Getting fitness back into my list of priorities

tmoneyag99

Anyone here get utterly demoralized by what the "used to be able to do" versus their limitations now.

5 years ago pre baby and pre-injuries and health issues I was able to run 4miles a day, lifted 310lbs on the leg press and ran 9mi on the weekends. I did

I got back on the elliptical last night, and the level to which my strength and endurance has degraded is astonishing and heartbreaking. Part of my wanted to curl up in the fetal position.

I'm looking for tips on how those of you that had to get back on the wagon and push through the mental gut kick of knowing what you once could do, versus your current limitations.

stanmann571

Honestly, still getting there.

But, I started super slow. AND I started with a program that was OTHER. 3 years ago pre injury, I was doing primarily BW and KB training. Today, I'm working with a lot more running and easing into Barbell work.

So, Try something where you don't have a baseline to compare readily that can steal your joy while you recover your capacity.

I know that once I get back to a reasonable injury free baseline I can get back to my old routines.

Try Simple&Sinister, It should be sufficiently other from what you previously did.

tulips_and_tea

I had an accident last year that resulted in dislocated ribs. Needless to say I was inactive for much longer than I wanted to be. However, starting out slowly for me was okay because I was just so grateful that I was healing and that I was able to get active again. Actually it gave me even more motivation because I remembered to appreciate what I'm able to do instead of what I used to do. Within a few months I was in better shape than before the accident.

Be patient, be grateful, and listen to your body.

HoneyBadger302

Been through this a couple times.

The first time was late 2015 into 2016 when I first decided to work on getting fit again after letting my fitness fade over approximately 6 years. I really had to build into it slowly. I set realistic expectations, realizing my fitness sucked. I started with 20 minutes on the elliptical or treadmill, at an easy pace. Once I could complete the full 20 min, I started adding 2 min of a higher intensity/run into the time. Then increased that to 5 min, then two 5 min splits, then eventually the full 20 min and then moved to 30 min workouts and started adding strength training into my routine, starting with the machine circuits to start.

It took nearly a year, but nearing the end of 2016 I was FIT again. Felt great about it, and was back to training INTENSELY.

Then I (badly) broke my leg on 12/3/16. Over the next 10 months I had four surgeries, one external fixator, 2 plates, 18 screws, 6 weeks with a PICC line, and all of that removed by the end of the ordeal. Needless to say, that awesome fitness was gone, along with complications in atrophy and limited ROM in that ankle (some of which is permanent).

I knew I'd have to start slow, my ankle wasn't going to put up with anything else. Had my trainer put together a super easy "get started" again plan, a few days a week. As that got easier and my leg held up to it, I increased the intensity by a little bit. Again, continued to build, but this time around, my fitness came back a LOT faster.

I'm still dealing with atrophy (it really is a *kitten*) but overall I'm feeling pretty darn fit again. Yes, I have to modify some exercises, and I have to be very careful with form on that leg sometimes as it tries to "compensate" even when it doesn't need to, but it's improving. This injury taught me a serious lesson on patience - I've had plenty of other injuries, but the longest they held me up was a couple months or so. I'm now nearing the 18 month mark with a lot of work still in front of me to get this leg where it can go.

The key is sticking with it. It's going to suck. "Embrace the Suck" became my mantra. It'll suck, I'll feel horrible, it'll hurt, but I'm going to do it anyways. Eventually it starts to suck less. There will come a point you start to enjoy it again (at least most of the time) and miss it when you don't do it.

hesn92

Yes. I have this problem. I used to work out when I was in college and then stopped when I got a full time job. 6 years later after sitting on my butt all day every day, I started working out again. And my fitness level and my strength have gone WAY down it’s crazy. It’s amazing what a sedentary lifestyle will do to your body. I’ve been back at it for 2.5 months now and I feel much better.

JoAnna4731

I know exactly where you are at. I was a runner at one point. I never will be again, due to a permanent ankle injury.

Part of what has helped me cope with that realization is that there is still so much I CAN do, and that these things are blessings. Even just the fact that I can get up in the morning relatively pain free is a gift. I can walk, I can ride a bike, I can stretch, I can lift some weight. I just do the things that I know I can do without aggravating my injuries, and give thanks that I can do those things and that I am mobile. I will get close to the fitness level I was once at, but I just have to do it in a different way - and in many ways, I will be better for it.

busyPK

Yep I've been there. I was running miles and getting back to the best shape of my life when I slipped on grass and broke 2 bones in my ankle resulting in extensive surgery, screws and plates inserted. It was a long recovery (didn't put any weight on it for 6 months or so and was in a walking boot another 3 months). Overall it took me a full year to learn to walk again and then more time for me to mentally be ready to actually jog and jump on that ankle. Now, 3.5 years later, I'm back to almost the point I was pre-accident. I had some many moments during recovery that I would be very hard on myself and just want to cry, however it is true what they all say - now it is all a distant memory and if you put in the effort you can and will get back to your best self. Hugs!