Maybe a scan would show something? Whatever it is, it doesn’t sound fun. Get better soon.
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Had the yearly physical yesterday. Started off just swell.
Nurse said get on the scale, so I step on and she adjusts the bottom weight to the 150 and slides the top weight all the way over to 40…45…50, then says, “Oh, I didn’t think you were that big” and adjusts the bottom weight to the 200.
Ended up at 214 (in jeans and at night after a day’s eating, so basically on track). But, ouch, that comment took the wind out of my sails. I guess I could take it as a compliment, but, nah.
Long story short: Doc did some manual diagnostics, no scans or whatnot, and suspects it’s tendonitis of the biceps’ long head. Prescribed Meloxicam (a high strength NSAID) for two weeks, supposed to pick it up today. I need to read up more on it, but if nothing improves, then he suggests physical therapy.
That’s where we’re at. Doing heat throughout the day and high reps of whatever doesn’t aggravate the arm. I should probably start eating better, too. The 4-pound can of Royal Dansk cookies from Christmas are almost gone, so that helps.
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Wait, is the pain around your acromion? I had that two years or so ago. It was a bicep strain which the physio said was likely due to an under active rotator cuff. He prescribed victory raises with just a band focusing on squeezing my fists shut and pushing against the band. Worked a treat.
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May have to get a suitable band to give these a go.
My elbow has gotten significantly better since early last year, but still flares up from time to time.
Probably won’t do much if the pain is in your elbow. Light and high rep hammer curls would probably help more.
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Yep, got my anatomy mixed up haha.
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I ALWAYS take this as a compliment. Most people don’t believe me when I say I’m 220lbs…but I’m also only 5’9", so there is that.
That’s not so much where I feel it. I get pain lower down, more under the meat of the medial delt on the side of the arm, so I’m guessing it could be an issue with the long head like he said.
I’ve been playing around researching a few different tendonitis-specific warm-up protocols, bands and rolling and whatnot, trying to dial something in. Might need to tap into my rolodex and shoot an e-mail to some of the coaches for input.
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In hindsight, any woman saying any variation of “You’re bigger than I expected” probably is a compliment.
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Okay. Getting back on the horse that’s on the wagon that’s on the right track.
But… forgot to weigh-in this morning because kiddo now keeps the scale in his room in the basement.
Wednesday’s food:
9:00 - 2 chicken breasts, sriracha; bunch of almonds; Spike
12:00 - 2 hard-boiled eggs; pear
3:00 - Indigo-3G
3:30 - 1 scoop Plazma, 5g creatine (finished during training. 2 scoops seemed like overkill for the session)
6:00 - Baked crunchy chicken (chicken breast, panko, spices); homemade mashed potatoes; splash of gravy; kale with shallots
9:00 - Greek yogurt, 1 scoop Metabolic Drive, 1 scoop collagen
Wednesday’s training:
A) Negative-only 1-arm DB press and curl 3x20-count (basically this, starting from the top position and without any triceps extension)
B) DB squat 5x20
C1) 2-DB row 4x20
C2) 2-DB elbows-in Floor press 4x20
Shoulder’s steadily feeling better, likely in large part to the meds (couple of days left) and generous slatherings of Tiger Balm. There’s a lot of research on the benefits of eccentric training for tendonitis, so I’m giving it a shot with that first drill. The slow tempo also helps to get more out of lighter weight, so we’ll see how it goes.
The high rep work is also geared towards getting blood flow to the tendons, and ROM is whatever’s workable. General plan is to drop the reps a bit and increase weight every week or two.
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About six years ago, we decided it was time for another dog in the house. It was about a year since we lost our last girl and we were ready to give the cats a big buddy again.
Went down to the local shelter and ended up going home with a little 40-pound pittie who was maybe six months old, Vet would later figure she’s an American Staffordshire. Hurray, welcome home, Cookie.
A few weeks later, there was a “doggie day” at a local garden where pups can have a day out by a pond, big field, and bunches of flowers. There were little agility courses, vendors, groomers, dog biscuits, everything. So we took her for her first big day out. Not 10 minutes were we walking around when we hear, “Excuse me, did you just adopt that dog from the Oyster Bay shelter?”
Enter extreme panic mode. Crap, this is probably the lady who turned her in, now she changed her mind and wants her back so I’mma have to fight a chick to keep my dog. “Um, yeah, we… did???”
Turns out it was the lady who turned Cookie in to the shelter, because she knew a girl who knew a guy involved with dog fighting and Cookie was in a yard to end up as bait or a breeder, so the lady bought her for a hundred bucks but couldn’t keep the dog herself.
That lady was at the doggie day because she worked for a local dog groomer who had a vendor’s booth, so we brought Cookie by the booth to say hi/thanks. The owner of the shop, Diane, was so happy to see Cookie’s being well taken care of, she promised her free baths forever.
Diane was super-friendly, easy to talk to, and basically became our go-to pet expert for years. A “quick” phone call to make an appointment always turned into a 15-minute random chatting session. Any question we had about behavior, training, food, whatever, she got it. Just a few weeks ago at Cookie’s last bath, Diane gave us a $30 bottle of CBD oil for free to help with Cookie’s allergies.
We got a phone call last night and my wife answered.
“Hello?”
“Is this Cookie’s mom?”
“What? Who’s this?”
It was Diane’s nephew, going through her appointment book to let clients know. Diane had a heart attack on Monday, 57 years old. We’re going to her wake tonight. Trying to mentally process, we went through the whole, “But we just saw her the other week and she seemed fine. And last month she just moved the shop to a new location that’s five minutes closer to the house and we can stop by when we’re walking Cookie.”
The old cliche of nobody ever being promised a tomorrow is true. Pat your dog’s head, call your friends and family, and enjoy your days now.
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I’m really sorry to hear that Chris.
Like you said, you should try to enjoy every day like it is your last. You just never know.
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Thanks, man.
When the nephew gave us the arrangement info, he also gave us a heads up that it’s open casket. Those are always tough.
The timing’s also crazy, in that my wife works for an accountant and they start “the busy season” (6-day work weeks and longer hours each day) this Saturday, so the whole idea of enjoying time now is more challenging and even more important.
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Tuesday’s food:
9:30 - “Kodiak protein power cake” pancakes with 2 scoops Metabolic Drive, big handful of blueberries, half a banana; Coffee with stevia
11:00 - Small orange
2:30 - Indigo-3G
3:00 - 1 scoop Plazma, 5g creatine
3:30 - 1 scoop Plazma
5:30 - Many sausage, peppers, and onions; 2 slices Italian bread
7:00 - Chivas (got a tiny bottle for Xmas, cracked it open for the first time. Not a Scotch guy, but… is good.)
9:00 - 1 scoop Metabolic Drive, 1 scoop collagen
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Tuesday’s training:
A) Negative-only 1-arm DB press and curl 5x20-count
B) Leg press 5x20
C1) 2-DB row 5x15-20
C2) 2-DB slight decline press 5x15-20
Shoulder’s still on an upswing. Not sure what’s helping the most, but I sort of don’t care. Throwing the kitchen sink at it doesn’t really help to narrow down “the” solution, but it’s a solution, so I’ll take it.
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Wow, didn’t realize you had 60lbs on me lol
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Well, I haven’t had a vein pop in 2 years, so I’d say 40+lbs of that difference is fat…
Just under 12 weeks to go. Screwed the pooch with the updates here, so I’ll make it a point to get back on track with that.
I did bring back the standard morning bike routine towards the end of February. Did a half-hour a few days a week, bumped it up to 45 minutes 4 days a week for March. I’ll either add a day or increase the time again at the end of the month.
And I hit a random PR last week. Stood in the kitchen and had a buffalo chicken slice of pizza with extra buffalo chicken, a peanut butter sandwich with a glass of milk, three Twizzlers, two handfuls of Sweet Chili Doritos, and a banana in the span of about 10 minutes.
Literally no idea what I was doing or really why. Complete braindead autopilot. On the bright side, I did nothing but rub my fat, stupid, bloated, emotional-eating belly the rest of the night.
Lifting is back to normal-ish. I’ve been playing around with safety bar squats more than ever before and they’re good stuff to make the shoulder a non-issue for leg work. Ring chins are also back in using more-than 3/4 ROM without pain, so that’s on track.
All in all, I’d say I’m around a C+ level for the challenge so far. Not cool, but…
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Tuesday’s morning weight: 204.3
Monday’s food:
8:00 - 1 scoop Mag-10, half a Spike
9:30 - 4 eggs, Normandy Veg, 1 slice cheese, 2 slices ham
1:00 - 2 scoops Metabolic Drive in water with a handful of frozen pineapple
3:30 - Indigo-3G
4:00 - 1 scoop Plazma, 5g creatine
4:15 - 1 scoop Plazma
6:00 - Homemade meatloaf (much ground beef, some bread crumbs, couple eggs, many spices), homemade mashed potatoes (many potatoes, splash of milk, bit of butter), kale/spinach mix
9:00 - 2 scoops Mag-10
Buckling down again on the “no booze on lifting days” rule that I’d gotten pretty lax on. Easy way to keep things in check, calorie-wise and recovery-wise. Also, conveniently, makes bottles last longer.
Monday’s training:
45-minute morning bike
Afternoon lifting:
Negative 1-arm press and curl 5x1 (basically part of the general warm-up nowadays)
A1) Trap bar deadlift 5x8-10
A2) Landmine press 5x10-12
B1) Band pull-apart 3x10-12 (holding peak contraction for a 2-count)
B2) Barbell kickback 3x10-12
B3) Zottman curl 3x12-15
B4) Reverse crunch 3x10-15
I don’t know how the Youtube Suggestions algorithm works, but this popped up the other day. Made the bike ride go by pretty quick, like I was galloping down the steepes.
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