Rooks - Tracking the Daily Grind...

[The Most Loathed]

I was super glad to hear that the kiddos tumor is behaving. I have no idea what it's like to be in your shoes but I commend you for plugging away day in and day out. You seem to find a good balance between doing "normal" things for your sanity and doing what your family needs to help your daughter.

 

 

[Sloth the Enduring]

That's great to hear Rooks.

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[miss_marissa]

Great news about your daughter!!! 

[Xena]

Great news about your daughter!

And I'll pledge 1000 mountain climbers, because why the hell not.

[Pat G]

That is heartening news about your poppet Rooks, also, your small group gathering again is awesome too! Those relationships and the fellowship you get from people like that is so solidifying. 

[Rooks]

20 hours ago, The Most Loathed said:

I was super glad to hear that the kiddos tumor is behaving. I have no idea what it's like to be in your shoes but I commend you for plugging away day in and day out. You seem to find a good balance between doing "normal" things for your sanity and doing what your family needs to help your daughter.

 

Honestly, you adapt.  She's got to be taken care of and I know I need to take care of myself to better take care of her.  And so you keep plugging, like you said.  

 

18 hours ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

That's great to hear Rooks.

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18 hours ago, miss_marissa said:

Great news about your daughter!!! 

 

13 hours ago, Xena said:

Great news about your daughter!

And I'll pledge 1000 mountain climbers, because why the hell not.

 

Thanks for the kind words all.  And right on, Xena!  For the Horde!

 

6 hours ago, Pat G said:

That is heartening news about your poppet Rooks, also, your small group gathering again is awesome too! Those relationships and the fellowship you get from people like that is so solidifying. 

 

Indeed.  Our small group was so tight knit when we were at that church.  It was so hard to say goodbye.  But we can still get together like nothing's changed even after a few years.  Got to love human bonds.  

[Rooks]

So my boss took a huge dump all over my planned schedule for yesterday and sadly that meant a lot of stuff got pushed off the calendar, mainly which was my workout.  #sadpanda  And, due to some frustrations from that, I felt the need to have a few drinks last night.  Too many drinks.  Not brutally hung-over, but slowed significantly this morning.  

 

That said, an extra cup of coffee and an extra 16oz of water and I felt pretty solid.  Got a nice little workout in today, centered completely on the Ranger Mini-Challenge.

 

 

So side story from this weekend that I'd be curious to hear what others would have done.  So about 2:30am on Sunday morning, my wife and I were awoke by someone pounding on our front door and ringing our door bell.  I cautiously went to the front window to try eavesdrop on who it was / what was happening, but sadly I only could hear muffled voices that weren't talking very loud.  I didn't want to try to open the blinds as that would immediately indicate I was awake.  After a couple minutes of this, the kiddo start to rouse from slumber.  At this point, I felt I had to do something, so I told the wife I was going out the back door without keys and she should lock the door behind me.  If I wasn't back in 5 minutes, look out the window and figure out what was going on / potentially call the cops.

 

So I went out the door, and came around the back to find a young gentleman pacing on the sidewalk and a young lady sitting on our front step.  They didn't notice me until I stepped out from the shadows and said "What is going on and why are you pounding on my door?"  I was promptly met with requests to use my cell phone as they desperately needed to call someone.  They told me I could dial for them, so I conceded.  Call some number three times.  Each time it went to voicemail and after the 3rd time, the female started sobbing and was almost hysterical, talking about she was going to be killed by dogs while walking home.  I could tell she was quite drunk.  I wasn't so sure on the young man as he seemed much calmer, but I believe he had something in his system.  Anyway, at this point, I started prodding the male for a bit more information and got a story about how they got locked out of some family member's house due to some big fight.  No phones, no wallets, etc.  I never got information about where they had come from, so I have no real idea how they choose my house as my house it is the middle of a block. 

 

We had now been chatting for a good 5 minutes so I felt that I needed to decide what to do pretty quick.  Despite being tired, I was honestly feeling pretty bad for these two.  They didn't appear to any sort of threat.  She seemed very scared, and he was just trying to get her home.  I decided to be nice and offer them a ride home.  Told them to stay put, and I'd be back in once I got a shirt and keys.  They both sat down and hung tight.  I went in, got the keys, came back out, and we loaded up in the car.  They lived about 4.5 miles south of my place in pretty rough neighborhood, so it would have been a sketchy walk for sure.  Either way, I dropped them off at a house that I was told was their parents place and went home.  Haven't heard from them again, not that I expected it.  So yeah... after I dropped them off and was driving home, I honestly wondered if I should have done it.  

My wife asked the next morning (once coffee had been consumed) why we hadn't just got them a cab ride home.  Would have been a much better option assuming I was willing to put in some amount of value to get them home (whether it be time or money).  Maybe next time...  

 

[Aerisand]

@Rooks I'm not sure I know what I would've done. I usually go with my gut. Seems like you went with yours.

First, if I have the resources to help (car or money), then I can consider those. I usually don't have them, so my decision making goes kinda different XD 

I think it was ok for you to drive them, since then you know they got home ok. Taxis sometimes take advantage of people not in their full senses.

If you didn't feel comfortable driving them, cuz gut feeling, then it would've also been ok to send them there.

If you didn't have the resources, or weren't sure what to do about them, then it'd been fine to ask around for help or point them in the right direction to ask.

 

Heh, so many possibilities.

[Sloth the Enduring]

I'm cynical. I would have assumed it was a scam for money. Beyond that I'm not sure what I would have done beyond gone with my gut. I'm glad it worked out for you.

[Rooks]

28 minutes ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

I'm cynical. I would have assumed it was a scam for money. Beyond that I'm not sure what I would have done beyond gone with my gut. I'm glad it worked out for you.

 

Oddly, I'm not even sure it did.  Who knows if I dropped these two off at someone house and they broke in or something.  Really have no idea.  I'd like to think they got home fine and the story was on the up and up, but can't say that with certainty.

 

Just was such a strange situation.  And like @Aeri-sand, I sort of just went with my gut.  I've been drunk and panicing and I just felt like I should help.  I wonder what the cops would do if I had called them.  Not sure.  I don't knwo.  

[Pat G]

Well  you did a lot more than most people would have that's for sure. The typical response i'd hear in my street would be along the lines of "EFF OFF It's the middle of the night!". I think even TiredRooks would have been able to read them pretty well, from the shape they were in and the language etc, they weren't going to be successfully robbing anyone.

 

If i'd had a mixed read from a security point of view though, i would have alerted someone to my doings before setting off.

You were presented the opportunity to help some people who needed it and took it. *thumbs up* 

[miss_marissa]

12 hours ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

I'm cynical. I would have assumed it was a scam for money. Beyond that I'm not sure what I would have done beyond gone with my gut. I'm glad it worked out for you.

This is what I would have done also.

 

I'm glad you and your family was safe and hopefully able to help these people.

[The Most Loathed]

I'd say you handled it well. The drive thing is a judgement call, I can't say I would or wouldn't because I wasn't there and assessing the people. At that early morning I probably wouldn't have thought of a cab but in hindsight, especially if you have $20 handy, it's a good, safe solution. 

Either way I would have been cranky the next morning.

[Rooks]

Ok.  Let's see here.  

 

7/21/2016

Didn't get a workout in officially.  Got into the gym Thursday morning and just focused on doing some mobility work.  My hips, back, and core were all trashed from the 400 mountain climbers the previously day.  I was pretty surprised with how sore I actually got.  Probably a bit of karma for complaining about DOMS in @The Most Loathed's thread the other day.  Either way, mobility work is good as I know I need to hammer on it.  

 

7/22/2016

Nothing.  Kiddo had an eye exam in Woodbury at 9:30am so we worked it out that we were going to drop her off at grandma's house for the weekend since she also lives in Woodbury.  We also had a $50 gift certificate to a restaurant over in Woodbury named the Tamarack Tap Room.  We don't get over there often so rather than try to get 2 meals out of this, we figured we'd have a few rounds of beers to go with lunch as well since were both off work already.  Food was very tasty.  I quite enjoyed my chicken and waffles, which has become something I feel like I have to order anytime it's on the menu at this point.  Instagram spoilered for anyone who loves food pron:

 

Spoiler

 

 

We also had our pastor swing over to chat about life once we got back home.  It was nice to sit down and chat with him.  I feel like he had more questions for us than we did for him, trying to get insight into how things were going with us in dealing with the situation and how he, and the church in general, could assist more if needed.  It was a good time for sure.  

 

By the time he left, I was 3 beers in for the day and not much else was getting knocked off the to-do list. 

 

7/23/2016

With kiddo at grandma's, it was time to try and get some things done around the house.  Got to work on painting a 12 foot 1x8 to fix a portion of the garage that I had to rip out when I was fighting some bees.  As well, got a small piece of trim stained that I hope will fix the threshold on our back door.  I believe I got my car fixed up (had been throwing a engine code, but found it was due to some wires getting shredded).  Soldering the wires back up and get them all put back and it seems to have fixed the problem.  Finally, as I was waiting for a coat of paint to dry, I whipped a paracord bracelet up quick.  Pretty surprised it went together in just over an hour.  Going to try something a bit more advanced next, but happy with how it turned out.  Instagram of the bracelet:

Spoiler

 

In the middle of all that, I did manage a pretty simply workout, but I wasn't happy with the result.

 

Format is load/reps x sets

Back Squat - Worked up to a single at 360

-- So wanted to see roughly how much strength I had actually lost since my last PR at 385.  Surprised that I was able to hit 360, but it went out without too much trouble.  Belted and sleeves so not raw or anything, but very happy with how this went.

Fat Bar Deadlifts - 110/5, 160/3, 200/3

-- Wanted to give my fat bar a try and both seeing how it would hold up and how my back would hold up.  Yeah... the bar wasn't even phased by 2 'plates'.  Remember the bar itself only weighs 20lbs instead of 45.  That said, on the 3rd rep of the 200, my back twinged hard again.  Super bummed that this is still a thing as I thought it was getting better.  PT appointment is getting made next week as it's time to get some help.  My methods aren't working.  

 

Finishing up with writing this and doing some mobility work, and wife and I will probably start a moving soon or something.  Anywho... I'm off to get a beer.  

[Xena]

sorry about your back. I'm struggling with some lower back issues too. Hope the PT is helpful to you.

[Rooks]

15 hours ago, Xena said:

sorry about your back. I'm struggling with some lower back issues too. Hope the PT is helpful to you.

 

Yeah... it's been a thing since March.  I've been terrible about trying to fix it.  Been trying the "Maybe if I ignore it, it'll just heal itself" approach.  You'd think I would have learned by now that's a stupid idea, but sometimes I'm very dumb.  

[The Most Loathed]

On 7/23/2016 at 8:50 PM, Rooks said:

Ok.  Let's see here.  

 

7/21/2016

Didn't get a workout in officially.  Got into the gym Thursday morning and just focused on doing some mobility work.  My hips, back, and core were all trashed from the 400 mountain climbers the previously day.  I was pretty surprised with how sore I actually got.  Probably a bit of karma for complaining about DOMS in @The Most Loathed's thread the other day.  Either way, mobility work is good as I know I need to hammer on it.  

 

 

On 7/23/2016 at 8:50 PM, Rooks said:

 

Format is load/reps x sets

Back Squat - Worked up to a single at 360

-- So wanted to see roughly how much strength I had actually lost since my last PR at 385.  Surprised that I was able to hit 360, but it went out without too much trouble.  Belted and sleeves so not raw or anything, but very happy with how this went.

Fat Bar Deadlifts - 110/5, 160/3, 200/3

-- Wanted to give my fat bar a try and both seeing how it would hold up and how my back would hold up.  Yeah... the bar wasn't even phased by 2 'plates'.  Remember the bar itself only weighs 20lbs instead of 45.  That said, on the 3rd rep of the 200, my back twinged hard again.  Super bummed that this is still a thing as I thought it was getting better.  PT appointment is getting made next week as it's time to get some help.  My methods aren't working.  

 

Finishing up with writing this and doing some mobility work, and wife and I will probably start a moving soon or something.  Anywho... I'm off to get a beer.  

Ugh. Back twinges suck and are often inexplicable and unexpected. I've know more than one training partner who has quit after too many of them. I know Kelly Starrett has a prescription for right after one happens. I've tried it to no effect. I'm hoping your PT has some voodoo than I can steal your methodology.

 

[miss_marissa]

yuck. How's the back feeling now?

[Xena]

12 hours ago, Rooks said:

 

Yeah... it's been a thing since March.  I've been terrible about trying to fix it.  Been trying the "Maybe if I ignore it, it'll just heal itself" approach.  You'd think I would have learned by now that's a stupid idea, but sometimes I'm very dumb.  

I spent about 5 months telling myself that pretty much everyone over 30 has back pain and I should just ignore it.

 

It's never been *that* bad (I'm mostly a runner, so don't put as much acute strain on it as you might with power lifting). Finally decided not to ignore it anymore and started some PT. Seems like mine is probably disc-related. I spent about a month thinking the PT wasn't doing jack. Then all of a sudden my back hasn't been bothering me the past few days. Not sure what's going on, but hopefully a good sign.

 

One thing that really helped me is that a couple people on the forum (I can't get tags to work well but @Mistr and @DarKRaideR) reminded me that back injuries can be slow to heal. So...depending on what the PT tells you, my main advice is to be patient. Don't give up!

[Rooks]

On 7/25/2016 at 10:54 AM, miss_marissa said:

yuck. How's the back feeling now?

 

It comes and it goes.  I've been mobilizing it almost every day since Saturday and it'll feel better for a bit, then I'll sit oddly for an hour and it'll cramp up again.  That said, I'm half used to it by now since it's been like this since March.   

 

On 7/25/2016 at 8:16 AM, The Most Loathed said:

Ugh. Back twinges suck and are often inexplicable and unexpected. I've know more than one training partner who has quit after too many of them. I know Kelly Starrett has a prescription for right after one happens. I've tried it to no effect. I'm hoping your PT has some voodoo than I can steal your methodology.

 

Yeah.  Called around to a few shops to get quotes today.  Got ranges from $150 for 90 minutes to $300+ for 60 minutes for an initial assessment.  Insurance won't cover this stuff so I've got to carefully balance cheaping out and getting some quack versus paying for a quality professional.  I have a friend who's a PT who recommended someone that is familiar with powerlifting, but he was the most expensive.  So not sure.  Otherwise, been using MWOD's list feature and calling people there.

 

7/24/2016

Despite the back flaring up the previous day, I tried to go for a run Sunday morning.  Overall, felt good.  It was slow, but felt good to get in.  

 

https://zombiesrungame.com/zombielink/runs-detailed/9967634/public/

 

Otherwise, kiddo came home from Grandma's house and life returned back to being a parent. 

 

7/25/2016

Sadly, nothing.  Felt like crap in the morning, got to work late, and then just couldn't get away long enough to squeeze something in.  My head has been a mess lately with not being able to pull myself away from work, but I've also been having a really hard time staying focused on work.  I'm in a place where there is a ton of stuff that I could do, but nothing is really due for a month+, but then I feel guilty for not focusing on my job more.  It's a goofy place.  I've got a couple ideas that I'm going to try implement soon in how to better stay focused.  

 

I did manage to get a rough breakdown of how I want my sessions per week to look going forward.  Here's a simple breakdown:

 

	Week 1				STRENGTH DAY 1
	Day 1	GB Work / Mobillity			Exercise	Reps	% of 1RM	Weight
	Day 2	Strength Day 1			Squat	1	100	330
	Day 3	Met-Con / Run / WOD			Squat	5	75	250
	Day 4	GB Work / Mobillity			Bench	1	100	250
	Day 5	Strength Day 2			Bench	5	75	190
	Day 6	Met-Con / Run / WOD			STRENGTH DAY 2
	Week 2				Exercise	Reps	% of 1RM	Weight
	Day 1	Strength Day 1			Front Squat	1	100	225
	Day 2	Oly Movement / Mobility			Front Squat	5	75	170
	Day 3	Conditioning			OHP	1	100	150
	Day 4	Strength Day 2			OHP	5	75	115
	Day 5	Oly Movement / Mobility
	Day 6	Conditioning

 

7/26/2016

Did manage to get in a nice 45 minutes mobility session this morning.  Started with "Prescription #5" from K-Star's Deskbound book, around low back pain.  Mashing QL with la crosse ball.  Mashing sides and obliques with bigger ball.  Mashing psoas with soft big ball.  Then did some weight shoulder dislocation.  And some GymnasticsBodies stuff called the Stiff Legged Bear and the Frog, meant to work the hips and the hamstrings among other things.  Tomorrow will hopefully be strength day 1 plus I'll do some Squat Jumps for the Ranger Mini-Challenge.

 

 

[Rooks]

7/27/2016

Format is load/reps x sets

Back Squat - Worked up to a single at 315, 250/5 x 3, 250/2

-- Sleeves, no belt.  315 felt brutal this morning, but then 250 flew.  At least for the first 3 sets.  On the 4th set, the back started to feel a bit wonky.  Nothing like Saturday, but to the point where I knew I should stop as it would only get worse.  

Feet-up TNG Bench - 135/10 x 3, 135/18

-- Still wanted to get some bench in, but didn't want to get the arch way into this, so just did feet-up stuff.  Busting out reps with a single plate.  Was hoping for 20 on that last set and probably could have gotten in, but right now is not the time to being pushing my limits.

 

Feel like my body is falling apart.  Today, my right shoulder hurt.  My upper back hurt.  My lower back still hurts.  And my left hamstring felt brutally tight.  Don't even feel like I'm working that hard with my workouts at the moment, yet everything seems to be collapsing.  Might just be a bad day, but I'm honestly concerned at this point.  Still planning on getting some Squat Jumps in today, just going to be spread out throughout the day.  

[The Most Loathed]

Looking at your program, you have a lot of work in your week. You also have a kid and work a job. You might want to consider backing off a bit, especially with your recent injury. 3-4 days of really good train beats 6 mediocredays followed by 2 weeks of recovering from injury.

[Rooks]

1 hour ago, The Most Loathed said:

Looking at your program, you have a lot of work in your week. You also have a kid and work a job. You might want to consider backing off a bit, especially with your recent injury. 3-4 days of really good train beats 6 mediocredays followed by 2 weeks of recovering from injury.

 

That was sort of my goal with this plan.  2 strength days,  2 conditioning days (although realistically the 2nd day would probably get axed most weeks), and 2 super big long mobility sessions to try and work on weaknesses and aid recovery.  The GB Work is basically just stretches.  

[Rooks]

Going to post this here.  2 hour podcast with some of the great brains in the strength world at the moment talking about volume of training.  Not going to lie, part of me thinks they are just overcomplicated this, but at the same time, it's a great discussion to have.  

 

 

 

 

[Xena]

Sorry you've been having so much pain. Some of it sounds like you just need a little more rest. The back stuff can take a while.

 

So...in the category of free advice from someone with no medical training...my PT thought I likely have a bulging disc in my lower back. It sounds like your problem is lower back too?? She decided it was probably disc because one of my symptoms was sharp pain after a run when I try to sit or squat (which flexes the spine). She recommended avoiding any flexion (e.g, forward bends) and a lot of back extension. A few of my initial stretch/exercises:

 

1. Forearm hold. (similar to "sphinx pose" in yoga). Lie on your stomach propped up on your forearms. Hold for 2 minutes.

2. Press ups. Lie on your stomach. Put your hands in front of you and press up to straight arms. Repeat 10x (I do 2 sets of 10 now). If this hurts your back, move your arms farther forward or keep a bend in your elbow so you aren't pressing as far.

3. Flutter kick. Lie on your stomach and lift one leg at a time a few inches off the ground. (10 per leg).

 

A similar exercise you can do during the day. Stand with your hands at the small of your back. Bend gently backward and straighten back up.

 

Be careful with ab exercises. There are several you can do that won't force your back to curve. I think you are pretty familiar with this since you knew how to modify bench press etc.

 

A couple stretches that help me...your issues might be different than mine!! Hamstring stretching, but NOT as a forward bend. A good way is to lie on the floor with one leg up (I have to use a belt or strap around my foot). The PT recommended lying on my back with my feet up the wall...I just don't have a convenient place to do that, and it's not all the intense.

 

Also helps me to do various stretches lying on my back and twisting legs to side. Looses up hip muscles and kind of massages the muscles along the sides of the back.

 

I did all this for over a month (after several months of pain) before I got any improvement. No idea if the exercises helped or not. Injuries are mysterious sometimes.

 

Hope you get better soon!