It was a strength day at the gym yesterday. I got there for the 9 p.m. class. It was chest and back.
So in traditional fashion, we beat the crap out of them.
Started out with 60 chest presses and 60 standing rows. Alternated in 15 rep sets. I felt pretty good that I was lifting 30 pounds heavier than any other guy there. We then did Push-up Row Rows (you do a push-up on dumbbells, and at the top, you row to your hip.)
We then moved onto the TRX chest press/TRX two arm rows. Again, 60 reps, but this time spread out in 20 rep sets. The third exercise in this group was jumping pull ups. You'd jump up into a pull up, then catch yourself on the way down. At the end of these, my fingers actually slipped off the bar, and I landed on my knees. It was on sports court tiles, but it didn't actually hurt. I had to move an exercise mat underneath me for the last few reps after that, though.
Then came the tires. Our trainer, Jason Muir loves his tires. I think it makes him feel like he's in Rocky. He has three tractor tires, of varying size. Yesterday we used them to do push-ups off of. You'd put your hands on the ground, and your feet on the tires. You'd do 10 "inclined" push-ups. Then, while your hands are still on the ground, you'd hop your feet down onto the floor then back up onto the tires. It kind of looks like a donkey kick. You'd do 5 of those, then back to the push-ups. We did three sets of this combination followed by 50 crunches.
I then moved on to TRX Rip chest press/row. The rip is a heavy exercise band attached to a bar. We attach it on both ends, kneel inside, and do an inclined press. This was 60 reps of both exercises broken up into 20 rep sets. The rows are underhand rows, to your belly. Keep your arms body width apart. I jumped ahead a few exercises, because he had Roman Chair leg lifts. Since we only have one Roman Chair, where you put your back against a pad, your forearms on some pads and hold the handle in front of you. There is not an actual seat, you are suspended. (I'll find a picture and post it later.)
Then it was time to run. My legs are tired and sore, but for some reason last night's run really hurt my shins. I made it back, and did some planks to finish it out.
All-in-all a good night's workout, and I'm sure I'll be sore tomorrow.
The wife has been having really bad carpel tunnel syndrome attacks. She usually has to work after I'm home, the kids like to bug her. She's also working more to keep insurance. This is nice because of teenage problems, including braces. I'm sorry you're feeling so bad honey!
Showing posts with label back. Show all posts
Showing posts with label back. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Physical Therapy
As part of my back pain battle, I went to physical therapy (PT) yesterday. This is my first experience with PT. The therapist did many of the same tests on my that the sports med Doc did. After she finished she asked me, "Do you consider yourself extremely flexible?" I answered in the affirmative, because even though I have gained weight, I can still reach about 10 inches past my toes.
I thought it was a weird question, but the therapist just looked at me and said, "I agree. That's unusual for guys with a lot of muscle mass." That made me laugh. So the physical therapist wants me to start on for simple exercises. They are all about strengthening my transverses and lats. They are great, one makes me look like a panting dog, while one appears like I'm just laying there. I have to do them twice a day, and will go back and get more exercises in a few weeks. The therapist also gave me a great stretch for my hip muscles. I only have to do that once a day (I might choose to do it more.)
Anyway, I'm doing well, and will continue with the strengthening of my core.
Hopefully I'll have something more fun to post about soon.
I thought it was a weird question, but the therapist just looked at me and said, "I agree. That's unusual for guys with a lot of muscle mass." That made me laugh. So the physical therapist wants me to start on for simple exercises. They are all about strengthening my transverses and lats. They are great, one makes me look like a panting dog, while one appears like I'm just laying there. I have to do them twice a day, and will go back and get more exercises in a few weeks. The therapist also gave me a great stretch for my hip muscles. I only have to do that once a day (I might choose to do it more.)
Anyway, I'm doing well, and will continue with the strengthening of my core.
Hopefully I'll have something more fun to post about soon.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
I'm "back" in action
Okay, forgive the stupid pun, but I couldn't resist.
As you know last week I was experiencing back problems, and after sitting in my desk chair for 9 hours on Thursday, and feeling the pain, I did something I thought I would never do. I called a chiropractor. Now I have nothing against chiropractors, but I've always been skeptical. I happen to know someone who runs an office for a chiropractor, so I called and set up an appointment. Below is how my adventure went.
My wife had to drop me off, and go pick up our son. So I went in and talked with the chiropractor, and had some x-rays taken. Then they had me lay on a table, and hooked up the electro-stimulus machine (I'm not sure what it is really called.) I laid on the table for 20 minutes while my back muscles were stimulated, with an ice sheet on my back. I'm not sure that ice sheet sufficiently describes the experience. My back felt as if the chiropractor was Darth Vader, and I was Han Solo, and they were trying to freeze me in carbonite. The main difference was the Empire was in a recession, so they didn't have a full-body freezer and had to do it a bit at a time.
My wife showed up again, as they asked me to stand up and move to the next room. I felt really good, so I pushed up off the table, and quickly laid back down. They had somehow frozen my back into the most painful position it could be in. It took me about 5 minutes to walk 20 feet, and I was miserable. I got on an upright device, and they pivoted me down until I was horizontal. The chiropractor had my wife look at the heels of my feet as I lay there. There were not level, they were about 1.5 inches out of level, and the chiropractor told her that was one of the reasons my back hurt. He did some work on me, and brought them back into level. (I hope my use of carpentry terms makes sense, it's the only way I can describe it.)
He raised me up, and I thought I was done, but my back still hurt. He had me sit in a chair, and popped, I mean aligned my neck. That felt great, but again not much for my back. He had me stand up, and move to another room where the real magic would take place. I laid down, on my side this time, and my back was aligned. By this I mean that a 200 pound man climbed up on me, and focused all of his weight and strength on one of my arms, and one of my legs. It was great! He used the shampoo technique, it was align, reverse, repeat. My back felt so much better. I was a little bit tender still, but it was livable. I went back in the next day, and had the same experience, but this time the ice sheet didn't freeze me in pain.
Well, long-story short, I am down up and around, and have just a little tenderness in my back. I went to the gym last night for the first time since the chiropractor. My back was a little sore after, but I iced it, and it feels fine this morning.
As for how the gym is going, my wife wanted me to post this picture to show my progress. The picture on the left is me in 2006, the first day of work in a new office (I found it on our corporate intranet yesterday,) the picture on the right is a self portrait from yesterday. In between these two pictures I put on about 15 pounds, so in the second picture I'm only about five pounds lighter than the first picture. I think that I've slimmed down noticeably, but then again I'm biased!
As you know last week I was experiencing back problems, and after sitting in my desk chair for 9 hours on Thursday, and feeling the pain, I did something I thought I would never do. I called a chiropractor. Now I have nothing against chiropractors, but I've always been skeptical. I happen to know someone who runs an office for a chiropractor, so I called and set up an appointment. Below is how my adventure went.
My wife had to drop me off, and go pick up our son. So I went in and talked with the chiropractor, and had some x-rays taken. Then they had me lay on a table, and hooked up the electro-stimulus machine (I'm not sure what it is really called.) I laid on the table for 20 minutes while my back muscles were stimulated, with an ice sheet on my back. I'm not sure that ice sheet sufficiently describes the experience. My back felt as if the chiropractor was Darth Vader, and I was Han Solo, and they were trying to freeze me in carbonite. The main difference was the Empire was in a recession, so they didn't have a full-body freezer and had to do it a bit at a time.
My wife showed up again, as they asked me to stand up and move to the next room. I felt really good, so I pushed up off the table, and quickly laid back down. They had somehow frozen my back into the most painful position it could be in. It took me about 5 minutes to walk 20 feet, and I was miserable. I got on an upright device, and they pivoted me down until I was horizontal. The chiropractor had my wife look at the heels of my feet as I lay there. There were not level, they were about 1.5 inches out of level, and the chiropractor told her that was one of the reasons my back hurt. He did some work on me, and brought them back into level. (I hope my use of carpentry terms makes sense, it's the only way I can describe it.)
He raised me up, and I thought I was done, but my back still hurt. He had me sit in a chair, and popped, I mean aligned my neck. That felt great, but again not much for my back. He had me stand up, and move to another room where the real magic would take place. I laid down, on my side this time, and my back was aligned. By this I mean that a 200 pound man climbed up on me, and focused all of his weight and strength on one of my arms, and one of my legs. It was great! He used the shampoo technique, it was align, reverse, repeat. My back felt so much better. I was a little bit tender still, but it was livable. I went back in the next day, and had the same experience, but this time the ice sheet didn't freeze me in pain.
Well, long-story short, I am down up and around, and have just a little tenderness in my back. I went to the gym last night for the first time since the chiropractor. My back was a little sore after, but I iced it, and it feels fine this morning.
As for how the gym is going, my wife wanted me to post this picture to show my progress. The picture on the left is me in 2006, the first day of work in a new office (I found it on our corporate intranet yesterday,) the picture on the right is a self portrait from yesterday. In between these two pictures I put on about 15 pounds, so in the second picture I'm only about five pounds lighter than the first picture. I think that I've slimmed down noticeably, but then again I'm biased!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Oh my aching back!
Okay, so it has been a long time since I posted anything. Right now I'm laid up with a bad back. Luckily it is not too serious, only over-training on my legs.
About 6 weeks ago, my wife and I joined a gym, Firehouse Fitness. It has been great. We've made lots of new friends, and the trainer "prods some serious buttocks". So far I've lost about 20 pounds. I've taken about 2 inches off the circumference of my chest, and slightly less off of my waist. The real difference has been, for lack of a better word, the density of my muscles. According to this body fat analyzer, my body fat has decreased by about 10%. Not too bad.
This brings us to my current predicament. One of the main focuses of our training is squats, lunges, burpees, hop touches, etc. When I went to the gym on Monday we had a cardio day, which included a lot of functional exercises focusing on squats, and kicks. To end the workout we did a squat burnout. During our second 90 second squat my legs cramped. I stretched out, and left not thinking much about it. By the time I got home my back was killing me. I've found that I can relieve the pressure on my back by massaging my hip joints. The doctor this morning basically told me to pull back a little on the lower body (he doesn't want me to stop going to the gym), and he has me going to the physical therapist to get some exercises to help tighten my core up, and make my body work better together. He thinks in the next few weeks I should see this pain go away.
Anyone who wants a great workout, come to Firehouse Fitness on any Saturday morning. Our trainer offers free workouts on Saturdays. (I know that sounds like an ad, but I just really like the gym. I have not been given any reimbursement for this plug, but am open to that idea!)
I'll keep you posted on my progress.
About 6 weeks ago, my wife and I joined a gym, Firehouse Fitness. It has been great. We've made lots of new friends, and the trainer "prods some serious buttocks". So far I've lost about 20 pounds. I've taken about 2 inches off the circumference of my chest, and slightly less off of my waist. The real difference has been, for lack of a better word, the density of my muscles. According to this body fat analyzer, my body fat has decreased by about 10%. Not too bad.
This brings us to my current predicament. One of the main focuses of our training is squats, lunges, burpees, hop touches, etc. When I went to the gym on Monday we had a cardio day, which included a lot of functional exercises focusing on squats, and kicks. To end the workout we did a squat burnout. During our second 90 second squat my legs cramped. I stretched out, and left not thinking much about it. By the time I got home my back was killing me. I've found that I can relieve the pressure on my back by massaging my hip joints. The doctor this morning basically told me to pull back a little on the lower body (he doesn't want me to stop going to the gym), and he has me going to the physical therapist to get some exercises to help tighten my core up, and make my body work better together. He thinks in the next few weeks I should see this pain go away.
Anyone who wants a great workout, come to Firehouse Fitness on any Saturday morning. Our trainer offers free workouts on Saturdays. (I know that sounds like an ad, but I just really like the gym. I have not been given any reimbursement for this plug, but am open to that idea!)
I'll keep you posted on my progress.
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