Returning to weight training after prolapse surgery
Today’s workout was super remedial! But slow and steady will be my new norm for now. We did 3 sets of 6 reps of bodyweight squats, 3 sets of 6 reps each side stationary lunges and 3 sets of 8 reps with light weight on the abduction machine for lower body. Did one exercise, 3 sets of each exercise, for shoulders, bis, tris, chest and back with light weight. Next workout will be Saturday. Cant wait!
I honestly didn’t believe the word COVID would still be causing such disruption in our lives at the end of August! When I started this blog the biggest issue on my mind was recovering from surgery and getting back to the gym and back to weight training! But as they say, when life throws you lemons (maybe more like hand grenades) make lemonade.
One thing I’ve seen on many fronts is that 2020 has been a landmark year. A line in the sand year. A year when many people have used the enormous pause to make big decisions. To stop things they’ve been doing for years. Things they knew needed to end but couldn’t quite find the courage to let go of. My 82 year old step mom finally quit playing competitive volleyball after 40+ years. COVID made her decision a little easier.
Others have used the forced down time to begin something new. Something they’ve had on the back burner or in the back of their mind for some time, just waiting for circumstances to be right. Waiting for time to pull the plan together and step out in a new direction. A little of that lemonade…
Personally, I’ve used this slower pace of personal training to focus on a second passion. A practice I was introduced to by my physical therapist after my prolapse surgery. A word I had never heard – Hypopressives. A system of movement/postures and breathing combined to promote low pressure in the pelvic floor. She felt it would be a key component in helping to keep my surgery healthy. So I got busy and registered to become a certified low pressure fitness professional in September.
Enter COVID. The in person certification classes were cancelled so I went online to at least take a Hypopressive class and practice on my own. As “luck” would have it I learned that the first ever English language online certification course was being offered that weekend! I signed up immediately and became certified to teach Level 1 Hypopressives on July 12. I finished my Level 2 courses Sunday, August 23 and will receive my Level 3 and final certification in September. Lemonade!!
So if you’re looking for help with recovering your pelvic floor health for any reason – birth, surgery, leaking, pain, prolapse – stay tuned. My website will be up shortly along with my new IG page. In the meantime I’m ready to see clients and you can contact me at therbert6@att.net or on IG @mightylilmouse.
Thanks for reading and stay tuned!!
It’s been a while since I’ve posted here. I guess I’ll blame it on the corona virus and the major change in my routine. But if I’m honest I think there’s another reason.
Today is my 6 month post surgery date. Six months ago I never thought I’d be here but here I am. And I’m feeling really good! I’ve been super careful to follow the advice of my pelvic floor PT to go slow with my loading and let my body have time to heal. Advice from those I trust says it will take my body a year to fully recover/heal internally. I thought I’d hate the wait but just the opposite is true.
Rehabbing from this surgery has taught me things I didn’t know that I didn’t know. I didn’t know which muscles made up my deep core. I didn’t know my deep core wasn’t strong. I had never thought about my pelvic floor much less the fact that there was muscle there. I thought my diaphragm was primarily useful for singing. I had no earthly idea how many women, young and not so young, suffer from varying stages of pelvic organ prolapse. I never imagined anything like this could happen to me.
So while I’ll always be a weight training girl and I’ll always be training clients, this experience has led me to learn about things outside the weight training realm. I’m expanding my education online and in person in an effort to help myself and others understand all these things that literally fell in my lap last year.
So here’s where I am this week. I started back in the gym in January with just body weight. After two weeks I was ready for a total of 20# of weight. I’ve added 10# per month since then and am feeling really comfortable now in the 50-55# range on my heaviest lifts. It’s a far cry from my former squat and deadlift weight but I’m super happy and thankful for where I am. And I’m planning to continue the 10# increases every month as long as my body tells me it’s ok. I’m not married to any number and won’t be chasing any crazy pr’s.
So here’s the breakdown of my workout today – the video above is the toe touch pikes from round 1.
I’ve also been posting some of my at home workouts during quarantine on IGTV. You can find me @mightylilmouse. Thanks for following and feel free to reach out if you have questions.
Tuesday’s workout! March is here which means I get to try increasing my weight for lower body exercises to 40 pounds. Woohoo!! Did squats on the Smith machine for the first time since October and it felt great! Small increases each month are adding up to increased strength and return of muscle and that’s super encouraging.
Consistency is everything. Walking in the gym 5-6 days a week and watching change happen. Get yourself some of that if you can!
Happy Saturday! I forgot to take a pic at the gym yesterday so I’m using this post workout pic instead. It’s been a beautiful weekend with lots of chances to be outside which makes me super happy. I think Spring is almost here!
I’ll be posting my Thursday workouts in the form of screenshots taken from my Notes page on my phone. That’s where I record my workouts each week. So if you happen upon my posts and have questions about any of the exercises posted feel free to reach out to me for a better description.
Here’s my workout:
This workout left my glutes nice and toasty! It was my first time post surgery to push the sled and it felt great. I can feel myself getting stronger and see my body changing which is super encouraging. All I can say is there’s definitely life after surgery and it’s best lived in the slow and steady lane.
It’s been a minute since I’ve posted because life has been busy but rest assured that while you may not see me here, you can always find me in the gym! Or if it’s a nice day, slightly outside the gym. Movement is medicine, whether preventative or rehabilitative. It’s always a good idea to move!
Saturday’s workout consisted of thirty minutes of cardio. Twelve minutes on the row machine, 10 minutes incline walking on the treadmill and 10 minutes on the spin bike. Wanted to finish with a Glute circuit and it was a beautiful day so I grabbed my tools and went outside. I did the following exercises in a short circuit form and completed 3 circuits:
Lying on my side on top of the box 30 reps each side extended range leg lifts, 30 weighted frog pumps with a 20# medicine ball and 30 banded bottom range pulse squats. Felt great and kept my heart rate elevated beyond my cardio session. Win, win!
If you’ve found this page and are needing any help or have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m learning as I go after my surgery and I’m no expert but I’m happy to share what’s working for me! Have a great Monday!
Nothing better than a Saturday workout. No rush. No crowd. Just work. Today I replicated what @capclark and I did on Thursday with a couple of minor changes.
Here’s the workout.
I changed the step ups by using two 15# kettlebells instead of the cable. And I changed the rear delt flys to a bench instead of doing them on the Glute ham developer. It was a great workout!
Happy February! It’s a far cry from 185# but I got to pull 30# from the ground today. Very happy girl! Giving myself at least a year to safely return to my heavier weights.
And now for a small rant. I’m not a Physical Therapist and I’m certainly not a doctor but I feel like it would be such a simple thing and really a no brainer for every OBGYN to at least mention the idea of seeing a pelvic floor physical therapist to every new mom they work with.
I understand not all insurance companies will pay for PFPT visits but even one visit, paid for out of pocket, could help teach some basic movements to restore the pelvic floor muscles and help prevent any issues going forward. Or maybe, heaven forbid, the doctor herself could provide a handout with information about pelvic floor health and diagrams of exercises that can be done at home. I have many clients who bring me exactly such information from their PTs after finishing rehab for knee or hip surgeries. Why is rehabbing your pelvic floor after childbirth not equally as important?
I had my last baby 28 years ago and if my doctor had educated me back then I could have spent a boat load of time working to prevent the major surgery I just had and the rehab I’m going through now. Not bitter really. Just totally think “we” can do better in 2020. What do you think?
A little snapshot of my Thursday workout. This beauty is called a Vipr. It looks heavy but @capclark says it weighs only 12 lbs. Wanted to weigh it myself but by the time I finished I didn’t care any more lol. So cool to feel myself gradually getting stronger every week! The body is truly an amazing gift!
Here’s what I did on Thursday –
Doing full body workouts like this 3 times a week and focusing on deep abdominal work and cardio the other 3 days. Sunday is for REST. Couldn’t. Be. Happier.
Feeling a little all over the map today. In a good way. Had a Zoom chat with my amazing PT, @the.vaginadoc Monday night. So great to have a professional who is positive and progressive and always FOR me!
She cleared me to get back on the row machine this week which makes me super happy. I’m not going for speed, just focusing on engaging my deep abdominal muscles with each stroke. A nice, steady pace. Love starting my cardio session on the rower – going 12-15 minutes there then moving to the treadmill for some incline walking for another 15-20 minutes. Hopefully some sprints will be in the cards for me not too far down the road.
We also agreed on a plan for scaling my weight load on my lower body exercises. My January weight was 20# total weight. I’m planning to go up by 10# every month and live there for the entire month provided it feels right. That’ll put me at the 100# mark at 11 months post surgery. That just feels right to me since my body will continue to be healing for a full year.
And in the category of silver linings, all the small, somewhat boring but difficult deep abdominal work I’ve been doing is paying off. My squats are looking better than ever! This fact will be really helpful as I begin to increase my weight each month.
I’m so thankful to be on this side of surgery and to be making progress toward my goals. Getting stronger every week. Working smarter every day. Loving the process I thought I’d hate….
I’m not a huge fan of selfies but I don’t want this space to be outrageously boring so I’m trying to remember to snap an occasional pic. I worked out on my own at LJPT Thursday so I took this at the end of my last set of hip bridges. I think you can see the band above my knee.
I’m staying at my 20 lb limit on lower body exercises for the month of January. Here’s what I did yesterday.
Feet elevated hip bridges with band 15, seated one arm cable rows with 30# 12 each side, double kettle bell front squats w 10# bells 12 reps – 4 rounds of this
Back elevated single arm Db chest press with 15# dB 12 reps each side, rear foot elevated split squats no added weight 10 each side, dead bugs with 5# 12 reps each side – 3 rounds of this
Kettle bell Romanian deadlifts with 10# bells 12 reps, cable rear delt pulls with 30# 12 reps, kneeling torso rotation with 10# plate 12 reps each side – 3 rounds of this
Even though my weight isn’t heavy I’m feeling every rep and leaving the gym nice and sweaty.
Today I did 30 minutes of cardio. Used the rower for the first time post surgery. Did 12 minutes at 8 resistance at a nice even pace – not worrying about covering a certain distance. Then I finished with 18 minutes incline walking on the treadmill starting at a 2 incline and gradually moving my way up to 6. Felt great!
Hope this helps if you find your way here and find yourself in my shoes!
Born Too Soon