I had a laparoscopy. Nothing too crazy. The worst part is not being able to lift for a little while. 
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Gotcha, figured it was something like that.
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One week post-op.
I feel really good, dramatically so since Friday.I stopped taking pain meds after that, though I was only taking acetaminophen once per day anyway. I might attempt cardio this weekend. It’s weird how I can feel my lower back wanting to take over after walking for a long time. Still, taking > 15k steps most days helps feed my hunger to do more. Carrying a backpack of stuff is more unpleasant than I would like but gets easier every day. I thought recovery could be challenging because I live alone. Nah. Still bloated, but that has dramatically decreased this week. My incisions are still bandaged, so I don’t know how those look.
The break from the barbell has been more refreshing than expected, maybe even much needed. I have more free time, especially because work is kinda slow right now. That’s going a little bit better now. Last week I cried from hopelessness, now I have a much better idea of how to propose my thesis.
Sometimes it is nice to taste what it’s like to be a “normal” person whose life does not revolve around physical training one bit. For example, last weekend I hung out with a newer friend of mine with whom I can truly be myself. I haven’t found anyone else like that here. We’re so similar; even our birthdays are one day apart. We ordered tacos and stayed up until past midnight just talking, and I did not think about how food or sleep would affect my training.
Plus I still have not weighed myself since pre-Deep Water. I intend to keep things that way.
Only thing that could make this “break” better is actually being on vacation.
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All so great to hear!
Important balance.
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Reading this paragraph I feel like I’m slacking off. Or maybe I didn’t realize just how serious people take their training.
This is an interesting insight. Thanks so much for sharing.
I had the time off for surgery, but it wasn’t really a mental break at all since I spent the recovery time in the hospital planning my training and got back into the gym the second I could
Yep, I forgot what it felt like. It’s easy for me (and presumably others) to do that, especially when the pandemic can be so isolating.
I am also wearing jeans today for the first time since last week. I figured you might be able to understand how that feels 
Sorry, that wasn’t my intention. I’m not necessarily proud of it. My relationship with food is pretty good but not perfect. I also don’t tolerate gluten, so I can be difficult to accommodate at social events. I don’t like burdening people in that way.
It’s not that I’m not thinking about training at all, but whichever program I choose will depend on how I feel and what my doctor thinks, and I still have a while.
I haven’t had a week off or deload since June, so I’m happy to not think about training as much for a bit. It’s like when you go on vacation – there comes a point when you feel ready to come home, and I am not there yet.
I struggle with not having enough time in the day to do all the things I want. I view forced breaks from training as opportunities to catch up on other hobbies.
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I’m going to wear some tonight for the first time since, like, the second week of January I think. It’s been all athletic wear or hiking pants for me lately. I’m not particularly excited to put them on either haha.
I’m the weirdo who kinda likes wearing jeans lol
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I used to love them, but now I can’t stand them. To be fair though, most of my jeans don’t actually fit right due to the waist/glute/upper leg imbalance I have now. Someday I’ll invest in a few nice pairs that fit right but I haven’t blown the stitching out of all of them yet.
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I climb in jeans sometimes.
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There’s no reason for an apology. I am just surprised sometimes to hear how committed people are to their training, especially if they don’t compete in a strength sport. It makes me wonder sometimes if either a) I could achieve more if I brought myself to commit more and dial everything in to support my sport as a lifestyle or b) if people take things overly serious without it working to their benefit in relation to the sacrifices they make (and please, I am not accusing you personally of anything, I’m just sharing thoughts I’ve had for a long time anyway!).
I’m good friends with someone who squats 290+ in the IPF105 class. Unbelievable powerlifter. His diet is worse than mine and he drinks even more than I do by a good margin (currently), stays up late often and even smokes. So not a great example of being committed per se but apparently it works out for him to compete at an elite level. We’ve had this exact discussion a few times already and he said he might be more accomplished if he did everything right, stopped the drinking and so on. But probably not by that much. Which in his view wouldn’t warrant giving up things that are fun to him.
I’ve also had this discussion recently with a former fellow student. He went on to become a competitive bodybuilder and also a bodybuilding coach. I also asked him if he thinks I could achieve more if I dialed in my nutrition to a t. His take was: If you’re not already fighting for the top spot and it’s the last 5% you need, it’s essentially not worth it (assuming of course the diet isn’t trash, just not optimal) to give up on things you enjoy to gain that little bit of a competitive advantage. Especially if you’re not willing to take drugs (while others are).
I really don’t know if there was a point here that I was trying to get to. If so,I have lost it. Sorry for the derail. Still I find myself wondering about these kind of topics regularly…
That reminds me, I have a pair of climbing jeans haha. Both knees are totally ripped, but they’re the very stretchy denim. They’re also several years old and idk if the waist would close any more. I should probably toss em.
Sorry for the jeans derail Bagsy.
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Yeah, it is kinda weird to consider that sometimes as someone who doesn’t compete.
This is not out of the question. I can be very all-or-nothing when it comes to hobbies and other people. I don’t think I make that many sacrifices, as I am very introverted, and a pandemic inhibits me from doing other things I like anyway. I could be wrong though.
It’s not a derail. It’s relevant. Thinking about why you do things is often useful.
No worries, jeans are cool. For example, people who geek out over raw denim on the Internet fascinate me lol
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Why would we want to be normal though! Glad you’re well on the road thru recovery.
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Bagsy is the strongest woman alive
Very true. I know I’m a weirdo and can accept that. Thanks for the words!
Ha, I’m working on it!
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I had a pair of Levi denim shorts (like knee length) that were Awesome to squat in. Very supportive. Eventually the split in the back, and I haven’t found another pair like them since.
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2/4
200 cal assault bike 26:20
200 band pull aparts
200 band tricep pushdowns
First “workout” back. I wanted to try some pushups or pullups. but I removed my bandages today, and I think I am too fragile. Planning to do another session like this one over the weekend.
No running yet because it snowed enough here for my town, which seems allergic to shoveling the sidewalks and paying plowers to do their jobs, to freak out and essentially shut down over the past couple of days. This has turned lugging groceries through unplowed streets into a semi-workout. /:
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Are you in Pittsburgh too? (I kid. I know privacy is important to you.) Within the city the maintenance crew pretty much refuses to plow entire neighborhoods.
Good work too, although fragile isn’t a word I’d use to describe you.
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