No forearm rehab today either. I tried being somewhat optimistic after yesterdays fall, imagining it was maybe a one-step back affair but might have been more than that.
When I fell, I fell to my side, against an incline gradient and thus my hand was pushed back beyond 90 degrees. I imagine the already inflamed tendon was perhaps stretched a bit more than it would have liked. Extending the arm this morning was enough to make me sick to my stomach from the pain but I donāt fret as that seems entirely reasonable a response to āacute traumaā (I donāt know how to put it in better terms, but it doesnāt feel that dramatic as those words read hence the quotes)
Did get an appointment with my physio tomorrow since heās had a cancellation. Apparently he has some students attending, and he asked if they could perform an exam first before he did as āit would be fun to hear what you have to say afterwards since you know so much stuff about the bodyā. I appreciated the compliment. As a matter of principle, whenever I visit a person that has someone in training I always say it is fine as I believe in the importance of practice with regards to learning.
I donāt even need to test the elbow to tell it is in bad form, itās weird but Iām sure some of you reading has had something happen to you physically where you become apprehensive to do a thing because you just know itāll go bad. Thatās where Iām at. If picking up a water bowl for my cats cause pain I donāt need to try the Flexbar.
Trying to think back, I havenāt written about it much but, I was sick (personally I suspect in Covid-19) sometime early spring and afterwards Iāve intermittently had joint issues all over my body. I used to attribute this to my HRT, but I donāt recall having joint issues as a consequence of that (just very uneven mood toward the end of my ācycleā) before being sick. Kicking myself a tad for not logging this either privately or here but hey, not much to do about it now so just laughing it off and remaining vigilant to be proactive in such regards whenever a new change in life presents itself.
How readily available are antibody tests there? Might be worth doing, if for no other reason than to add a data point.
I appreciate the distinction in the previous post about regional variance within Sweden, I was completely unaware of the cultural differences when I moved there.
Iāve been prescribed another two days rest (today and tomorrow) before resuming my āownā rehab protocol with a reduced frequency from before.
In the interim, and for some time (29th December) Iāve been given a Theraband hand exerciser to exercise my ring- and long-finger flexors 3x1min/day (at most!) by pushing my fingers into the palm with some casual effort
Lay-off chins and pull-ups in the gym until problems dissappate.
No ixnay on climbing (phew).
Any horizontal rowing he encouraged me to use straps, which I already was and was given kudos for, so I can off-load those two fingers.
No ixnay on squats, but he approved of my effort to get a hold of a SSB. I donāt have the money at the moment to buy an attachment myself so I think I might just McGyver it using some towels if my next set of back squats irk me.
A self-massaging technique to do 1-3x/day until tonus in the forearm releases. One pushes the fleshy thumby bit of the other palm onto the pronator teres (just below the elbow) and applies an inward and upward pressure, i. e. force is applied in the direction towards the hand and pinky of the affected arm. This is done while extending at the elbow while sitting as if one were to do a concentration curl.
Glad you can get some rehab in brother.
Iāve noticed a real shift in the positivity of your posting recently and I love it. I think youāll go further in lifting and life with this approach
Also, in two years youāve made awesome, lasting gains. look at this comparison, youāre a different person. Itās awesome
Was going to lead climb but my mate couldnāt get his car started so I was all alone on the boulder wall. Had fun, there were a few problems Iād ordinarily try that I couldnāt touch but felt nice overall
No lifting, Iāll get back to that on Monday.
For the longest time, this was my schedule
Sunday
Press
Monday
Squat
Tuesday
Climb 2h
Wednesday
Bench
Thursday
Climb 2h
Friday
Deadlift
Saturday
Rest
But Iāve started climbing more on weekends.
And recently I tried
Sunday
Rest
Monday
Climb 1h+ Bench
Tuesday
Rest
Wednesday
Climb 1h + Deadlift
Thursday
Rest
Friday
Press
Saturday
Climb 2h + Squat
But consistently felt like shit on squats.
Now Iāll try
Sunday
Rest
Monday
Climb + Press
Tuesday
Squat
Wednesday
Climb
Thursday
Rest
Friday
Bench
Saturday
Climb + Deadlift
And if that doesnāt work
Sunday
Squat
Monday
Climb + Press
Tuesday
Rest
Wednesday
Climb + Deadlift
Thursday
Bench
Friday
Rest
Saturday
Climb
And if that doesnāt work go back to doing things like I did before. The aim is to get more rest days. Might have to just lift three times per week
But in earnest I want to deemphasize my legs right now. Which is ironic given I continue running a U/L/U/Lā¦
My legs are better than my upper body both aesthetically and functionally. If I felt more balanced Iād pick a generic full-body and run that butā¦ Maybe a PPL/3days could work but I donāt want to change every variable simultaneously.
For the immediate future itāll be lift-specific days with continuous ramps except for deadlift where Iāll take the chance to end the year with exploring the Gƶrner method.
Not arguing about your approach, just food for thought here: A full body approach still gives you more upper body work than two distinct upper body days. It doesnāt need to be balanced evenly either, if you want to emphazize certain things. If you are lifting 4 times as week as you are right now and you chose to do an upper body emphazized full body workout, it could look like this:
1
Deadlifts
Push press
Legs
Upper
Upper
Abs
2
Front squats
Incline press
Posterior
Upper
Upper
Upper
The combined total of volume you can do with a high frequency approach, especially if you figure in a decent level of intensity, will be higher than that of a more split up plan in 9/10 cases.
Just something to keep in mind for the future. Planning this is a bit tricky because fatigue management is the key.
Not sure if Iāve missed it, but, have you thought of switching to high bar squats while your elbow calms down? I can get away with high bar squatting all day, but low bar makes my elbow mad right away.
