Surgery was not a sure fix for the ankle injury, but it was pretty much a last resort option. And while it feels better, it is definitely far from perfect and acts up occasionally. Unfortunately, I am still largely unable to do pre-injury activities, namely running.
So while I have talked a lot about that, what I haven't talked about extensively ye is the success I have found since that bump in the road.
Pilates
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| Club Pilates |
I absolutely love Pilates -- for a number of reasons. First, it is a no-impact practice that I can do without aggravating my ankle. In fact, it is therapeutic for my injury. When I had my final post-surgery appointment a year ago, my surgeon suggested additional physical therapy. I told him that I did Pilates several times a week and described the footwork routines, and he essentially said that was better, more beneficial than physical therapy.
Another reason that I love Pilates is because, similar to yoga, it is such a mind-body connection for me. It is truly my therapy, a way to both center and ground myself. Each position, each exercise requires so much focus on so many different things: breathing, muscle movements, tiny tweaks in positioning, stabilizing, etc. It's nearly impossible to let my mind wander on anything other than what I am physically doing at the moment.
Third, I have found such a community in my Pilates studio -- Club Pilates Woodbury.
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| This is not my studio, but it looks almost identical. |
I started at the studio in Maple Grove because that was the closest to where I used to live and the closest to where I work. But then I moved to St. Paul, and shortly thereafter, the studio in Woodbury opened; I immediately jumped at the opportunity to switch clubs, and I am so, so grateful that I did. First, the instructors are incredible. I workout mainly with Georgene, who is incredible: she is supportive, encouraging, and super challenging, always pushing me to try new things (and assuring me I can succeed in those new things).
For instance:
I was the only person in class the other day, and Georgene was super excited about me trying a new exercise: a (modified) walkover on the Cadillac reformer.
Here's a video:
I was so, so proud of myself. While I feel like I did something very similar on the monkey bars nearly every day of my elementary school career, I haven't tried anything remotely close to this in recent memory. Also, while I am pretty darn adventurous (and fearless) with exercises that involve my legs, I am less confident in my arms' ability to hold me up; so, this was quite the feat.
And while I'm at it in showing off, here's a video of me doing one of my favorite exercises, teaser:
This is a move that is supposedly incredibly challenging, but I have always excelled at it; truthfully, I don't find it difficult at all, which makes me wonder if I'm doing it incorrectly. :) This is also an exercise that I am continuously trying to perfect. Like everyone else, I started off doing modified versions, including bringing my legs to a table top position (bent at the hips, shins parallel to the mat). Now, however, I have graduated to straightening my legs as much as possible; I clearly have work to do, though, in making them even straighter, which is my next goal.
In addition to the incredible instructors at my Pilates studio, I love the other members. I have made amazing friends, people whom I miss when I don't see them for a while. Those relationships make working out even more fun.
This is precisely why, even though a studio opened in a much more convenient location (in the middle of my commute rather than 20 minutes in the opposite direction), I cannot bring myself to switch clubs.
Personal Training
A few years ago -- in the midst of my "fitness prime" -- I went to a personal training session with Laurie. She had been working out with Tyler for quite a while and could not speak highly enough about him, so I took advantage of a free introductory session and loved it -- despite nearly vomiting on the drive home.
Fast forward a couple of years: I was going to Pilates several days a week, but I knew I needed to add something to my fitness regime if I wanted to see similar results to what I had seen pre-surgery. I found a "CrossFit Lite" place via Facebook and signed up for that -- and attended three times, until I was sexually harassed by the head coach.
Laurie -- again-- convinced me to go to Tyler.
And this time, it stuck. I have been hanging out with him for an hour each week for a few months, and it has been awesome.
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| Titanium Performance |
The full-body workout lasts approximately 40 minutes, and it's so challenging that there have been times where it has been nearly impossible to hold my cell phone to my ear afterward: my muscles are utter jello.
Essentially, Tyler (and the other trainer, Morgan) focus on High Intensity Training, lifting to Momentary Muscle Failure. And they are super knowledgeable in everything health- and fitness-related, which puts me at ease. They work especially well with injuries, which is something I clearly need as well.
I also love how encouraging Tyler and Morgan are -- and how much they validate me. (I thrive on external motivation, and #validateme is a real thing.) They tell me how strong I am all the time, and sometimes they have way more faith in me than I do in myself. For instance, last week I leg-pressed six hundred and forty pounds: yes, 640 pounds -- with my legs -- several, several times.
This video shows a great preview of their space, and the 0:32 mark shows exactly what I'm talking about with the leg press. (Here's a video, too, of Morgan demonstrating.) It is much more challenging than what I was doing at LA Fitness -- and approximately 300 pounds more than what I was doing there as well.
Slowly but surely, I'm on my way back to being my strongest, fittest self:
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| Emmy, circa 2016 |
Or, perhaps even stronger, even fitter.
Either way, I'm super stoked and really, really proud of myself.
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