<p>When you people use a foam roller after exercising, how long do you use it for? Like if you are doing your calves, how long on each calf? Just a minute or two - or more???</p>
<p>Just a minute or two. usually with the rolling.</p>
<p>Foam rolling - My chiro who is a world class marathoner recommends a minute in each area. Also it is important to “stay on” the pressure points and not necessarily roll back and forth.</p>
<p>3.25 miles, 8 x 400 speed workout plus warm up & cool down.</p>
<p>Crutch-free! I need to change my avatar. Cleared to swim and aqua-jog. No fitness walking for 4 more weeks and no running for 8 more weeks. I’ll take it!</p>
<p>Wow!!! Party time! And led-lit swim goggles for MOfWC!!! </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.swimshop.co.uk/swimglow-gogglows-pink-goggle-frame-with-red-lights”>http://www.swimshop.co.uk/swimglow-gogglows-pink-goggle-frame-with-red-lights</a></p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>Good news, MoWC! </p>
<p>Thanks Ohio for a foam roller time and advice on the pressure point. I used a roller today, and was wondering the same thing.</p>
<p>Off to the gym with DD today for a progressive metabolic workout and stretching. Big pitfalls at the grocery store after, though, where they were sampling out cheeseburger quarters and a little piece of smore pie made with nutella. We got a bunch of fruit and cheese, but the large samples were quick history after two hungry women approached post workout…very large and yummy. No protein shake today. It was all so good.</p>
<p>Go US soccer team!</p>
<p>Great news, MOWC…but remember, don’t overdo it! :-bd </p>
<p>Yay for MOWC. Party time!</p>
<p>I don’t know what I’m more excited about- the US moving forward in soccer or MOWC getting back in the pool!!!
Great news!!!</p>
<p>Thanks. Love the goggles, Bunsen! I’m going to be careful. And, iDad, I need the arm exercises so I can keep toned. Remember I have to be careful with the core stuff for now. I may go really slowly with that.</p>
<p>Glad you’re able to get into the pool, MOWC. That will feel great.</p>
<p>I like the foam roller and use it fairly often, especially after yoga. </p>
<p>I’ve been walking the last few days, but it hasn’t been walking for exercise. I’ve been on a garden tour for two days with a local garden group and we’ve been tramping through gardens in the Berkshires (Western MA). Getting back to my regular schedule tomorrow. </p>
<p>Basement for me. Nice solid workout.</p>
<p>*ValSlide Alligator Walk
Twisting side plank (10 lb DB)
Half kneeling chops (cable machine)</p>
<p>DB snatch
Med ball slams</p>
<p>Rear foot elevated split squat
Chin ups
KB swings
Single arm DB bench press*</p>
<p>I’m doing a little different variation on the chinups – neutral grip – with the hands facing in towards each other;</p>
<p><a href=“Neutral Grip (Close Grip) Pull-Ups - Drew's Favourite Upper Back Exercises #3 | Day #48 WellFit 365 - YouTube”>Neutral Grip (Close Grip) Pull-Ups - Drew's Favourite Upper Back Exercises #3 | Day #48 WellFit 365 - YouTube;
<p>My chin up bar has neutral grip handles, but they are way far apart, so my hands are much wider than my shoulders. I really haven’t been able to do chin ups very well that way, even though neutral grip is the easiest on the shoulders and arms. I can finally do them, so I switched a couple of workouts ago and got back up to five rep sets today.</p>
<p>OK, crutch-free MOWC:</p>
<p>I was thinking of arm exercises for you during my workout today. The basic idea is to do two arm exercises in each workout: one pulling exercise, one pushing exercise. Three sets of each.</p>
<p>The classic pushing exercise is the push up. The classic pulling exercise is the chin up. But, the push up is probably not good for your fracture yet and the chin up is a pretty tall order.</p>
<p>So, for the push, how 'bout starting with the plain old dumbbell bench press, lying on your back on a weight bench at the gym or bench at home or even the floor at home. You can push both DBs up at the same time. Or, you can push up one arm while lowering the other. Or you can do my favorite: holding one arm up while doing on the reps on one side and then switching.:</p>
<p>[DB</a> bench press](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube)</p>
<p>You want whatever weight will be hard, but not impossible on the final rep. If you can do 12 reps on each arm, then go to a bigger weight and build up from 6 to 8 to 10 to 12, and then increase the weight again. Three sets.</p>
<p>Pulling exercises without involving the legs are a little harder. Normally, I’d start with a 3-pt DB row, but that involves a littl weight on the hips, so why risk it?</p>
<p>Let’s start with a lat pulldown:</p>
<p><a href=“How To Do The Lat Pulldown Exercise Properly - YouTube”>How To Do The Lat Pulldown Exercise Properly - YouTube; </p>
<p>This can be done from a seated position, which should remove the hips from the exercise for now. Don’t lean back and cheat. Stay upright and reduce the weight if necessary. 12 reps, 3 sets.</p>
<p>The beauty of exercises like this is that they work all the muscles of the arms, shoulders, and upper back, so you don’t have to do a lot of exercises. We are talking about a total of six sets, alternating between the pushing exercise and the pulling exercise. You could even alternate sets of the arm exercises with your PT exercises.</p>
<hr>
<p>Those two should be good for a couple of weeks, maybe three times a week and should be really safe for the healing bone. Once you are cleared for walking, there are some other variations.</p>
<hr>
<p>If you can’t find a weight bench, you could also do seated presses. Sitting on a chair, pressing the weights overhead towards the ceiling. But, I think the bench press version is going to take even more load off the hips.</p>
<p>Woohoo to MomWC!
Do you have the water shoes with the gills for aquajogging? Those and the wrist bands give a little more resistance. (I like these ones <a href=“https://www.aqxsports.com/”>https://www.aqxsports.com/</a> )</p>
<p>Since you’re going to be aquajogging anyway, there are “dumbells” sold by the same company as the belt and there are routines in the booklet that comes with. If you do buy them, though, buy the largest ones for max resistance. Of course, they’ll never perform like a kettlebell or anything but the point would be to avoid engaging the core. My guess would be that in deep water wearing the belt, you’d be supported enough to work the arms a bit without too much risk to the fracture, but you might want to check with the doc.</p>
<p>Without the foam dumbells, for arms, though this is kinda minor compared to a real chin up, I do pull ups on the diving board, holding the sides and then the front. It does tone them up a bit and is not in any way a risk for the rest of your body parts given the water. It might take you 24 or more to feel it, but eventually you do feel it ;)</p>
<ul>
<li>Just some extra ideas to make your aquajogging time less boring…as I know you find it boring 
Do you have the waterproof iPod shuffle they sell over at Amazon?
I use the deck stereo here, or alternately just listen to the birds squaking in alarm at all the flailing…:)</li>
</ul>
<p>Thanks, iDad. I will do those. I have some stuff here at home, but can also go to the gym.
kmcmom- I used to have the water shoes with the gills (years ago) but I gave them to my sister to leave at her lake house. I’m hoping they are still around when I go in July. I also saw that Aquajogger has some foot or ankle thingies for water running. I don’t know how invested I want to get in all of it at this point. I need to get my music set up (ziploc bag under a hat), too. Ugh. </p>
<p>The diving board pull ups are a great idea!</p>
<p>MOWC: If you wanted some more, you could do a whole series with small weights while seated. Arms straight to your sides, raise them out and up to shoulder height extended to the sides and back down. Same thing with the arms raised and extended to the front. I’m not crazy about those exercises because they tend to cause a of soreness without the overall benefit of the larger muscle pushing and pulling stuff – i.e. they focus on muscles that are going to be worked anyway by the bigger exercises. But, they might be useful for now from a seated position and they have to be done with small weights.</p>
<p>Hi all! Waving esp at MOWC, who now that she is off crutches can wave back without falling.</p>
<p>Doing fine, but had some troubles logging into CC for a while - inadvertently caught up in an IP area that was blocked for other reasons. So voila!</p>
<p>I am seeing a chain called Orange Theory Fitness open up (storefronts) all around me. The concept is that you run, do rowing, and trx-like movements, while wearing a monitor that is projected up - your goal is to get to the “orange zone” (your target heart zone) so while you’re competing against others to do so, you’re doing so at your own pace (in other words, if running at 5 mph for me gets my heart rate up and it takes running at 10 mph for the guy next to me, that’s just fine). Sort of a HIIT concept but not as punishing as CrossFit. It’s probably gimmicky but I admit it - I need gimmicks to keep me motivated, so I’m thinking of doing a trial class. Has anyone heard of or done? </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.orangetheoryfitness.com/”>Find Fitness Classes Near You | Orangetheory Fitness US;
<p>That Orange Theory Fitness is like an extrovert’s version of a heart rate monitor. I would definitely try a trial class. If you do, let us know how it goes.</p>
<p>On my end, I’ve talked to more folks about my aches/stiffness/conditioning. Bottom line is that I should not ramp too quickly since I’ve been not running for so long, and the rollers, roller balls are a great idea to relieve the little muscle issues. I’ve concluded also that part of my hip issues (symmetric hip issues) are related to the fact that the last full day of my vacation last week I kayaked on an ocean inlet for several hours. I was trying to keep up with my 20- and 22- year old, so I worked harder than a lazy Sunday. I enjoyed it immensely, but I was stiff the next day, and then I did a long run at probably too fast a pace for my conditioning on Sunday. Bad beginner … back to the training plan.</p>
<p>Thanks, iDad. I’ll see how the swimming works out and try to get to the gym for the arm exercises, too.<br>
Pizzagirl- I haven’t heard of that but agree it is sort of a public HR monitor. My concern, as we have discussed, is that you truly know what the right zones are for YOU, since the estimated zones are hugely wrong in most cases.</p>