[Harriet]

8 hours ago, Alanna said:

 

Super secret recipe for making Unexpected Tea:

 

  Hide contents

1) Make tea.

2) Drink about half.

3) Do something else for about an hour or two.

4) Realise you still have tea. 

5) Be joyful because there is more tea.

 

(Spoiler: it's cold tea that you've forgotten about - but he gets excited every time. I think it's a British thing.)

 

 

Well this sounds terrible, as tea is best when fresh and rapidly devalues as it cools.

[Alanna]

4 hours ago, Harriet said:

Well this sounds terrible, as tea is best when fresh and rapidly devalues as it cools.

 

Indeed - I found a nice illustration of tea temperature vs drinkability:

 

 

Although you could then start adding ice to it, but I think that would be sacrilegious here.

 

I'm realising that I should be the source of unexpected tea - the trick will just be not over-caffeinating him. Best to stick to rooibos. 

 

[Scaly Freak]

Spellbound continues to go well, and it's increasingly obvious that the workouts are targeting muscles that my barbell lifting tends to overlook, so that is a good bonus effect from switching up my workouts. Spellbound is overly fond of all kinds of lunges though, and as a result my right knee is screaming at me in ways that imply my lunge form is garbage. This needs to be fixed, since lifting my own weight with improper form seems like a very easy way to injure myself. Pointers welcomed and appreciate... I think my feet are too close together, but I could be wrong there.

 

Funny, and slightly ironic timing that @h3r0 and @Alanna might appreciate the humor of: 

Yesterday evening, I'm sitting in my dragon cave playing my Yakuza game when I see Husband's hand wave at the edge of my field of vision, trying to get my attention. So I pause the game and it turns out he has been searching for his Kindle for over a day now, and can't find it.... because I forgot to tell him I put his Kindle in the bookshelf, on top of a row of books, when I tidied up in the dragon cave a couple of days ago.....

 

[h3r0]

9 minutes ago, Scaly Freak said:

Funny, and slightly ironic timing that @h3r0 and @Alanna might appreciate the humor of: 

Yesterday evening, I'm sitting in my dragon cave playing my Yakuza game when I see Husband's hand wave at the edge of my field of vision, trying to get my attention. So I pause the game and it turns out he has been searching for his Kindle for over a day now, and can't find it.... because I forgot to tell him I put his Kindle in the bookshelf, on top of a row of books, when I tidied up in the dragon cave a couple of days ago.....

 

[Scaly Freak]

Yeah... oooops.

 

Not my finest moment.

[Alanna]

1 hour ago, Scaly Freak said:

So I pause the game and it turns out he has been searching for his Kindle for over a day now, and can't find it.... because I forgot to tell him I put his Kindle in the bookshelf, on top of a row of books, when I tidied up in the dragon cave a couple of days ago.....

 

Only an n = 2 so far, but it seems there might be a gender disparity in perceptions of "best place to put a kindle" . I am also mildly amused that he waited over a day to ask you for help.

 

1 hour ago, Scaly Freak said:

Spellbound is overly fond of al kinds of lunges though, and as a result my right knee is screaming at me in ways that imply my lunge form is garbage. This needs to be fixed, since lifting my own weight with improper form seems like a very easy way to injure myself. Pointers welcomed and appreciate... I think my feet are too close together, but I could be wrong there.

 

Are you having any knee pain with squats right now, too, or just the lunges?

 

If I remember correctly, you want your knee in line with your toe (not caving in or out) - maybe something else to add to the troubleshooting checklist. 

[Scaly Freak]

18 minutes ago, Alanna said:

Only an n = 2 so far, but it seems there might be a gender disparity in perceptions of "best place to put a kindle" . 

 

Or at least in the perception of "best place to put someone else's kindle"  

 

21 minutes ago, Alanna said:

Are you having any knee pain with squats right now, too, or just the lunges?

 

If I remember correctly, you want your knee in line with your toe (not caving in or out) - maybe something else to add to the troubleshooting checklist. 

 

Squats too, though they only cause pain in one knee. Knee in line with the toes makes sense, Since the lunge does the same knee joint movement as a squat, and that would also make the foot placement (apart or close together) important, since the angle of the foot and ankle determines if the knee goes straight up and down, or not.

 

Since there is still pain when I do certain movements I am going to rest the knees for at least a day or two, and then try again, with very slow lunge movements so I can focus on getting the form down, before I get too far into the Spellbound program. Form must be respected!

[Alanna]

1 hour ago, Scaly Freak said:

Squats too, though they only cause pain in one knee.

What part of your knee hurts? E.g. top, bottom, outside (lateral), inside (medial), everything... I'm just wondering if there is a muscle (glutes) issue that is contributing to the problem, like the knee pain issue I was having earlier this challenge. That would be convenient since it's the one type of knee pain I know how to address! 

 

1 hour ago, Scaly Freak said:

Or at least in the perception of "best place to put someone else's kindle"  

 

Haha very true! 

[Scaly Freak]

3 minutes ago, Alanna said:

What part of your knee hurts?

 

It hurts in the ligament I injured when I was young(-er) and stupid(-er) and didn't pay attention to form while attempting a heavy barbell squat - the medial collateral one, better known as the MCL. Specifically, the upper part of the MCL in my right knee, the part of the ligament that attaches to the femur, is where the pain is. Just like last time. So the way I see it, the silver lining here is that I know what it is and roughly how to treat it (rest and anti-inflammatories), and I stopped doing lunges with bad form before the pain/irritation converted into an actual injury. 

 

And now I am determined to fix the form issue, so I don't reinjure myself the moment I try to do lunges again, after the knee has recovered.  

[Elastigirl]

5 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

So I pause the game and it turns out he has been searching for his Kindle for over a day now, and can't find it.... because I forgot to tell him I put his Kindle in the bookshelf, on top of a row of books, when I tidied up in the dragon cave a couple of days ago.....

I can not relate to this at all. I never get into tidy mode, and put stuff where hubby (or my self ) can't find it later. Nope. 

[KB Girl]

Hm for lunges it's good to remember that unlike with squats it's better to not let the knee go (too far) over the toes. It helps to have a little bit wider stance, as you thought.. and it helps to turn out the toes a little bit to help prevent the knee from caving in. Reverse lunges are a little bit friendlier on the knees than stepping out lunges and an option for in-between is walking lunges, so you're stepping out but not 'stepping back up' (which is the trickiest part for the knee). 

 

If you have an elastic band you could try ehm.. I think it translates into "reactive tracking"? but I'm not sure- the idea is that you get the elastic band to pull your knee inwards and as a reaction you will automatically do what is necessary to prevent your knee from falling in. This is one of the things we use for knee rehab, it really helps relearn lunges and reinforces what to do to prevent that knee collapse. 

Spoiler

He's added a bit of movement at the end, just to make maximum use of the tracking effect, but you don't have to, to get the basic effect. 

 

ETA: people also tend to forget to brace properly when they're not lifting barbells, worth checking out if it helps to focus on that. 

[Scaly Freak]

4 hours ago, KB Girl said:

If you have an elastic band you could try ehm.. I think it translates into "reactive tracking"? but I'm not sure- the idea is that you get the elastic band to pull your knee inwards and as a reaction you will automatically do what is necessary to prevent your knee from falling in. 

 

While I don't actually know the "real" name for this exercise, I know exactly what you're talking about. I used to see people do these at the gym all the time, with both lunges and squats. I don't have that kind of elastic bands at home, unfortunately, but if this becomes a long-term thing I am certainly open to purchasing a set. Accumulating home workout equipment is a noble goal, and equipment that prevents injury is the noblest goal of them all.

 

The rest of your post tracks with what I observed on my own as well, the knee was fine after the first workout where all the lunges were reverse lunges. It was the third that did standard lunges and  lots of side lunges that caused the issue.... I will come back to your post when the knee has stopped hurting, and apply your suggestions when I start the workouts back up again. (I do forget to brace when there isn't a barbell to balance. Good reminder!)

[Mistr]

I hope your knee recovers quickly. I agree that lunges require a lot of balance and activation of supporting muscles. My PT had me doing floating reverse lunges for a while. Those are hard, even when holding on to a support for balance.

 

I took a look at Spellbound at your suggestion. It looks like a fun way to approach a challenge. Not what I'm looking for at the moment, but maybe later this spring or summer.

[Scaly Freak]

1 hour ago, Mistr said:

I hope your knee recovers quickly. I agree that lunges require a lot of balance and activation of supporting muscles. 

 

I struggle with the balance unless I go very slowly, and I'm convinced the resulting wobbles have contributed to the knee issue. In an effort to learn from past mistakes, I am doing my careful daily testing of knee bends (squats, slow reverse lunge)  with a hand against a nearby wall for balance.  My plan is to partially resume workouts when I can do one full, slow, lunge without pain. 

[KB Girl]

7 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

 

While I don't actually know the "real" name for this exercise, I know exactly what you're talking about. I used to see people do these at the gym all the time, with both lunges and squats. I don't have that kind of elastic bands at home, unfortunately, but if this becomes a long-term thing I am certainly open to purchasing a set. Accumulating home workout equipment is a noble goal, and equipment that prevents injury is the noblest goal of them all.

 

The rest of your post tracks with what I observed on my own as well, the knee was fine after the first workout where all the lunges were reverse lunges. It was the third that did standard lunges and  lots of side lunges that caused the issue.... I will come back to your post when the knee has stopped hurting, and apply your suggestions when I start the workouts back up again. (I do forget to brace when there isn't a barbell to balance. Good reminder!)

Great! Very happy to be useful  

[Alanna]

On 1/26/2022 at 12:24 AM, Scaly Freak said:

 

It hurts in the ligament I injured when I was young(-er) and stupid(-er) and didn't pay attention to form while attempting a heavy barbell squat - the medial collateral one, better known as the MCL. Specifically, the upper part of the MCL in my right knee, the part of the ligament that attaches to the femur, is where the pain is. Just like last time. So the way I see it, the silver lining here is that I know what it is and roughly how to treat it (rest and anti-inflammatories), and I stopped doing lunges with bad form before the pain/irritation converted into an actual injury. 

 

And now I am determined to fix the form issue, so I don't reinjure myself the moment I try to do lunges again, after the knee has recovered.  

 

Ah a previous injury flaring up sucks but at least makes it easy to figure out your next steps, as you said. 

 

On 1/26/2022 at 11:30 AM, KB Girl said:

If you have an elastic band you could try ehm.. I think it translates into "reactive tracking"? but I'm not sure- the idea is that you get the elastic band to pull your knee inwards and as a reaction you will automatically do what is necessary to prevent your knee from falling in.

I've done this with squats before with one of the small looped bands. It's cool to see how the same principle can be applied to lunges - thank you for sharing the video!

 

 

[Scaly Freak]

Knee testing progress, all with bodyweight:

 

Squat - Pain free

Reverse lunge - Pain free

Standard lunge - Pain free

Side lunge - OUCH

 

All kinds of lunges used to be ouch, so this is progress.

 

I tested out @Mistr's shoulder rehab exercises yesterday evening, using a can of food from the pantry as a small light weight for the various lifting. Went really well until Happy Sidekick came into the room to see what I was doing on the floor, and noticed that the object I was moving in a regular and predictable pattern was... food shaped! I'm sure her attempts to sniff at and explore the can while I was attempting to do arm lifts with proper form looked hilarious. Thankfully, I was near the end of the exercises so she didn't derail things too much.  

 

I also started reading Terciel & Elinor, that was recomended in @Alanna's thread. Undead with a twist... I like it so far.

[Harriet]

6 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

Knee testing progress, all with bodyweight:

 

Squat - Pain free

Reverse lunge - Pain free

Standard lunge - Pain free

Side lunge - OUCH

 

All kinds of lunges used to be ouch, so this is progress.

 

Excellent! I hope the knee upgrades continue.

[Alanna]

8 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

Went really well until Happy Sidekick came into the room to see what I was doing on the floor, and noticed that the object I was moving in a regular and predictable pattern was... food shaped! 

(Wrong type of pet, I know, but in the general spirit of pets getting in the way!)

 

8 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

 

I also started reading Terciel & Elinor, that was recomended in @Alanna's thread. Undead with a twist... I like it so far.

 

I'll be interested to hear what you think of it as an intro to the world - I enjoyed it but partly as nostalgia for the first (in terms of when they were written) three books. Since it's a prequel, I also had spoilers when I read it, and I'm really curious how it reads without that insider knowledge! 

 

I'm glad your knee is improving!

[Harriet]

1 hour ago, Alanna said:

(Wrong type of pet, I know, but in the general spirit of pets getting in the way!)

 

How is that cat so small? My cat climbed onto my back when I was stretching/reading the other day and she took up all the space from shoulders to butt. Not including tail.

[Scaly Freak]

6 hours ago, Alanna said:

I'll be interested to hear what you think of it as an intro to the world - I enjoyed it but partly as nostalgia for the first (in terms of when they were written) three books. Since it's a prequel, I also had spoilers when I read it, and I'm really curious how it reads without that insider knowledge! 

 

Well, the summary/blurb on the library website already gave me a big spoiler  

 

Spoiler

"This prequel to the Old Kingdom series tells the story of how Sabriel's parents, Terciel and Elinor, met."

 

Not very far into it yet (I got side-tracked by Yakuza-related adventures last night), but I like how Nix writes, and I like that at least for the first couple of chapters the reader isn't expected to have insider knowledge of the setting. I'm sure there are in-jokes that I'm missing, but who cares about those?  

 

4 hours ago, Harriet said:

 

How is that cat so small? 

 

Perhaps the human simply is very tall?

[Scaly Freak]

AHA! Side lunges are pain free unless I am completely careless with form and go to fast. On to Spellbound, Chapter 4! 

[Jupiter]

5 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

AHA! Side lunges are pain free

 

Yay!  

[Harriet]

12 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

Perhaps the human simply is very tall?

 

I watched the gif again, and although it pleased me to imagine the yoga woman was actually a giant, I concluded that no, the cat is small. I can tell because my cat has an incredible gravity about her. You can see the heaviness, it's visually distinctive. You can also hear it when she approaches.

[Alanna]

On 1/29/2022 at 2:25 PM, Harriet said:

How is that cat so small? My cat climbed onto my back when I was stretching/reading the other day and she took up all the space from shoulders to butt. Not including tail.

 

I've known a few petite cats - maybe it is a combination of genetics and early life nutrition (especially for stray cats)? 

 

My old cat could fit comfortably in the small of my back - in fact, that was one of her favourite spots and I have a few photos of her laying there!

 

22 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

Well, the summary/blurb on the library website already gave me a big spoiler  

 

 

Haha indeed - I think that spoiler was on the Kindle blurb too. I guess they decided to mostly advertise to readers who were already familiar with that world... Glad you are enjoying it so far, regardless!