Hermy G's Super Fantastic Between Challenge Workout Log of Silliness!

[Strawberry Squatcake]

Re: foot positioning... That's how the guys in HS used to tell us to put our feet. I can't remember why. But they also taught me the weird positioning for my hands. I'm not saying either are right or wrong. I'm still adjusting to benching on solid ground (with my platform). I still have the tendency to lift my feet up when I can't get a weight up, which goes against EVERYTHING. So I'm no help.

Here's my take on victim blaming: It's a way we (the blamers) get security out of a situation. For example, if a child is kidnapped, people blame the parents. Why? Because if they can find something the parents did wrong, then THAT is the cause, not the kidnapper. And while one CAN control doing said thing wrong, they CANNOT control a crazy-ass kidnapper. It's a weird self-soothing thing I think people do. Just like when women get raped, if we say it was because they were dressed "asking for it" then those saying that can assume they and the ones they love will avoid being raped if they "dress appropriately." You know, rather than realizing how EVERYONE is at risk, regardless of dress, what you say, etc. It's a weird psychological thing where the blamer is actually being kind of defensive/protective of his/her own fate. Or at least that's how I see it.

So if that girl hadn't sent pictures she never would have been a victim. But it wasn't her actions or her insecurity that caused it. But it's easier to say not to send naked pictures to a mostly-stranger (always good advice, but I'm not judging - hell, I have friends who if they send something to their military or otherwise constantly-away spouse don't send their face because "It's the internet, you never know!") or to be more secure in yourself than to admit that there are manipulative people out there who will do whatever they can, prey on people's weaknesses or tendencies. The manipulators are way scarier than saying, "Um, just don't do it."

Poor girl. How sad and embarrassing for her.

[aj_rock]

Lauraaaaaaaa apparently I'd lost my sub to this thread somehow someone wanna gimme a TL;DR of what the current discussion is?

[Strawberry Squatcake]

Lauraaaaaaaa apparently I'd lost my sub to this thread somehow someone wanna gimme a TL;DR of what the current discussion is?

I'm bad at remembering. But bench form (feet flat or on toes), lowering carbs on rest days (but still cycling - I think I'm saying that right), arm pain and tingling (and subsequent xrays), and... general Laura awesomeness. I'm sure I missed something.

[Rob__]

Victim blaming!

[Hermione Gainser]

Thanks for the thoughts on the bench stuff, y'all.   Re foot positioning: it's not what Rip suggests but since i"m not I'm going to compete or anything I'm going to continue to try this.  I still haven't found that article (which is annoying the crap out of me but been busy at work and home) but basically it's a way to help maintain the arch in the back. I find it's helping me maintain it without the weird pressure on my lower back.  The important part is I'm still pushing through the heels without allowing my hips or butt to come up. I did get a suggestion for widening the stance so I'll try that. 

 

I'm also way open if anyone has any (b/c I've yet to look) really good reasoning for not doing this food positioning (joint problems, temporary bandaid on an issue I should fix another way, etc). 

 

Seriously. Drop the knowledge.

 

Re: foot positioning... That's how the guys in HS used to tell us to put our feet. I can't remember why. But they also taught me the weird positioning for my hands. I'm not saying either are right or wrong. I'm still adjusting to benching on solid ground (with my platform). I still have the tendency to lift my feet up when I can't get a weight up, which goes against EVERYTHING. So I'm no help.

Here's my take on victim blaming: It's a way we (the blamers) get security out of a situation. For example, if a child is kidnapped, people blame the parents. Why? Because if they can find something the parents did wrong, then THAT is the cause, not the kidnapper. And while one CAN control doing said thing wrong, they CANNOT control a crazy-ass kidnapper. It's a weird self-soothing thing I think people do. Just like when women get raped, if we say it was because they were dressed "asking for it" then those saying that can assume they and the ones they love will avoid being raped if they "dress appropriately." You know, rather than realizing how EVERYONE is at risk, regardless of dress, what you say, etc. It's a weird psychological thing where the blamer is actually being kind of defensive/protective of his/her own fate. Or at least that's how I see it.

So if that girl hadn't sent pictures she never would have been a victim. But it wasn't her actions or her insecurity that caused it. But it's easier to say not to send naked pictures to a mostly-stranger (always good advice, but I'm not judging - hell, I have friends who if they send something to their military or otherwise constantly-away spouse don't send their face because "It's the internet, you never know!") or to be more secure in yourself than to admit that there are manipulative people out there who will do whatever they can, prey on people's weaknesses or tendencies. The manipulators are way scarier than saying, "Um, just don't do it."

Poor girl. How sad and embarrassing for her.

 

Re: feet.  A LOT of people have the problem with lifting hte feet (and then the butt) when the weight gets heavy. That's totally a common thing people need to fix.

 

I know, I feel for the girl. 

 

As always, I think you're on the mark. Very interesting stuff.

 

Lauraaaaaaaa apparently I'd lost my sub to this thread somehow someone wanna gimme a TL;DR of what the current discussion is?

 

Ajjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj! 

 

Pretty much what SS said below!  Silliness, workouts, foods. Woot!

I'm bad at remembering. But bench form (feet flat or on toes), lowering carbs on rest days (but still cycling - I think I'm saying that right), arm pain and tingling (and subsequent xrays), and... general Laura awesomeness. I'm sure I missed something.

 

I think that's pretty well covered.

 

Victim blaming!

 

The most depressing topic possible!

 

**

 Arm updates:

 

Went for x-rays on Friday (did I mention that? I forget).  Got the results back and it's something in my cervical spine (C5-C6) that's causing some swelling and some pinching (I need to re read the results in my inbox so this might be a little off haha).  Basically, Doc said it's definitely not workOUT related but work related. Greeeeat. So, I'm going to get in touch with my HR department (ha) and figure out what I can do.  The meds i'm on are not doing anything so far (and it's halfway through the cycle). I do not intend to continue these. 

 

I gave an awkward summary of my chiropractic but I think a more detailed visit and intensive chiro therapy will be the best bet. Here's hoping my doc thinks so, too (he said initially physical therapy, since chiro didn't work but I don't htink chiro didn't work I think I just got the sub chiro and it was a little weird).  Anyhow, still feeling bleh.

 

5/4/13

 

Went to the gym and did:

 

20-30 minutes of mobility work on lower body mostly (some upper in a very mild way--foam roller).

 

Decided to work on my single legged squats (pistols!).

 

Pistol work:

Got into pistol position (not from top down, just got into the bottom position) and held on each side while holding lightly onto cable machine. Did this 3x on each side. Attempted to get my leg to move me out of position. Laughed hysterically at how completely impossible that is.  Tried to focus on the proper positioning and feeling.

 

Grabbed pvc and second tallest box (tried for third but LOLS).  Raised one leg and worked on lowering myself to box and standing back up.  I used the pvc as a light brace against the ground for stability (knee protection).

 

lowering w/pvc: 2x6 each side

lowering w/o pvc: 1x6 each side

 

Walking lunges (no weight): 42/20

focused on form and really pushing through proper places.  I noticed some stuff when I did these in the mirror the other day so I'm trying to make sure weird hip doesn't do things weird hip wants to do.

 

more squat lowering: lols like 7 reps on each side to a bench at the cable row. yeah, not so much.

 

bodyweight squats: 3x10

 

bike: 17:30

various speeds, etc. just cycling to cycle.

 

Food:

Not sure if I was feeling the effects of carb flu or if the medicine was messing with me but I felt like sh*t on Friday. It was a very, very bad day. 

Saturday's refeed was awesome.  I eventually got full but didn't feel like sh*t from eating a ton of carbs, which I suspect is a good sign.

 

I was scheduled to do measurements on Sunday but forgot 1. b/c I've been taking hard core sleeping pills to combat the insomnia side effect of this med so I woke up too close to time to leave for grocery shopping (yes, I'm that scheduled). and 2. b/c another side effect is weight gain or water weight gain and while it had only been a day or two I wasn't really sure if it would have any effect.  That's mostly just me BSing myself.  

 

I did notice that I was not bloated on Sunday. I take that as another good sign my refeed was ok.

[weirdquark]

Woo, pistols! Those are hard, yo. I think starting from the bottom is extra hard because you probably don't have the tension you should from lowering yourself and turning it around, but my tension generally sucks on these things, so that could just be me.

[PrincessHeather]

Ditto what WQ said, pistols are hard... awesome job

 

I hope your HR is supportive in changing something about work to make your back/arm stuff better. Legally, accomodations have to be seriously considered, so ask!

[Damy]

Yay, pistols! I'm sure you already have the strength to pull them off - you just have to get used to the movement. Balancing is the hardest part. I found it helpful to do practice "close squats" first (feet together).

[Hermione Gainser]

Woo, pistols! Those are hard, yo. I think starting from the bottom is extra hard because you probably don't have the tension you should from lowering yourself and turning it around, but my tension generally sucks on these things, so that could just be me.

 

New life goal: pistol master. I read some stuff on programming them in with regular barbell strength work (a la t-nation) so I think this could be easily added to the mix for some fun.   I think that makes sense re tension.  I might try to see if I can use cables to lower myself and come back up (I think I got that suggestion off beastskills, maybe?). I'd be curious to see how it goes.  Mostly worried about wobbles and knee caving right now.  No more knee injuries in 2013!! (said in my best politician voice)

 

Ditto what WQ said, pistols are hard... awesome job

 

I hope your HR is supportive in changing something about work to make your back/arm stuff better. Legally, accomodations have to be seriously considered, so ask!

 

Thanks! Frealz, yo. 

 

Me too.  Given we're gov't I'm a little hesitant but it's so very needed. it's such a mess. 

Yay, pistols! I'm sure you already have the strength to pull them off - you just have to get used to the movement. Balancing is the hardest part. I found it helpful to do practice "close squats" first (feet together).

 

I knew something would get you out of the wood work!  Naturally, I thought of you as I wobbled all around.  I didn't think of close squats until I was already at the gym but I think that's a good call. Apparently, we have a copy of Convict Conditioning (whodathunkit?) so I'm going to take a gander.

[Morrigainz]

I don't know what kind of gov't you work for (local, state, feds) but I used to work for the facility office in my state gov't and we were always getting requests to adjust work surface heights and stuff like that. So unless you work for a really small gov't office, I would be surprised if they didn't have something like that already.

[Strawberry Squatcake]

At my work, it just took a doctor's note for any type of surgery (worker's comp-related type thing) or other rehab necessary. ANd since the doc sites it as work-related work has to pay for it.

Soooo... It's way cheaper to bring someone in to make your desk ergonomic or follow advice doc gives for desk setup.

On a side note: Work brought someone in to make my desk ergonomic (they offered it for the whole company). It actually made things worse. Partially, I think, becasue their suggestions weren't comfortable for various reasons - mainly the way these crappy cubicles are made. So I ended up switching mine back. BUT, work did pay for it, and if I had made a big stink, they prbably would have had to replace my desk. (Another guy in my dept had a similar problem but took his desk apart.)

[MasterOfCows]

I'm going to be following your pistols with great interest.  I was doing some assisted for awhile, but switched to BSS because I couldn't seem to get the hang of them.

[scotticus]

Pistols - very interesting.  Will follow and probably copy eventually...

[weirdquark]

I never got the hang of pistols. Maybe after all of the lunges I've been doing they'd be easier, but the lunges don't go as low as I would for pistols. For that range of motion I'd have to do split squats with my front foot raised. I suppose I could do the lunges stepping backwards off a step so my front foot is raised? Feels dangerous.

[IfItPlugsIn]

I've been meaning to try pistols too.  This girl I know tends to show me up at everything fitness-y.  Of course, she owns a gym, so it's her job to be impressive at this kind of thing.  Here's her pistol video from about 2 months ago... yeah, she's holding a  55lb kettlebell...

https://www.facebook.com/video/embed?video_id=10152632755405567

[Hermione Gainser]

I don't know what kind of gov't you work for (local, state, feds) but I used to work for the facility office in my state gov't and we were always getting requests to adjust work surface heights and stuff like that. So unless you work for a really small gov't office, I would be surprised if they didn't have something like that already.

 

At my work, it just took a doctor's note for any type of surgery (worker's comp-related type thing) or other rehab necessary. ANd since the doc sites it as work-related work has to pay for it.

Soooo... It's way cheaper to bring someone in to make your desk ergonomic or follow advice doc gives for desk setup.

On a side note: Work brought someone in to make my desk ergonomic (they offered it for the whole company). It actually made things worse. Partially, I think, becasue their suggestions weren't comfortable for various reasons - mainly the way these crappy cubicles are made. So I ended up switching mine back. BUT, work did pay for it, and if I had made a big stink, they prbably would have had to replace my desk. (Another guy in my dept had a similar problem but took his desk apart.)

 

My boss is being less than cool about it BUT I contacted our "HR" (yes, parentheses are necessary there) people and they have been very easy to work with. I'm out today and telecommuting tomorrow so we're going to get together on Friday and see what we can do.  Funnily enough, I picked up a fax (lols, fax) for a requisition for an ergonomic chair from one of the offices under ours.  Yeah, my boss has to approve that.  Asshat.

 

Anyhow, went through some of our storage areas and found a different desk that might be better. Yay!

I'm going to be following your pistols with great interest.  I was doing some assisted for awhile, but switched to BSS because I couldn't seem to get the hang of them.

Pistols - very interesting.  Will follow and probably copy eventually...

I never got the hang of pistols. Maybe after all of the lunges I've been doing they'd be easier, but the lunges don't go as low as I would for pistols. For that range of motion I'd have to do split squats with my front foot raised. I suppose I could do the lunges stepping backwards off a step so my front foot is raised? Feels dangerous.

I've been meaning to try pistols too.  This girl I know tends to show me up at everything fitness-y.  Of course, she owns a gym, so it's her job to be impressive at this kind of thing.  Here's her pistol video from about 2 months ago... yeah, she's holding a  55lb kettlebell...

https://www.facebook.com/video/embed?video_id=10152632755405567

 

Pistols are crazy, yo.  I was very surprised last night to have progressed as much as I did.  I've also been doing lots of walking lunges, BSS, and step ups as accessory work. I think they definitely help.

 

That video is awesome! I will conquer these!

 

I pinned a couple of articles to my fitness programming board on pinterest about them... check them out (if you follow me).

***

So I'm not sure if I'm falling into or out of carb flu regularly (though, they aren't that low), if my meds are FN me up, or if I'm actually fighting off some kind of sickness but yesterday, mid afternoon, I felt like crap.  Weirdly clammy, exhausted, cranky.  Had some magic bone broth and felt so much better. 

 

take away: broth is magic. You should be drinking it.

 

Later last night I had some weird lung stuff going on. I don't know how to describe it felt like I needed to cough a lot no matter how much I was coughing. Woke up today and feel a little sinusy but nothing else.

 

What is happening to me?! (okay, that was a little dramatic).

 

Anyhow, thanks to Nightlight, Squatcake, and Blueberries, I did get my ass to the gym last night even though I felt like shit.  and you know what?

 

 

^True freakin' story.

 

Here's what I did:

 

5/7/13

 

Mobility like a boss

 

Pistol Work:

• Lowered to second highest step: 8 each w/pvc; 7 each w/o pvc (where I realized this is now much easier)
• Grabbed next bench down, ditched the pvc and opted to work on lowering with one leg and attempting to raise up again with one or two legs--whichever felt right.
• Left down 1, up 2: 3/2;  Left down 1, up 1: 2/2
• Right down 1, up 2: 3/2;  Right down 1, up 1: 2/2

going to the lower bench was surprisingly easy given I couldn't do it last time (I tried) but I think it's a lot of getting used to the movement.

 

• Worked on lowering myself from the top down with a cable then switched to a band.  I just played around, got down once or twice but getting that movement is kind of hard when you're already holding something... so I think if I play some more it'll come.

DB BSS:

10x8

10x8

weight is per hand, reps per leg

I figured holding 10s would be okay since my lunch bag is heavier than that so it shouldn't bug my shoulder/neck. it did not feel heavy or bug it and I was careful not to scrunch.

 

BW Squats:

9/10/8

 

DB Reverse Lunges w/ Front Foot Elevated:

10x8

10x6

per hand, per leg like above

my legs were on fire. so much leg work

bringing back some nrolfw moves--haha!

again, no bother of upper body

 

Gymnastic Core:

superman, roll, v-up/boat hold, roll, repeat

Held each for 10 seconds, rolled, repeat 3x

 

Boat/V-up:

10/10

 

Bike:

13 minutes

1-3 warm up

3-5:30 various

5:30-11:30 30 second intervals

11:30-13 cool down

 

Today is last day for meds (that did not work), going to see my chiro today and talk to my doc about finally being able to work my upper body again.  While I enjoy this body weight (mostly) work I would like to be working my upper body. Come on, suns out-guns out, yo!

[Morrigainz]

Yay for going to the gym! Isn't it funny how sometimes when you feel the worst, you have the best workouts?

 

Poop about meds that didn't work, stupid boss, and all that nonsense.

 

I'm totally jazzed about your awesomeness though! Wooo!

[Max Power]

Not much time to respond, so I'll be quick.  

 

Joey is responding to the crappy stuff, Chandler is responding to the good things.  

 

[weirdquark]

I played around with pistols with a resistance band and couldn't get the hang of the balance. Possibly I also needed a stronger resistance band? Should work on that more.

[PrincessHeather]

Why are bosses such jerkholes? Seriously, the people around here don't want to listen to the rules... the union may or may not get an anonymous tip from someone who is technically not a union worker if things don't get better...

 

I hope the broth is continuing to work miracles and you feel super awesome soon!

[The Tin Man]

Oh. Yo.  Is Laura's battle log.

 

[Hermione Gainser]

Yay for going to the gym! Isn't it funny how sometimes when you feel the worst, you have the best workouts?

 

Poop about meds that didn't work, stupid boss, and all that nonsense.

 

I'm totally jazzed about your awesomeness though! Wooo!

Right! Woot for good workouts Thanks!!!

 

Not much time to respond, so I'll be quick.  

 

Joey is responding to the crappy stuff, Chandler is responding to the good things.  

 

Friends and efficiency. I like it!

 

I played around with pistols with a resistance band and couldn't get the hang of the balance. Possibly I also needed a stronger resistance band? Should work on that more.

 

It's a really weird way to play with them, I think. 

 

Why are bosses such jerkholes? Seriously, the people around here don't want to listen to the rules... the union may or may not get an anonymous tip from someone who is technically not a union worker if things don't get better...

 

I hope the broth is continuing to work miracles and you feel super awesome soon!

 

Seriously! It baffles me...

 

Oh. Yo.  Is Laura's battle log.

 

 

!!! Tinmannnnnnn! best.gif.ever.

 

***

 

Hai. I feel like shit. I am officially ruling out carb flu but I've yet to determine if this is something legit or med related.  I took the last of those seriously heinous drugs on Wed morning. I went to see my chiropractor (since the meds didn't work). She beat the hell out of me (which I'm sure isn't helping) and at some point Wed afternoon I went from "hahaha chatty with friend hahaha" to "omgkillmenowplz".  Seriously. I went to the restroom and came back and it was done. Super dehydrated (despite guzzling water), weird sinus stuff. I don't know. There seems to be a delay in the insomnia side effect of the drugs because now that I'm off them it's out of control. I got ~3 hours of sleep Wed night and not much more last night.

 

So yeah, no workout yesterday. I left the bed to make food (all good-go me) and do a little mobility.  My entire upper body is swollen from my incredibly painful chiro appointment. Holy hell.

 

So now I need to contact my doc. I'm going to ask to cont the chiro and put off the PT because it seems a little more logical to me that fixing my bones is what is going to fix my bones. I mean, I have no idea what PT would or could do (anyone know?) but he sounded like he'd prefer chiro but misunderstood what I said about my experience.

 

Hey, I'm babbling.

 

I'm also getting a little tired of not working out my upper body.  Yes, I realize I may need to just lay off, but I really can't see how letting my muscles weaken is going to help in the long run.  Right? Right.  So, what to do now... I really don't know.  I'm going to reach out to both docs and see what they say.

 

In the meantime, I'll be at work... not functioning properly. 

[Strawberry Squatcake]

OK, way behind here. I won't even pretend to have read everything. But, I'm sorry you're still feeling crappy. I hope your sleep improved last night. I have no idea what kind of tapering out of your system time frame something like that has. But, ugh. Not enough sleep is the worst. Worse, I think, than being sick. But that's probably just me.

I think if what you're doing directly affects what's hurt, that's a good reason to lay off of a specific workout. But, maybe your doc doesn't know enough about what you're doing to know what specifically you need to lay off of so he's making more of a blanket statement. I don't know much about nerves and whatnot, but if there are muscles coming to play in your pain (weak, etc.), I could see PT helping with that, but I think you'd know what your issue was. Kinda like me with the grandma hip, I kept thinking it was a weakness somewhere, but wasn't sure where to go, and going to the chiro WASN'T the answer for me (although I tried it twice just in case!). In my case, I think PT would have been a better choice, but I never went to the doc, so I never had that referral.

My point is, I think you know your body well enough to follow your gut. If you think chiro's the answer, your doc will probably be fine enough with taking that path. If it doesn't work, it's not like the PT's going anywhere. On the other hand, if you did PT first, but felt like it wasn't the right answer, you'd probably be thinking the whole time, "I should be at the chiro." So follow your heart and brain, young Laura. It knows what it wants!

And here's to sleep!
 

[weirdquark]

I think if you can find upper body stuff that doesn't hurt then go for it? I know with nerve pain for sciatica strengthening the muscles is good because it can take pressure off the nerve; you just need to be careful not to do anything that will aggravate it more.

[Hermione Gainser]

OK, way behind here. [...]

And here's to sleep!

 

 

I completely agree.  Being tired makes all other ailments feel worse.. so I wish for some sleep soon. Please, sleep, please!  

 

I think if you can find upper body stuff that doesn't hurt then go for it? I know with nerve pain for sciatica strengthening the muscles is good because it can take pressure off the nerve; you just need to be careful not to do anything that will aggravate it more.

 

Did I ever post what it is? I forget if I told y'all. Anyhow, this is from the results they sent me:

 

There is mild narrowing of C5-C6 intervertebral disc space with small bridging osteophytes impinging on the neural foramina, more so on the right. No other significant abnormality is noted in the vertebral bodies, intervertebral disc spaces, posterior elements are prevertebral soft tissue swelling. There is straightening of the cervical curvature probably due to muscle spasm. The vertebral alignment is normal.

 

I don't know what half of that really means, but I do get that I have some degenerative disc stuff going on. This is also pretty in line with what my chiro found last year when I went for a similar issue. It appears I didn't maintain it or didn't fix it entirely last time since it's back with a vengeance. Lamesauce.

 

In terms of workouts, that's what is hard to gauge. Nothing hurts. And the only activities that seem to aggravate it (read: make it tingle more) are driving and sitting at my work desk.  I can think of a couple of stretches that generally bother the area (like if Im not careful they'll cause my shoulders to shrimp up) so, obviously, none of that.  But generally, the exercises don't make it feel better or worse... just like if I do laundry or dishes... the tingle is just there.  Granted, I did initially notice a decrease in strength/stability of my bench and my squat rack. 

 

So yeah, not sure.  I definitely feel like it would be foolish to go squat and deadlift all the weights, so that's certainly off the table.  But I might play around and see if I can find something that doesn't cause any trouble.

 

I did reach out to both doctors. My PCP already responded exactly as I thought he would (don't do anything) and I'm waiting to hear back from the chiro.  I'm inclined to believe he's being a little over general since I no longer like him and he told me to do the elliptical or bike (oh! add bike to things that aggravate it). So, yeah, his credibility with me is diminishing. Frustration!  But, obviously, he is  a doctor and far smarter than me about all this body stuff... so I don't want to completely disregard his advice.

 

He did give the okay to see the chiro. He said, "at least 3 appointments."  So, plus 1 for that.

 

anyhow, this is mostly me rambling and may or may not have anything to do with what I've quoted above. But hey, I'm sick and sleep deprived. I'll allow it.