"Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it." Helen Keller
I'm thankful for thousands of things- big and minuscule. One of them is Twitter. Seriously. My life is enriched each day by Twitter and the inspirational people I'm ‘following’. This Helen Keller quote twittered in my head all day long after reading it this morning. Sad events suck, but they also give us the opportunity to grow and that's pretty cool.
That's what this blog is about, really. Having cancer twice sucked, but I'd choose to go through it again because of all that I've gained from the experiences. I've overcome a lot since that last chemo treatment nearly 8 months ago. My feet aren't numb anymore! The chemo induced arthritis in my knees is slowly melting away! In fact, I've been able to do step aerobics and some high impact aerobics the past couple weeks with only minor pain afterwards. This is an enormously wonderful sign for me!! I can walk down the stairs normally now instead of having to take one slow step at a time. These may seem like small issues, but to me it felt crippling and I wondered if my body would ever heal and be strong again. My body IS healing, thanks to self Reiki, Young Living essential oils, Reflexology treatments, consistent workouts, lots of sleep, prayers and love. I couldn't be more thankful or relieved. I'm still managing fatigue and chemo-brain, but I'm experiencing some good positive progress with those also.
I'm thankful for thousands of things- big and minuscule. One of them is Twitter. Seriously. My life is enriched each day by Twitter and the inspirational people I'm ‘following’. This Helen Keller quote twittered in my head all day long after reading it this morning. Sad events suck, but they also give us the opportunity to grow and that's pretty cool.
That's what this blog is about, really. Having cancer twice sucked, but I'd choose to go through it again because of all that I've gained from the experiences. I've overcome a lot since that last chemo treatment nearly 8 months ago. My feet aren't numb anymore! The chemo induced arthritis in my knees is slowly melting away! In fact, I've been able to do step aerobics and some high impact aerobics the past couple weeks with only minor pain afterwards. This is an enormously wonderful sign for me!! I can walk down the stairs normally now instead of having to take one slow step at a time. These may seem like small issues, but to me it felt crippling and I wondered if my body would ever heal and be strong again. My body IS healing, thanks to self Reiki, Young Living essential oils, Reflexology treatments, consistent workouts, lots of sleep, prayers and love. I couldn't be more thankful or relieved. I'm still managing fatigue and chemo-brain, but I'm experiencing some good positive progress with those also.
Four weeks ago I started a journey called STS which stands for Shock Training System created by my fitness guru Cathe Friedrich. A month ago I bought a pair of 15 pound dumbbells and was convinced that I couldn't possibly need a heavier set for a very long time. Today I bought a pair of 20 pounders because I WILL need them for Meso Cycle 2 starting on Monday. I'm astounded and amazed with what my body can accomplish and overcome!! I'm lifting the heaviest weights I've ever lifted in my life- 8 months after chemo. That rocks!
This week is a recovery week in my STS rotation which means Yoga and light-ish cardio, but no weight lifting. So far I've had 4 wonderful Yoga sessions and 2 steady heart rate lower intensity cardios.
Then there was Wednesday's epic workout~ Cathe's HiiT Double Wave Pyramid. Many Cathletes say that THIS is the toughest of Cathe's 3 HiiTs (high intensity interval training) which is why I haven't attempted it before now. It has a metabolic equivalent (MET) of 10. The most METs I've done up was 8.
I was totally amazed and proud of how well my ‘far from goal weight’ post chemo-ed body performed!
I modified most of the movements by not going as deep into jumping squats or scissors, didn’t jump as high (would that be a hop then?), and did mountain climbers from the side of a chair instead putting my hands on the ground. But I DID IT and I did my absolute best. I’m very proud of my numbers especially since this is the first time I’ve ever done this HiiT!
The first number is how many seconds of the high intensity interval I did, the second is how many I rested.
20/20
25/25
25/35
30/40
40/40
30/40
30/30
25/25
20/20
60 seconds of blissful rest
20/20
25/25
15/45
Felt like collapsing on the floor at this point but I just took a longer rest and kept going!
35/35
35/45
35/35
30/30
25/25
20/20
How has your body amazed YOU lately? Brag about it, leave me a comment!
I am not at all surprised you are doing so well with ALL your workouts, you are one of the strongest people I have ever met and I couldn't be prouder to call you my sister but more important, my friend! You have taken a scary and sad disease and turn it into something positive, you're amazing!
ReplyDeleteYou are healing yourself more and more everyday! Because of you I want to be the best me I can be! I workout almost every night and i love how I feel. When it really starts to burn I think of you, the way you never gave up and I keep going! Thank you for being you and all the help and positivity that shines through you! I love you, sweet sister!