Pegg,
I have been exercising my whole life...Fell in love with it as a cortisone bloated teen and discovered the all-round benefits to both my body and mind...since then I have done many sports but mostly enjoy the 'alone' workouts...I was a gym rat for years and had fun with my workout friends and class but honestly with all of my restrictions I am better off making up my own routines.
Because I cannot run, bounce or do anything high-impact I prefer stairs, hills and if using a treadmill like the high incline settings.
I do a 2 part workout. My cardio consists of climbing the stairs (70 in one flight in the park) as many times as I can with stops at the top to do girl-push-ups, stretching and various other arm movements with wrist weights on. I try to do a minimum of 10xs the 70 stairs plus the spiral hill and some walking around the rim of the park. I drink lots of fluids while I work out. Dehydration can be a problem.
When I get home I use a yoga/pilates ball and some smaller ones. I do back, abs and arms with it and end with a few yoga moves on the mat before it is all over.
It takes about 1.5-2hrs but I can only do it 3-4xs/week.
The rest of the week I walk. Everywhere (don't own a car) so that keeps me and my cardio strong.
I use a backpack to carry my stuff which is better for the posture, spine and adds resistance to the workout.
My plastic surgeon warned me about anything high impact..Said that no matter what anyone says it will make micro tears in tissues & muscles...Bad for the breasts, skin and joints...he prefers the rebounder done slowly and regularly. Apparently it is great for the bones too...helps to rebuild bone density (they are using it in senior homes for just that reason).
Don't give up on it but learn what your body and pouch can take...sometime a full pouch (or a banana or apple to keep it full) is better than an empty one...keep a workout record and you will find patterns developing. Coffee and water run through you bananas don't.
I praise you for wanting to get back into working out but be nice to your new plumbing...it takes time and in the scheme of things your pouch is still a baby!
Sharon

Sharon, Thank you so much for the wonder message. Sorry this has taken so long to respond. You are really my kind of person. Your workouts are wonderful. I wish I lived near you so I could join you. I wish I had a park with stairs like that. I'll bet it's beautiful where you live...... helps to keep the depression at bay.

When you do the stairs (keeping your heartrate at it's working level) how long do you do that? I know you stated that your workout is 1.5 to 2 hours but I'm assuming that isn't all cardio, right????

What plastic surgery are you talking about?

Ok, I'll take your excellent advice and keep working at the rebounder for cardio occasionally. The step bench works just fine and if things are just right, I can take it up to higher impact but I don't have to to get a good workout.... as you well know, steps alone can get the heart rate up.

Peggy

Hi Pegg,
I start my workout with 2 glasses of water, my breakfast coffee and juice...but no solids...my pouch can't take it.
I walk the 2 blocks to the park & then around 1/2 of it. I then mix the stairs and hill (it is a spiral that goes around the hill 3xs so is about 5 stories high) to reach 12-14 xs...meaning about 10xs stairs and 4 hill. That usually takes me about an hour including the bits of streching and arms.
Once home it is the mat & ball. My cardio really gets the rythme going and I sweat bullets...I can get my heart rate up to 140+...joins me some mornings and walks around the park and now climbs the steps a couple of times too...he is building up and I am proud of him.
Yes, I think that we would have fun together doing our workouts...I am slow and methodic so I am not in competition with anyone but myself.
I am usually so tired that I can only do about an hour or 2 of something else (house cleaning, work) and then crash & burn. So I do it when I don't have other obligations like going out to work.
The exercise is keeping the osteoperosis at bay as well as the depression and the excess fat...it is all good.
It is also great for the joint pain (pretty much all of them) by keeping the inflamation down.
Paradox I know.
So...keep up the good work, do not give up but go SLOW....every time that I stop it takes me up to 2 months to build up my resistance and strength again.
Sharon

Have you considered cycling?

yes, I love cycling (a real bike). I have friends in the next town in a bike club. They go far on trails but not often and steady like 3 times per week. They go on occasional weekends due to work schedule. I would have to take my bike in our truck to meet them - between here and there the roads aren't bike friendly. This is why I don't bike much where I live. I'm in a subdivision which is very safe for riding but it would get quite boring to get a good work-out here. I tried a cycle class one day at the gym that I belong to and that was too boring. I can run IF I have an empty pouch BUT then I'm lacking energy.
So Dew, is cycling your main way of getting your cardio work-out.

WBH,

I agree with your central premise on exercise. I try for 3 cardio workouts a week and I feel great when I exercise, but I am lazier and less disciplined about a regular routine then I really need to be. I also think meds work better when your blood is circulating them better, which is another incentive to work out along with all the other ones.

Regarding trampolines, they are very dangerous if not used properly and they are an issue for liability insurance carriers. If you put one in your yard and don't tell your insurance carrier you may have some coverage issues if a kid climbs on it and gets hurt. I have such a case right now which the carrier had been defending under a reservation of rights to contest coverage. It of course varies with the insurance company, but full disclosure of the trampoline and whether it has protective netting may prevent possible coverage issues that most people simply assume will never happen. Many people think insurance is automatic and that they have no obligations once they pay a premium, but insurance carriers expect full disclosure of these kinds of risks at the time your policy goes into effect. The rate will also be adjusted based on the risk(s) being insured.

On a trip to Turks and Caicos some years ago I was staying at the Club Med and personally observed a young woman sustain a displaced fracture of her tibia (broken bone puncturing and sticking out of skin) while haphazardly jumping on their trampoline. Immediately prior to this accident, I saw it coming, but did not say anything because I thought it was none of my business. There was a Club Med employee there but their job is to help you on and off the trampoline, not to criticize your jumping methods or tell you to get off if it does not look like what you are doing is safe. This happened literally hours after our charter flight from New York City arrived and I never saw that woman again. I assumed they medevacuated her to somewhere that they could do emergency surgery on her horrifically broken leg.

I'm sure the "fine print" of her travel insurance policy excluded "trampoline" as a covered risk, just as they excluded any activity that is "fun", but risky in a foreign country.

I am very physically active and I don't experience the Sam issues as you. I hike, use an arc trainer, and take Foundation training. I get about 6 hours of aerobic exercise per week, sometimes my hikes can be 8 hours long. I assume you have tried imodim or lomotil?

Sue

quote:

So Dew, is cycling your main way of getting your cardio work-out.

Yes it is Pegg but only when the weather is nice. Your concern is valid as I've ridden a lot in Ohio and very few roads there have nice shoulders to ride on. Always a drag to have to drive your car to ride your bike.

Don't know about anyone else but a couple years after my proctocolectomy and full closure I took a long (not really so long, just felt that way) bike ride...ended up with fever, chills and 2 huge sterile abscesses in a part of my body that I no longer had...not sure why either but it took years, litterally, to get rid of them...
To this day I do not know if it was the bumpy trail or the saddle...so, if you are planing to do this a lot...invest in a good, silicon saddle and padded britches.
Sharon

Haven't done any trampoline exercises; I do circuit training about 5-6 days a week and strength training 4x per week. I do try to keep any food to a minimum before the circuit training and occasionally I will have to stop to go to the bathroom, but normally it's not too bad. I would recommend trying light strength training, as that is great for you as well and you may not have some of the pouch issues that you are currently experiencing.

Michelle, those sound like good workouts. It seems that most of my J-pouch friends take pretty good care of themselves and incorporate exercise into their daily routine. That is so great. Where I live (near Toledo) most people (non J-pouchers) aren't convinced how important exercise is. I know a lot of depressed people and exercise would help them SOOOO much. It's hard to convince them to start exercising; even a short walk each day to get started in a routine would raise their spirits.


Good job Michelle. Keep it up.

Pegg,
Quite a few yrs ago while visiting with friends who were staying at a hotel here I met a family from England...2 or 3 young kiddies and 2 brilliantly healthy parents who ate like ogres at breakfast...
I asked the fashion-model type mom how she did it...what evercises she did...her answer floored me.
She did no exercise. She incorporated 'activity' into her life.
Got up 1/2hr earlier with the kids and walked them to school and home every day, no matter the weather (and they have Weather over there!).
Gave up her car, walked everywhere including grocery shopping etc and worked in the garden.
She was strong and healthy and so were the kiddies...she also explained how much money she saved between the car she no longer drove and the gym membership she gave up etc.
Obviously not everyone (especially those who work in the city or live great distances from their jobs)
can give up the 2nd car or walk everywhere but integrating activity into your life when you don't have time for the gym is a great way to keep fit without having to do anything special.
Sharon
ps. I have never owned a car and do it all on foot (not counting public transportation which is great inside the city limits)...carrying those groceries gives you quite the workout.
While in the States I realised how car-centered our society is and the battle between drivers to get the closest spot to the door of the store.
I parked as far away as possible...

Sharon,

Your friend reminds me of my daughter (who we traveling to see tomorrow for four days). She and her husband lived in Turkey, NM, Germany and now Andrews AFB near the Whitehouse.... son-in-law in the Air Force since 1996, they have five daughters and one son (ages 1 to 16) and they home school. Wonderful family. Extremely active.

I hope I have the energy to keep up with them these next five days. 12 hour drive to get there. The J-pouch makes things hard enough but the Epstein Barr Virus really can slow me down; but I love to keep busy and on the go.

For me to live without a car would be difficult. The tiny town we live in has a gas station with a few expensive groceries, once bar/restaurant, post office and a plumbing business. That's it. Have to drive five miles to get to a town with needed things.

Hi Pegg, a fellow fitness instructor here (and you always will be - once an instructor, always an instructor!) I have found that I naturally work out when teaching - projecting my voice ramps up whatever I'm doing. Before my surgery, when things got really bad, I wore an adult diaper and somehow managed. Bad memories.....Having said that, I practice Yoga. The combination of periods of elevated heartrate and relaxed breathing/openness is just perfect for my pouch. Now, I might get home and have a cranky pouch, but I am at my best during the Yoga class. I also find hiking to work well. Great cardio and natural movement. Also, maybe you can try a tablespoon of natural peanut butter (no sugar.) It always seems to quiet down my pouch and reduce gas and spasms.

Lambiepie,

Thank you for that advice. I agree.... once an instructor, always an instructor. I do yoga but not on a regular basis. My daughter and friends keep telling me "that's what you need... yoga". But I want to do cardio, at least, three times per week and toning/strengthening almost daily.

But you know, I've heard it before.... hiking, but I think I'll take you up on that hiking. Walking around this subdivision is pretty boring (unless I stop to talk to people - but that only works my mouth). I think I'll go to a near by park with hills and paths and take my one-year -old Brittany Spaniel who needs to learn how to not pull on the leash.

With you being an instructor AND recommending the hiking, I take that idea more seriously. Thanks again.

So, Pegg, You live in a 1 horse town with a spaniel...good choice!
Use treats to get your puppy to obey you...keep them in your pocket and reward good behaviour...
I like hiking but the distance between me and a bathroom is limited so I hike in circles!
You might try those funky shoes with rocking soles to give yourself a better work out while walking around the neighbourhood...my doctor suggested them to me...but for now I find them difficult with chronic tendonitis in the achiles tendons.
Weight can add to your workout even if it is on flat ground.
Keep up the good work
Sharon

At the gym where I workout I see a lot of people participating in pilates as well as yoga classes. I am more a straight treadmill kind of guy. I need to be entertained while I workout, so I watch the TVs while on the treadmills. My gym has a TV that is in front of each treadmill. So I will look at all the TVs, decide which one has a program on that will entertain me, and then jump on the corresponding treadmill.

I have been told by third party observers that my workouts lack enthusiasm. This is probably true. I do just enough to feel like I have minimally taxed my heart and caused it to pump blood a little faster. Anything you can do helps.

From what I've been told by my doctors, the best workout is the one you are willing to stick to. Really does not matter if there is one that is statiscally better for your body.

I also need to either enjoy the exercise (like walking and hiking outdoors in interesting places with my husband) or on the treadmill watching programs I've recorded that I like. Having a treadmill in my home has helped, since I don't have to go to the gym to exercise, and can just jump on when it is convenient for me.

Jan

My mom is an urban rebounding instructor. I have to say I don't know how a person with a jpouch rebounds. She has to watch what she eats before, because she would have to run to the bathroom during the class. My mom has a colon and has never been sick. As far as a rebounder being a trampoline, it is not. It is only 9 inches off the ground and 39 inches in circumference. Where she works there are no trampolines as they can't get insurance for one, but they can for a rebounder.
Is there an orange theory fitness studio where you live? It's a great class with treadmills, rowing, trx and weights. Check it out, it's fabulous.

quote:

Where she works there are no trampolines as they can't get insurance for one, but they can for a rebounder.

The insurability of these two devices may have less to do with their inherent safety and more to do with the claims histories compiled by insurers relative to each device. I say this because I work in the insurance liability defense business.

Although I am not particularly familiar with rebounders, I have seen them and I think the safety concerns may be similar to that of trampolines. The safety issue with trampolines tends to be that people jump off of them and break bones. I have had a few such cases and I am defending one right now. Trampoline manufacturers have attempted to stem the tide of liability by selling trampolines with a protective netting device that prevents the user from jumping off the trampoline with resultant broken bones, torn tendons etc. In most cases modern trampolines are sold with such devices and there are warnings attached not to use the trampoline without one.

Correct me if I am wrong but the rebounders have a smaller jumping surface (39") so the chances that you jump errantly and do not land on the rebounder but instead on the ground are actually higher, correct? On the other hand, they are lower off the ground and therefore I would think that if you do land on the ground, the fall will not be as bad as it would be from an errant trampoline jump.

I am actually curious about the rebounders and I would like to see one used by someone trained to do so in their intended, proper use. I am curious about what they actually do for you in terms of exercising muscles. If I am not mistaken, the rebounders are used by Olympic gymnasts to propel themselves into certain vaults and gymnastic maneuvers. I think that is the only time I have seen them used- except I also saw a guy jump on one at a halftime of a college basketball game, in order to dunk a basketball on a 10 foot regulation basketball rim. It was a short guy who was like 5'5", who had no chance of ever dunking on a 10 foot rim based on his own jumping ability. However, using the rebounder he was able to dunk more ferociously than LeBron James. This was meant as entertainment rather than exercise.

I am no expert but have used a rebounder during physiotherapy and the reducation of my legs after my gracillis muscle flap surgeries.
1st off, they have a very limited size surface area and the density of the fabric and spring is such that you really can not jump on them...or shouldn't...they are used to walk, bounce a bit and do light aerobic movements and not to fly up and down like on a trampoline.
I was actually put on one with a removable 'walker-like' contraption around it on 3 sides so that I could hold on with both arms and support my lower body...
But you can also sit on them and bounce a bit or sit on a chair pulled up close and just bounce your legs & feet. Both methods are used in homes for the aged to help rebuild bone density, return to balance after an accident or surgery.
I would never have one in my house around the G-kids...they would kill themselves on it!
But then again they try to stand up on my pilates ball and do swan dives into it!

You have got to know who to hide these things from!
Sharon
...life does not come with a warning or instruction booklet stamped onto our butts at birth (although sometimes I think that it would not be such a bad idea!)

You can google or youtube, urban rebounder and you will see many videos of an urban rebounding class. The founder is JB Berns. You can google him too, and watch one of his classes. Jumping on a rebounder is much easier on your joints, and muscles than the ground, which is not as forgiving. You can also hold onto a stabilizer with a rebounder. Don't know about the insurance thing, just that you can get for a rebounder much easier than you can for a trampoline. Obviously, you can always get hurt doing anything.

Here is the JB Berris video showing usage of the extreme urban rebounder:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_h24fMi2tI