Battle Log of the Child of Æsir: Part One: Iron

[Inked]

I claim this link as my own! 

 

Um, hi. I'm Inked- an American college student that got severely injured in a martial art and for the last year hasn't really been living so much as not dying. And I am tired of it. My parents are German and I grew up on stories of Donar and Wotan (Thor and Odin- their more common Norse names) and superheroes. (Yes, I do love the Thor comic line I just don't compare the two too much.) And you know what, it's time to finally start living up to my genes; my parents at their peak were insanely fit and strong and I've never known what that really is. 

 

I'll be posting here on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and noting my progress on fitness, nutrition and other life goals. 

 

Summer just started so I have 17 weeks and 1 day until the Fall Semester to get through my 'prequel' of sorts. After that, I want to keep going and finally feel alive. I've divided this into three general levels: 

 

Iron 

Steel 

Uru

 

Iron is my current state. I'll reach steel when I hit the following markers: 20% body fat (est 170 lbs); 20 one armed push ups; no back pain. 

Markers for the next level will be determined when I hit steel. 

 

Goals have been moved to here. 

 

Battle Plan

 

FOOD: We are eating primal based on our CSA share. Since it is spring that means lots of leafy greens. Right now most of the dairy is grass feed including the butter, milk and cream. We are aiming to only eat pasture raised or wild caught meat at this time.

 

 

EXERCISE: Yoga stretching every day without fail and when pain hits. I’ll be trying very gentle yoga on days without Aikido or personal training to try and strengthen my body holistically. I do Aikido in a limited fashion three times a week for up to two hours- depending on what my pain/ energy level that is that day.

 

 

PROFESSIONAL HELP: Right now I am working with a personal trainer twice a week for a ½ hour, a chiropractor 4 times a week and myofasical release for 1 hour a week.

 

OTHER: I’m adding in 30 minutes of additional chores. Over the last month, my doc banned me from doing anything but cooking to try and help me heal. This had put a lot of strain on my partner, who is doing his best to try and keep the house cleanish while being a graduate student. The 30 minutes will only include things that don’t make me lean down. So putting in the laundry, sweeping, prewashing dishes, etc. 

 

Progress 

 

Started beginner's yoga plan. 

1 day eating primal. 

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

Welcome to the Rebellion!!  So sorry you were badly injured studying a martial art, but glad to see you coming back!!

[Inked]

Chris, 

 

Thanks for the welcome. It was really a freak accident- I just got unlucky. I played sports as a kid (soccer mostly) and know that any type of serious team or competitive activity can have serious risk of injury. 

 

I'm actually here for support. People kind of tire of you when you are injured. I guess it's human nature. 

 

-Zoe

[bmacxtreme]

Well, this just delighted me to no end.  Welcome to the Rebellion!   As a historian, an bard of some small renown (a storyteller, anyway), and an avid comic book reader, all aspects of your description made me smile.  I wish you the absolute best in all your goals, and would love to follow your progress!

[Inked]

4.02.2014 

 

GENERAL: And by "Friday" I meant...well I did actually mean Friday but I figured it was more important to spend an extra 20 minutes stretching before bed rather than typing. Sorry folks, . 

 

So honestly spinal injury seems to have a cycle to it. You rest and things get less painful. And then, when you start to move again pain starts happening. Every time I've gotten better, this has happened. So if there is anyone out there injured and afraid to move because they'll break, I hear you. 

 

EXERCISE: I started the yoga class- the first week is just stretching. It was all upper body, so after getting that done I searched the site for a lower body one. It was 20 minutes. It was labeled safe for seniors. And I only could complete 10 minutes before the pain hit. During the last few months, I've had many lows. At one point, I couldn't go to the store without needing a nap afterwards to hide from the pain. But somehow, not being able to complete a senior video for stretching is the lowest I've hit. I'm 22 fwi. I have always been the very strong one- which helped console me about the extra weight I've always carried. And over the last few months I've had dozens of middle aged people telling me about their injuries. The ones that stopped them. 

 

And I thought of Talia al Ghul- at least the movie version- and the pit. I think that's where I am right now, at the very bottom. And I can accept it and die. Or I can fight and maybe come out. 

 

Beyond the philosophical note, I found out that people with very weak cores should avoid front bends at first. Apparently, I'm not ready to just do that cold. My working theory right now is that I have to build up my entire legs and core in order to help my back. My hamstrings are really tight, for example. I stretched probably and hour Friday and got to enjoy a really good massage. (Which is the only thing keeping my pain levels sane.) 

 

FOOD: Well, the first share of our CSA share came in. So much lettuce. But I do love radish microgreens. (I may be om nom noming on some right now.) Turned some pork bones into broth so soup was requested that night to bolster my BF for his exam tomorrow. We got nice loin cuts of pork. What a joy to work with! Normally, we grab the cheaper tougher cuts but this cut just melts in your hand. I sliced it very thin and each little strip had a tiny piece of fat at the end. Yum. Pork soup with vegetables was served alongside a cashew salad. 

 

We'll see what else I can think to do with leafy greens over the next 8 weeks.