Powering On

Just got back from my physiotherapy session. I went back a few weeks ago when my physiotherapist said they were open again. Started it slowly with just one session a week. Promptly got a little sick after two sessions, but I've gotten better after a few more sessions. From today I'll be doing two sessions per week again. 

To be honest exercise has never been in my vocabulary. My PT though said I should think about exercise like how I brush my teeth. Like it's something that you need to do everyday. My Dad was super active. He played tennis and basketball. He played HS and collegiate basketball and so exercise came naturally for him. My Mom though... I never saw her exercise in my entire life. Her exercise is gardening. I guess I'm like my Mom, I've come to love gardening.

I started doing physiotherapy because of back pains. I started having it around late August last year. I thought it was just gonna go away. It didn't and by October my respiratory doctor sent me to see my orthopedic doctor who took a peek at my x-ray and referred me to a spine doctor. The spine doctor said that there's some degeneration happening.

And that's how I ended up with the most amazing physiotherapist. I admit, I'm probably one of the hardest patients to take care of because of the many considerations my PT needs to manage. Too much makes me sick, too little may trigger back pains. I think my PT knew from the beginning that if I got scared I would probably give up and not come back.

I think the most important thing she did with me is build trust. Even though the back pains came back during the two months when the clinic was closed, I trust with her guidance and care we'd be able to bring back the strength we built before the circuit breaker. So even though going to my sessions every week is hard, I push myself to go because I know it's for my own good. I hope in a few weeks my PT will allow me to go on the bicycle again because that's the only exercise which I equate to fun.

What about you? Do you like exercising?


#CB//91 #WFH67  #StuckAtHomeDay/121 #StayHome #BeKind

PT Again! Yay!

I had physiotherapy today! My therapist pinged me the good news last week that they were re-opening after June 1. She asked me if I wanted to come in. The last time I had physiotherapy was on April 2.

Dreaming of swimming here soon.

To be honest, exercising at home is a huge challenge! It's just not in my system. I do mat exercises one to two times per week and I move around a lot at home. I'm like a kiti-kiti at home because I could surprisingly do three thousand steps just going around everyday. On weekends I do at least 4k because of chores, baking and cooking. I exercise so my back won't hurt again and to improve my breathing.

At my favorite shop - Spotlight!

My therapist is super challenged with taking care of me. What she asks me to do has to be a perfect balance between challenging and bearable. If I have too much I get sick immediately. Tomorrow I will have to update her whether the exercises we did today was okay. I'll have to work my way up again in the next few weeks. I hope that the pool will open soon so I can swim and strengthen my lungs more.

What about you? What do you do to keep active at home? I never saw my Mom exercise in my entire life. Her secret to keeping fit is gardening. Tending to her garden is a lot of work. There were times when she traveled she would leave her garden to me. I had to water the entire garden twice a day. I used to have a garden in a previous home. I tried doing what my Mom would do twice a day - "putter around the garden". Gardening for fifteen minutes in my balcony now makes me feel like I had two hours of physiotherapy haha. So I count that as exercise hahaha.


#CB58 #WFH45  #StuckAtHomeDay88 #StayHome #BeKind 

6.5 Minutes on the Bike Today!

Thought I'd celebrate a milestone I had today! I managed to use the bike for 6.5 minutes. My physiotherapist has been trying to up the level of my exercises. She's had to adjust how we do my sessions because I kept getting sick during the first few weeks of my sessions. My body just couldn't cope well with adjusting back to work plus doing physiotherapy during work days.

That fateful day I tried the stationary bicycle last year. I super failed haha. 

I asked special accommodation to work from home twice a week to allow me to have rest in between going to work. It helped because my PT was able to slowly add in harder exercises. I was ecstatic when she had me try the stationary bike. I loved biking when I was a kid. I always went with my Dad and our neighbors every Sunday morning. We'd go around the village until we had to go home to prepare to hear mass.

My fave workout shirt! 

The other PTs in the clinic asked where they could buy the shirt!

The first time I went on the stationary bike I got sick after. I was quite sad about it because my therapist de-escalated my exercises again. She had to find the right balance to make sure I didn't get sick after. Last week we finally went back to the gym and she had me go on the bike. I managed for about three minutes and then we did other stuff. I went again on Monday and did 5 minutes and then today I managed 6.5 minutes. I think I could've done a bit more, but my PT didn't want me to push too hard.

My kind of post-PT happiness. Shopping for fabric!

This is an important milestone for me because a year ago when I tried the stationary bike at our place, I barely made it to two minutes. I had to work hard to improve my breathing and strengthen my body to get to where I am today. My PT and I talked about the situation we have today. There's a possibility that we'll all be forced to just really stay home. She's made a list of exercises I can do at home in-between our sessions and worse off it can be my list if in case we all can't go out.

We're looking forward to the day we can do an onsite session at work (well I hope they'll allow it!). I told her that I've been to our gym only once! I signed up for a beginners session, but we ended up doing burpees! I couldn't walk for a week and realized that I need someone who can really understand what my body's capacity is. I thank God I found the best PT for me! I was in so much pain for a few months last year and the sessions have really helped improve my situation. I'm insistent on attending the sessions because I know it is good for me and it's going to help me ward off any sickness.

Maybe I should do a vlog with me exercising. Might help my other patient friends who need a little inspiration to get things going.

Have a great day guys!