My Journey With Health And Fitness – A Plan To Build Back Up

I met with a locum doctor yesterday. He thinks I might have a small perforation in one eardrum. Moreover, it is obvious my inner ears are ‘angry’ as he put it (though the right one is the worst) which is likely caused by the viral infection. He decided as a precaution that a quick round of antibiotics would be a good idea so I started those this morning. I also expressed concerns about my heartrate and resting heartrate. I explained that Tuesday night I hit an all time high with my RHR with it at 83. He kindly explained that 83 is still in the normal range and that it is to be expected when you have a viral infection that your heartrate becomes accelerated. His advise was if it is still accelerated when I am healthy again is when we worry about it.

I have realistically decided that fitness classes are not going to happen the rest of the week so I have canceled all my classes. I am optimistic that I can get back at it next week but let’s be honest, I have not been able to work hard for 2 weeks so there is no way I am just going to start doing 3-4 hours of working out come Monday. Instead I have decided to map out a plan to get me back up to my pre illness state without risking any injuries.

Now I have tried as much as possible over the last 2 weeks to get in some walking most days. This morning, for example, I got in a 45 minute brisk walk which felt pretty good. But of course that is far from hours of brisk walking. I’ve decided to break things down over a 3 week period keeping in mind those pesky holidays are going to mess things up a bit. So, below is how things are going to look.

Week 1 – December 15th – 21st – While I have lots to do around the house for Christmas as well as some family events planned I am comfortable with the idea of a 1 hour fitness class and 1 hour walk each day. This should be easily doable but still provide a bit of a challenge. I am confident I will be successful in meeting this goal.

Week 2 – December 22nd – December 28th – Ok, this is where I have to figure things out a bit. I know there is unlikely to be anything done on December 25th because you know, Christmas. Also, I am traveling to Mexico on December 28th so that day is out (though with walking through the airports I will still likely get in 10k steps). The days I know will work are December 23rd and December 27th so both those days will be 1 hour fitness and 2 hours of walking. Classes aren’t done at 5:30am on the 24th and 26th which becomes problematic (especially the 24th because that is our annual open house). So, my plan on the 24th is up at 4:00am to get in a 2 hour walk before getting the house ready for the party. The 26th I’ll likely sleep in a bit but still target a 2 hour walk. I should note these will be full on walks with doing the hills up from the beach.

Week 3 – December 29th – January 6th – Again this week presents some challenges but I am determined to make it work. The 29th is our shopping day and a Sunday so I will be good with 1 hour walk at the condo. The 30th and 31st will be 1 hour fitness class and 2 hours of walking. I figure on January 1st if I can at least get in a 1 hour walk I will be doing well. The rest of the week has to be back to 1 hour fitness class with at least 2 hours walking. I’m adding an another goal for the rest of the trip, that I get my husband to do an additional 1/2 hour walk with me each day which I hope he agrees to.

So why bother detailing all of this here? Quite frankly it helps me to hold myself accountable to my goals. It means I have publicly stated what I plan to do and I know if I don’t follow through I will feel like crap.

So here’s to building back up in the best and safest way possible.