Dani's Rebel Log

[Dani_Shugart]

@Andrewgen_Receptors

Maybe internalizing that you actually do know more than him would help with your response here… it’s okay to be a bit short with someone giving unsolicited advice. I’ve done this numerous times (again, I’m kind of an asshole and you aren’t).

You could also reinforce that his input isn’t super welcome by saying that you’re following your “coaches” plan. Then, it’s not you telling him to back off, it’s your “coach”.

This is such good advice. Therapist Andrewgen dropping the wisdom again.

@Andrewgen_Receptors

Just remember that you don’t owe him anything, and that you go to the gym for you.

This is true and a good reminder. But I do get enjoyment out of making people feel good and being liked. So maybe my “kindness” is actually just people-pleasing because I’m dependent on validation. lol crap.

On the other hand, Mike is a positive guy and I love camaraderie in the gym. It feels like being on a team. There’s nothing quite like that. So playing along with him on certain things puts me in a great mood (usually) but it’s gone a little too far.

[Dani_Shugart]

@TrainForPain

I know it’s even worse for women, but this happens to me too. Too many lifting days and I look like crap, which is totally unfair. How am I supposed to deal with that paradox?? Spoiler alert: I found a way to look like crap either way

Yeah it’s a dilemma for sure! But I’m actually relieved to hear that men experience this phenomenon too.

@TrainForPain

…like the ROM makes the kind of jokes so funny HR wants to hear them too?

I hear you on all this. What you wrote below is true, though, so don’t forget it!

HAHA! I actually wasn’t sure how to describe it, but inappropriate probably wasn’t the best word choice.

So he was trying to get me to do lateral raises where the dumbbells came WAY above the elbow joint. I was taught this was bad form 23 years ago. My coach, Joe-Pete, would always say to keep elbows higher or at least on the same level as wrists. Otherwise you could end up with a shoulder impingement.

Also, when people do that they like a pterodactyl at the top of the range of motion.

@TrainForPain

Your body is the opposite of financial investments: risk avoidance far outweighs opportunity cost.

YES!!! This needs to be a sign in every gym. Great story too!

@TrainForPain

He’s a narcissist who thinks I owe him my time because he wants it. Am I going to reward that behavior? Absolutely not.

Whoa! I hadn’t considered this. Honestly though, I think he’s just an elderly guy who likes getting respect and attention from a younger gal. It’s sweet.

@TrainForPain

Anyway, you’re smarter than me and don’t need my advice

Heck no! This is the first time I strongly disagree with you. haha

[Dani_Shugart]

My body is telling me to back off and I’m not actually sure what’s happening. It tolerates less and less intensity. I black out constantly at the gym and have to hold onto equipment to not fall down. I’m unable to sleep past about 3-4 am. I experience a crazy respiratory reaction with any amount of caffeine (immediate throat pain, runny nose).

Last year I posted about how intense metcon would cause a ripping feeling in my lungs and throat for days after a workout, and that’s still the same. So intensity is off the table and has been for a while.

I can usually do stuff like harder hikes, supersets, and the 100 reps of leg presses unbroken without repercussion, but my threshold stops just above that when anything requires me to breathe much harder.

The last time I did intense metcon was the challenge video with the loaded carries and the pushup ladder. That was fall of 2021.

I went to the doctor for the lung symptoms and they did a bunch of stupid tests that showed nothing. It’s not allergies. It’s not stomach acid. These were both suggested to me, and they’re good guesses. But I suspect it’s somehow adrenal… I just don’t know how the dots connect.

So I’m considering taking time off from lifting, or maybe just isolating muscles, hitting abs, and walking until I can get things under control again.

Kinda sucks but I want to get my health in order before actual menopause begins. And it may be coming sooner than I thought. Honestly, it’s not that bad if you manage your stress and build muscle.

Dr. Tyna Moore did an excellent podcast on menopause, and it blew my dang mind. She also mentioned andropause, which men go through. So it’s worth a listen.

On a lighter note, do you let your abs “dome” when training them? Stop that! (I do it on occasion accidentally.) So here’s a fantastic video from MegSquats. I love her teaching style!

DON’T BE A DOMER | Learn how to use your entire core!

Today’s Workout:

I’m kinda still hitting full-ish body, but today all I could do was a couple compound lifts and a couple isolation lifts.

Bench Press: 4 x 6-8 (left one rep in reserve)

Toe-Elevated RDL: 4 x 10-12 (pauses at the bottom)

Adductor Machine: 4 x 15 full ROM, 15 partials

Lateral Raise Machine: 4 x failure with a drop set and partials

[TrainForPain]

What does your blood pressure do?

[Dani_Shugart]

I would guess it drops a little but I’m actually not sure. I have a history of low BP.

[TrainForPain]

I’d definitely see that being part of the blacking out/ feeling faint.

I hope they’re able to take care of you and figure it out!

[QuadQueen]

Late to the party but on the MLM topic…

[anna_5588]

I’m a bit obsessed with anti- MLM content rn

It’s honestly ridiculous the lengths to which ppl will go to defend these scams

[Andrewgen_Receptors]

@Dani_Shugart

My body tolerates less and less intensity. I black out constantly at the gym and have to hold onto equipment to not fall down.

@Dani_Shugart

I have a history of low BP.

These are both me. Squats and deadlifts (really any heavy compound with lots of bracing) do this to me. I will say that since I’ve stopped squatting and deadlifting, I’ve had this happen far less often. Leg press at 9 plates a side hadn’t caused this, but 3+ plate squats will do it in no time.

Never figured out a cause, but mine for sure has a correlation to exercises performed. Is this the same for you?

[anna_5588]

@Andrewgen_Receptors

Leg press at 9 plates a side hadn’t caused this, but 3+ plate squats will do it in no time.

Could it have something to do with the valsalva manuveur?
It causes a rise in blood pressure, followed by a rebound drop, which could trigger lightheadedness

[Andrewgen_Receptors]

@anna_5588

Could it have something to do with the valsalva manuveur?

Yes. I did attempt to correct this with various techniques and found the best setup to be about 50% lung capacity.

It did not stop me from getting extremely light headed and borderline passing out.

[Dani_Shugart]

@TrainForPain

I hope they’re able to take care of you and figure it out!

Thank you! At this point, “they” is just me. LOL. In my experience trial and error works better than conventional doctors when it comes to chronic and systemic problems. But I’ve looked some stuff up and am seeing more possibilities of what it could be related to. This is a step in the right direction because then I can figure out what kind of tests or bloodwork might need to be done.

Last time I went to a doc for some of these symptoms, she was convinced that I needed ALL the tests for heart health. As it turned out, my heart was perfectly healthy… just like I said it would be. But they needed to squeeze everything they could out of my insurance. I have trust issues with the medical community.

[Dani_Shugart]

@QuadQueen

Late to the party but on the MLM topic…

HAHAHA I hadn’t seen that one before! So good!

[Dani_Shugart]

@anna_5588

I’m a bit obsessed with anti- MLM content rn

It’s honestly ridiculous the lengths to which ppl will go to defend these scams

I know the feeling. And what makes it tough is how convincing a lot of multi-level marketers are when you don’t have your guard up. What they say sounds so good you want to believe them.

Years ago a friend tried to recruit me to sell his exogenous ketones, and that series of interactions taught me the language and flattery tactics they use.

I hope he’s moved on from that line of business.

[Dani_Shugart]

@Andrewgen_Receptors

Squats and deadlifts (really any heavy compound with lots of bracing) do this to me. I will say that since I’ve stopped squatting and deadlifting, I’ve had this happen far less often. Leg press at 9 plates a side hadn’t caused this, but 3+ plate squats will do it in no time.

You stopped squatting and deadlifting? You rebel!

For me it happens when standing up after a big lift, like bench press or between sets of deadlifts. It once happened during sets of single-leg RDLs (with a med ball), but it hasn’t happened luckily while standing up during barbell RDLs yet.

So yes, it’s somewhat lift-specific. It won’t happen if all I’ve done in the gym is some shoulder or bicep work. So it seems to be related to fatigue. The further I get in the workout the more frequently my vision goes black. So if I’ve accumulated a lot of fatigue, even from just walking lunges and other not-so-hardcore lifts, it’ll start happening.

[Andrewgen_Receptors]

@Dani_Shugart

For me it happens when standing up after a big lift, like bench press or between sets of deadlifts.

I’m assuming you vasalva or brace with a relatively large breath before/during lifting.

When you let your breath out, don’t do it all at once; do the steam engine thingy where you let your breath out slow and controlled (you don’t have to make the noise lol).

@Dani_Shugart

You stopped squatting and deadlifting? You rebel!

What was the name of your log like a week ago? I forget…

They were too taxing for me to do the rest of my lifts, so I had to choose: Do I chase arbitrary numbers which no one gives a damn about, or do I keep trying to look good naked? I chose the latter.

Any field of vision loss and/or increase in headaches (not time-related to the light-headedness occurring during lifts)?

[Dani_Shugart]

@Andrewgen_Receptors

I’m assuming you vasalva or brace with a relatively large breath before/during lifting.

I’ll pay attention to that and see what happens!

But even at the end of a harder workout when I’m just stretching or doing mobility stuff on the ground, I can stand up and it’ll happen. It seems like a fatigue + standing up type of thing. I had this a lot as a kid and even full-out fainted twice. Once right after track practice and once in my house. So I’ve gotten used to it over the years but it seems worse now. Nearly every workout seems to trigger it.

@Andrewgen_Receptors

What was the name of your log like a week ago? I forget…

Rebel is a compliment in this case! If you’re getting great results without doing what everyone says you must do, that’s a big win to me.

@Andrewgen_Receptors

They were too taxing for me to do the rest of my lifts, so I had to choose: Do I chase arbitrary numbers which no one gives a damn about, or do I keep trying to look good naked? I chose the latter.

Exactly. Totally with you on that. My deadlifts are just RDL variations loaded lightly with reps to failure.

@Andrewgen_Receptors

Any field of vision loss and/or increase in headaches (not time-related to the light-headedness occurring during lifts)?

Not usually. That’s happened once before but it’s not the norm. So for instance if I’m resting between sets of a compound exercise and I squat down to pick up my water bottle, everything will go black as I stand up.

This has been a thing that’s been happening to me for decades, but it’s just more frequent now.

[TrainForPain]

Happy anniversary @Dani_Shugart @Chris_Shugart!

[Dani_Shugart]

Thank you! We’ve been celebrating in Vail this week. It’s a great place to explore in the summertime. These mountains are gorgeous!

[Dani_Shugart]

We got back from Vail on Sunday, so Monday I did an upper body workout. I’m pretty sure my body was just overdue a deload because I stopped having dizzy spells and respiratory issues.

I’m sure those will be back again later. If they do, please remind me to go to Vail.

What’s weird is we weren’t inactive there. We walked 3-4 times a day for miles at a time, and we had a couple bike rides that included some tough inclines. We were on E-bikes and had the option of using a little vroom-vroom assistance but I felt adequately challenged without my throat hurting or my vision going black.

Monday’s Workout:

• Dips: 5 x 7
• Banded External Rotation Thingamajig: 5 x failure each side
• Palms-Up Band Pull-Aparts: 5 x failure

We have to talk about posture. I’m bringing back band work after seeing a couple pictures confirming that I’m having trouble with internally rotated shoulders, continuous shrugging, and a torso hunch. I’ll post a bad-posture picture below.

• Straight Arm Cable Pulldown 4 x 12
• Seated Cable Neutral Grip Row 4 x 12

This is always a good combo. I left plenty of rest to have a full recovery before the next superset began. But I absolutely love the feeling this gives the rear delts, triceps, and lats.

• Hammer Strength Chest Press: 2 x failure with super controlled reps

First set was lighter (45 on each side) for as many reps as possible with pauses at peak and some accentuated eccentrics, second set was 70 pounds each side with smooth reps to failure. Lots of stretching between sets.

• Lateral Raise Machine: 2 x failure
• Extra band pull-aparts between sets

Why more band stuff? I really want to add resistance to positions that put me in a good posture. I need to train it or I’ll go back to what feels easiest.

When I was a kid, my bodybuilding coach used to say, “shoulders back and down” constantly. Didn’t matter if it was during a workout or a posing session, he’d say that and it got drilled into me. It became the default-mode.

But do you ever see people doing a bicep pose and something about it doesn’t look right? Even if they have great biceps, it’ll look odd if his or her shoulder is all scrunched up close to their jawline.

That’s what happens when you don’t put your shoulders back and down. You shrug. Shrugging is fine when done intentionally, but when you’re doing it all the time for no reason, it just becomes bad posture. And I keep catching myself doing that!

Dear traps, please stop holding a shrug.

So here’s what I’m talking about with the internal rotation of the shoulders and the shrug:

Last fall when I hired Trainer Rebecca to help me with mobility work, she showed me that my scapulae wing out sometimes and my shoulders hunch forward. She gave me the band exercises (in my workout above) that would help ameliorate it. So yep, bringing those back for good.

Here are some more pictures of our anniversary vacation.