Two steps back

 Training is going well.  For the most part.  I am still exhausted.  I’m still sore a lot of the time.  I’m still occasionally  taking advil to knock the edge of the soreness off at night so that I can sleep.  I’m still not giving up.  But seriously, it feels like I take one step forward and two steps back!

 

But, there has arose a problem or two.  

 

The first thing is my knees.  I have mentioned them in the last few posts….and the trainer dude and I are really trying to attack the knee issue.  Right now my worst knee is my left one.  That is the one that just aches and aches. (Ok, hurts and hurts….cuz it’s not exactly an ache, it’s a little more intense.)   But yesterday at work I made the situation worse.   I was in my office with a client and had to walk out to complete a task for the client.  I came back into my office and sat down on my chair.  I scooted my chair in so that I was in position to continue my work with the client and WHACK….I rammed my GOOD knee into the drawers of the desk.  OH.MY.WORD!   It was bad.  Tears coming out of my eyes bad.   Take your breath away bad.  I laid my head down on my desk (forehead) and tried to regain my senses.   The poor client was an elderly man and he was so nice.  When I finally lifted my head and tried to get back to business, he kept saying “Take all the time you need.”   I managed with him….and for the rest of the day.  But lets just say that it’s been 24 hours and that knee still hurts!  (Let me also say that I didn’t let it get to me last night and I STILL went to Zumba, but did have to tone it down a wee bit!)

 

I didn’t make it to do my planned strength workout last night.  It really wasn’t m fault though.   We had one person out on PTO and two people called out sick.  I stayed to help close…..and then we had to pick up the car from the mechanics shop….and well, I had just enough time to get to my Zumba class.  

 

Ohhh the car?   It died on me on Saturday.   Luckily it was just a battery issue.  So my baby has a new battery and fresh oil!

 

So last week I completed my scheduled workouts.  I have three workouts to do each week. Push day,  Legs day, and pull day.   Push and pull days are both pretty much upper body.   No worries. I had it!  I was sore after the fact, but not worrisome.  I expected to be sore.  It wasn’t under I was in the shower on Friday morningwhen I realized that something was wrong.  I went to wash my hair and brought both hands up to my head to massage the soap into my hair.   The left arm was GREAT!  No soreness!  I had recovered.  The RIGHT arm however.  OUCH!  It hurt worse than it had all week!  Furthermore, I struggled to actually move the right arm up above and behind my head.  NOT COOL!   I wasn’t recovering, I was getting worse!

 

Years ago, I had something similar that happened.  (May 6, 2019 post )  It started out as a pain reminiscent of muscle pain, just a twinge here or there when I stretched (like to reach a top shelf in he cabinet).   In 2019, it progressed to the point that I was in some serious pain, I had numbness even down to my fingers and I had lost almost all range of motion in that arm….my dominant arm.    I ended up going to an urgent care and they told me it was a pinched nerve that was affecting everything.  The gave me RX strength Advil and muscle relaxers.   The meds took the edge off and it slowly got better….somehow, someway.

 

So when I noticed this pain in the shower this past Friday I knew that it was most likely the same issue.  What to do…what to do.   On Saturday, I was scheduled for a leg day at the gym.  Perfect!  Legs wouldn’t affect my shoulder.   When I don’t work on Saturdays, I go to a Zumba class…..I went and did that.  And made it through somewhat ok.  On Sunday I had my session with the personal trainer.  I talked to him immediately about it……and we started my workout.  It was a ‘push’ day.  So arms.  JOY JOY.     The discrepancy between my arms was CRAZY.  Where my dominant arm just a few days earlier was the strong one, now it was the weak link.  Furthermore, the amounts that I could lift diminished (not that it was anything fabulous previously, but still!).   YIKES!  I literally went backwards!   The pain in my bicep was no fun at all!

 

The trainer worked with me and he watched like a hawk.   A few exercises in he looked at me and said “it’s not your bicep, it’s your shoulder that is the issue.”  

 

Soooooooo……we spent some time with him showing me some movements to help with stretching and mobility and movement of the shoulder.  And they are things I can do at home!  So here we go, lets get this arm fixed and back on the forward progression!

 

I have about 2 weeks until my next trainer session as he is going on vacation….so hopefully I will be back to normal by the time he returns.  In the meantime, I’ll be getting in as many training sessions as possible, even if the arms may be a less weight than they were capable of last week!

Achy But Not Giving Up

  
A few weeks back I stepped up the intensity in my workouts!  I was feeling it!  I was sore for sure, but I was loving it!    I was doing great!   And then it happened!  My leg started to ache!  My foot started to ache!  I was utterly miserable!  Yet, I continued pushing forward with my exercises.  I was on a roll, and nothing was going to stop me!  Famous last words that I should probably never utter again because every time I say that something happens to throw me off track!   (Here is an example from many years back). 

I wasn't going to let my streak of exercising and being on track with my health goals derail me.  So I continued onward, ignoring the pain.   But the pain kept getting worse.  The pain was mostly at the back of my knee.  But weirdly, the pain would radiate down through my calf and sometimes up through my thigh.  My Tarsal tunnel nerve started to bother me. (Yes, I've had problems with that in the past also).  Literally my left side from my thigh down just hurt!   I had Jason look at my leg and his concern was immediate.  He could see some swelling and a knot in the area where I was saying I was hurting the most.  Lovely!

I agreed that if it didn't clear up within a few days that I would go to the doctor/Urgent care!.   I was really crossing my fingers because I do not like to go to the doctor!   I also stubbornly didn't want to stop exercising.  I am in a routine with exercise.  I don't want to do it, but it is part of my morning routine, and I am doing well.  I knew that if I stopped, I would struggle to pick back up that routine!   I also am part of a step challenge that is taking place in the month of March. If I gave up my exercise, I would most decidedly fail on that step challenge!  Last but not least I am also doing my Project 50!  I didn't want to call it quits so soon!  Not when I am filled with this much determination!   So with some trepidation I continued to work out!  I did NOT push myself.  I have been choosing easier workouts.  I am doing exercise videos that don't push me quite as hard.   BUT, I am still working out!  I may not be as sweaty as before, but I am still up and moving!  I am proud of me!

SO how has the leg been?  I can definitely feel it during the workouts.  But throughout the day it seems to be a lot better.  I was talking to Jason last night and my remark was that "my leg just feels so tired".  It wasn't achy last night....just tired.  Which is honestly a really odd feeling to have one side of your body so tired and the other side ready to run a marathon (ok, maybe not thaat good but you get the idea!)  Jason looked at my leg and said that the swelling/bump has diminished.  It isn't gone totally....but it is looking better!

So, I am set to continue my lighter exercise routine!  Someday I'll get back to the higher intensity...in the meantime, I am just super proud that I am not giving up and that I am continuing with the easier exercise DVD's and Youtube videos.  I am also walking the dog a LOT.  Zoey and I are out there at 5AM and are out there a bunch of times a day.  I try to walk the whole time and if she is in a sniffy mood and just poking along I walk in place beside her!  I even sometimes run a bit with her! (Which she LOVES!)  Here is a 5AM picture of me!  Way too early to be outside I know!