Another month down! I’ve made it to exercising at least 3 days a week, which is impressive considering I’m in a walking cast for the foreseeable future. As a reminder, I’m working my way up to 5 days a week of exercising at least 30 minutes when my body touches the ground. This means no cycling or using machines like the elliptical. as this is part of my osteoporosis treatment.

For details on why I’m in a walking cast and how I’m sticking with my plan to work out for 30 minutes at least 3 days a week, keep reading.

Check out all editions of these exercise diaries here.

I am not a medical professional and the things I’m doing are what my medical team has determined to be right for me. Please speak to your own doctors or physical trainers. Additionally, this blog post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Kate the (Almost) Great™!

Mat | Leggings | Sneakers

March 28, 2026, 

“Wow, Kate, didn’t you last write an entry almost a month ago?” Yeah … March was a Lot for me physically. 

I started the month waiting for my Rituxan. Then I got it, which always takes me 5 days to recover. Usually, I wake up on day 6 or 7, and I’m totally good. This time, I had 5 rough days pain-wide right after, and it always takes me a minimum of 2 days to recover from every 1 bad one. I was finally good some time this past week. 

So, while I did my best to move when I was able, it took me a while to get to where I could move for 30 minutes 3 days a week. This week, it has primarily been via strength-training exercises. 

These are exercises I got when doing the POTS CHOP protocol in 2019. They include various leg lifts, planks, squats, etc. I do 3 rounds of 8-10 reps each and instead of resting in between, I stretch. This way, I get my 30 minutes of exercise. 

I was going to walk the other day, but now that it’s warming up, my POTS is acting up. I thought I was going to faint while waiting for the pharmacist; there’s no way I could have walked without fainting after that.

As I mentioned, my goal for this next month is to do 30 minutes of exercise for at least 3 days a week. My Rituxan should kick in within the next week, so hopefully that will help. 

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Mask

April 16, 2026

While I’ve continued doing the exercises mentioned above, I’ve now added pilates to my routine, which I’m enjoying a lot. I always forget how much I enjoy pilates – it’s the only form of exercise that actually makes me happy to exercise – until I do it again. 

Since it has been a while since I’ve done it, I’ve followed 20-minute beginner’s pilates YouTube videos, and then cool-down stretches to get my 30 minutes. I’ve been following IsaWelly Pilates on YouTube, and they’re really great. 

Moving to Pilates has also been necessary because I, once again, have 3 stress fractures in my foot. They’re in the same 3 bones that have had fractures the last couple of years, so I’m headed to my orthopedic doc soon (aka The Man, The Myth, the Legend). This could be related to my osteoporosis – last year’s fractures are what led to my osteoporosis diagnosis – but my endocrinologist said it didn’t. We’ll see what The Man, The Myth, The Legend says. 

What makes pilates great is that basically everything is done on the ground and is about engaging the core. Pilates was actually created by Joseph Pilates, who had a history of asthma, rickets, and rheumatic fever (x). He developed his system – eventually known as pilates – while in an internment camp for German nationals during World War I, and eventually shared pilates with hospitalized patients who were unable to walk (x). 

Basically, it’s perfect for someone with a broken foot who needs to do exercise while touching the ground. 

While pilates is sometimes done with equipment, I won’t be doing that. As a reminder, the exercises I need to do have to be ones where my body is on the ground. I could exercise on an elliptical or a treadmill, but it wouldn’t count for my osteoporosis treatment/management, which is the whole point. 

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Mat

May 2, 2026

Well, pilates and my miscellaneous exercises are going to be what I do it from here on out. Not only am I in a walking cast, but I might need surgery. That is the worst-case scenario, but no matter what, I’ll be in this walking cast for several months. 

Basically, not only have these 3 bones broken, but one of them moved. I had a CT scan after my appointment to see the details – how much is healed? How badly did it move? If the bone heals exactly where it is right now, will that be a problem? I don’t know the answers to these yet as I haven’t had my follow-up appointment, but it really could go 50-50.

The other thing I learned at the appointment is that these are not new breaks; the very first breaks I got in 2024 never fully healed and then rebroke in 2025 and 2026. My bones already heal slowly – my 2018 fusion took twice as long as my 2009 one – and then you add osteoporosis and it’s a recipe for a walking cast.

But that means that this work I’m doing is important. While these broken bones are painful and annoying, my life is not significantly ruined or altered by these fractures, which would be the case if it were another joint. 

All of that to say that I need to stick to this program … with a walking cast.

While I could go for 30-minute walks, being in the walking cast messes up my gait, and I don’t think my hips or knees are going to be happy with me. There have been some days when I end up walking for 30 minutes, and I count that towards my weekly exercise goals. But I’m not planning on going for 30-minute walks to count toward my number of days per week that I exercise for 30 minutes. So pilates it is!

I’ve been following IsaWelly Pilates, especially because her videos are generally 20-30 minutes. If I do a 20-minute video, I do 10 minutes of stretching and yoga afterwards to get me to the full 30 minutes that I need. I really recommend her videos, especially because, other than a mat, you don’t need any extra tools. 

As I’ve said before, pilates is the only exercise that makes me understand why people like working out. I was an indoor kid before I was disabled and basically every single type of working out causes me more pain and/or POTS symptoms. Pilates is the best one for me, and I’m so grateful for YouTube creators for making accessing pilates easier and way cheaper.

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