Acknowledging Injuries

Injuries, frustration, disappointment, acknowledgement, commitment , change, excitement, growth, renewal.

A circle

It’s a process I just went through and I am sure anyone who is actually devoted to their training has experienced it, but did they realize they even went through this process?

Since June I have been working through some injuries, it has taken me three months to get where I am. Most of that time has been spent convincing myself I wasn’t injured. It took me that long to work through the process of admitting what I need to do so I heal and can start to move forward.

Training is a very big part of my life, I am not really complete unless I have done my training for the day, and it is the best part of my day. It is a rare occasion where I do not look forward to going to the gym, to the track, to train with Roy.

I strained my hamstring back in June and just kept pushing through it. That’s the “tough” thing to do right? But that really wasn’t my mentality, it was actually the fact that I feel fairly invincible, I couldn’t be hurt, it must all be in my mind, it’s just a muscle that’s a bit sore.

It took a few visits to the Chiropractor and my physician to convince me that it was more than what I had actually thought it was. And there was the hip flexor pain, sitting was unbearable, I would wake at night due to the aching in my hips, especially my left side (where the hamstring strain was).

Then I started physical therapy. The first session was nothing strenuous, he put me through several stretches that did not really feel like much, but it turned out he was assessing me more than anything.  I figured it was being paid for by insurance; I should go through with all sessions and see how it turns out, any stretching will be helpful to regain my range of motion right?  

The second session was different though, it seemed better, or maybe my head thought it was. Sid started by foam rolling my leg as I lay on a massage table, I said “good luck- I use a lacrosse ball!” Smart ass I was, he was good. Then he used his hands. This was even better. Next came assisted stretching, better still.  I asked him not to stop so he continued a while longer.

As we moved to another room I went through other stretches and exercises.  Brian shouts over “Be sure she uses what she calls the kettlebell jewelry”, which was what I said the itty bitty bells looked like since they weighed only 2 pounds.

I explained how my hip flexors hurt so much, and what my training has been like. I have been trying to grow the legs; I have been hitting them hard, really hard. Heavy and volume. He suggested that they may also be strained or just need a break.

I told him David had said the same thing, and so had Roy, we actually had already decided to cut squats to one day a week instead of two.

Since PT was mainly dealing with the hamstring strain, I had decided to see Dr. Leahy immediately afterward about the hip flexors.  He could at least do some Active Release to loosen up the tight muscles; the tightness was what was causing so much discomfort.

In his office I go through the whole story again, he works on both hip flexors and the hamstring.  He asks when my “event” is and I tell him not until May. He says I am progressing right along. “What does that mean?” I ask “It’s a compliment, take it!” he replies. 

I tell him I know, but I need to know what he “sees”. I see myself everyday and want to know what he sees. “Well, it looks like you have been adding mass, in fact, quite a bit. That’s what you are trying to do isn’t it?”

“Yes!” I tell him it’s the peanut butter sandwiches (I am joking) and I laugh.

Dr. Leahy suggests that I stop squatting all together- at least for a week or even two if I can manage the downtime. If I cannot take the downtime he suggests some light therapy.  He said I should just avoid anything that hurts my hip flexors, and when it no longer hurts, I am ready to train again. Insurance does not cover Dr. Leahy, doctors can be expensive when you pay on your own.

Sounds simple doesn’t it? It might be for some people, but it hasn’t been a simple process for me.

How many people would even have an issue with this? It has taken me a lot of time to actually confirm in my own mind that I am OK not training my legs for a couple weeks.  I sent a message to Roy and explained.

We had decided that I would be replacing my Saturday squat day with a biceps and triceps day, and move some of the the other splits around, so we just axed the squats all together and started the arm training then, the following day, on Wednesday when we would usually do squats. 

I really don’t train arms much; I train the shoulders but not the rest.

Wednesday was fun; we went through barbell triceps lockouts superset with scott curls. Then on to skull crushers and reverse barbell curls. I felt like a wimp, it was a lot of new stuff for me.

Thursday I did my hamstring training, but modified it slightly so that my hip flexors felt no pressure, I concentrated on the glutes so that’s where I felt it. I tried some kettlebell snatches at the end, but the hip flexors immediately felt the strain and I stopped after one set.

I will switch my Back training to Saturday (instead of squats) and repeat my arm training on Sunday, adding in some pullovers too. My upper body will be fried by Monday.

I’m excited again and looking forward to the changes! I already have some impressive arms, so imagine what they will look like after all this training in a few weeks! 

Women's Physique or Bodybuilding

Many people don't see the difference: "All y'all have way too many muscles!" I have heard. Well, there is a huge difference between Bodybuilders and Women's Physique competitors and I have found a couple videos for you to watch that will enable you to immediately see the differences. 

Email subscribers will need to navigate to the blog (Dad- that means you, I want you to see the difference!)

Here we see a female Bodybuilder performing her routine. This is Lisa Giesbrecht.





Lisa looks great- but this is not what I will be doing, not what I want to do, not how I want to look and frankly, I don't think I ever could look like this. She has some major muscle there!

Notice the "separation", the muscles all have distinct outlines, not one big smooth muscle, but you see each individual one clearly. The body looks "hard", there is no layer of fat covering the muscles.

Below is a "pose down" of three Women's Physique competitors, they are "pro's" so they can compete for money. Although they can win cash prizes, the amounts are minute, nothing really, you can spend more than what is awarded for the first prize on one posing suit. 

A pose down is where they will have the top three vie for the audience approval and create a little fun and excitement, only one will be the first place winner! This is standard "bodybuilding" showmanship.



You can clearly see that these women demonstrate a more "feminine" look, less androgynous, less muscular, more body fat, less muscle separation, their bodies are not as "hard". Although they carry a lot of muscle, much more than your average woman, and more than the typical Figure competitor, I think they have as close to the "ideal physique" as I could ever imagine wanting! 

As you can see, the Women's Physique look is that of a slightly more muscular Figure competitor, and there is the individual dance or posing routine that must be performed of course. In Figure you stand there....in those darn heels just smiling and looking pretty!

Empty Nest

I left my son, Cooper at Chico State University on Tuesday, August 21, it is 210 miles away. I am a tough cookie, a hard-ass, weight lifting, big food eating, truck tire flipping, chalk dipping woman. And I was not prepared for the pain of this experience.

Cooper is our only child, and therefore has spent quite a bit of time with us. We were never the parents who did things and left their kid with a sitter - he never had a sitter! He was enjoying his first meal at Chez Panisse at the age of 6 weeks, he went everywhere with us.

We drove up to Chico in a rented SUV, we needed a bigger car for his belongings and I have to stretch out due to the hamstring and hip flexor issues I am having. We drove up the night before and went out to a wonderful dinner at the Red Tavern. Cooper thoroughly enjoyed his pork belly, I didn't have the heart to tell him that the dining commons in the dorms would not be serving that....but I think he knew.

We had conversations about things that were "unfinished business" from before. Like why I moved out of the house when I was only 17 and still in high school. He said he knew I had done that, but never knew why.

David loves his food and wine! And spending time with his two favorite people. Below is the stunning menu, if you ever go to Chico, definitely stop by the Red Tavern!

I had prawns wrapped in bacon! I told Cooper that I left not because I didn't get along with my mother, but because there were things I had to do, and there were rules. If you know me, you know that I have this belief that "rules" don't really apply to me, they never have. I feel they are "guidelines", but at the young age of 17, I didn't feel that, I felt they were an albatross around my neck.

I left home because I wanted freedom to do the things I HAD to do. I finished school, I was rebellious, not stupid. I found it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. The bills, the landlords, the rent, the shopping, connecting P.G. & E., telephone (no cell phones then), garbage, water...

I had chocolate soufflé for dessert. it was great!

I raised Cooper with all of my experiences in mind. I wanted to give him the freedom he craved, and the guidance he needed, I think David and I did a good job. We have a very good relationship with him, we all enjoy spending time together. 

I had my own breakfast at the hotel- chicken breast, sweet potato and green beans. 

Cooper had a roommate from his high school all arranged, it was great that it worked out as well as it did. But the pain, the pain...

I lived through handing him over to a team of doctors for emergency surgery when he was only 3 weeks old, when he lost so much weight he weighed only 4.5 pounds due to pyloric stenosis; luckily my doctor, the one I still see to this day was able to diagnose it and called the hospital and sent us right over.

Cooper and I spent four nights in the hospital. They didn't let me hold him because he was not allowed food, and he could smell the breast milk as I came close. I sat and slept on the chair by the bed, only leaving to go fill the hospital freezer with my milk.

Then he broke his arm snow boarding with friends. The call "Mom, morphine is great!" is not something you want to hear from your 12 year old!

Or when he suffered a compound fracture of his right index finger playing lacrosse only a year ago, he still has nerve damage and probably always will.

The girlfriend who dumped him after receiving the beautiful Tiffany necklace he painstakingly saved for and gave her for Christmas.

His wisdom teeth being pulled only this month! Neither one of us responds well to Vicodin, so he was on percocet for a week. 

The greatest pain is the feeling of needing and loving someone so much, yet they no longer need you.  

Oh, I know it is perfectly natural and healthy for him to leave, to grow up and go on his own, but I wasn't prepared for this, not at all. 

Below is his roommate, Andrew and his mother Mary.

And he didn't take much with him, his room is still full, it looks like he still lives there, but it's quite...very quiet. 

David on the left and Andrew's father, Dave on the right!

His lacrosse gear made the trip, he hopes to play for Chico, he's good.....I cannot wait to hear if he made the team soon.

He realized there wasn't much room, but Mary and I helped the boys unloft the beds to make it more comfortable, then "decorated" as much as they would allow us to.

Important stuff: Cup-noodle, sriracha sauce.

I made the bed and he said it would be the last time that happened! hmmm....he HAS to wash his sheets at some point I hope!

We all went out to a last lunch at the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. They always have a great steak salad on the menu, the boys all had steaks and fries.

My boys...looks like one is crying.

He let me give him one last big kiss on the cheek. I don't remember him getting so tall, I was on my tip toes!

In the car, on the long and very quiet drive home, I ate my meal. Shrimp, broccoli and green beans.

I sent this to him, I am friends with all of the Chico State organizations, so I can try to be involved a little. He said this sounded awesome. I saw the pictures the following day, looks like all the freshmen attended!

A "Taking your kid to college survival kit" from David's assistant principal. Red wine, Symphony chocolate, tissues, a big pen, stationary..

David and I have both wandered in and out of Cooper's room, looking and touching things we had thought were so important to him, yet he left them all behind. I just booked my room for the parents BBQ on October 6. Apparently there is a huge event in Chico that weekend, so the only place with a room left was what David and Cooper call the "Chico Crack Hotel", but  it's within walking distance, and I will only be sleeping there anyway, I will spend the morning in the gym- Chico Sport Club!

I have thrown myself into my training, seems I have nothing else in life that I need to do right now. It's going to be a long, difficult adjustment for me, I hope Cooper adjusts better.

Motivation

"The minute you start talking about what you’re going to do if you lose you have lost."

- George Schultz

"A winner is someone who talks himself out of his excuses." 

- Gin Miller

"The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely the one who dropped it." 

- Lou Holtz

"Placing blame on others is easy. Taking responsibility for yourself is empowering." 

- Tony DiCicco

"Excuses are the tools with which persons with no purpose in view build for themselves great monuments of nothing." 

- Unknown

"Ninety-nine percent of all failures come from people who have a habit of making excuses." 

- George Washington Carver

"A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault." 

- John Henry Cardinal Newman

"Finding fault is easy. It’s improving that’s hard." 

- Unknown

For many people, an excuse is better than an achievement because an achievement, no matter how great, leaves you having to prove yourself again in the future but an excuse can last for life.

- Eric Hoffer

Being Comfortable as You

I'm all about feeling good about myself, it's important. It's really the only way to succeed. It's important to love yourself, respect yourself and give yourself credit for all your hard work. 

I also believe that the way you treat others is a direct reflection of how you feel about yourself. If you feel good about yourself, you treat others well. If you do not feel good about yourself, you treat others poorly.

My pursuit of "the perfect body" has been a long and exciting one, I'm certainly not done but I have learned a lot. I have a lot to share. 

I am not ashamed of my body, I never have been and never will be. This body is amazing.  It has carried a child, given birth (naturally, no epidural), breast fed for one ENTIRE year,  and is now 51 years of age. I think it has been a tremendous friend and has held up well. 

But I have taken care of it.

Oh, there were the years when I did not, believe me. But now I do all I can to celebrate and pamper my fantastic piece of machinery.

These pictures were taken Saturday, August 25 at about 11:00 am.

I need to remind myself that I look good, I often beat myself up and make myself feel less than I should, I have very, very high expectations.

It is important to believe in yourself, to tell yourself you do a good job. Not many people will do it for you right? If you are a person who has a job, you know just what I mean. How often does your employer say to you "We are so lucky to have you! We could not meet our goals without your fantastic skills!"......right....

And if you are a stay at home mom, no one ever, EVER says that to you. They just want to know when dinner is on the table, and "why are you so tired???"

I have my things I wish I could change. I wish I wasn't so hairy (but it's all super white blond!), I wish I didn't have Flintstone feet (they are fat and super wide), I wish I had a tiny waist, I wish I had less wrinkles on my face. I would like to have pretty long nails, but I am not going to glue on the fake ones....

But, then I need to remember the things I am thankful for.

I am super strong, I can out lift most men in my gym! I have a great, round, high butt. I have beautiful naturally blond, long hair. I am healthy. My cholesterol is 153 and my Vitamin D levels are at 53. Triglycerides are at 62, slightly up from last year, but still respectable.

My doctor thinks I am a living freak. He used to discuss steroids  with me, thinking I was always taking something...something to make me so amazing. This year he changed his tune. Once again, I have proven to him I am naturally healthy, strong and just living life to it's fullest. 

I love transforming my body, watching the changes that occur as I eat a healthy (or unhealthy) meal. I feel in control of my destiny.

I love my back, it looks amazing doesn't it? And I am only training it once a week now, but I suppose those extra chin ups have done the trick!

The way to start a program of change is to start by loving yourself. Treat yourself with kindness, encourage yourself.

Celebrate your beauty.

Physical Therapy for Hamstring Strain

I finally started Physical Therapy for my hamstring. I feel like I have told my story to so many doctors and had to do it yet again. They all keep referring me to each other. 

I went into the therapist on Thursday and met with Brian, I explained everything and he poked, prodded, stretched, manipulated and twisted my body to determine exactly where it hurt, what was tight, what was sore and what we might be able to fix.

Brian decided that I really should go back to Dr. Leahy and have some A.R.T. performed on my hip flexors, they are both super tight and uncomfortable. I just wish insurance would pay for those visits, but it doesn't. Brian did agree though, that the entire left side of my lower body is "jacked up" as I said.

I was there for an hour and a half! I did lots of different stretches, some cable exercises, some silly bends with a 2.5 pound kettlebell. I think he made me use it because I laughed at the three little bells and said "I have never seen such tiny kettlebells! They look like jewelry!"

Some of the stretches require a partner, I need to find someone to stretch me. Anyone close by and willing - let me know!

The highlight of the session was 11 minutes on this thing, I believe it was electromagnetic stimulation. I had this once for a shoulder injury years ago, I told Brian that it was like an exciting masochistic event as I was in control of the dial that determined the electrical output. How much can I take? It is an odd sensation holding it and slowly adjusting the electrical current.

I didn't have shorts so Brian got these big black basketball shorts and tossed them to me. "I bet you never wear anything like this to the gym!" he said as he closed the door to allow me to change.

I told him that I didn't, but there was the time when I was standing outside at work for hours due to a fire alarm and I called SC and asked If I could come lift to kill the time - did he have anything I could wear?  He said yes and when I got there and changed I looked like a rag doll in the huge clothes. I said "Where the hell did you get these?!" and he said the shirt was his (he is a big guy and I think he wore extra large) and the shorts belonged to the NFL player James Jones of the Green Bay Packers, SC used to be his Strength Coach. "They got a drawstring!" he said "Cinch 'em up and let's go!"

Brian had me lay down with my legs elevated and connected the electrodes.

He had it on a fairly high current- I made the mistake of telling him that I have a very high pain threshold. 

Here you can see the muscles jumping around in response to the treatment, it was quite an odd sensation. The muscles jerked quite violently at times. He siad I can buy a small home version for a super affordable price, I am thinking about it but need to research the effectiveness a bit more. If you have any opinions, i would love to hear them!

I have scheduled an appointment to see Dr. Leahy about my hip flexors, funny how the only thing that really gives me relief is the one that insurance will not pay for. 

I'll be going back for physical therapy twice a week for the next month and I will keep you posted! 

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Increasing Volume

You know, finding that "niche", that "thing", that special "something" that gives you chills up and down your spine is a feeling that people can spend their entire life looking for.

It could be watching car racing on TV. Maybe its having a prize show dog. Shooting a powerful rifle. It could be anything. Something that gives you the feeling of  power, purpose and accomplishment. Something that makes you proud of your hard work.

I have found mine, there is no question about it , and lately, I have felt like I am in overdrive. 

It comes from breaking out of the feeling of being complacent. 

Comfortable.

Set.

OK.

Doing Just Fine.

When we start to feel that "everything is going just fine and smoothly", that's when it can all break down and things can get......messy. 

The body loves to be comfortable and will make sure that it has just what it needs to feel relaxed, well fed and not stressed. 

it's called Homeostasis. Our bodies work very, very hard to remain the same, to adapt to the environment, to chug along without making any waves.  Our minds work with the body to convince us that we don't need to do anything extra.

So if you don't change your training, if you don't challenge your body, it will adapt and it will not grow, it will not improve. It will do only what it needs to stay the same.

It's so easy to keep going to the gym doing the same thing, thinking that we are doing our bodies good. 

Doing the same thing over and over is what your body wants to be cozy. Does "cozy" evoke thoughts of sexy? Of ripped? Of lean and hard? Nooooo

Cozy is the opposite word of what I strive for.

I have known for years that I must change my training to grow. I do change it, but I also fall into the same trap that we all do, repeating the same workout or the same weights over and over again.

It should change every week, really. You should not go in this Monday and do the same weights and reps you did last Monday, where is the improvement in that? 

I have made a personal challenge to increase my pull ups and chin ups every week, and it has been so successful I  am shaking my head that I didn't do this earlier.

I train my Back on Sundays, and when I get close to a competition I also add in Wednesday mornings. 

Three weeks ago this was my chin up set:

With a weight belt and a total of 9 1/2 pounds added:

4, 5, 6, 6, 6 ,6 for a total of 27 chin ups

Two weeks ago:

With a weight belt and a total of 9 1/2 pounds added:

5, 6, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 for a total of 36 chin ups (11 more)

Last week:

With a weight belt and a total of 9 1/2 pounds added:

5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 for a total of 46 chin ups (10 more than the previous week and 21 more than two weeks ago!)

This Sunday my goal is to try to hit 7 on each set. I have a mental block about getting past that #6 mark, and Roy said that a lot of people stop right there, I have no idea why!

Remember that even adding just a couple more each session is improvement, it doesn't have to be drastic, but just a bit more. It will not only improve your physique, but give your mind that mental boost of accomplishment to keep you going for yet a another session!