Now that I’m approaching the one-year milestone since my spinal fusion surgery, I’m looking for a legit, regimented weekly exercise program. I want a routine that also involves weights. I want a set, weekly workout schedule that’s a bit more rigorous than what I’ve been doing. It’s time. My body is telling me that it’s time.
One thing that I learned with this lengthy rehab (which will be going on for the rest of my life) is to listen to my body. When I didn’t do that: there were problems.
So, up to now, my physical rehab has consisted of, initially, professional physical therapy. I did that for around three months after my surgery. That was helpful. There were some flare-ups. In one case, it was pretty bad. I was in pain again. Truth is…the pain was pretty bad. It hurt to walk.
I was even worried that I had damaged the fusion. I hadn’t. It was simply nerves getting tweaked and inflamed, etc. But, I felt that anxious scare deep in my gut!
By the way, this wasn’t the first time that I was scared that the surgery went wrong. Immediately following the fusion, I was certain that it didn’t go right. The pain was so bad, I thought to myself, that if things went right, I couldn’t be in such intense pain. I was wrong. The surgery simply hurts like bloody hell. At least it did in my case.
So, over the months, when things flared-up, the surgeon prescribed a course of a steroid/anti-inflammatory called Prednisone.
I’ll tell you, those pills do a fantastic job of settling the pain down. Before the Prednisone, I went through multiple prescriptions of an opiate called Oxycodone. That will have to be another post all together. I have a bit of an informational warning about that particular, powerful painkiller.
But, returning to exercise post-fusion…
Let me tell you the routine that I came up with. And, I’d love to hear some feedback. And, let me emphasize: I am not a physical therapist! I don’t have any type of training. So, I’m not advocating that anyone else should follow this program…
What I’m saying is that based upon where I’m at in my recovery, I’m pretty sure that this will be helpful to me. At the very least, I feel mostly certain that it won’t be harmful. Although I’m not a personal trainer, I have spoken to some. I have been through rehab where I paid attention and asked questions. I have read books and researched. So, here’s the program I’m running right now:
My Program August 2021
Preamble: sleep, nutrition and meditation are already basically on-point!
This is a 7 day-a-week program.
Monday and Thursday:
An hour walk.
Mellow shoot baskets for a bit.
Then, a mix of pull-ups, chin-ups and dips. I am often using an assist machine for this.
Tuesday and Friday:
Walking and basketball.
Squats with kettlebells.
Today I did it like this: 1 x 10 @ bodyweight, 1 x 10 @ 5 lb, 1 x 10 @ 10 lb, 1 x 10 @ 15 lb, 1 x 10 @ 20 lb
So, you can see that I did a total of 50 squats and incrementally raised the weight. The greatest weight was only 20 pounds. I ain’t got nothing to prove to anybody. I’m trying to get better.
Wednesday
Walking and then some barbell curls and shrugs
Saturday and Sunday
Walking and swimming
What I like about this program is that it’s everyday, but you’re never in there killing yourself. It’s always an easy-going affair.
Please comment and tell me what you think.