Reboot yourself ever so slowly

I recently heard this story from a couple of physical therapists regarding the pitfalls of getting back into shape after two years of COVID-19 Lockdowns. They told me about five couples who recently got together outdoors, and everyone decided to do some type of sport activity. So, the men formed a team and took part in a basketball match with a mixed age group. The women, on the other hand, decided to relive their glory days in college and took part in a friendly match of volleyball. Everyone was really excited to finally be outdoors and restart their physical fitness regime while having so much fun at their impromptu reunion. Before the matches started, they actually warmed up and did the nominal stretching of arms and legs and thighs for a good five minutes and went for it.

As the story goes, everybody had so much fun and some of them even forgot that they had been housebound for almost two years and the only activity they managed to get done was house cleaning, lifting dumb bells and riding their stationary bike or using their tread mill. They were convinced that all those equipment and domestic physical activity helped keep them strong enough. So, they all got into the scrimmage, the high jumps and smashes and blocks, etc. Then an elbow would twist a little, knees started to bump into each other, the jumping got shorter and shorter and the muscles started to tighten. They finally decided they had all the physical exertion they needed so they packed their gear, went for merienda and went their separate ways. The following week they were all stiff as a board, lacking sleep and gulping paracetamols, wiping liniment and other stuff they use to numb the pain or soothe the painful muscles. After nearly a week they all declared they were worse off than when they started “exercising.”

After going to a functional therapist and rehabilitation coach, the group of five couples ended up in group rehab and therapy due to sprains, strains and muscle injury. Their hour of fun at the court is now going to require about a month of rehab before they can even think of sports and gym. A 5-minute warm up only works for someone who is planning to go on a short stroll or light walk and is already in good physical shape, not a couch potato. Most coaches always tell us you have to do a 15- to 30-minute real warm up and scientific stretching and not the everyday sort of stretching uninformed people do. There is a proper sequence and proper type of warm-up for particular activities such as running or jogging, gym work out, active sport and even for swimming and diving because each sport utilizes different set of muscles and organs. The older you are, especially after 40, the longer the warm-up and stretching that is required of you.

When I recently decided to get back into shape, the first thing I did was to do research, watched documentaries and recalled all the valuable information I gathered during interviews with experts on my program AGENDA on Cignal TV. As a result, the first thing I addressed was my nutrition, weight and my mental attitude towards my goal. The first pointer was “Small but Do-able.” I changed my diet to 80 percent vegetarian, 20 percent meat. After a month I went full on vegan and after a month now adjusted to full vegetarian or plant-based meals for practicality. Then I set a two- to five-pound weight loss monthly instead of immediately going for 20 pounds like most born-again dieters who end up failing because they make goals that require so much work, sacrifice and discipline.

Relative to what happened to the five couples and because of my many injuries in the past, this time I went to my rehab/functional fitness coach Jane Delfinado and discussed what to do. After an assessment, Coach Jane pointed out that the two-year absence from the gym clearly weakened my core strength, certain muscles had seriously affected by new injuries and a couple of accidents during the lockdown, all of which were confirmed by friends who kept asking why I was now limping or waddling like a duck. I tried to deflect it by saying it had to do with a back injury but when more and more friends pointed it out, I had to admit that I was already in a lot of pain, using pain killers more than I cared or wanted to and I needed to do something about it.

Traditionally, I prefer physical exertion than stretch and align, but Coach Jane said I was in no shape or form to attempt it. Yes, I may be doing manual labor at home and in our farm but all that simply strengthened one set of muscles and weakened others. The truth of it is that COVID was two years of very little physical activity. It was like coming out of prison or long-term hospitalization. So, for a month all I was allowed to do was stretching, resistance therapy and eastern treatments like massage and cupping to deal with spasms.

After a month I am now undergoing electric stimulus of muscles that automatically determines how much tickle or shock certain muscles can take. It’s called a TENS machine or Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation machine designed for relieving pain caused by arthritis, back pains, muscle spasms and sports injuries. Hard core trainers scoff at it but it works for others, and some stroke victims have found it useful that they bought their own. You, of course, have to read up on it and ask your physician. Yes, the slow reboot can be painfully boring and offers no challenge except to keep doing it. But it’s safe and the discipline will set you for life and long-term success, and not injury.