Preparation is Key

I’ve always taken my workouts seriously, both weights and cardio, but once my hip surgery was scheduled I increased my focus on strengthening my leg muscles in preparation. While I could no longer do certain exercises with full weight, I adapted what I did to what my hip could handle. Same for bike rides as I had to abandon my mountain bike because my hip wouldn’t tolerate being in the position the toe cups on my pedals demanded.

      My goal was to be as strong as possible going into surgery. That meant pushing myself to ride my road bike as much as possible. The rides got shorter as my hip tolerated less and less, but I tried to be consistent, riding as often as weather allowed. Same for my weight workouts. Keeping up with the combination of strength and cardio helped me mentally too as it provided a goal to strive for and satisfaction upon completion of a day’s session. It also helped me to lose weight going into surgery – providing important relief to my joints as each pound we carry puts 3 pounds of pressure on our joints when we walk.

      I credit that pre-op work and immediate post-op physical therapy to the speed with which I am recovering relative to baseline expectations and others I know who have had the same surgery. Initial PT exercises started in the recovery room, and I’ve been pushing myself – within PT guidelines – since then. This is not to pat myself on the back, it’s part of the philosophy I’ve written about – you need to push yourself in order to grow. That goes for physical and mental growth. Yeah, doing the rehab exercises at home gets tedious, but feeling the improvement day after day provides a mental boost that makes it easier to keep doing them as prescribed.

      While the above is focused on my experience getting ready for and recovery from getting a new hip, the message applies to life in general. Whether it’s surgery, a job interview, moving, a vacation, or anything outside your normal routine, preparing in advance will make it go more smoothly and will improve your experience. I am reminded often of the old Fram oil filter commercial (those of you under 50, you can probably find it on YouTube in the “oldies” section) in which the mechanic says, “you can pay me now or you can pay me later”. The reference is to paying a little more for a Fram oil filter up front or paying a lot more for a new engine later. I’ll take the “pay me now” route every time, how about you?

Hip Update: Almost 4 weeks since surgery and doing fantastic. Started outpatient PT last week which added resistance to the rehab exercises. Gaining strength and mobility each day. I’m amazed at how quickly the body heals itself as I’m already at about 90% of where I was before my hip started failing and far beyond where I was before surgery. .

www.RetiredandInspiredat55.com  1-22-2024