Marie's walking - iron for rehab

[mcbourque]

WEEK 13 - day 2
Super stressed from school stuff for my kids. Hope the news will be good later tonight. Thank goodness for the morning workouts that keep me sane.

Lower body

- overhead squats
3x12 20 lbs barbell

- Seated leg press
3x10 100 lbs w/o sled

- Zercher squat
1x10 65 lbs
3x10 85 lbs

- SLDL
3x10 35lbs DB

- Sumo squats
3x10 30 lbs DB

- Cable work super-set for abductor and glutes - light
3x12 each

Back to worrying...

[EjnarKolinkar]

How have the OH and Zercher squats been doing so far? Still enjoying them from the looks of it. Kimm = smart.

[mcbourque]

How have the OH and Zercher squats been doing so far? Still enjoying them from the looks of it. Kimm = smart.

OH gives me a great stretch and I love them to warm up. Started on 45lbs with Zercher and now at 85lbs. The weight at the front helps with my ROM and my right leg is catching up with my left. Feeling stronger.
I'm dying to lower calories because I'm so used to dieting but I respect Kimm's advice so I will stick with her cal recommendation for now.
Haven't gained weight and increased strength so I'm hoping I'm losing a tiny bit of fat lol.

[mcbourque]

With my kid I meant. We took on Seattle Schools and won. My kid and his local friends will not be torn out of their current school 2 blocks away next year.
Lifting makes me confident.

Today is a day off and I was out late last night - no time to to the log here.

Yesterday was legs - endurance

Deep (trying) body weight squats
3x15

Lunges - alternating
3x10

Split squats - supported
3x10

Side lunges barbell
3x10 20lbs

Narrow stance squats
3x12

Deadlift - super slow for ROM and form
3x10 10lbs DB

Abs on stability ball

[mcbourque]

WEEK 13 day 4

Lower body

- overhead squats
3x12 20 lbs barbell

- Seated leg press
3x10 100 lbs w/o sled

- Zercher squat
1x10 65 lbs
2x 10 85 lbs

- SLDL
3x10 30 DB

- Sumo squats
3x10 30 lbs DB

- Step-ups
3x10 hold 10lbs plates

My knee didn't like the high rep legs from the other day.
I'm changing my program for the next 4 week before my 2week off/Hawaii holiday

Split 7 leg exercises 2 days a week over 3 days - yeah I know totally weird but it make sense to me. Ditching the high rep stuff. Just trying it out.

I've been slipping on nutrition for the past 2 weeks. Pants feel too tight (waist not thighs - so not good)

Planning to eat slightly under maintenance and monitor food better since I may try to wear a bikini for the first time in years during my holidays. We'll see

[mcbourque]

Summary for week 13

Mon: upper
Tues: rest
Wed: lower
Thursday: lower endurance
Friday: rest
Sat: lower
Sun: rest

Food:
Usual veggies and fruit bags, hard-boiled eggs

- spaguetti and meat sauce (6 servings)
- tilapia and couscous (6 servings)
- hoisin chicken stir-fry (4 servings)

I didn't sleep enough last week and I'm still feeling it. I plan to focus on getting enough this week, and with the holidays, that should help!

[mcbourque]

WEEK 14 - day 1
Super stressed again, this time from work. Then have to come home to a clogged drain. Argh! Waiting for draino.

Today: Lower body (1)

- alternating front lunges
3x10 body weight

- Seated leg press
1x10 110 lbs w/o sled
1x12 110 lbs w/o sled
1x15 110 lbs w/o sled

- SLDL (in the rack now, yeah!)
1x10 45lbs
3x10 65lbs

- Sumo plies squats
3x10 30 lbs DB

- Step ups - right leg
3x10 20lbs barbell

[mcbourque]

Week 14 day 2 -

upper (1)

Had my kid with me today. First time in the squat rack with an empty Olympic bar for him-cute!
Crisis avoided at work.

Today's workout:

Regular push-up warm-up
1x36

Bench press
1x10 75 lbs
2x10 80 lbs

DB Pec Flyes
1x12 20 lbs

Dumbbell shoulder press
3x8 25 lbs

Alt Bent-over DB rows
3x8 35 lbs

Concentrated DB bicep curls
3x8 20lbs

Bench dip with plate
3x15 25 lbs

Back extension with plate
1x12 25 lbs

I'm hungry...

[mcbourque]

WEEK 14 - day 3

Waiting for my bus so I have time to do this before work.

This morning workout:

Lower (2)

- alternating side lunges
3x10 body weight

- Seated leg press
1x15 110 lbs w/o sled
1x12 110 lbs w/o sled
1x12 110 lbs w/o sled

Zercher squats:
1x11 65 lbs
2x10 70 lbs

- SLDL
3x10 65lbs

- Hip Thrust
3x10 45lbs

- Step ups - right leg
3x10 20lbs barbell

Looking forward to the big turkey dinner I'm cooking for the family tomorrow!

[mcbourque]

Week 14 day 4

upper (2)

Today was tough to get out there at 6 am. I felt very weak too. Took it down a bit. Gym was dead though - that was nice!

Today's workout:

Regular push-up warm-up
1x35

Bench press
3x10 75 lbs

Dumbbell shoulder press
3x8 25 lbs

Alt Bent-over DB rows
3x10 35 lbs

Bench dip with plate
3x15 25 lbs

Back extension with plate
3x10 25 lbs

My friend had to leave early so I didn't get to do everything. But I still got a workout.

[mcbourque]

WEEK 14 - day 5



This morning workout:

Lower (3)

- alternating side lunges
2x10 body weight

-Zercher squats:
1x10 65 lbs
2x10 70 lbs

- deadlifts (practicing ROM)
2x10 10lbs DB
1x15 20lbs BB

- Hip Thrust
3x10 45lbs

- sumo (plies) squats
3x10 30lbs DB

- Step ups - right leg
3x10 20lbs barbell

It is really hard to tell but I am getting a little deeper in squats and deads. For sumo I went from barely 1 inch to a good 6-8 inches in 12 weeks.
Just keep going with this I guess.

[mcbourque]

I was strangely without pain this morning. Not sure why but it's good!

Week 14:
Mon: lower (1)
Tuesday: upper
Wednesday: lower (2)
Thursday: off
Friday: upper
Saturday: lower (3)
Sunday: off

Food this week - used leftovers:
- turkey, sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts. (4 servings)
- chicken breast, cranberries, sweet potato, green beans (2 servings)
- cauliflower gratin with ham (1 meal)

Also made some veggy baggies, snack baggies and breakfast baggies to take to work for the week.

[SlothBane]

8 months ago, physiotherapists put me on a cane because of the pain and told me not to lift heavy. Worse idea ever. My GP is a sport doctor. After an MRI, he told me to get rid of the cane and back to exercising.

It is really hard to tell but I am getting a little deeper in squats and deads. For sumo I went from barely 1 inch to a good 6-8 inches in 12 weeks.
Just keep going with this I guess.

I was strangely without pain this morning. Not sure why but it's good!

Nice progress right there. Way to own the pain and not let it own you. Keep it up.

[mcbourque]

Nice progress right there. Way to own the pain and not let it own you. Keep it up.

Thanks Slothbane. Yeah, can't get that pain keep me down

[mcbourque]

WEEK 15 - day 1

Today: Lower body (1)

- alternating front lunges
3x10 body weight

- Seated leg press
1x15 110 lbs w/o sled
1x12 120 lbs w/o sled
1x10 120 lbs w/o sled

- SLDL
3x10 65lbs

- deadlifts (light weight-form)
3x10 20lbs

- Sumo plies squats
1x10 30 lbs DB
2x10 35 lbs BB

- Step ups - right leg
3x10 20lbs barbell

- Palof Press (on 10 on cable machine)
3x10 each sides

[mcbourque]

Week 15

upper (1)

I found out a new bus to work this week and I have now a whole extra ten minutes to get ready! From 10mim to 20min. Whohoo!

There was this amazing young woman powerlifter next to me who benched 135 easily for at least 5 reps and a few sets. That never happens so early in the morning.
It was everything for me not to gawk. She was so awesome!
(So I upped my own bench by 5 pounds - just too inspired)


Today's workout:

Regular push-up warm-up
1x35

Bench press
2x10 80 lbs
1x8 85 lbs

Dumbbell shoulder press
3x8 25 lbs

Alt Bent-over DB rows
3x10 35 lbs

Bench dip with plate
1x15 25 lbs
2x12 35 lbs

Concentrated DB curls
3x8 20 lbs

Back extension with plate
3x10 25 lbs

[mcbourque]

WEEK 15 - day 3


This morning workout:

Lower (2)

- alternating side lunges
3x10 body weight

- Seated leg press (up 10 lbs)
1x12 110 lbs w/o sled
1x10 120 lbs w/o sled
1x12 120 lbs w/o sled

Zercher squats:
1x10 65 lbs
3x10 75 lbs

- SLDL (up 5 lbs)
1x10 65lbs
3x10 70 lbs

- Hip Thrust
3x10 45lbs

- Step ups - right leg
3x10 20 lbs bar

I'm seeing my strength to up steadily but I don't look any different to after 2 months of paying attention to diet. I guess I can't have it all at once LOL

[mcbourque]

Changing my week numbers since I've really only paid attention to nutrition for 8 weeks. So there.

Today I did cardio for the first time in 4 months at least because I had an extra day in my program.

I tried HIT on the rowing machine and it was pretty easy - about 22 min of 30/30 seconds cycles. Looks like my lifting is helping my heart.

[Lou1se]

Hey Frenchie! I've been lurking on and off. I'm hoping to read all your journal when I get time. Have understood you're having to work through some major hip pain. Did you have Dysplasia in both hips or one? I've got a bit of that myself and some other issues going on with my hips, nothing major like yours though. Good on you for getting back to lifting.

[mcbourque]

Hey Frenchie! I've been lurking on and off. I'm hoping to read all your journal when I get time. Have understood you're having to work through some major hip pain. Did you have Dysplasia in both hips or one? I've got a bit of that myself and some other issues going on with my hips, nothing major like yours though. Good on you for getting back to lifting.

Hi Louise
So nice to see you here and thank you so much for the encouragement. I have displasia in one hip only.
So sorry you have issues about that too. How do you manage it?
I'll definitely pop over your journal to see how you work around that.
Not fun isn't it?

[Lou1se]

Hi Louise
So nice to see you here and thank you so much for the encouragement. I have displasia in one hip only.
So sorry you have issues about that too. How do you manage it?
I'll definitely pop over your journal to see how you work around that.
Not fun isn't it?

I've never had anything done for the dysplasia problem. It's in the right hip...I've never had the left looked at. They discovered it when the hip was X-rayed after a car accident. This was more than 10 years ago. Right hip and shoulder were injured. Soft tissue damage. Doc asked me to come back to have it looked at but I never did. Got sick of doctors by then..lol Dysplasia problem isn't bad seeing that I've had it most of my life and never knew any better. Both hips were very clicky when I was a teenager but never gave me any problems.

After the accident I got very depressed and put on a lot of weight, sedentary lifestyle and bad eating habits took over. I used to be very active and loved being outdoors. I stopped caring about myself. The car accident had left me with ongoing problems. 10 years later, I bit the bullet and decided to work off the weight and get fit. The hip improved quite a bit when I started doing walking lunges almost two years ago. I got a little too confident with my lifting in the last 6 months and both hips started squawking. So I've recently had to adjust my leg workouts and bring the upper body work in line...for balance :-) That was a tough thing to do. But I'm 46 and what matters is that I enjoy what I do and can keep going without causing unnecessary speed up of the wearing and tearing.

Seriously though Marie, there will always be some wear and tear going on regardless what we do. I'm sure you agree that being active is certainly better. And it will cause pain sometimes for me but most likely always for you. That is tough.

Still unsure if I've adjusted the routine well enough and have to go by feel. It's taken me a while to accept that I had to wind back what I was doing. I was taking painkillers to cope sometimes and then I stopped...time away from the gym revealed the true aches and that was scary. I stopped fighting myself and made the change. Still guilty of pushing hard though, especially on good days.

Sorry to go on. Will definitely be reading up to see how you've been doing.

Have you tried SuperCissus by USP labs? I bought it recently and it seems to be working well. A little suspicious though because it started working within days. Painkiller??? Dunno, I'm suspicious Have tried Fish oil and Glucosamine...no effect.

[mcbourque]

I've never had anything done for the dysplasia problem. It's in the right hip...I've never had the left looked at. They discovered it when the hip was X-rayed after a car accident. This was more than 10 years ago. Right hip and shoulder were injured. Soft tissue damage. Doc asked me to come back to have it looked at but I never did. Got sick of doctors by then..lol Dysplasia problem isn't bad seeing that I've had it most of my life and never knew any better. Both hips were very clicky when I was a teenager but never gave me any problems.

After the accident I got very depressed and put on a lot of weight, sedentary lifestyle and bad eating habits took over. I used to be very active and loved being outdoors. I stopped caring about myself. The car accident had left me with ongoing problems. 10 years later, I bit the bullet and decided to work off the weight and get fit. The hip improved quite a bit when I started doing walking lunges almost two years ago. I got a little too confident with my lifting in the last 6 months and both hips started squawking. So I've recently had to adjust my leg workouts and bring the upper body work in line...for balance :-) That was a tough thing to do. But I'm 46 and what matters is that I enjoy what I do and can keep going without causing unnecessary speed up of the wearing and tearing.

Seriously though Marie, there will always be some wear and tear going on regardless what we do. I'm sure you agree that being active is certainly better. And it will cause pain sometimes for me but most likely always for you. That is tough.

Still unsure if I've adjusted the routine well enough and have to go by feel. It's taken me a while to accept that I had to wind back what I was doing. I was taking painkillers to cope sometimes and then I stopped...time away from the gym revealed the true aches and that was scary. I stopped fighting myself and made the change. Still guilty of pushing hard though, especially on good days.

Sorry to go on. Will definitely be reading up to see how you've been doing.

Have you tried SuperCissus by USP labs? I bought it recently and it seems to be working well. A little suspicious though because it started working within days. Painkiller??? Dunno, I'm suspicious Have tried Fish oil and Glucosamine...no effect.

Wow what a story, so sorry about your accident. We do have very similar issues, and stats too.
I was put on a cane for 6 month. BAD idea, my right butt cheek got super flat and migrated south without me noticing LOL I even lost the neuromuscular connection. Thanks squats and step-ups I'm almost even now.
What is your pain due to?
It's super hard to know for me, sciatica, or arthritis, or tight hip flexor - don't know so I have to work on all.

But I am getting better with exercise.
I know it hurts but I bet we would be worse without all that

And it's fun to work hard isn't it?

Good luck. I had a peak at your journal, will definitely go through it for inspiration!

Cheers!
p.s. I'll have to check SuperCissus - the other stuff doesn't work for me either.

[mcbourque]

WEEK 8 - day 5

I ran after my bus today!!! says the girl who was on a cane 4 months ago!

Lower (3)

- alternating side lunges
1x10 body weight

-Zercher squats:
1x10 65 lbs
3x10 75 lbs

- deadlifts (getting better)
1x10 20 lbs BB
3x10 30 lbs BB

- Hip Thrust
3x10 45lbs

- sumo (plies) squats
3x10 35 DB

- Step ups - right leg
2x 20lbs barbell (my body they said "no more")

I just read about this thing called constructive rest for tight psoas and just started doing this. Seems a bit hokey but it feels good. I'll see if it helps for real over time.

[mcbourque]

Week 8 - day 6

Upper (2)

Braved the 25F cold in Seattle with my scarf and mittens and made it out this morning.


Today's workout:

Regular push-up warm-up
1x35

Bench press
2x10 80 lbs
2x8 85 lbs

Flyes
1x12 20lbs

Dumbbell shoulder press
3x8 25 lbs

Alt Bent-over DB rows
3x10 35 lbs

Bench dip with plate
3x12 35 lbs

Standing alt DB curls (first time I can do this standing)
3x8 20 lbs

Back extension with plate
3x12 25 lbs

[mcbourque]

So here I am today back to square one.

The pain is so unbearable - a shooting pinched nerve thing - that I can put no weight on that leg without screaming.

I need the cane to just go from A to B in my house. I am so frustrated I want to cry. I haven't been there on months.

Whatever I more and more convinced the pinch nerve soon comes with weight gain. I stood at 129 lbs this morning - likely water weight from two bagels and a homemade pizza. I haven't been that weight in quite a whole and seems that pain goes away at 125.

So I'm set on losing a few pounds now and cut down by 200 cal and see what happens.
I am so so frustrated!

Today was rest day anyway. So I'm drinking water like crazy and hope the water weight goes away quick.

Anyhow - cooking food is crucial sow home I could do little housework toast I hopped around the kitchen for some me prep:

Got:
7 hard boiled eggs
5 bags of veggies
Scallops over roasted tomatoe and rice (8 servings)
Meat loaf and sweet potatoes (5 servings)

So here I am, hoping the extra pain killer kicks in so I don't have to walk with a cane to school tomorrow. Ahhh!

(I did order SuperCissus last night - before the pain attack - definitely giving it a shot.)

[Lou1se]

Wow what a story, so sorry about your accident. We do have very similar issues, and stats too.
I was put on a cane for 6 month. BAD idea, my right butt cheek got super flat and migrated south without me noticing LOL I even lost the neuromuscular connection. Thanks squats and step-ups I'm almost even now.
What is your pain due to?
It's super hard to know for me, sciatica, or arthritis, or tight hip flexor - don't know so I have to work on all.

But I am getting better with exercise.
I know it hurts but I bet we would be worse without all that

And it's fun to work hard isn't it?

Good luck. I had a peak at your journal, will definitely go through it for inspiration!

Cheers!
p.s. I'll have to check SuperCissus - the other stuff doesn't work for me either.

Have you had the hip looked at by a physio or some other specialist that can help you work out some rehab exercises or stretches that will help the health of the joint. You have a lot to deal with there. Hope the Cissus works for you, even some improvement is better than none.

So here I am today back to square one.

The pain is so unbearable - a shooting pinched nerve thing - that I can put no weight on that leg without screaming.

I need the cane to just go from A to B in my house. I am so frustrated I want to cry. I haven't been there on months.

Whatever I more and more convinced the pinch nerve soon comes with weight gain. I stood at 129 lbs this morning - likely water weight from two bagels and a homemade pizza. I haven't been that weight in quite a whole and seems that pain goes away at 125.

So I'm set on losing a few pounds now and cut down by 200 cal and see what happens.
I am so so frustrated!

Today was rest day anyway. So I'm drinking water like crazy and hope the water weight goes away quick.

Anyhow - cooking food is crucial sow home I could do little housework toast I hopped around the kitchen for some me prep:

Got:
7 hard boiled eggs
5 bags of veggies
Scallops over roasted tomatoe and rice (8 servings)
Meat loaf and sweet potatoes (5 servings)

So here I am, hoping the extra pain killer kicks in so I don't have to walk with a cane to school tomorrow. Ahhh!

(I did order SuperCissus last night - before the pain attack - definitely giving it a shot.)

Oh I'm so sorry to hear this

This is terrible..how do you get through your day at work when you're experiencing so much pain?? Do you think that run to the bus stop caused the aggravation? The jarring is what gets me every time. Does the pain shoot down to the outside of your calf and ankle? And looking at your stats you are at a good weight range...but yeah, adding weight does cause unwanted stress. I think the winter season won't help you either. I would bet you have arthritis setting in too. Have you got high quality shock absorbing shoes?

My thoughts are certainly with you Marie. It must be so depressing right now. I hope you find relief soon and are able to control the pain. Stay off it as much as you can for the time being. And if you decide to go back to the gym, go easy...even back off the weights and do extra volume, go by feel and stop if it hurts. You know best what works for you.

You've got a nice range of exercises in your workouts. I should look into the squat variations. haha Hip thrusts...I can't even make myself do that


Strong pushups!!

[mcbourque]

Hi Louise,
Yeah I am followed by a doctor. He's a sport's medicine doctor and quite good.
I had x-rays, MRI, physio, the whole bit. Also got a cortisone shot in the hip joint. He finally told me just to try to stay active.

I have 1/2 half of my hip joint missing and no cartilage with visible sign of arthritis. It's the 3 years of lifting and Pilates that got me where I am now. So bad to that for me now


It looks like I may have a pinch nerve somehow. I have been at 118 most of my life (113 on good days) I went up to 132 and that's when the pain started. Now I'm normally at 125 and the pain is a lot less.

I don't think it's the exercise at the gym because it's very controlled and not that heavy. Exercise has helped.

Work is not helping. I'm a teacher and on my feet all day, so I do have sturdy shoes. Wearing Clarks but I may switched to my gym shoes for this week.

I'm sure it will go away once I'm back on the Naproxen for 1-2 days. Ran out this week.

It's such a game of trial and error though. Thanks for the Cissus suggestion. I can't do Glugosamine because I'm allergy to shrimp. So I'm looking forward to trying this. Good reviews.

No gym for me tomorrow. I was not suppose to make it anyway. I'm also treating myself to a sick day tomorrow to see if it will help.

Frustrating isn't it?

Hip thrust are new to me, but I love them now!

[LisaSkinnoble]

Hi Marie,

I'm terribly late, but subbed now. Wishing you some pain-free days, my Lady!

[mcbourque]

Hi Marie,

I'm terribly late, but subbed now. Wishing you some pain-free days, my Lady!

Hi Lisa,
So nice to have you here. I've been checking your journal and you one very strong lady. Inspiring

Turns out my sciatica is probably related to water weight from being at that time of the month. It's happened so many time now that I know it's correlated. Nothing to do but drop a little weight.

Thanks for your encouragements!

[mcbourque]

Another day of pain but less unbearable.

and I think I may have figured something about it.

On Saturday I ate whole lot more carbs than usual. I always eat some bread or pasta but usually not a huge amount. But Saturday my protein was way low - like 40g - and I basically ate bagels all day with pizza for dinner (basically bread topped with cheese)

The next day I was bloated by an 4 extra pounds.
Now I'm reading that carbs may promote water gain and I'm thinking maybe that's what is pressing on a nerve somewhere causing this pain.

So back to normal diet with a very small deficit and choosing proteins and fat over carbs more often right now. Drinking tons of water. I'll stick with it and see if I can get rid of the excess water and if the pain is still there.

The pain is going down slowly and I did have a few pain free hours today.

I may be totally wrong with this but it doesn't hurt to experiment.

Tomorrow - back to the gym.
Can't wait to get the SuperCissus I ordered and try it to see if it helps. I should get it Friday.