Unfortunately, because of my busy schedule, I was unable to workout today. With the upcoming feast, I'm feeling a bit guilty about my lack of exercise today. This made me think of today's top ten. I've learned to research all the workouts I do to make sure I'm not aggravating my Lymphedema or causing stress to my surgery site. At the same time, I want to regain my upper body strength, stay healthy, build stamina, and keep my weight in check. If you are one of the many of us who have had a mastectomy, these are the best exercises I have found to keep you in the best of shape. Even if you are not a breast cancer survivor, these are awesome ways to get in or to stay in shape. Get up and get going, my people!
Top Ten: Post Mastectomy Exercises
1. Running. If you're not a runner, brisk walking or jogging works too. It's important to participate in aerobic exercise. If you have Lymphedema, you may have to adjust your stance so that you are not moving the affected limb in an overly repetitious fashion. I've learned to keep my right arm on my grandson's stroller or to put my hands in my pockets to keep from aggravating my lymphedema when I walk or run.
2. Yoga. Here's a yoga series that I like to do for flexibility. If you're not sure what these poses are, you can Google them. I've added a link on the Resources page.
* Warm up stretches (think shoulder rolls, elbow touches, arm rolls, neck stretches, standing reaches, easy bends, lazy stretches, full bends, elbow twists, leg lifts, complete leg lifts, standing knee squeezes, knee and ankle massages, and hand and knee stretches). You want to stretch all parts of your body before beginning.
* Easy balance and twist
* Complete leg lefts
* Tree pose
* Stretching dog
* Alternate triangle
* Standing sun pose
* Corpse pose rest
* Knee squeeze
* Foot flaps
* Seated sun pose
* Alternate seated sun pose
* Limber hips
* Baby pose
* Easy spine twist
* Back strengtheners
* Boat pose
* The roll
* Easy bridge
* Lion pose
* Complete breath
* Humming breath
* 10 - 15 minute meditation
3. Plank. Push ups may be too much for those of us with Lymphedema. You can get upper body work along with core strengthening by planking instead.
4. Squats. Legs are easy after mastectomy. Although it feels good to do something that doesn't hurt, don't neglect your upper body.
5. Crunches. Full sit ups may strain your chest. Concentrate on contracting your abdominal muscles during your crunches, and you will see how much more powerful your ab work is.
6. Stair climbing. Another great way to get your aerobic exercise in is to climb stairs. If your house doesn't have stairs, use the stairs at work during your breaks. If you don't have stairs at work, use the bleachers at your local high school. If you don't have bleachers near by, you can use one step and step up and down repetitively. Just as long as you are breathing a little hard and working up a sweat, it doesn't matter how you do it. Again, be aware of arm movement so that you aren't aggravating Lymphedema. I usually cross my arms when stair climbing. It helps.
7. Wall push ups. If you still want to work out those arms (I know I do), wall push ups may alleviate some of the stress of regular push ups. You get basically the same workout without putting your full weight on your arms and chest. Start slowly with 10 wall push ups, and work your way up to more reps or sets as you feel stronger.
8. Wall sits. Walls are great aren't they? Wall sits are even harder than squats. Wall sit for at least 30 seconds. Even better, wall sit until your legs feel shaky. Tones your butt too. We all want a toned butt, don't we?
9. Reverse crunches. Some ab exercises can cause you to use your chest muscles. Right after a mastectomy, this may be painful. So crunch away, my friends. I like to add reverse crunches to my crunch sets to get that lower ab area.
10. Play! One of my favorite things to do is to take my grandson to the park. I go down the slide with him, swing on the swing sets, and run. I am able to increase my heart rate without injuring my chest or aggravating my Lymphedema. Plus, it's fun! Being a grown up doesn't mean you can't have fun. Go to the park and play on the equipment.
I won't be posting a tip for a couple of days. Over the next week, I'm going to make some of my favorite healthy recipes and share them with you. I'll take photos so that you can see that healthy can be yummy. I'll post the recipes on the resource page next week as well. I will, however, still post a pic each day that represents my journey to recovery. Watch for the healthy recipe tip next week.