This was the week when I’d go 100% bootless. It feels good but it’s very scary. Now I challenge the foot more and of course I’m nervous. But there’s nothing obviously bad going on yet.
I’m continuing the work of learning to walk normally, various physiotherapy exercises, my usual strength training, and some indoor cycling.
This week was also a lot about music – prepping for our gig on the weekend, so keeping guitar fingers active and song lyrics fresh was a big thing! We also enjoyed a fabulous concert on Friday night.
Fitness-wise, this was the first week in a long time when I managed to get in 5 days of exercise, which feels great! Weather-wise it hasn’t been so great. Wednesday was good, otherwise dull with rain showers and 16-17C (60-62F). You people who complain about hot weather all the time? Come and enjoy an Irish summer! I’m sure you’ll like yours a lot more after spending a summer here!
Here’s a summary of the week, fitness-wise and else:
- Monday – indoor cycling, 8 km
- Tuesday – gym & physio
- Wednesday – indoor cycling, 10 km
- Thursday – gym
- Friday – all about music
- Saturday – music prep
- Sunday – strength work at home
Monday
I continued my cycling route along the Varano lake in Puglia, using the Kinomap app. I’m not too much into using apps for workouts but for cycling it helps keeping the interest going while cycling I’ve never really been a fan of indoor cycling but now after such a long time doing no cardio training, it’s a good way to get the heart pumping and work on my leg muscles, and anything to make it more fun is good.
I’m not sure how much I like this particular app though. It has some nice routes, of different difficulty levels, and I love that they have quite a few in Italy. But sometimes I’d prefer more action. I’d like to try Bkool and Zwift to see what they’re like but I’ve had problems to connect both of them (it’s possible I’ve solved the problem though) so maybe I’ll just consider the quiet Kinomap routes a relaxing time in “nature” which isn’t bad either and at least more inspiring than looking into a wall!
Tuesday – physio appointment and gym
The most important event on Tuesday was to see my physiotherapist. He said all the aches and pains I described are normal after getting out of the boot, because nerves are sort of waking up after being passive for months. That made sense to me.
It’s now time to do start doing some more serious weight-bearing. I need to build back strength in feet and lower legs, and I now have some more challenging exercises to do.
To begin with, he asked me to try toe raises. These were absolutely terrifying to do, and they probably will be for a good while! But I knew they were coming, and that I wouldn’t be able to escape them forever. You remember when you were a kid and had a loose tooth and wanted to pull it yourself? That’s the feeling I had! I had to gather some serious bravery to do it, and 100% trust the physio.
The foot didn’t fall apart, and I’ll continue doing these at home, along with a single leg balance exercise (the same exercise that helped me conquer the Bulgarian split squats earlier this year), proper glute bridges, and continue my ankle strength & mobility exercises. It seems he thinks I’m doing really well with everything and I left feeling encouraged.
Later I went to the gym for a nice chest & back session.
- Dumbbell row, 17,5 kgs
- Tricep pullovers, 10 kg dumbbells
- Dumbbell chest press, 12,5 kgs, these are so challenging for some reason but it’s just to keep trying! I did three ok sets and then repped out after 2-3 reps on the last set.
- Barbell row, 32,5 kgs. These are going really well and if I fail with the chest press, here’s where I pick up some confidence again. 😀
- Barbell chest press, 32,5 kgs. I was very happy with these.
- Flyes, 10 kg dumbbells
Overall a good session but I’m annoyed over my dumbbell chest press… It’s not the first time though. I’ve struggled with them before when we increased weights. It’s just to keep trying and keep doing them.
Wednesday
Today I finished the cycling route, doing the last 10 km. Other than that, nothing interesting going on.
Thursday
This morning, the toe raises possibly seemed a little less terrifying. I also went to the gym in the afternoon, and did a nice set of leg and hip/glute exercises, followed by shoulder work.
- Lying down leg raises
- Side leg raises with resistance band (around ankles) and straight legs
- Side leg raises with resistance band (around knees) and bent legs
- Leg press with resistance band
- Outward rotated leg lift – see more below
- Upright row, barbell, left knee on bench (still need to check the weight on this)
- Forward raise, 6 kg dumbbells
- Lateral raise, 6 kg dumbbells
Do NOT underestimate the power of resistance band exercises. These are quite tough. The last leg exercise was one I hadn’t done before. You lie on your back on the mat, rotate your ankle outwards, and then lift your leg up. This worked a lot on the glute, and hip flexors.
Friday – music practice and concert
My physiotherapy exercises and walking was my main physical activity today. Otherwise, everything was about music. It was the day before our gig, so I took time off to get those guitar fingers moving, go through songs both in terms of time (do we have enough songs and tunes to cover 2 hours?), lyrics, singing technique, guitar solos, and more.
But in the evening, we went to a local pub to relax and listen to some truly brilliant musicians – Sharon Shannon with band was finally back in town. We’ve seen her three times before in this pub. She’s Ireland’s accordion queen, and if you don’t know about her, you need to check her out, for example here.
The absolutely horrible stage light setup forces me to make everything black and white! I’ll share more photos in another post later.
Saturday – gig night!
Saturday night we had our own gig in another pub. We had a great time! My husband and myself met because of music in 2004, and we both kept fiddling around on different instruments until the first Covid lockdown, when my husband started getting serious on the mandolin and I decided to learn to play bluegrass guitar. This topic deserves its own blog post but the short version is that we invested in proper music lessons online, practised every single day for two or so years, and later started a band as a bluegrass duo. Last year we were asked to do a few sessions in this pub and apparently we sounded good enough to be asked this year again.
Since last year we’ve played weekly in another pub, a quite laid-back session where we are paid in drinks. Since spring this year, a friend who plays various rhythm instruments has joined us and it’s always a very enjoyable night. These sessions have helped us tremendously to build confidence. For our gigs last summer we were so nervous and had everything planned in detail. But last night’s gig was lovely and relaxed – I only had a rough song & tune list on my phone.
Sorry, no photos or videos. Another time!
Sunday
For the first time since April, I’ve finally made a proper program for my at-home workouts. I try to focus on core, hips and glutes but sometimes I do something for shoulders and back. Here’s what I got in today:
- Glute bridge (part of PT)
- Rotator cuff mobility
- Back extensions
- Windshield wipers
- Deadbugs with small weight plates
- Hamstring curls with resistance band
- Clamshells
- Donkey kicks
- Fire hydrants
Foot update
I’ve now been walking on my foot for three weeks, and doing some more challenging weight-bearing since almost a week. I’m still having random aches here and there around the foot, but most of what I had until last weekend is gone. Mostly I feel quite good, and walking generally is going quite well. My exercises are ok and I feel that after doing them, walking seems easier! For now I’m hopeful, but it will take a long time before I fully trust the foot. I can’t imagine how runners go back to running after something like this!! I hope I’ll have a somewhat no-more-pains-and-aches update to share next week.
Yes, I know that the top image has nothing to do with foot rehab or music. That’s what happens when you don’t take photos! 🙃 I surely need to plan my blog posts a bit more…
Thanks Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly rundown link-up!
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