advice for a injured, smoker, depression and cancer surviver about fitness and weight lifting

[eno]

Hello. My situation is the following, I am 50 years old, I am 6.2F tall,,198.4 pounds. I am a smoker (a box of cigarettes lasts me more than a week approximately) I do know anyway what smoking means and for a year I have been significantly reducing the number of cigarettes I smoke. I haven't been able to leave it at all. Between serious problems in my life and the stress of the financial situation that I have been experiencing for several years, I was basically on the verge of committing suicide and I managed to overcome that level of depression, although not completely. I am the father of an incredible 9-year-old son (basically the reason why I did not realize what I planned to do to end my existence)... I have always been relatively physically active, I have been a dirt bike rider since I was a child. and it is one of my great passions but as you can imagine it is an expensive activity so I had to give it up and well I started to gain weight, I started to put physical activity aside and basically forget about myself. Until a while ago, seeing that it was very difficult for me to play with my son, I gained awareness of my condition and I began to jog 4 times a week a couple of miles a day. At first it was super difficult but it is not so difficult anymore, my son has been practicing jiu jitsu since he was 6 years old and decided to try this incredible sport, I have been through 5 classes and I am physically destroyed, my entire body hurts absolutely (even my hair , and of course I know that it is part of the process, I definitely do not plan to stop to go to classes since after enduro for me it is the second most incredible sporting activity I have ever done in my life. Having said that, a little information about my physique, I have had multiple surgeries, they removed a tumor from my back about 10 years ago. years, I have multiple fractures (due to my enduro racing past), 2 surgeries on my spine to remove 2 herniated vertebral discs also about 10 years ago (they didn't work well at all and it hurts every day at all times). I broke my tail bone approximately 5 months ago. Having said that... I lift weights 4 times a week (I have seen an incredible improvement in a few months), I have improved my diet a lot, I managed to stop eating sugar 2 months ago (that was very difficult but I did it). My questions are... 1) I have jiujitsu classes on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, as I said before I end up terribly destroyed after each class, can I lift weights the day after jiujitsu classes? For example, right now my arms hurt a lot, last night I had classes and today I should work on my biceps, triceps, front arms and shoulders with weights but I don't know if I should do it... 2) should I run the day after jiujitsu classes? (the cardio in the classes is brutally intense)...3) all my joints hurt from my fingers to my knees, what can I do to improve the condition of my joints? 4) Is it advisable to take anti-inflammatories or pain killers when you are practicing this type of sports or after lifting weights? I ask because I think they may interfere with the muscle growth/repair process after lifting weights. I thank you all for your time and I hope you all have a great week! ( apologize for my english, sorry for mistakes in redaction )

 

[mythicangel516]

@eno Congrats on all the progress you’ve been making! Giving up sugar is huge (speaking as a chocoholic!), all the exercise you’re doing and jiu jitsu is great because it’s an activity you can bond over with you son.

all of this is great and will pay huge dividends. However, my concern is that you’re doing too much too soon. It sounds like you were a bit sedentary and you have lots of old injuries and I’m worried that your pace will result in injuries which will mean no training for some time

1) the weight training is relatively new and the jiu jitsu is very new. Both are very intense activities and your body needs recovery time in order to fully reap the benefits of your work. I would either reduce the frequency of the jiujitsu or the weightlifting or both till your body catches up and your joints stop hurting

2) if you’re getting intense cardio in your classes i would replace the running with walking which is low impact but has many benefits, or just relax

3) i think your body is telling you it’s maxed out and you should reduce some of the activities. Maybe do yoga, stretching or mobility work instead of lifting/jiujitsu

4) I’m not a big fan of taking either for the same reasons you mentioned, but I’m open to learning more about this

Overall, you’re doing an amazing job. I would dial it back quite a bit and focus instead on reducing weight a bit (the sugar will help with this) and getting your sleep dialed in. Maybe meditation if you’re into that.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[eno]

@mythicangel516 First of all I want to thank you for your time for dedicating your words to me. And if I really plan to make changes in my exercise regimen so as not to wear myself out too much before my time and not get injured. I plan to continue with JiuJitsu (it has me hooked) and indeed the bond with my son is also incredible. Reduce the frequency of lifting weights or change the style for more repetitions with less weight and continue with light jogging during the week. I also want to focus on reducing abdominal fat, which although I don't have much of it, it's like I have a beer belly (I don't drink alcohol), I don't drink carbonated drinks and I eat very, very little amount of refined flours, for example one plate of pasta a month. But I do eat rice at least 3 times a week. Thank you again for sharing your opinion with me...

 

[mythicangel516]

@eno Dude I think you’re doing all the right things and are an inspiration to all of us, especially in this sub.

You’re doing amazing with how little refined flours you eat and the fact that you don’t drink booze or sodas is already a huge impact on weight reduction and so many other aspects. I’m so happy for you and especially your son!

 

[eno]

@mythicangel516 Thank you so much for your kind words. The most difficult part of my improvement process has been giving up products with sugar, chocolates and refined flours. Although I must say that I don't like chocolates and sweets in general like I used to, it's strange because on a couple of occasions I've tried small bites of chocolate again and I find it extremely sweet. I couldn't eat even a quarter of what I ate before. I recommend everyone try to improve their eating habits, the change is resounding and is noticeable in a short time. Unfortunately I was injured in JiuJitsu (a young white belt tried to apply a foot lock on my right foot without knowing how to do it (he saw it on a video and thought he could apply it correctly) and he grabbed my fingers with such force and speed that broke 2 fingers on my right foot). I'm much better now and I can't wait to train with my son again. Once again I thank everyone who dedicated their time to reading me and, above all, to leaving me their opinions. much appreciated!