Some gentle body rehab on the road to Cascade 4.0 

September 14 2023

It’s safe to say that Nikki’s journey to go from “couch to Cascade 4.0” in four months has been eventful. But that’s all part of the journey – right? From the outset, she was looking to rebuild and reclaim herself, and bravely share the journey with us. Here’s her latest instalment:

So, who would have thought that a body that’s not used to running (and is used to fibromyalgia pain) would cark it when you subject it to intensive exercise? Show of hands? Not me, apparently. But, lo and behold, the ol’ body has not quite been able to keep up with the ol’ brain’s desires to become a naturally gifted athlete.

But it’s not a complete tale of woe. I’ve begun familiarising myself with the Cascade 4.0 course and have started some body rehab work at Kieser.

Familiarisation

I set out for a walk of the course and had a little spur in confidence when I realised there were bits that I’d *hopefully* be able to jog. And then I hit the steep private road and a large part of me died. I’ve been told that a secret to successful trail running is that even the best runners sometimes walk up the hills – wasted energy etc etc. That made me feel a bit better until I realised that the hill went on forever and never ends and that I would grow old on this hill and never see my family again. And then I hit the top. Sweet freedom for the quads.

Getting a bit cocky, I stopped looking obsessively at the Strava course and ended up on some gnarly downhills. Sweet Jesus. I thought that this seemed a bit extreme for the “Sport” category but, knowing Lincoln well, I wouldn’t have put it past him. Alas, looking at Strava again, I could see that I had strayed off course and was now scuttling down the mountain bike trails. Thankfully no bikes were on course that day.

Note to self: the Strava map exists for a reason.

Body rehab

Attempts at running were telling me that my right hip and right knee were very, very unhappy. Carrying two babies (both inside my belly, and outside on my hip) had not done my body any favours.

With a recommendation in hand, I went to visit Darcy at Kieser. That place is a wee bit intimidating, but also a well-oiled machine. The physio, Darcy, was kind and respectful when he told me – respectfully and kindly – that my muscles were at the lower end of the strength scale…particularly in my butt. That wasn’t overly surprising given my bouts of sciatica and the placement of strength training on the lowest rung of my priority list.

With Darcy’s exercise plan in hand, I went back the following week for my first intro session with Caitlin. She showed me how to use the first four machines on my plan, and again made me feel comfortable despite the ridiculously low weights that I can handle.

The plan is to work on my glutes, hips and knees for the remaining weeks until the Cascade Slide/Cascade 4.0. During that time, I’ll see one of the Kieser physios and exercise physiologists for check-ins, and complete at least two training sessions per week.

At the same time, I’m doing some physio exercises at home.

Onwards and upwards, I suppose!

Nikki