It has been almost 6 months after my bunion surgery and even though I started exercising as early as 1 month post-op, they were very light workouts compared to what I’ve been doing regularly. Initial recovery from the surgery was rapid, but subsequently, the residual swelling and stiffness took several months to resolve. If there could be a predictable point in time when recovery was complete, I would have resumed training there and then. The tail end of the recovery was however, rather fuzzy, causing me to hesitate and delay.
Suffice to say that I’ve never gone into “hibernation” for that long and a couple of weeks ago, I discovered that I was paying the price for slacking.
When I started training for Gunung Lawu last month, I realised that my fitness level has gone way down and my body fat percentage has gone way up. Indeed, the upcoming Gunung Lawu climb is really a blessing. Without this trip, I might not have known that I was deteriorating so badly and it would be more and more difficult to pick up. Injuries or illness can put a stop to training and even after full recovery, it is difficult to restart the engines.
Even for someone reasonably disciplined like me, deadlines and targets need to be set. Otherwise, we just won’t move. Laziness, lethargy and a host of excuses come in to block our progress and continuity. How do we deal with this? We give ourselves something to look forward to. For those who ask me what to do when they find climbing stairs and doing repetitive exercises boring, my answer is to set targets in the form of an expedition, to a mountain peak for instance. You know you need to be in shape to be able to get up there. Look forward to the trip, dangle that carrot and train hard.
There are many benefits that exercise can bring. Sometimes, even I forget them. I was just reminded of what intense physical activity can do to your body. You sleep better. After a good workout, you should able to fall asleep before 10.00pm. You will also feel more alert in the daytime and when you take your blood pressure, nice numbers begin to show again.
My current routines for Gunung Lawu will be pretty similar to previous routines, but while slacking, I have gained weight (the wrong kind of weight). Even though I don’t believe in fad diets, I need to shed the excess baggage before the trip. My diet needs to be adjusted; not totally changed or replaced. As you know, there are two phases involved in sculpting the body. I need to focus more on trimming this time round.
I will also alternate my “work” days with rest days. Hopefully, I can attain “top form” when I leave for Indonesia. Even the pros like Donnie Yen have their off days. Time for me to bounce back.
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