“What’s up, Doc?” far be it for me to give advice, BUT, I’ll stick my nose out, for whatever it’s worth, probably not much. “Advice is like assholes, everyone’s got one!”
Doc, IF YOU AIN"T HAPPY WITH YOURSELF, HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY MAKE LOVED ONES HAPPY? You need a little 'ME" time…you deserve it after what you’ve been through. As you get more in tune with you, you’ll be able to let that positive energy flow to others. If you are not happy for whatever reason(s), trying to make others happy may be tougher than you imagine. I wish you and yours a Happy & Healthy holiday season…try to look for the positives and not dwell on the negatives.
Doc, You can always tell me to mind my own beeswax, or even stronger, tell me to shut the fuck up…I’m not the enemy, believe it or not, I’m your cornerman. My job is not to blow smoke up your ass, but to tell the truth, as I see it. If you disagree, you’re entitled…just a simple difference of opinion…we CAN agree to DISAGREE, can’t we? Hpe all turns out well, patience grasshopper!
Hi Doc,
First, just wanted to say thanks for this thread. As a former high-level athlete who went through the doldrums of weak-ass Men’s Fitness routines for a long time after the jock-time was done, and as one who’s hurtling toward forty, I can’t tell you how much I’ve appreciated everything you’ve given here. Nice to know that there’s hope for me as I move into my 40’s and 50’s.
While I have no history of power- or olympic-lifting, I’m quickly becoming addicted, if I can ever figure out how to loosen my shoulder girdle enough to overhead squat and snatch effectively. Can’t seem to keep the bar back far enough, and my wrists and shoulders end up hurting like anything. Any advice?
On another note (the one that finally got me off my ass and involved in this thread), I’m a fellow shrink, though not a psychiatrist - I’m an analytically-trained psychologist - and I just can’t take your last post sitting down. What would you say to a patient who came into your office and tried to convince you that it was “necessary” for him to neglect his own physical and emotional health to meet the needs of his family?
Sorry to be so presumptuous as to offer unsolicited advice, but I feel almost like I know you after following this thread for so long. Best of luck in the new job - I used to live in Ft Lauderdamndale and miss it terribly right now (it’s about 20 degrees here in the tundra that we call Wisconsin).
Wow, three replies that all say pretty much the same thing! Guess you touched a nerve, doc.
Can’t remember who it was that recommended CrossFit to you a while back, but I’ll reiterate the suggestion. While I wouldn’t advocate anyone jumping in and trying to keep up with every workout of the day, you might consider picking and choosing, and perhaps supplementing with occasional heavy work.
The CrossFit workouts tend to be intensive and fairly short, and they can be done with little equipment, and you (or at least I) end up feeling fairly energized the next day rather than exhausted.
I’d guess that, given your upcoming intense schedule, the CrossFit stuff would probably suit you well. Just be careful with the volume, as it can wreak havoc on your joints until you get used to it.
Good luck.
[quote]gspmirkoice wrote:
Hi Doc,
First, just wanted to say thanks for this thread. As a former high-level athlete who went through the doldrums of weak-ass Men’s Fitness routines for a long time after the jock-time was done, and as one who’s hurtling toward forty, I can’t tell you how much I’ve appreciated everything you’ve given here. Nice to know that there’s hope for me as I move into my 40’s and 50’s.
While I have no history of power- or olympic-lifting, I’m quickly becoming addicted, if I can ever figure out how to loosen my shoulder girdle enough to overhead squat and snatch effectively. Can’t seem to keep the bar back far enough, and my wrists and shoulders end up hurting like anything. Any advice?
On another note (the one that finally got me off my ass and involved in this thread), I’m a fellow shrink, though not a psychiatrist - I’m an analytically-trained psychologist - and I just can’t take your last post sitting down. What would you say to a patient who came into your office and tried to convince you that it was “necessary” for him to neglect his own physical and emotional health to meet the needs of his family?
Sorry to be so presumptuous as to offer unsolicited advice, but I feel almost like I know you after following this thread for so long. Best of luck in the new job - I used to live in Ft Lauderdamndale and miss it terribly right now (it’s about 20 degrees here in the tundra that we call Wisconsin). [/quote]
Hey, gs…(you might need a catchier handle). I am always glad to see a new poster on my thread, and I got a kick out of your comments and your background, including your other post as well.
I appreciate that someone still finds my tales of woe interesting, because I feel I’m am in danger of becoming a serious bore or annoyance with my personal problems. I do intend of overcoming it all, somehow, and in the process perhaps I will be of some inspiration to others out there who find themselves in similar difficult situations.
My comments about sacrificing my personal needs need to be taken in context…I am talking about four months, not the rest of my life. Obviously doing this for an extended period of time would either indicate I turned myself into a martyr or a saint, neither of which I am nor intend to try to be.
On a happier note, I love having a question about LIFTING!!! Yes, although my lower body is also giving me fits with OL, shoulder girdle flexibility is the other major challenge for older guys trying OL. Many here in this section just can’t do many movements like OH squats or BNP’s. I can, but it has taken daily stretching. I have had more success in loosening up my shoulders than I have with my lower body, so I don’t mind sharing here. Two things I love…the first is bar dislocates, taking a light bar or broomstick with a very wide grip and taking it back and over to your back. Very hard and eerie even at first, but with time it gets better. Just know the difference between good pain and bad (don’t do it if you feel rotators grinding). The second one I read on T-Nation also, standing with your back against a wall, putting your hands up with arms out ninety degrees, and moving hands up against the wall and back down again. I follow this with rotations, down and up, elbows still stuck on the wall. These three movements have helped me a lot.
Keep posting, and feel free to call me on any psychological stuff I post…I’m still not the strong, confident and self-assured guy I was my whole life and on any given day I’m capable of writing any manner of bullshit.
Doc
Hey gs…(you might need a catchier handle).
My computer’s malfunctioning, I wrote you twice and it disappeared, and that’s why I had three posts saying mostly the same thing.
But sometimes its my brain thats malfunctioning lately as well. Feel free to call me on stuff, I’m glad to have another “shrink” on board here. I would say that your comments are accurate, but I would only offer that my “sacrifice” is intended to be temporary, my goal is to return my family to the well-balanced home where everyone’s needs are met, the way it was for the bulk of my marriage until the last four to five years.
As far as your shoulders, I did gain some flexibility doing dislocates with a wide broomstick, as well as two others. This involves standing with back against the wall, arms straight out and hands straight up. Then glides your hands up as high as you can. Go up and down. Then do internal and external rotations from this position as well (humerus ninety degress and locked, rotate hand from top to bottom and back.)
I learned these from T-Nation, you can read a lot of good stuff here if you devote yourself to the search function, even though it doesnt always work well.
Again, welcome to my thread and I’ll try to keep this thing from becoming too much of a soap opera. Maybe its too late!!!lol Doc
Ah, finally something’s posting. Here’s today’s quiz, ladies and gents. Who is my new avatar (easy) and who painted it (hard)?
I love it…never saw it before. Doc
btw, QT and Katz, I ALWAYS appreciate your posts, and have no fear you couldnt hurt my feelings. Shit, Barry called bullshit on me and called me a stupid moron, and I still love him. My skin’s not that thin, believe it or not. True friends tell you when they think your off veering off the road, and I’ve been off the MAP lately.
I’m not gonna just forget my hormonal problems, but I’m just gonna take conservative amounts of HRT, and if I get in trouble mentally and physically I’ll up it myself. I just meant I cant go searching the country for answers to WHY my nuts practically died on me right now…(road trips, new docs, ultrasounds, MRI’s, endless bloodwork, all that…) that journey will have to wait. I still think it was mainly the varicoceles, anyway, since its the only reason that makes sense to me.
Doc
[quote]Dr.PowerClean wrote:
Ah, finally something’s posting. Here’s today’s quiz, ladies and gents. Who is my new avatar (easy) and who painted it (hard)?
I love it…never saw it before. Doc[/quote]
http://www.shef.ac.uk/scharr/prospective_pg/masters/psastuds.html
I Like your new Avatar and it’s quite appropriate.
Dr PowerClean,
I’m entirely with you on taking care of your family and financial situation first then yourself. That’s what men do. You guys who think overwise are self centered boys. Once things are aligned you can easily do both.
My two cents,
Carlsbad
Yeah, the handle is “gsp” (georges st pierre), “mirko” (crocop), and “ice” (chuck liddell). Over the past three years or so, I’ve become a big fan of MMA. Interesting that I got intensely into the fighting stuff at about the same time that I found myself lurking here at T-Nation and getting into heavier poundages in the gym. Guess you could consider it a reaction against the softness of middle age.
Maybe I should go with parrotheadshrinker, being a shrink and a Jimmy Buffett fan? Dunno.
Re. your avatar: I won’t say who it is, but the artist has a cool museum near Tampa.
Thanks for the suggestions for achieving greater flexibility in the shoulders. Ever have any problems with pain in the wrists? I’m fine when I keep my grip fairly narrow, like a conventional DL grip or a bit wider, but when I get out near the collars my wrists just don’t want to bend like that and I wake up really sore the next day. Is it just a matter of wrapping and taping?
If I called you a stupid moron it was from love. You have a lot going on in your brain right now and even with your backround it has to be hard dealing with all the shit. Please make and take time to train. I know you won’t feel like it but when it’s over you’ll feel like a million. I’ve experienced errors on here the last couple of days. Anyone else? Doc, all the best from Missouri. It’s stone crab season eat some for me.
[quote]Dr.PowerClean wrote:
Ah, finally something’s posting. Here’s today’s quiz, ladies and gents. Who is my new avatar (easy) and who painted it (hard)?
I love it…never saw it before. Doc[/quote]
I going to stab at: Freud… and he chalked it himself?
[quote]Carlsbad wrote:
Dr PowerClean,
I’m entirely with you on taking care of your family and financial situation first then yourself. That’s what men do. You guys who think overwise are self centered boys. Once things are aligned you can easily do both.
My two cents,
Carlsbad
[/quote]
Thank you, Carlsbad. I do not feel bad about my decision and despite being pretty confused about alot of things right now, on this part I am not confused. It IS what men do, and yes once things are aligned it its easy to do both.
I love the youngsters on T-Nation, but go look at how they put their bodies and lifts above all else…just a little bit self-centered, dont you think? Doc
btw, we have several winners...Freud by Dali. I've been a big Dali fan, but for some reason never saw this sketch of the Holy One himself. I studied under an 80 year old Freudian analyst, whose own analyst knew Freud. Four degrees of separation...pretty wild, huh?
Hey! I’ve got a WORKOUT to report, with no drama or crisis attached. How refreshing.
After getting back to CR for a short time, I took my son today to Worlds. After over a week's rest, my left shoulder and right knee were 60-70% better. Not good enough for serious training, but today I wanted to just workout side by side with my son, just like we did all summer. He was pleasantly surprised with this, I was thrilled.
Did a full upper body workout using mostly machines. It was really cool to see what plates I used after a couple of months of exclusive OL/PL workouts. On the bench press machine, I did the stack (250) for 15 reps for three sets and my son's eyes were as big as saucers. I loved that his competitive streak kicked in, because he then took me to do abs next, where he could outlift me with leg-ups and other stuff he's been doing lately (he has a genuine six pack now.)
We followed with pull-ups, skullcrushers, barbell curls, and machine military presses, all about 4-5 sets each. I did a set of five on the military press with 205, which was more by far than I used back when we were training machines in the summer.
This kind of training I can do, without tearing up my joints, probably forever. But on the way home, my son said:
"Dad, it was fun working out with you again. When you're gone, are you gonna be too busy to do that Olympic lifting stuff? I noticed your workouts were getting longer and harder and I can't imagine how you could do them while working hard again at the hospital..."
What a great kid. I just told him I'd do the best I could, that's all any of us can do. Doc
Doc PC,
What a great kid you have. You’re blessed.
Carlsbad
Just wanted to say “Hang tough, Bro”
Leading by example and still getting a work out in. Pretty cool Doc.
Thanks, guys, you made me think about something (oh-oh, Doc’s thinking again…)
It’s about the love I have for my son, vs. my wife.
For starters, I have taught my son to always level with me, and he does. I like to ask him how easy a heavy lift looks to him. For instance, when I pc’d 290, he said “Dad, that went up like nothing, you should do more.” And then when I started missing my attempts at 300, he said “Are you thinking about something else, cause you don’t looked focused like you did on 290.” And then my favorite was that last workout when I did a 470DL and missed 500 badly. After 470, I asked again “How easy?” “Dad, that looked brutally hard, like torture, sorry.” I argued with him “No it wasnt.” “Dad, the bar was moving very slowly and your eyes were coming out of your head.” So I of course ignored him and did a nice isometric with 500.
Somehow, over time, when the wife “levels” with me, it doesnt go over so well anymore. Her perceptions of events seem quite different than mine, and even when she’s giving me a necessary dose of reality, it goes down much harder.
Any of you guys experience these differences? I hate to say this, but right now, if I had to take a bullet for my son, I’d do it in a heartbeat, but for my wife, well, I’d either yell “Move!” or push her out of the way.
Leading by example and still getting a work out in. Pretty cool Doc.
I gotta admit, that Dan John is an awfully smart guy. Even though that video depressed the hell out of me because I realized I’m about as mobile as a statue, he gave two tips which I really like. The first was the “break the finger” chest posture. This really corrects my perpetual anterior tilt and sunken chest tendencies. Secondly, and even more important, is how he pointed out how damaging to the knees weight bearing on toes can be.
Today, I did fifty minutes of elliptical cardio, knee felt good after the first five minutes. Then I did calf raises on the leg press. The knee still hurts a lot if I do bodyweight squats, but I could do the calf raises without pain. However, get this, in the little one-fifth squat to get the weights either up or back down, my knee really hurt, especially in the patella.
So I put my feet way up high, on the top of the rectangular foot platform, with just the heels on the platform. I then did the mini-squats AND THEY DID NOT HURT! This was remarkable, I’d move them back down a few inches, bamm, weight shifts forward, pain roars back.
Of course, I still havent solved anything, because I can't in any way squat with weight on my heels, unless I use a two inch block under my shoes. But at least I've got a clue...and I know for sure if and when I return to heavy squats, I better have my weight on my heels or I will more seriously screw up my knees. Thanks, Barry, for the video and your persistence. Doc