Me getting up after a sit is like an old time 3 master getting underway. Shoulders, hips, muscles all tight and sore. Seems to be gradually easing, but today’s workout was spastic again.
Thurs 4-9-2023
82 now
Upper body
Stick warmups. Stretches weren’t good. shoulders and hips sore, couldn’t get down low.
15 minutes split snatch. 27 reps . up to 15 k.
Press from rack. (3 x 5 ). (25 k.) 5. 5. 5. Nothing weight, stabbing pain both shoulders as i drove the weight up.
Incline Press. (25 k.) 5. 5. Lowering weight to chest got sorer as things stretched. they ended up short range reps.
Chest supported rows. (20 k) 15. (30 k.) 15. At least they were proper reps.
Workout time. 45 minutes
Thurs 7-9-2023.
Still a sick little duck. Joint and muscle pain everywhere. couldn’t raise arms above shoulder height.
Things are still weird. Lying in bed, nice and warm, but start shivering. Waking in the night with intense pain in both shoulders, sore thighs so i have to shuffle around. Today at gym, i couldn’t split down or raise my arms overhead. did what i could.
Press from rack, to about eye height. (20 k) 3. (22.5) 3. (25) 3. (27.5) 3. (30) 3.
I don’t take any medications, but with this debilitating joint and muscle pain, i have been taking aspirin, which is anti -inflamatory.
Things just not getting better. I’m booked in for testing next Monday.
Thurs 14-9-2023.
Again joint and muscle pain. Hard to get around.
At gym, pathetic warmups.
squat (30 k) 10. (40 k) 10.
seated calf (44.75 k) 17. – doesn’t seem to be affected.
ab crunch (95 k) 18. (86 k) 12.
and that was it.
Mon 18-9-2023.
Looks like my target improvements this year aren’t gunna happen. Well, have to put myself back together, and see what can be done. At the moment, massive pain in both shoulders, and legs that hurt just getting myself out of a chair, and getting around like an old man.
Today did seated calf, which don’t hurt, and crunch machine, which hurts but i can do it, and squats rather like an old grandma.
Went to the doc i last saw 9 years ago, to get the physical to drive at my age.
He was surprised i had no doctors visit since this time. My blood pressure was exactly the same as back then.
He checked my shoulders, and said they need to be checked first, and wrote a referral for x-rays and and ultra scan.
Told me to take panadol osteo , 2 tablets 3 times a day, which he said were safe and helpful.
I can get in to have the scans done on 9/10/2023.
So, here is my pity party.
When the sudden plague hit me, it was shoulder pain - can’t raise arms overhead, tightness and soreness all muscles and joints. Hurts to squat down and rise from a chair. dizzy and loggy.
Thurs 21-9-2023.
Ab Crunch (95 k) 20. (86 k) 14.
Seated calf (44.75 k) 19. (42.25 k) 14 peak contraction.
chest supported row. (20 k) 20.
Sq (20 k) 10. (30 k) 10 (42.5 k) 10.
------- now, here’s the funny thing. For countless years i have followed sets of squats with rader pulls, pressing down on the sq bar in the rack. Can’t do that now because of the intense shoulder pain.
What i did today was take hold of the bar with a curl grip, and breathed in while pulling downwards. That gave an amazing chest opening stretch, better than i ever got with rader pulls. Gunna play with this.
Yesterday was the day to drive us to knitting group, to knit teddies and bunnies for the Woman’s and Children’s Hospital, but i got hit with intense shivering (warm day).
Wife went all Sergeant-Major, and packed me off to bed with a hot lemon drink. Slept for hours.
Mostly recovered now, and will be back in action with my spastic workouts on Monday.
Mon 2-10-2023.
hips and thighs so stiff, i couldn’t get down to a decent low squat, so i gave up on that.
Ab crunch not going well, so i did a token weight.
seated heels raise, so-so. Didn’t go heavier.
My booking for scans is on 9-10-2023, so hopefully some diagnosis after that. For now i am doing stretches and abdominal isolations.
Thurs 5-10-2023. Chiro treatment. And she hit a lot of sore spots on pressure points. Getting a program of stretching organized.
Thanks Raven. Sudden change from being bullet-proof to an invalid is hard to take.
12-10-2023.
Interesting times continuing.
Serious workouts still not possible. Making do by comprehensive 7 exercise abdominal muscle control, single leg heels raise, and no-weight squats —so funny, painful sink downs to about half squat level, and the flowing movements of Tai Chi.
After painful session of radiology, where they had me getting into strange positions. Appointment with Doc tomorrow for the results, and hopefully some effective treatment.
Well, I’m a mess. Can’t raise my hands higher than my chin. Constantly weary. Can only squat half way down, slowly.
The doc had scans done on my shoulders.
“Chronic partial tears of both supraspinatus. Tendinosis of subscapularis and infraspinatus bilaterally. Bony irregularity at both AC joints.”
So, at end of the month I am getting bilateral shoulder steroid injections.
I have gotten together a daily workout that his every muscle and joint in the body in a light and testing way.
Funny thing, I was doing sets of 10 in the sq with a heavy (for me) weight, and it didn’t fuss my quads.
Now, with all the slow lowering to chairs and garden tasks, my quads are screaming. There you are – negatives strike again.
I have been steadily losing weight, and just don’t feel hungry.
These are interesting times.
Thurs 19-10-2023.
Daily half hour, whole body and every joint WO.
Also about 7 sets of abdominal isolations, tai chi forms and yoga.
Apparently with partial tears in the small muscles in each shoulder, my lifting days might be over.
Greetings Raven. Much appreciate the support you continue giving me. Must say that even in my current state, doing what training i can gives me contentment and purpose.
Hi friend Bonobo. Yeah, renewing my old trainings has been fun and helpful. Keep losing weight because i am just not hungry. When i am back in action, in whatever form, plan to keep up with the old faithfuls.
Fri 27-10-2023.
Getting on as best i can. Doing the Essentrics training session every day, spiced up with abdominal muscle controls and gardening work and stretches. Still stiff and sore and tight.
Get my shoulder injections next week. Just as well i’m not dying, given the pace of medical appointments here.
Been quite an experience. About 5 weeks that started with intense shoulder pain that stopped me lifting arms higher than my forehead, then morphed into whole body joint and muscle pain and tightness. Was a struggle to get up from a chair, and couldn’t squat down. Just had no appetite, and have lost almost 5 k.
They determined i had partial tears in both supraspinatus (?), and i have had injections ( one at a time ) in my shoulders.
I treated myself with muscle control and tai chi and an interesting exercise system called Essentrics. All this helped, and mobility and ease of movement is back, and i got back to the gym yesterday. Still not pushing my shoulders.
My break in workout went like this -
Warmup bends and stretches 5,5.
sideways stretches 5,5,5.
deep squats, no weight 3,3,3.
seated calf (31.3 k) 20.
Ab crunch 10.
Rows (27.2 k) 5. (32.7 k) 5. (41.7 k) 5. (50.8 k) 5.
took 20 minutes. Will ramp it up on Mon, and try out my shoulders.
None of the doctors will offer an opinion if i will be able to olympic lift in future.
Thanks Raven. Will be sure to build back everything i can. Little nervous about re-injury. Don’t want to be busted up for the next hundred years.
mon 6-11-2023.
bend & stretch & squats. 5 each.
Front sq. (20 k) 3. (25) 3. (30) 3. (35) 3. (30) 3.3. — not as clever as i thought i was. Wanted 50 k.
Palms up rader pulls . 5.5.5.5.5.5.
press to chin level and hold. (20 k) 3. (22.5) 3. (25) 3. (27.5) 3. (30) 3.
Seated calf machine. (41 k) 10.
seated rows. (50.9 k) 5. (59.9) 5.5.
workout took 25 mins.
In the afternoon following my Mon workout, I received a delegation from my thighs. “We are now gentlemen of leisure. What’s this squatting shit?”
They then proceeded to hurt me, for a long time.
OK. Starting to roll on my recovery workouts.
As i do best doing the same exercise only once a week, I am setting up my second workout with mostly new exercises.
Thank you friend Raven.
Rolling on with ups and downs …
Sat 18/11/2023. At 0800 suddenly felt cold with uncontrollable shivering. Went to bed and warmed up presently. Did not feel up to getting up, and spent all day and night in bed, without eating.
Sun 19/11/2023. Felt better and did gardening and housework.
Mon 20/11/2023. Splat!
Bend, stretch, squat. 5 reps each.
Front squat. (20 k) 3. (30) 3. (35) 3.
Palms up Rader Pulls. 5. 5. 5.
press to chin level and hold. (20 k) 3. (25) 3. (30) 3.
Seated calf machine (46 k) 14.
Seated rows . (50.8 k) 8.
That little lot took 41 minutes. Knackered!
Not feeling good - coughing and exhaustion. Getting better as the days passed.
My Nephew, come to town, invited me to make a trip to Burra to see the houses and farms of our ancestor. Came to work in the copper mine from Cornwall. Found that land was so cheap he bought into sheep farming, and presently made a lot of dough. When his family grew up, he sold up and moved to the big smoke.
It was tough on my recovering bod, tramping around derelict buildings, but it was very enjoyable. Had 3 days to recover, easing back into Essentrics, before today’s workout.
