Because I’m Not Really a Professional Athlete…

At least, not at my day job.

Seriously though. I played basketball last night, hurt leg and all, and on second thought – it was probably not a very good idea.

I stretched, took ibuprofen, warmed up for a long time, and it still just plain hurt, and it hurt the entire night. But, there were only 8 guys total that showed, so I kind of had to play, even if it was just to take up space on the floor. If I didn’t play, nobody could play (at least not full court).

So, I was a trooper and limped around the court as best I could.

What was not so smart was that by trying to run & play ball, I was putting a lot of undue stress and wear & tear on my good leg, as well as stressing my foot, ankle, knee, hip & whatever else it all attaches to. I just was not running regular, and I could feel that I was really stressing things by trying to compete even though I was hurt. It was a no good situation in terms of potential injury to things above and beyond my sore leg.

I can’t fathom how professional athletes do it. During the season, unless they get seriously injured, they don’t get a break. Granted, they have a team of sports specialists that are paid to take care of their injuries for them – special treatments, ice downs, stretches & rehabilitation exercises, drug therapy, massages, the whole nine yards. BUT – they still play through pain! Incredible.

I simply could not convince my leg to cooperate, even though I knew there was no serious injury – it was just sore! But for the life of me, I just could not will it to go through the regular motions.

timeoutSo, I’m calling an injury time out, and will take it a bit easy until the leg feels better. I do plan to be back on the court next Tuesday, and will do some good walking/jogging in the next few days if my leg starts feeling better.

In the meantime, I’ll try to do some resistance exercises – maybe some weights or something.

This also makes me think about what the heck I would do if I had some kind of serious injury – broken leg or ankle or something like that. I mean, what can you do to raise your heart rate that doesn’t involve your legs somehow?

Yesterday was also a site change day, and I tried a couple more suggestions from my support team (that would be all of you out there!). I’ll put something together and give you all an update very soon.

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7 thoughts on “Because I’m Not Really a Professional Athlete…”

  1. Great ideas Keith!

    I had thought about the arm powered cycle thing, not sure if any YMCA’s around here have one – I’ll check on that. The rowing machine is also a good idea.

    I’m feeling a lot better after another day has gone by, and am itching to get back on the treadmill or something to get moving again.

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  2. Scott–
    One of our fitness centers has a bicycle ‘pedaled’ with the arms. It would be a good option for keeping your heartrate up and not stressing the legs. Also, what about a rowing machine? It either may or may not be a good fit based on the knee action. A NordicTrak? Just some things to think about.

    Sorry your hurt, but kudos to trying to stay active in spite of being less than 100%.

    Reply

  3. Boy, there’s a lot of info out there in the big bad land of Internet that sorting through the garbage for the gold is challenging. I found one that actually said that light biking is good for a sore leg. I’ll have to try it to believe it.

    No special reason for the new picture – just was tired of seeing the old one up there. No, I’m not mad or unhappy, that’s just how the picture turned out.

    Or maybe I’m flinching from an outburst of leg hurt…hehe!

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  5. I would stick with some lifting. What about some easy walking?

    Maybe Google how to maintain a workout while your leg is sore, or something.

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  6. No doubt about it!

    I do have a YMCA memebership – that’s where I play ball during the week.

    I’ve heard some get their heart rate up by doing quick circuit weight training – quickly moving from exercise to exercise. Know anything about it? Or any other way to get the aerobic stuff in minus much leg activity?

    Reply

  7. Scott, sounds like you need something a bit less stressful than basketball, for sure. 🙂

    I applaud your effort to attempt for find a way to raise your heart rate in some other way. Do you have access to a gym?

    Hang in there and listen to your body.

    Reply