Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Daily Battles


Well, work is starting to limit my workouts. Magazine deadlines....what do you expect? In the end, it's probably helping me to keep from over-doing it. It turns out all that kicking did a little damage to my hip rotator or so my chiropractor says. Very reluctantly I took 3 days rest to recover a bit.

Today at CrossFit we did Fran, a benchmark workout. It actually went really well. No pains, no problems, just a great workout. I was so happy to be able to lift and thrust 55 lb. On a few occasions I would get the weight almost all the way up, but my left arm was still bent and felt like it was going to drop the weight. I had to muster every ounce of strength I had to push it up where the arm was straight. When I finished I really felt like I accomplished something. Even though later I found I had the slowest time, I still felt good about the workout. My arms/shoulders are definitely getting stronger. Every workout puts me that much closer to getting "fit."

With the pull-ups, I'm now doing something that is in between a jumping pull-up and a real pull-up. They take more time, but I'd rather get to where I'm doing them standardly than to try to beat some jumping pull-up speed record. Of course, the calluses are really starting to form now!

The battle I'm dealing with this week is the nicotine monster. It's week number two as a non-smoker and interestingly enough it is getting a bit more challenging instead of easier. Week number one was soooooo easy. I couldn't believe it. But perhaps with the added stress at work the monster inside has become hungrier and it is harder to keep him at bay. I have zero intention of feeding him though. He will just have to suffer.

This got me thinking...it seems we always have some kind of inner battle going on. It could be the nicotine/caffeine/sugar craving monsters, the fear demons, the inhibitors and suppressors that keep us from achieving what we want, doubts, conflict of desires, etc. It's just the game we play to keep life interesting and not boring. But if you can step back from these inner battles, you'll see that none of this is actually you. Think of it more like a parasite that got stuck to you somewhere along the way.

The good thing is you can handle them and be control over them. Once you acknowledge that fact, the battles become easier. You can be more you and they can be beaten into submission. That's how I'm dealing with my monster....by putting him in his place and treating him like the parasite he really is. The good news is that it only takes 3 weeks for nicotine to leave the body, so I'll have more to write about then.

Workouts:

8/7

Four rounds for time of:
-Run 400 meters
-75 lb (45 for women) pound Sumo deadlift high-pull, 21 reps
-75 lb (45 for women) Thruster, 21 reps
Time: 33:00

8/8
7am workout

Ten rounds for time of:
-12 Burpees
-12 Pull-ups
Time: 28:24

10pm workout
2 hours of power dancing (I didn't name this!)

8/9-8/11
rest days

8/8

Fran
Three rounds, 21-15- and 9 reps, for time of:
95 lb (65 for women) Thruster (I ended up doing 55 lbs.)
Pull-ups
Time: 15:56

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Tolerating the Pain


My knee and shoulder still have not fully recovered, but they are getting better. I remember running the 5K on Friday and afterwards thinking "I SUCK." It was such a terrible time...29:41. The knee didn't bother me while running but this other pain--the one in my shoulders was really bad that day. It felt like someone had taken a spear, put it through my back just below my right shoulder blade and pushed it all the through clear to my chest. No wonder my time was so bad. Who wants to run with a spear through their body?

Anyway, I found a chiropractor and went right after the run. He said my rib bone is out of place. This area seems to be getting sore/going out of place right after I lift weights (push press bench press, etc.). Just what I wanted to hear.....NOT! Since my muscles were too tight, he couldn't adjust me and sent me over to his massage guy instead. Ok fine, another day with the spear. I seem to be tolerating it.

Did I stop working out? Hell no! I only seem to hurt when I'm NOT working out. How strange is that? Here's the recap since my last post:

7/31
7am workout
Lynne
Five rounds for max reps of:
Body weight bench press
Pull-ups

55# Bench Press 10,12,11,12,13 (43% of my body weight)
Jumping Pull ups 80, 60, 60, 64, 80

7pm workout
Capoeria

8/1
7am workout
5K run 29:41

8/2
10am workout
TAP OUT: Conditioning for Combat Sports

11am workout
Capoeria

8/3
REST DAY

8/4
7pm workout
Muay Thai Kickboxing

8/5
7am workout
4 rounds for time of:
-400 meter rurn
-25 back extensions
-25 glute ham sit-ups
Time: 16:08

7pm workout
Cardio Kickboxing
ending with extreme sit-ups

8pm
30 minutes on the bike machine

8/6
5 mile run (yes, miles)
Time: 46:00

In addition to the above I've been practicing pull-ups with a new doorway pull-up bar I got. Mostly I'm doing knees to elbows, but I can tell I'm getting closer and closer to doing a real pull-up soon. One thing I discovered is that I get a much better grip with my arms twisted (palms facing me instead of away from me). Doing it this way, I can touch my knees to my elbows every single time starting from a standing position, but not yet from the hanging position.

The bar has also come in handy just for stretching. The rib bone that is out of place seems to be slowly making it's way back into place. Hanging on the bar loosens a lot of things up and takes pressure off the tight areas. Hope it feels ok tomorrow, because it looks like we're gonna have more lifting....yippee!! (There's nothing like tackling one's weakness with a cheerful, positive and enthusiastic attitude!)

Artwork above by Steven Stahlberg. Anyone notice anything strange about it? Post to comments.