Can Grownups Jump on the Bed? It Depends…
20 Apr 2010 2 Comments
in GRAVITY Experiment Tags: Depends, gravity, incontinence, jumping, pee pee, physical therapy, plyometrics, pogo stick, running, trampoline
GRAVITY Experiment Day #9
Today’s weight: 149.0
Pounds to go: 13.5
Exercise: GRAVITY training for 30 minutes (continued to hop on the arm and leg bikes every 5 minutes for 1 min bouts to keep my heart rate up)
I wrote an article a few months back for a local family magazine asking “Do You Pee Pee When You Hee Hee?” The article mentioned that a lot of women limit or even eliminate exercise when they experience urinary incontinence (leakage of urine – usually occurring with increases in abdominal pressure). It also mentioned that physical therapy by a skilled women’s health therapist can minimize and even eliminate leakage (blatant advertisement for my services).
I’ve always been very open with my patients about why I treat incontinence – I had the hardest time after the birth of my third child getting my bladder control back. Because I knew what to do to treat it conservatively, I got to work treating myself. In the meantime though, I never went within 10 feet of a trampoline, eliminated the word jumping jack from my vocabulary, and avoided running like the plague.
Jumping and plyometrics are awesome exercises though and I want to be able to benefit. Just because I’ve had a 10 pound, 15 ounce child doesn’t mean I should have to jump rope with my legs crossed dang it!
I think I’ve found my solution. The GRAVITY training is allowing me to jump without peeing my pants! Wonder if they will ever use that as a tagline? Because of the position of the glide board, I am always in some form of a semi-reclined position. I’m better able to contract my hip, butt, and pelvic floor muscles which are really hard to get and keep contracted during traditional plyo exercises. Insert picture of me jumping up and down with a big smile on my face, the blue sky in the background, the birds chirping – I’m a little giddy thinking about using it with my some of my patients!!! I’ve never set a goal for a patient of being able to jump on a pogo stick without wetting themself – but now I have the means to get them there;-)
Just remember, jumping on the bed is not just for kids – you just don’t want to have to wear Depends while doing it.
Scrub Pants are From the Devil
18 Apr 2010 1 Comment
in GRAVITY Experiment Tags: biceps, body fat, devil, Grey's Anatomy, jeans, muffin top, pajamas, plyometrics, scrubs, triceps
GRAVITY Experiment Day #6
Today’s weight: 149.0
Pounds to go: 13.5
Exercise: GRAVITY training for 30 minutes – focused on squats, lunges, plyometrics (jumping), biceps, triceps, and lats
I have had several people tell me that I shouldn’t be focusing on the weight loss as much as I should be “how my clothes fit” and “how I feel.” I’m using the 15# goal simply because it is easy to obtain on a daily basis. I have several other numbers that were obtained prior to starting this experiment including body fat percentage and body measurements – I’ll post all that stuff at the end (when it’s good). This experiment truly is about me changing my lifestyle (and looking good in shorts this summer);-) This has been the first time since college that I have worked out 6 days in a row so something is working!
The “how your clothes fit” idea is very popular. But how can people tell with stretch jeans or those attractive tops that hug the muffin top? This idea might be great if you wear tailored, non-giving clothes every day but what about those of us who wear scrubs most of the week? If you don’t know what scrubs are just think Grey’s Anatomy. Basically you get to wear your pajamas to work.
These things come in every color and design imaginable. The tops are roomy and the pants that I opt for have a drawstring/elastic combo waist and are made from a stretchy material – ahhhh, comfort! It’s kind of like having the best part of maternity pants (the stretchy front panel) on all over your body. I love them because the staff can dress alike easily and we can get down on the floor and move around with patients. Plus, if someone pukes on us, we didn’t just ruin a nice pair of pants.
One problem though – when you wear these things all week and then go to put on your jeans on Saturday, you have to answer to what you ate and how little you worked out all week. They truly are from the devil. I can gain 5 pounds in a week and not have a clue (unless I’m keeping tabs on it).
Moral of this story – don’t wear your pajamas all week if you are trying to lose weight;-)
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