What I do for workouts
As you all know I am in an Ostomy and one of the main questions I get a lot on social media is what I do for workouts and how I handle protecting myself from getting a hernia. First, let me say that I have permission from my doctors to workout, so you should always check with you Dr. before start gin any workout program. Secondly there is a lot of different exercises you can do like walking that will lead to great benefits. To me moving our bodies is the most important thing you can do.
Now let’s get to my workout program. I have done most things when it comes to working out throughout my life from running, walking, rowing, jumping rope, spinning, yoga, pilates, boxing, weight training, kettlebells, plyometrics, aerobics, body weight training and well almost everything. During the pandemic when the gyms where closed I did a lot of body weight training, running and a lot of walking because we lived in NYC. As the pandemic went along myself and my girlfriends found kettlebells, bands and TRX’s and we did a TON of work. We would workout throwing those kettlebells around and burning a minimum of 400 calories a day in an hour every single day. It was the only thing that kept the 5-6 of us sane and we loved it.
When I moved back to NH we would continue doing those workouts through zoom with each other. As things lifted and everyone went back to the office those workouts stopped and I went back to the gym here in NH and that’s about when I started 75 Hard. With having 2 workouts a day I decided one of them to be the traditional weight lifting that I love SO much. I follow Sam Sweeney’s daily workout with her app (6 days a week of lifting), on the 7th day during the 75 Hard program I do a Peloton ride and then do a 45 minute walk outdoors everyday. My body loves it and has been transforming and it feels really good.
For those of you with an Ostomy that wonder what I do to take care that I do not get a hernia. I have weight trained most of my life so I watch to make sure that with every single rep I do with the weights I have good form. If you have never weight trained I would suggest you hire a trainer to help you and make sure they know you are in an Ostomy. They will help you with your form. You can also work with a Physical therapist that can help you with CORE work. CORE work is so important especially for us. We can build a strong core which can protect our Stoma’s, give us more balance and help us work to perfect the movements we do with our workouts.
I also, make sure to breath correctly with each rep. Your form and your breath are very important. Also for me I wear tight fitting leggings that hold me in around the waist. My favorites by far are my Lululemons or my Lorna Janes, I also wear Fabletics but some of them aren’t as tight fitting for weight lifting and better for walking/yoga and my Peloton rides. However there are also some GREAT belts out there like my friend Collin’s company Stealth Belt and also MrColtisCrohns has one as well, these belts are designed to help ostomates protect our Stomas during workouts.