I’m old, broken, and not happy

[Xue Sheng]

Anyone ever higher a personal trainer, was it succesful, was it worth it?

I got kicked, lightly, in the knee last Sunday training with a wing chun guy and although I told him I'm ok and kept going... my damn knee hurt the rest of the day and I am back in a brace today… I am sick and tired of this damn knee injury crap. For the first time in my life I follow what the doctors tell me and it DOESN'T get better.:flammad:

I’m know I’m old and that is not a bad thing it is just the way it goes if your lucky… but for the first time in my life I am thinking of hiring a Personal trainer….and I am not taking this well...even though I belevie it is the way I need to go to recover from this last round of knee injuries.. I am taking this as I am too old, to beat up, helpless and I just can't handle training by myself anymore.....

 

[elder999]

Anyone ever higher a personal trainer, was it succesful, was it worth it?

I got kicked, lightly, in the knee last Sunday training with a wing chun guy and although I told him I'm ok and kept going... my damn knee hurt the rest of the day and I am back in a brace today… I am sick and tired of this damn knee injury crap. For the first time in my life I follow what the doctors tell me and it DOESN'T get better.:flammad:

I’m know I’m old and that is not a bad thing it is just the way it goes if your lucky… but for the first time in my life I am thinking of hiring a Personal trainer….and I am not taking this well...even though I belevie it is the way I need to go to recover from this last round of knee injuries.. I am taking this as I am too old, to beat up, helpless and I just can't handle training by myself anymore.....

It depends on what your goals are. I've hired a personal trainer, but my own goals, since some time ago, are a bit different-I've had to shed something like 60 lbs. of muscle mass-and a trainer has been a good help for this, though I am not, so far, satisfied with the results, which is a body image thing, and disatisfaction with what is an interim stage. I will get to my goal, though, and couldn't have done it at 51-53 without a trainer.......

Your knee, though? Aside from helping to build up the supporting muscular architecture, a trainer isn't really going to be much help there-and tendons get old, cartilage dimishes, and such is life.

Knees: God's engineering afterthought. That leg's gotta bend, somehow.....aww, that's good enough, I'm gonna take a nap, now.... :lfao:

In all seriousness, from an engineering standpoint, the design life of mammals is to reach the point where their offspring have offspring-for humans, that's really about 40ish, and everything afterward is pretty much gravy, in spite of all the associated pain and deterioration.

Just keep telling yourself, it's all gravy, now. :lfao:

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Anyone ever higher a personal trainer, was it succesful, was it worth it?

I got kicked, lightly, in the knee last Sunday training with a wing chun guy and although I told him I'm ok and kept going... my damn knee hurt the rest of the day and I am back in a brace today… I am sick and tired of this damn knee injury crap. For the first time in my life I follow what the doctors tell me and it DOESN'T get better.:flammad:

I’m know I’m old and that is not a bad thing it is just the way it goes if your lucky… but for the first time in my life I am thinking of hiring a Personal trainer….and I am not taking this well...even though I belevie it is the way I need to go to recover from this last round of knee injuries.. I am taking this as I am too old, to beat up, helpless and I just can't handle training by myself anymore.....

Sorry you're hurt. I'm not clear on what it is you're most concerned about. Your martial arts training? Injuries while training? Or getting better from your current injuries?

I was thinking maybe a physical therapist might be a good way to go, given what you've said. But again, not clear on what your goal is.

 

[WC_lun]

I can definitley understand what you are going through. I've signed on to see a physical therapist myself. Hopefully it'll be helpful, though I seriously doubt it is going to be pleasant.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Goal: Weight loss and strengthening the knees so I can get back to training MA like I want to…not like I use to, I know that is not going to happen, but like I want to. Also have still young children I would like to be able to keep up with and not hobble behind. I saw my dad walk this way, in his late-70s after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. His was not a knee issue and as far as I know I do not have Parkinson’s and I am closer to my late 70s than I am my early 20s, but I got a way to go yet before I am there so I would like to get on top of this knee issue if possible.

My injuries are, left knee, torn meniscus in 2 places, right knee was bruised bone in the joint however no MRI was done on the right knee. My office is currently incredibly shorthanded and I have had to crawl around under desks and lift rather large production printers and my knees, which were doing better, really hated that. If I can do a push up or a Hindu pushup to get under a desk and do a belly crawl to move I’m OK but in our new office things are just too tight for a 6’1” guy to do that in some places.

Been the PT route for the knees before, have the exercises from several years ago (OK it was 20 years ago). Every time I contact an MD about this (and I have been to 4) they do not send me to PT, they give me a list of knee exercises. One said you do not need surgery (and I’m ok with that - left knee), it will work its way back, (and it did) But if you like I will do the surgery. I opted not too and it was getting better. And I am not giving up on the PT route just yet, I am looking to change MDs since it is next to impossible to see my current one due to his patient load.

Putting into practice what I know of qigong and Buddhism and Daoism (the whole make a friend of pain thing) I have figured out that part of it is the loss of flexibility due to incessant limping and sitting and body/leg alignment while walking. So at this point I do feel that I need to regain flexibility and strengthen the muscle around the joint for stabilization.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Goal: Weight loss and strengthening the knees so I can get back to training MA like I want to…not like I use to, I know that is not going to happen, but like I want to. Also have still young children I would like to be able to keep up with and not hobble behind. I saw my dad walk this way, in his late-70s after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. His was not a knee issue and as far as I know I do not have Parkinson’s and I am closer to my late 70s than I am my early 20s, but I got a way to go yet before I am there so I would like to get on top of this knee issue if possible.

My injuries are, left knee, torn meniscus in 2 places, right knee was bruised bone in the joint however no MRI was done on the right knee. My office is currently incredibly shorthanded and I have had to crawl around under desks and lift rather large production printers and my knees, which were doing better, really hated that. If I can do a push up or a Hindu pushup to get under a desk and do a belly crawl to move I’m OK but in our new office things are just too tight for a 6’1” guy to do that in some places.

Been the PT route for the knees before, have the exercises from several years ago (OK it was 20 years ago). Every time I contact an MD about this (and I have been to 4) they do not send me to PT, they give me a list of knee exercises. One said you do not need surgery (and I’m ok with that - left knee), it will work its way back, (and it did) But if you like I will do the surgery. I opted not too and it was getting better. And I am not giving up on teh PT route just yet, I am looking to change MDs since it is next to impossible to see my current one due to his patient load.

Putting into practice what I know of qigong and Buddhism and Daoism (the whole make a friend of pain thing) I have figured out that part of it is the loss of flexibility due to incessant limping and sitting and body/leg alignment while walking. So at this point I do feel that I need to regain flexibility and strengthen the muscle around the joint for stabilization.

Sounds like you have your answer then. I hope you heal quickly and return to full strength.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Actually my question was "Anyone ever higher a personal trainer, was it succesful, was it worth it?"

Basically I have not gone that route before, but I just got an e-mail from the guy and the first visit it free so I shall go give it a try I guess and see what I think.

 

[pgsmith]

The personal trainer route is a personal issue. I've known folks that liked it, and others that thought it was garbage. My question is regarding your MD. Have you been going to a sports orthopedist about your knee issues, or was it a general practitioner? A family doctor is NOT going to understand the stresses that doing martial arts, or any other physical sport, is going to put on your joints. A sports doctor will have a better idea what your joints require to work effectively under the loads you're applying. Preferably one that counts college and/or professional athletes as patients.

 

[Xue Sheng]

The personal trainer route is a personal issue. I've known folks that liked it, and others that thought it was garbage. My question is regarding your MD. Have you been going to a sports orthopedist about your knee issues, or was it a general practitioner? A family doctor is NOT going to understand the stresses that doing martial arts, or any other physical sport, is going to put on your joints. A sports doctor will have a better idea what your joints require to work effectively under the loads you're applying. Preferably one that counts college and/or professional athletes as patients.

I have not gone to a doctor that was a sports orthopedist but I have been to 2 orthopedic specialists and 2 General practitioners.

 

[jks9199]

Can't give personal experience with trainers; I "sneak" some time an advice from the guys at the gym I go to when I need something, like guidance on a machine or exercise, but haven't done direct training at length. That said, I've seen others who used the right trainers get good results. The catch is finding the right trainer for your goal. If you just need someone to make sure you don't hurt yourself but still push you through a workout or to give you some new workout ideas, there's not much need to be picky. If you choose to use one -- you want to check the credentials, and make sure they understand your goals, and (if they're honest), they'll tell you whether or not they can really help you.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Your best bet is two things. A physical therapist and patience. If that fails, then most likely an orthopedic surgeon.

 

[Aiki Lee]

I hired a personal trainer, and I think it is successful mostly because I will not exercise without someone making me do it. So if I pay a guy to yell at me it helps me not be lazy.

 

[Carol]

I'm going to go against the grain here. Skip to the end for the Too Long Didn't Read summary.

Try repairing yourself from the inside out, instead of the outside in. Chronic Inflammation is an issue with a lot of people, and a common source for a lot of inflammation responses is food.

Dallas and Melissa Hartwig discuss this extensively in their book It Starts With Food. Personally I have pooh-poohed a lot of stuff like this, but I reached a point over the summer where I just felt like dreck and wanted to rehab a few things in my life.

I switched to a Paleo-type diet, based on the Hartwig's book as well as their blog, www.whole9life.com. They believe in a whole-life approach to health, including addressing 9 key factors that will likely fit in quite well with your values.

http://whole9life.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/9graphic.jpg

I also drew a lot of info from Mark Sisson's blog www.marksdailyapple.com and used My Fitness Pal to track what I was eating. I didn't begin with restricting calories, I started simply by logging everything I ate. It was quite eye-opening.

I have lost some weight, maybe 15 pounds over 2.5 months. Not an earth shattering loss, and I still have more to go, but weighing less than I did in July is pretty cool. However, I found the bigger motivation wasn't weight loss, but how I felt and what I could actually do. I have never been able to run....but the anti inflammatory effects of the better way of eating have had such a beneficial impact on me that I have been able to start interval training. It will be ugly, but I'm running my first race ever this weekend! I also picked my hiking back up and resumed my goal of climbing Mt. Washington....sometime

Some folks recoil at the idea of a Paleo-type diet. Another approach can be looking at the nutrition database at Self magazine http://nutritiondata.self.com and choosing foods that are anti-inflammatory.

tl;dr

Instead of the trainer, consider making the investment in a different way of eating. After giving up all processed foods including dairy, grains, legumes, and anything from a drive thru, I don't hurt anymore. I lost weight too. Maybe this can help you too?

However way you go I wish you all the best.




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[James Kovacich]

I've had 5 surgeries between my arms and shoulders. Listening to your doctor is a must. I thought I could rehab myself. Haha. I ended up in sports therapy which addressed my injuries on a differant level than my doctors did. I recommend atleast 1 visit to see for yourself. I have a personal trainer certificate from our Mission College and I would think that they can't help you much for what you need.

I'd. Also consider adjusting your training so you don't end up quitting at some point.

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[elder999]

I switched to a Paleo-type diet, based on the Hartwig's book as well as their blog, www.whole9life.com. They believe in a whole-life approach to health, including addressing 9 key factors that will likely fit in quite well with your values.

http://whole9life.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/9graphic.jpg

I also drew a lot of info from Mark Sisson's blog www.marksdailyapple.com and used My Fitness Pal to track what I was eating. I didn't begin with restricting calories, I started simply by logging everything I ate. It was quite eye-opening.

I have lost some weight, maybe 15 pounds over 2.5 months. Not an earth shattering loss, and I still have more to go, but weighing less than I did in July is pretty cool. However, I found the bigger motivation wasn't weight loss, but how I felt and what I could actually do. I have never been able to run....but the anti inflammatory effects of the better way of eating have had such a beneficial impact on me that I have been able to start interval training. It will be ugly, but I'm running my first race ever this weekend! I also picked my hiking back up and resumed my goal of climbing Mt. Washington....sometime

Some folks recoil at the idea of a Paleo-type diet. Another approach can be looking at the nutrition database at Self magazine http://nutritiondata.self.com and choosing foods that are anti-inflammatory.

tl;dr

Instead of the trainer, consider making the investment in a different way of eating. After giving up all processed foods including dairy, grains, legumes, and anything from a drive thru, I don't hurt anymore. I lost weight too. Maybe this can help you too?

However way you go I wish you all the best.




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

I'm gonna say here that the "Paleo-type" diet is a good diet, and not too different from the way that I used to eat, back before the docs and I figured that I had to shed some muscle......in fact, it's still not too different from the way I eat.

It's just not "Paleo" at all. Paleoithic man hunted megafauna for hundreds of thousands of years before the invention of the spear, 350000 years or so ago, and they did this by running game into the ground-something that couldn't be accomplished on what's now commonly called a "paleoithic diet."

More to the point, Paleo people likely observed birds and other animals eating grains, and ate grains. Agriculture arose from this. Maize is actually the crossbreeding of two grasses, teosinte, and one that escapes me right now, about 10,000 years ago, which qualifies as late, or upper.....Paleoithic........truly, shunning "processed" foods is enough-whole grains, and ones that are closer to their roots (rather than modern, engineered varieties) is probably completely acceptable for most.

In any case, I largely agree with Carol-pet peeves about archaeological accuracy and theory aside :lol:-a change in diet can be a great deal of help for situations like you're experiencing.

 

[Takai]

Have you seen an acupuncturist?

 

[Carol]

Yeah, I was REALLY trying to avoid the historical controversy but its certainly a fair point to bring up. I don't care for the name either.

I basically traded the grocery store for the farmer's market. I stop once a week and load up on fresh fruit, veggies, pastured meats and eggs and base my meals on these staples. I ensure that I eat a big plate of greens every day, and learned how to cook some things I had never heard of or even dreamed of eating, such as pea tendrils (divine!)and pumpkin vines (odd, but quite filling).

Perhaps just as important, I gave up restaurants as a crutch for when I don't feel like cooking since I don't really know what's in my food when someone else cooked it. Sure I enjoy a nice dinner out with friends as much as anyone else, but that's just an occasional event. This has forced me to build better habits, including trying to be a better cook.

 

[James Kovacich]

It depends on what your goals are. I've hired a personal trainer, but my own goals, since some time ago, are a bit different-I've had to shed something like 60 lbs. of muscle mass-and a trainer has been a good help for this, though I am not, so far, satisfied with the results, which is a body image thing, and disatisfaction with what is an interim stage. I will get to my goal, though, and couldn't have done it at 51-53 without a trainer.......

Your knee, though? Aside from helping to build up the supporting muscular architecture, a trainer isn't really going to be much help there-and tendons get old, cartilage dimishes, and such is life.

Knees: God's engineering afterthought. That leg's gotta bend, somehow.....aww, that's good enough, I'm gonna take a nap, now.... :lfao:

In all seriousness, from an engineering standpoint, the design life of mammals is to reach the point where their offspring have offspring-for humans, that's really about 40ish, and everything afterward is pretty much gravy, in spite of all the associated pain and deterioration.

Just keep telling yourself, it's all gravy, now. :lfao:

I've never heard of anyone needing to lose muscle? Are you serious?

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[Tames D]

Xue,
I noticed that you say you're old alot. Out of curiousity, what is old?

 

[K-man]

My injuries are, left knee, torn meniscus in 2 places, right knee was bruised bone in the joint however no MRI was done on the right knee.

Ok. The right knee should heal with little problem, hopefully within three weeks if the injury is not aggravated. The left knee is much more of a problem. Torn meniscus is more commonly referred to as torn cartilege. It is not the cartilege covering the bone but the wedge of cartilege between the bones. The problem is that there is very limited blood supply to cartilege and some cartilege has no blood supply at all. A tear here will not repair itself no matter what you do, and the problem is the jagged piece sometimes catches causing pain or even restriction of joint movement.

Years ago the would had undertaken quite serious surgery to remove the whole cartilege, an exercise that enabled an athlete to get back into competition but which mostly led to chronic knee problems in later life. Now they just do a relatively simple arthroscopic procedure to trim the ragged bits. Recovery is quite rapid and I would expect to be back in full swing in about three months.

So, my advice in this situation is to forget the PT and get to see a sports physician. Take it from there. Good luck. :asian: