Overall, Month 5 of the Modified Levine Protocol went well. There were some hiccups, but I have adjusted and made it through. The most encouraging thing is that my body is adjusting to upright exercise and I am feeling closer to where I was a month or two ago.
What month 5 is like
This month has two strength training days per week along with 2-3 base pace days, 1 MSS day, 1 recovery workout day, and 1 rest day. The base pace workouts go up to 60 minutes in length, which is a lot. The MSS workouts go up to 40 minutes. Even though those lengths seem crazy, I still think month 2 was the most challenging. After a certain point, the increase in time becomes arbitrary because you’re already in decent cardiovascular shape. I always felt that way as a long-distance runner as well.
The training modes are 2 and 3 which means upright bike, treadmill walking, or elliptical. I don’t have access to any of those pieces of equipment, so I did full upright cardio without equipment. I explain what I did for each workout type in the notes.
Notes
- For warm-ups I have been doing 10 minutes of physical therapy exercises.
- For cool-downs I do 10 minutes of walking or active stretching/mobility exercises.
- Recovery days– I did yoga using Beachbody on Demand (BOD) or Fightmaster Yoga. I used to not be able to do much yoga, but I can tolerate it now and that’s pretty awesome.
- Base pace days– The first half of the month I did Cize or Hip Hop Abs on BOD, or walked. The second half of the month, I walked outside or walked in place/did aerobics moves inside. I will explain the switch below.
- MSS days– I stuck with doing the CVX workout from P90X3 (Beachbody). I modify it a bit to keep it low impact and gentle on my knees.
- Strength training– Continued doing P.volve twice per week.
Bummer
My knee started having issues ever since I started dance cardio. As much as I was enjoying it, I had to stop. Luckily, I have had this issue, chondromalacia, numerous times throughout my running career. So, I know what it is and how to handle it.
For acute care, I iced to bring down the swelling. For the long-term, in addition to discontinuing dance cardio, I am doing physical therapy exercises and stretches to warm-up each day. I was already doing these things to an extent, but I kicked it up a notch.
The fullness and uncomfortable feeling in my joint has already improved a lot since implementing these changes, so I am optimistic about it.
Update: I learned how to moonwalk. Naturally I started moonwalking everywhere because why wouldn’t you. It turns out that it is ill-advised for chondromalacia as well. So, I guess I will have to moonwalk in moderation ;).
Extra mobility work
My husband is very inflexible. He has been asking me to do something with him to keep him accountable. I have also been feeling very stuck in the way of flexibility. So, in the evenings we have been doing a flexibility program together called Beyond Flexibility. We are digging it (Okay, my husband is tolerating it). I am already noticing gains in mobility. It is very different from anything I have done so far. It is not long holds in various poses, but rather deliberate movement to train your body to accept more mobility. Although it is active, it is not tiring. So, I have been tolerating it well, even in the evenings.
How I’ve been feeling
Overall, I have been doing better this month. There have been some crashes, rough patches, and a never-ending cold virus. However, I am encouraged by where my average day is at. I have felt less “gassed” during exercise as well. After month 3, I said I was functioning around a solid 60-65%. Last month, I didn’t really gauge because I didn’t feel it was productive, so I don’t have a number on it. Let’s just say worse ;). This month, for reference’s sake, I would say I bounce between 50-65% functionality. So, some days as good as month 3, but less stable. The farther I continue with the upright exercise, the more stable I will get with it.
Now that I am several months into the protocol I can speak to its effectiveness; I have noticed an improvement in POTS symptoms. It has not been a linear improvement. In fact, sometimes I have felt worse. But, it has been worth it in the long-run. Here are the improvements that I would attribute to the protocol:
- Modest improvements in energy and stamina in day-to-day life. Each month of the protocol adds extra challenges that throw my body for a loop. So, it has both positive and negative impacts on energy levels. I think when I plateau at the end of the protocol, I will see an extra boost in energy.
- Less lightheadedness upon standing– I get pre-syncopal much less frequently, even when I stand up after crouching down which used to “get me” every time.
- Better physical condition
- Less “gassed” feeling in muscles. I’m not positive how much of this is attributed to the protocol or to Mestinon, to be honest. I’m guessing it is a combination.
- Shorter “crashes”– I notice that when I have an energy crash, it has a shorter duration.
Looking ahead
Month 6 continues with full upright cardio, as much as the individual can tolerate. It looks fairly similar to month 5, perhaps a little more intensive. The newest thing will be the introduction of interval training (ex. 3×1 minute intervals at near maximum effort). I’m not quite sure what training mode I will use to accomplish that. Although I don’t have any plans to return to long-distance running, I may find a grassy area to sprint out the intervals. Whatever I do, I need to be mindful of my knee and avoid lateral motions. Honestly, interval training sounds insane. If you would have told me several months ago that I would be trying to sprint out intervals, I’d tell you that you are nuts. I am looking forward to the challenge and the benefits it will translate to my day-to-day life.
Other Modified Levine Protocol posts
Modified Levine Protocol Intro and Month 1 Recap
Modified Levine Protocol- Month 2
Modified Levine Protocol- Bonus Time
Modified Levine Protocol- Month 3
Modified Levine Protocol- Month 4
Modified Levine Protocol- Month 6
Modified Levine Protocol- Month 7
Modified Levine Protocol- Month 8 and Final Thoughts
Link to the Modified Levine Protocol Program
Modified Levine Protocol Program
Has anyone else done Month 5 of the Modified Levine Protocol? Anyone else doing it at all? How is it going?
Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. Statements on this site are not meant to be taken as medical advice. These statements reflect my personal experiences having mild-ish post-viral POTS and ME. Due to the wide spectrum of these diseases, comorbidities, and everyone being different, your experiences may be very different than mine.
Note: If you post a comment, this site does NOT have a feature to notify you of responses to your comment. I have not found a good solution for that yet. However, I usually respond to every comment in a timely manner, so be sure to check back.
6 Comments
Thanks for the explanation of how the protocol has helped/is helping and impacting your POTS symptoms. 😘
So how does the Levine Protocol help in day to day living with POTS? Can you explain a bit more to us? Does it give you more energy or make you feel faint less often? I do remember when you couldn’t even walk up a flight of stairs or you’d need to rest after a simple task, so it’s clearly helped to recondition your body as you work on muscles. But in terms of the POTS and the symptoms from it how do you feel the Levine Protocol is helping or improving those? Thanks!
Good question. I will edit the post to be more specific about that, thanks.