healing...

after spending a month not getting better, it became time to set a deadline and take action. the deadline was the end of Sept, and the action was to limit activities that could degrade my back while boosting activities that could help it. so far, things are getting better. less activity in martial arts class (no throws, limited exertion with twisting motions - slow is smooth, which then becomes fast), but more stretches and strengthening exercizes (superman, limited crunches, trunk twists).

also been working on pushups (last week was 20, this week I'm doing 25 each time) and Australian Pushups (low pullup bar, pulling up from inverted pushup position - think of doing a pushup on the other side of the planet), but that's still slow going - not my strong suit... yet.

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long time... no post

well, that went well. lower back still hurting - I can't seem to leave well enough alone. each time it gets feeling better, I push it and end up back at the start. shoulder is doing better and I have been doing some pushups, but not to the tune of the 100 yet. the lower back has my reverse crunch stopped, will likely re-start at week 6 and see if I can't get back into it.

meditation is something I really need to get back into, as I'm getting really down about my injuries, and that leads to bad posture, which doesn't help my lower back, which doesn't help my attitude...

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long time... no post

I've done it again. my back is still messed up. I keep pushing too hard at dojo, I guess. no real progress with pushups, pullups, crunches, or reverse crunches, other than I am doing between 10 and 30 of each 3 or 4 times a week, building up to a basic level of competence.

it's very frustrating, and that is the perfect excuse to use for meditation, only I keep forgetting to do that. and with 100+ degree temperatures, walking outside doesn't happen too often.

frustration can be motivating or demotivating, and I'm on the cusp. must work harder to maintain my attitude, as it is the most precious thing I have... without it, I truly am nothing.

oh, and to get the last usual tag on this, my braces are doing fine, teeth are still in (super slow) motion, and the inside of the lips are slowly toughening up.

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Pushup Practice

also started doing pushups over the last few dojo sessions, the shoulder is doing better, almost healed. did 10 (as a test) then 15, then 20. hope to do 25, 30 and 35 this week and start with week 3 or 4 (again) next week... we'll see how that goes.

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long time... no post

not dead ... yet!

been busy. vacation, worrying about a traveling kid, prep for brown belt test, getting the kids ready for school, all the usual excuses...

shoulder almost back to 100%, so I go and tear something in my back two days before brown belt test. real rocket scientist, me. 8( passed the test, but only on condition of a repeat to show proper form for two of the techniques.

started some limited pull up tests. this has always been my weakest point, and now that I weigh 230 pounds, it's even tougher. I can do two pull ups clean, and a third if I struggle. going to start working this into my "regular" routine, along with pushups.

braces are doing well, ached and made biting and chewing an annoyance for the first three weeks, but hasn't been a problem since. Monday is the next appointment, so I'm going to ask them to step it up some. also, the worst part of braces is they are still chewing up the inside of my mouth. I'll talk to them about that.

still need to do my 100 reverse crunches for record, but that's out until I get my back straightened out (so to speak). hopefully in the next few weeks I can re-do weeks 5 & 6 as a way of getting back into the swing of it.

also haven't done much with silent meditation, but having fun with guided ones instead. I think I will need to circle in on pure silence, although I do try to get short bursts of silence from time to time. another seminar, on zen and stress (if I recall correctly), will be starting in a few months, so I'll need to get my zen on... practice doesn't make perfect. perfect practice makes perfect. 8(#)

Pushup Practice

the chiropractor got my collar bone back into position, and things are doing better. tried some 'girl' pushups (to limit load) and was able to do 10 without significant discomfort. hope to be back doing some pushups in early June... we'll see.

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Pushup Practice

it's been a while, and the shoulder is still a bit messed up. it doesn't help that working and playing on computers for about a dozen hours each day (yes, roughly half of each day is at a computer - what can I say, I'm a geek!). Stretching is helping, as is regular motion. I hope to start light (few reps) work on the pushup front, just so I don't forget how to do them, perhaps as early as this weekend - it's been way to long...

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Pushup Practice

drat! it always seems to get worse before it gets better... hammered my shoulder last night while doing a cartwheel (forgot to project up and over, and went sideways and down instead) and the stupid thing popped... (my shoulder informs me that it objects to being called stupid, and says it was only following orders) eventually I will get back to pushups, but I'm not sure when that will be.

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it's hell getting old

been a bad week - did something to my lower back, so no crunches. my shoulder, while better, is still being pulled out of place by irritated muscles, so no pushups either. hope to get back to it sometime in the upcoming week.

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Pushup Practice

still waiting on shoulder to get better. it's a chicken-and-egg problem. shoulder is inflamed because it is in the wrong position, this pain causes muscle tightness in all surrounding muscles, which pulls the shoulder into the wrong position, which ...

it's getting better, but slowly. hope to be back to it in another week or two - lots of stretching and manipulation...

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Crunch Week 6 - Day 2

getting close to test time (could say "crunch time", but that would be pretty cheesy...).

crunches: 22/22/30/30/24/24/18/18/60 on a spec of (same /57 - total of 248)
pushups: 25/23/20/17/17/13 (plus 5/1/x) (total of 115 for 1st 6 sets, like others before) grand total of 121 - shoulder was hurting, kind of went soft on myself.

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Pushup Practice

as you may have noticed, my pushup practice has dropped off. managed to mangle my shoulder in a botched dive roll, so the pushups will be light for the next week or two. no serious damage, but have to get the shoulder back in place and loosen up the muscles.

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Crunch Week 6 - Day 1

this was a set-of-5, so totals are back to normal. did a pretty good job, given how things have been going...

crunches: 45/55/35/30/70 on a spec of (same /55 - total of 235)
pushups: 30/23/20/18/16/14 (total of 121)

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Pushup Practice

only got to 25. that sucks. still fatigued from the climbing yesterday.

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Pushup Practice

didn't do pushups, but went to Rocks-n-Ropes (indoor climbing walls), mostly to belay the boy scouts. did some low altitude free-climbing (less than 10' doesn't require tie-up) and on a 12' tall boulder. tons of fun, but my arms and shoulders ache something fierce!

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Crunch Week 5 - Day 3

did a full set of crunches, but bailed early on pushups due to shoulder cramp

crunches: 20/20/24/24/20/20/22/50 on a spec of (same, total of 200)
pushups: 20/17/15/x/ ...

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Pushup Practice

forgive me, for I have sinned - it's been over 2 weeks since my last pushup...

well, finally got back into it - cranked out 30, which isn't too bad for having avoided it for so long. hope to do a full set of pushups between crunches tomorrow.

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Crunch Week 5 - Day 2

WOW! Never expected this kind of result. Day 2 (and 3, for Weeks 5 & 6) has 8 sets, so I get 9 pushup sets in. The totals are mind-boggling. I stopped a little early on the first set of pushups (pacing), but was having problems with breathing (my Gi top was covering much of my lower face, and I kept breathing the same air, thus the low totals for rounds 2 & 3, stripped it off after that). Actually, a sweaty, heavy canvas Gi top can weigh about 40 pounds, so pulling it off was a real help to me... 8)

The crunches still aren't killing me, so I hope to have a video up of 100 crunches before the end of the month. I plan to put numbers in the footer for counting. Then I need to learn how to speed things up, so the first and last 10 are normal speed, but most of the middle is 2 or 3 times faster... I'm going to see if I can find a MIDI version of Flight of the Bumblebee, so that I can change the pace to match the speedup of the video (start slow, build the speed, slow for the finish...). Somehow I don't imagine the sound of me grunting and breathing durring the crunches will appeal, especailly once I speed things up...

crunches: 19/19/22/27/18/18/22/60 on a spec of (same (except 27, should have been 22)/45 - total of 205)
pushups: 25/17/18/20/20/16 (plus 14/14/10) (total of 116 for 1st 6 sets, like others before) grand total of 154!

no wonder I'm sore... can't wait for tomorrow...

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Pushup Practice

ground out 34 in the evening... wanted to do more, but there are a million excuses, including sliding toes, sore shoulder, tile floor (hard on my wrists, knuckles weren't even an option)... On to a complete pushup and crunch schedule on Tuesday...

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Pushup Practice

what a week... hurt my right shoulder in a poorly executed dive roll (at Dojo on Wed, after doing pushup practice), and have been having trouble sleeping and using the arm. hope to get back to pushups and crunches tomorrow.

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