Jennifer Grey is making me think resentful thoughts.
Not only does she have a pinched nerve in her foot, like me, she's also got bolts holding her body together and even so she's kicking ass on Dancing with the Stars. She's screwing up the curve for the rest of us. I can't even mow the lawn without my foot feeling like it's on fire, and she's rehearsing every day on the dance floor.
How do I know this if I haven't been watching the show? A friend told me. The conversation went something like this:
Friend: So, why aren't you running?
Me: The pinched nerve in my foot hurts. I need to rest the foot to get it better.
Friend: Jennifer Grey has a pinched nerve in her foot. It hasn't stopped her from dancing every week.
Maybe I'm being over-sensitive, but I seem to hear a bit of an accusation in those words.
I am bothered by the idea that pain is something you're supposed to overcome. Pain is your body telling you there's a problem. If you ignore the warning and "suck it up" you're not solving the problem. The only thing you're doing is bolstering your ego: "Hey, I'm tough. Sure, I broke my foot in three places, but that doesn't stop me doing a marathon every week. "
I read blogs written by Josie and Tricia. They're not giving up because the foot hurts, but they are listening to their bodies and modifying their workouts. And they certainly are not wimps; they're women who've worked hard to become thin and fit. And they still have to face injuries like mine.
Update: Ha! I actually watched a few minutes of Dancing with the Stars, but that was long enough to hear one of the judge's warning that Jennifer Grey needed to be careful or she was going to end up with serious injury.
Hmph. Bet my friend didn't see that bit.
Goal for the week: Get up crack o' dawn and be out of the door by 7:30 a.m. For me, that's a challenge.
Done? Well... okay, not quite. Out the door by 7:50. But that's a start.Exercise du jour: No running. No walking. Just rowing. Patience, grasshopper.
Done!Obligatory footnote: Yes, I'm sure Jennifer Grey is a perfectly nice person and she's certainly entitled to do whatever she wants with her own foot. I just don't like being compared to her, okay? Not that my friend reads this blog; I'm just venting.
Photo courtesy of Alan Light
6 comments:
She probably has great pain killers too or other drugs (not saying she's a dope feign).
YOU have to listen to your body and know when to push through the pain and when to rest. Will your friend carry you around oh his/her back when you can't walk because you worked out too hard and did major damage to your foot?
Just saying.
I'm sure Jennifer is benefiting from massages and all sorts of medical attention - plus, she's actually a robot. That explains dancing through the foot pain.
I think that finding other ways to workout while letting an injury heal is admirable - I'm afraid I would be the "nope, I'm done" person who would stay on the couch until whatever was injured felt better. As for your "friend" - I'd like to see her do anything with a pinched nerve in her foot. Want me to smack her for you? :)
Just because two people have the same injury, doesn't mean it is manifesting in the same way or at the same level. Hers may not be bothering her much at the moment.
Do what you need to do to recover. Ignore the lunkheads who would have you injure yourself further by pushing too fast.
Enjoy the rowing.
I'm guessing that if you were on a national TV show with a demanding dance partner, a masseuse, and the possibility of future, extremely well-paying work all egging you on, you just might dance with a pinched nerve, as well.
Or not!
In any case, it would be, and is, completely up to you and nobody else's dang business!
It's like when the contestants on "The Biggest Loser" say "If I can do it, so can you!" Um, well, NO, actually, I CAN'T leave my job and 2 special needs kids behind for 3 months to go to a ranch and work out 8 hours a day, take diuretics and laxatives, and try to lose 16 pounds every week!
I HATE so-called reality TV.
No point in making comparisons. She's under contract and gets paid for her pain. Besides, just watch that video. She's not even on her feet for at least half of it. ;)
it might be different if you had to dance to save your floundering career and or if you had a team of trainers and doctors working you over all the time.
Pain and beauty are both hollywood standards we plebs shouldn't try to keep up with.
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