This one gets personal for me, especially recently. Recuperating after an injury is frustrating, slow, and honestly, a part of you gets used to be immobile. Exercise requires overcoming pain, the loss of previously attained fitness goals, and inertia. Nutrition has to be adjusted to compensate for the lack of activity.
In short, if you've been injured, fitness is TOUGH! However, if you have a fitness base, you have the benefit of knowing what is attainable with time and hard work. You just may have to wait a bit to be able to work out.
But what if you're one of the many with chronic pain? What if you have arthritis? What if your back/hips/knees are constantly sore?
I've got GREAT news for you!! Fitness could be the key to a better life for you! I know it seems counterintuitive, but moving more may actually help joint pain. I can't tell you how many times I used to say this to my mom, and every time she basically told me I was nuts. Guess what? It only took her a few days on the 21 Day Fix to see I was right. While it took her a few months to consistently be pain free, she had less pain the very first week of the Fix. Keep in mind, this was a woman with near-constant back and knee pain.
The other thing fitness will do for you? It helps you lose weight. And less weight means less pressure on those joints, which in turn means less pain.
First, get clearance from your doctor. Once you have that, choose a program based on your abilities and goals. As your coach, I can help you choose the appropriate program to make you stronger, help you lose excess weight, and even protect those tender/sensitive joints. PiYo is one program that is low impact but high on results, using just your body weight (and it's on sale this month! click the banner to the right for more details!).
Secondly, modify when needed! There is no reason to be superman (or woman) when doing these programs. Check that pride at the door! The goal is progress, not perfection. Besides, if you were perfect, you wouldn't see any benefit, right? So again, modify when needed! Do what you can, and improve everywhere else.
Third, and most importantly, keep an eye on that nutrition. What you eat will impact how you feel as well as how quickly you drop weight for those joints.
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