Answer to the Hand Grips Q and Others

At least regarding my own “fitness goals” for a spell.

The Surgeon who did my heart surgery last summer wants me to work up to:
3 sets of 15 reps each, every other day

• Hand grips, mentioned in the last post here 
• And Weight lifting Curls in four directions 

 Always pushing to do a bit more reps, and increasing weight as possible.

Why this Resistance and Weight Lifting Regime

This is in an effort to force the body, particularly my right arm, to create new arteries, blood vessels, around its main artery.

That artery seems to have healed, mostly closed, (My layman’s view of the pictures from tests, Sonogram types).

What I have done so far

I have tried using my Total Gym’s Arm exercises, which is going well so far.
However:

• I would rather do my best to duplicate exactly what the surgeon told me to do
• Even so, my weight lifting, ( who has studied and used free weights, and I have never done this), friend says the ones I am doing on the Total Gym are working the same muscles! 
• Also, as the only place I can keep this set up is our attic room
• I can use, (borrowing her), free weights to use down stairs and / or outside come summer
• I am aiming to return to using my Total Gym for Ab, Leg and add in Core, Back and Chest exercises, until it is too hot in the attic
• Using my friends free weights to do the curls the surgeon wants me to do 

Seems like a great way to avoid surgery so this is what I will be working on in months to come!

I am just thrilled one can do this to, even perhaps, avoid surgery to correct a complication of a previous heart surgery.

I think this is fantastic and will post the results of returning to the Total Gym workouts for all but that, and the results of the curls and hand grips exercises here.

Best wishes!

3/30/14
Anne

A Hand Grip Exercise Question for You

By way of hoping to avoid another surgery to correct complications of a previously mentioned here surgery, I am using this style, and the stress ball style, hand grips.

Does anyone know how often one uses these Daily, or Every Other Day?

 

I would appreciate the input.

My own tendency is to overdo exercising.
Naturally, I have already done that.

What is ideal usage for such things?

Thanks!

3/19/14
Anne

When You Cannot Exercise, Put it in Perspective

Having just resumed exercise lately, I am a bit peeved that I, and many others at home, have a cold or flu. Try as I might, by Friday I could not exercise after work. My other, main problem involves a, going on 4 months, solve of a complication of a heart surgery I had last summer.

One of My Favorite Perspective songs

Combine minor present time problems with long term major problems, (such as above-mentioned medical problem), and I like, especially the last line of this fun song to help me observe the big picture, so to speak…

Then again, I am a big fan of the Animaniacs anyway.

Back to the Kneeling Plank Press Question

Having gotten no answers from my question of last month,
I tried to better duplicate what I see in the pictures of the Kneeling Plank Press card.

Numerous cards, with an exercise each, came with my Total Gym.

What that turned out to be was,
moving my knees to the end of the print,
rather than the inner edge of the end cushion,
where I had originally positioned myself.

Then I did 2 sets of squat type leg exercises.

Two sets of 25 each,
which may be too much to start with.

So the tops of my thighs were still kind of sore,
and I did not know if it was too may squat style exercises,
or still not doing the Kneeling Plank Press exercise right…
or maybe just the flu at this point, could be that too…

The Plan, for When I Resume Workouts

So I am going to leave off the squat exercises for a bit when I resume exercising
Do the Kneeling Plank Press exercises with my knees in the above mentioned, more like the picture on its card, place.

This should show me if I’m getting it right yet.

If so, I will carry on with the Kneeling Plank Presses,
and resume the squat exercises,
but start off with 3 sets of 10,
as I had been doing all other exercises.
Rather than the 2 sets of 25 each I had originally started those leg squat exercises with.

Well it is A plan anyway…

Stay Healthy!
Or if like me;
Get then Stay Healthy!

3/1/14
Anne