Pre Vs. Post Wrist-Injury Workout Routine

I keep mentioning my wrist injury on my insta posts so here is a little more background on what happened and how it's change up my workout routine.

WHAT HAPPENED/THE INJURY:

About 7 months ago I started to feel some pain in my right wrist, mostly at work. I thought it was from my hand/wrist position while typing and ordered a keyboard wrist support. Then I noticed that the pain was carrying into my yoga practice, more-so in specific positions such as plank and handstands. The pain was moderate so I tried adding some wrist stretches into my practice and hoped that it was temporary and time would heal it.

I knew deep down that continuing to go to yoga was straining it, but it never really seemed to be getting worse. It was always kind of just there when I went to class, in certain positions, and the thought of stopping yoga was something I completely outruled. Fast forward 7 months and the pain was still there. I decided to finally see a doctor. They gave me an x-ray, told me that it seemed to be either synovitis or tenosynovitis and prescribed me an anti-inflammatory to take before class. This is exactly why I hate going to traditional doctors ...because the solution is always a pill. To me that makes NO sense. I hate taking any kind of medicine and only do when I really need to, nevermind taking something every day to go to yoga? The other option was to stop doing yoga and go to physical therapy. It didn't help that all of this went down a few days after I launched lexsentials and a big focus of the blog was supposed to be on my yoga practice and how it was a "lexsential" to my health, fitness and wellness. I made the decision that I had been avoiding for so long. I put my yoga membership at Real Hot Yoga Hoboken on pause until I get better.

MY OLD VS. NEW WORKOUT ROUTINE:

Yoga has been my thing for over the last year (I was going 4-6x/week) so after quitting I was kind of lost with my workout routine. I decided it was the perfect time to try and fully commit to Kayla Itsines' BBG (bikini body guide) program. I've been following Kayla for years and always wanted to do her program (who wouldn't after seeing the progress pictures on her insta page) but was always busy with other workouts and before I got injured I wouldn't have had enough time to do both Kayla (fully) and also go to yoga. Everything happens for a reason and the most positive way that I can view the situation is to trust that this is giving me the opportunity to try a new workout and see how my body responds. PLUS it's officially t-minus 6 months until the wedding so I'm ready to PICK IT UP and see some results.

So far I'm three weeks in and am loving it. I'm already seeing some definition and so is my best friend Doree who decided to start the program at the same time. I have had to modify some of the exercises for my wrist but have found it pretty easy to do so. For anyone else with a similar injury, here are my modifications so far (through week 3):

this is the "L" position that hurts my right wrist/top of hand

modification for : planks, burpees, commandos or any other exercise that puts my wrist in the "L" position = use weights on the floor

HOW MY BODY IS RESPONDING TO MY NEW ROUTINE

Flexibility vs. Muscle. When I was doing yoga consistently, I felt as if it was increasing my flexibility and thinning and toning my upper body (arms specifically) but wasn't seeing much definition in my legs or butt. With Kayla, I'm seeing a lot more muscle and strength overall (abs for sure). I still don't see results in my butt or legs but am only three weeks in so I do think that will come with more time. I've been practicing yoga as much as I can on my own but it's very different from a flow class. I'm more-so just stretching to maintain the flexibility and focusing on positions that don't require the "L" position of the wrist (such as splits and forearm stands). My goal is to get deeper into my front split and to also be able to do a middle split.

Another thing I noticed with Kayla is that I'm more hungry throughout the day. It makes sense that if I'm building muscle, my body is burning fat and craving more protein (I'm currently eating SO many nuts...like BIG handful of raw cashew for an AM snack, BIGGER handful of raw almonds for a PM snack, and possibly some nut butter somewhere in between). If I workout in the morning I don't usually eat or drink before because it gives me acid reflux and sits in my stomach (making crunches uncomfortable) but then I'm ravenous as soon as I finish. Rebbl protein drinks have been my go-to post-workout to fuel up and hold me over until my next meal. They taste amaze (some taste like milkshakes) and are loaded with super-herbs such as medicinal mushrooms to help keep me full and energized (in addition to 1MM other benefits such as stamina, endurance, hormone balance, detoxification, relaxation, improved cognitive function). They also keep me from getting home and eating EVERYTHING in sight when I'm starving post-workout. I'm really digging this whole medicinal shroom movement. More to come on the different ways I'm using them (coffee, smoothies, teas, you name it!) but for now I love that Rebbl added them to their protein drinks. My top two protein flava flavs are: Dark Chocolate & Vanilla Spice.