little and have been lifting weights every other day. I'm up to 25 lb dumbells, (50 lbs total) for various lifts, but I think I could do more, I'm just starting slow. I'm more focused on my cardio at this point. I started jogging last week, and I'm up to 2 miles every other day. Including the warm-up walk and cool down it takes me about 25 minutes, so a very slow pace of about 5.7 mph during the jog.
I created a log to track my jogging progress, but I don't have a good goal yet, any advice? I'm a "new" runner, since I was never able to sustain even a slow jog in my prior life. I'm also not sure about duration/distance/time/frequency. I've been doing every other day for 20-25 minutes, but I was going to try to increase the duration up to 35-40 minutes or so (need to keep it under an hour including clean-up), since I only get an hour lunch break. The good news is the gym at work has treadmills and free weights for no charge, not bad huh! I'm also unsure about optimal heart rate for patients such as us during a cardio exercise. I've noticed that I'm usually around the 160 bpm mark during the jog.
Other things I've noticed:
- Sharp intakes of breath has stopped, last one was probably 7 weeks
- Ticking noise has decreased considerably, I can still hear it, but it isn't as overpowering as it used to be. I'm not sure if I'm getting used to it more, or if it has dulled? Either way I'm happy
- I'm sleeping all night now, and can sleep on my stomach. The faded ticking helps, I also got a new memory foam mattress from costco (sams club) and I've been quite pleased with it.
- Muscles: I noticed my legs get sore and tired from running before I get short of breath, which is awesome, but not something I'm used to, since I used to play basketball for over an hour every day and usually didn't get sore at all. I'm doing warm-up and stretching after, but I'm not sure if there are some other things I should be doing? Are there some stretches I should be doing cold? Particularly in my shins and calfs.
-Weight: Through all of this my weight has fluctuated very little. I'm 6'1 and weigh 190 lbs. I was 191 the day of the surgery and at week 1 I was 190 lbs. Despite starting to jog now I'm still at 190. I only want to lose about 10 lbs so it's not a big deal, but I thought they would dissapear immediately!
At 8 weeks post-op they told me I could start lifting weights, but to slowly progress, they didn't give me any more of a guideline than that. So week 9 I lifted 5 lb dumbells and tried some different lifts, like shoulder press, arm curls. I then waited 3 days to see if I got sore. I did not, so I increased the weight a little and have been lifting weights every other day. I'm up to 25 lb dumbells, (50 lbs total) for various lifts, but I think I could do more, I'm just starting slow. I'm more focused on my cardio at this point. I started jogging last week, and I'm up to 2 miles every other day. Including the warm-up walk and cool down it takes me about 25 minutes, so a very slow pace of about 5.7 mph during the jog.
I created a log to track my jogging progress, but I don't have a good goal yet, any advice? I'm a "new" runner, since I was never able to sustain even a slow jog in my prior life. I'm also not sure about duration/distance/time/frequency. I've been doing every other day for 20-25 minutes, but I was going to try to increase the duration up to 35-40 minutes or so (need to keep it under an hour including clean-up), since I only get an hour lunch break. The good news is the gym at work has treadmills and free weights for no charge, not bad huh! I'm also unsure about optimal heart rate for patients such as us during a cardio exercise. I've noticed that I'm usually around the 160 bpm mark during the jog.
Other things I've noticed:
- Sharp intakes of breath has stopped, last one was probably 7 weeks
- Ticking noise has decreased considerably, I can still hear it, but it isn't as overpowering as it used to be. I'm not sure if I'm getting used to it more, or if it has dulled? Either way I'm happy
- I'm sleeping all night now, and can sleep on my stomach. The faded ticking helps, I also got a new memory foam mattress from costco (sams club) and I've been quite pleased with it.
- Muscles: I noticed my legs get sore and tired from running before I get short of breath, which is awesome, but not something I'm used to, since I used to play basketball for over an hour every day and usually didn't get sore at all. I'm doing warm-up and stretching after, but I'm not sure if there are some other things I should be doing? Are there some stretches I should be doing cold? Particularly in my shins and calfs.
-Weight: Through all of this my weight has fluctuated very little. I'm 6'1 and weigh 190 lbs. I was 191 the day of the surgery and at week 1 I was 190 lbs. Despite starting to jog now I'm still at 190. I only want to lose about 10 lbs so it's not a big deal, but I thought they would dissapear immediately!
