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I am so excited to be able to be training! In the video, I share an update on my self-induced soleus injury, which is really an achilles insertion site injury. (I talked about how it happened in the previous video, Paydirt Exercise - Tall Kneeling Walks.) It is much improved and I explain what I did that I think most helped it along. I also talk about how my second day of tall kneeling walks went, which was a little tougher than the first, and why I think that was so. And then I demonstrate tall kneeling walks and some balance exercises I’m also doing from a tall kneeling position.
I am curious what you think. Let me know if anything in the video has piqued your interest or has been helpful. Do you do pregression-type exercises to help you improve your running form or resolve issues in other parts of your body? Have they worked?
Tentative Training Plan
I created a training plan that feels like it’s adding some structure to days that have pretty much lacked that for some years. With the exception of a few meetings here and there, I had to throw out schedules years ago when I found myself repeatedly experiencing setbacks in my healing as a result of trying to adhere to them. At this time, I feel ready to gently test the waters of a schedule by introducing a fitness routine tied to a calendar. '
The key will be to prioritize what is possible for my body instead of forcing myself to follow a plan. Thus, part of the skill I will be developing is showing up for what is planned on a given day but taking time to assess before actually doing it. I feel this ability to make adjustments is a key skill in life and especially so in fitness, so creating a schedule gives me a chance to practice and re-acquaint myself with and improve on this skill.
For my program, I’ll be doing tall kneeling walks a couple times a week with some balance work in a tall kneeling position, entry level isometric strength work (holding a contraction for a set amount of time) once per week for my soleus, and lots of long stretch holds. I demonstrate the tall kneeling walks and balance exercises in the video. I’ll go over the isometric strength work in another video once I’ve worked out a soleus strength progression.
Here is a general outline of the schedule in table form:
Tuesdays and Fridays
Warm Up
Tall Kneeling Walks
Tall Kneeling Balance Exercises
Cool Down
On Fridays, I’ve also tentatively included Isometric Soleus Strength work.
The Rest of the Week
The rest of the week is devoted to recovery, which at this stage means long stretch holds and rest as needed. If I need to take a day off for just rest, then I will do that. Once or twice a week I also walk to and from the grocery store. Given my current fitness level, I consider these walks part of my training. The store is about a mile away and, on the way home, I have a pack full of groceries on my back. One of the reasons I had to rest throughout the week was to make sure I had energy to go to the store. So the fact that I can add in official training on top of these trips is awesome.
Mentioned in the Video
In the video, I mention a couple of videos that I have drawn from and incorporated into my current training. I also mention another creator who has created a unique training approach based on our early developmental movement patterns. I’ve embedded the relevant videos and included the links below.
1/2 Kneeling Balance Exercise
In the video 1/2 kneeling walk around, Dan Swinscoe, MPT, CSCS demonstrates the exercise of walking your foot across your midline from a tall kneeling lunge position. I’m thinking of calling this exercise crossover creeps :). Whaddya think?
Homolateral vs Contralateral Gait
Lawrence Lingren’s video demonstrating the difference between the contralateral and homolateral gait and how that relates to the running movment: Contralateral gait vs homolateral gait. How to walk and run organically and healthily. (Edit: I should mention that the comparison between leaning from your ankles and shifting forward from your heels came from Lingren himself in a video interview he did. But I don’t remember which video it was.)
Original Strength
Original Strength is the training system created by Tim Anderson that I mentioned in the video. It is based on developmental movement patterns. His work is great. Here are links to his website and YouTube channel.
Watch the Video for More
That’s it for the written version of this update. For a full rundown of my training for the week, including an update on my achilles injury, how training went, and exercise demonstrations, be sure to watch the full video.
An Invitation to Subscribe
I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to subscribe. If you would like to continue following my path back to fitness health and a full life, simply enter your email address below. I will continue to share what I’m doing to build fitness with chronic fatigue as a factor and the insights about training and health I learn from others and my own experiments and experience.
One More Thing
To clarify my intentions with this Substack and to ensure that you know I can’t offer you advice, I need to include this disclaimer. Here it is:
Disclaimer
What I share in my videos and other posts about my personal journey, choices, and insights is not meant to constitute advice. Each person is unique and what is right for you will depend on your specific situation, so please use your best judgment if you decide to try anything I share. As needed, also consult with qualified people - doctors, physical therapists, running and fitness coaches, nutritionists, etc - who can work with you directly to help you reach your goals given your specific circumstances.
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