Slowly Recovering (Workout Plan - Nov 2018)

Wait, wait. Where did October go?

REAL TALK: I gave up on myself, just a little.

Not being able to run (deets here) turned out to be far more of a psychological struggle than I expected. I put on a brave face and went through the motions of recovery - I went to my physio and training appointments, I did my exercises, I did my cross-training. From the outside I seemed to be doing great, but truth be told there was a little light inside of me that was slowly beginning to fade away. Work was becoming more and more stressful, and without my usual release the burden of it all was taking its toll. I wasn’t sleeping well, I would find myself upset about the smallest things, and I really didn’t want to do anything. I began to realize how much effort I was putting into these workouts that I really just didn’t want to do. So I stopped doing them.

I recognized the downward spiral as it was beginning to happen, and I decided to take a calculated break from my routine. I had to refocus on myself and my happiness. I made a list of things that I wanted to accomplish that would bring more satisfaction to my life - things that were unrelated to running or the gym. These were simple tasks like painting my living room, trying meditation, and getting back into yoga. I slowly started to feel a little more like myself.

During this time, I also reflected on the big picture. I feel like I have done this a lot since becoming injured, and every time I am able to draw something different from it. I stopped looking at the workouts I was doing as “workouts” and started to consider them “recovery”. Somehow that change in nomenclature allowed me to shift my view of each exercise.

I wrote to my trainer, explaining the epiphany I was having. It took me a while, but I was ready to take her advice and slow it down. Read on for my workout recovery program for the next 4 weeks. We're really just focusing on areas I need to strengthen to be a better runner. Nothing else.

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1. Warm up, 5 minutes

2. Flow through each exercise (2 sets, 8 reps):
   Shoulder stabilization
   Plank to split
   Pigeon stretch with twist
   Kneeling alternating extension (knees off the floor)

3. Hip raise with medicine ball squeeze - 2 sets, 10 reps

4. Superset:
   Dumbbell sumo squat - 3 sets, 12 reps
   Barbell hip thrust - 3 sets, 12 reps
   Pallof press with band - 3 sets, 10 reps

5. Superset:
   Eccentric chin up - 3 sets, 5 reps (lower for 5 seconds)
   Barbell bent over row - 3 sets, 12 reps

6. Superset:
   Slow push-up - 3 sets, 5 reps (lower for 5 seconds)
   Inclined dumbbell fly - 3 sets, 12 reps

7. Side plank - 45 seconds

Images courtesy of Physigraphe, using the Hexfit app

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