Gerry needed help for his back, and now he’s back
The client that I’m featuring this week is Gerry Smurlick. Like most of the people I work with, he came to me in late 2019 with frustrations.
At 76, he had just had a stent inserted into a blocked artery and was very easily fatigued. Already living with diabetes for some time, he was sidelined with crippling back pain from degenerative joint disease. He knew that he had to get “back in shape” to manage his activities of daily living, but, also to be ready for when he got called off a waiting list for back surgery.
For months, we went through a series of exercises designed to help him get around better and return to his daily walking routine. Strength training exercises were initially performed seated using resistance bands, dumbbells and manual resistance from me while his endurance exercise was limited to a few minutes of cycling on a recumbent cycle.
Over time, as his exercise tolerance improved and he was able to stabilize himself better, we alternated between sitting and standing movements and finally standing only. He also moved from the recumbent cycle to an upright bike and then to a treadmill and finally to circuit training that included box stepping, marching, lunging and agility exercises like side stepping over small aerobic steps.
In the summer of 2020, Gerry finally had his back operation and after a period of time, that included COVID-19 restrictions, we were able to resume his training. Our focus shifted to a “post rehab” program and eventually to standard fitness training. Here is the rest of his story:
Q: Why did you reach out to me?
A: I had just had the procedure with my artery and was exhausted. I knew I needed to exercise, but didn’t know how to do it without putting myself at risk. I was in pain from arthritis and disc disease in my back and was using a walker to get around. I couldn’t even raise my arms to hang my bathrobe onto the hook on the door in the bathroom. If I was going to get moving again, my exercise had to be supervised or I would have hurt myself.
Q: What did you notice when you started to exercise?
A: The two things that were the most significant were that I became much more agile and that my endurance was coming back. Some of the daily tasks that I had stopped got easier and I was just getting around and functioning better. The pain in my back was still there and would sometimes be crippling, but that was something that could only be addressed with surgery.
Q: What was the biggest challenge?
A: Because of the limitations that I had at the start, it was difficult to modify the exercises we were doing to make them less painful and more manageable. Sitting helped and pacing with frequent breaks made a difference. I also found it really tough to climb the stairs from the downstairs fitness studio up to the front door after workouts.
Gerry’s workouts started seated and allowed for “rest as needed” throughout. As he got fitter and stronger, we moved to standing, circuit training workouts with timed rest breaks to challenge his ability to recover as well as to perform with exercise induced fatigue.
Q: What has been the most pleasant surprise?
A: Before I started exercising regularly, I felt like an old man. Things that I had always taken for granted were slipping away from me. As I got more into it and started to regain function, I felt like I was actually getting younger.
Q: Current status?
A: I simply feel great.
Q: Any advice for others?
A- I never, ever thought that I would one day become incapacitated so my advice would be to start exercising long before you think you might need it. Having said that, my wife and I don’t always “want” to exercise, so we link other enjoyable things around doing a workout. For example, when we drive over to see our trainer for a session, we’ll plan to go for lunch or a coffee afterward which we wouldn’t normally do. Make it part of your routine and don’t be afraid to reward yourself.
Q: What’s next?
A: Well, you can’t just do it and then stop. I am planning to continue with regular maintenance workouts for as long as possible.
I’m also looking forward to doing simple things like taking a daily walk without having to worry about whether I can actually do it.
As an observer, I can say that the one thing that never changed with Gerry, regardless of his pain or disability, has been his positive outlook, his smile and his ability to be quick with a joke. If you can keep that up, half the battle has already been won. Medical Exercise Specialist Ernie Schramayr helps his clients manage medical conditions with exercise. You can follow him at erniesfitnessworld.com; 905-741-7532 or erniesfitnessworld@gmail.com