I had the use of a fixed gear bike this week so I took it out today. It was the first time I’ve ridden since I got hurt and the first time on a fixie in 15 years. Scary as hell but I rode around just a little, being very careful with the knee. Was majorly tooled afterward as the effort of coordination, nerves, concentration, and fearing Boston drivers even on a side street took a lot out of me. Felt good to make progress though. I may or may not try something more ambitious depending on whether I can find a reasonably safe route to the bike path along the Charles River.
I should mention that I’ve been keeping the rehaqb journal at Power & Bulk. Here are some highlights to catch up –
I was using the leg extension for quad strengthening and that worked great. Need to get back to it in fact. At first the knee was clunking like mad with 10 lbs. but I worked up to 40 lbs. after 6 weeks.
I did some CI last weekend and I am so not ready for it 
Not only the knee, but my whole system is slow, sluggish and unresponsive. I have no speed at all --I don’t mean just no speed but I am sllllllllllooooooooooooooooooooooooow. I’m going to start back in swimming for the first time in a looooong time since that will help my total body deal I think. Still looking for a good deal on weights for the basemant. Will build stuff if I have to.
So I saw the Rolfer 3 times before I came up here. No point in giving a synopsis of what Rolfing is as you can find all you need elsewhere but I’ll report how it went for me.
First off it hurts. Brian dug into me hard and while it isn’t that painful on the 1 to 10 scale it is very uncomfortable as it is a different kind of sensation – the feeling of having my body maniplulated felt yucky and there was a lot of unease as muscles changed their tonus in response I really felt stuff that was tight releasing and that actually feels as much bad as good since I then became aware of other stuff that was tight, weak, stressed or all of the above. I was almost an hour and it felt like more. I had to constantly remind myself to relax as I kept getting super tense. Afterward I felt very strange. My depth perception was off and I had no coordination, plus my bodily awareness was way off, like I had been taken apart and put back together. I had to walk around for 20 minutes before I felt like I could drive home.
Two days later I felt great. Much more moblie and coordinated, plus more energetic. The next session though I felt like crap after for days. He worked more directly on the legs and I was cooked afterward and felt totally discombobulated for a week really. The last session left me feeling better, especially my shoulder which has some chronic tightness but he loosened it a good bit whch also helps my walking. The knee and the shoulder definitely worsened each other in that the more I felt in the shoulder the worse I walked, etc.
Bottom line is Rolfing is expensive (I paid USD $120 a session) but it was worth it for me. Better energy, coordination and ease of movement made this a worthwhile choice.
As with Rolfing in the previous post I won’t go into detail on what Feldenkrais is but report on my experience with it.
I guess I can’t really describe it without explaining it a little. Basically you do small movements that are designed to get you to become aware of your body and thus begin to come to a more natural way of being. Our modern lives put us in unnatural positions and cuts us off from our natural instincts so we don’t even realize we have stooped shoulders, crooked hips, and a tilted head. These postures inflict further stress and strain and we move in unnatural and unhealthy ways, thus making ourselves feel and function worse. These small movement lessons make you more aware of how your body is and this physical awareness translates into better posture and functioning.
It is really surprising and disturbing to perceive just how out of touch with my body I really am. By doing these small movments and paying attention to what feels like what I gain a deeper awareness. So far this had mostly been of how deeply un-aware I am. But by becoming more aware of the body, this physical awareness improves functioning. I am so pissed that I didn’t IMMEDIATELY get into a Feldenkrais class when I discovered it last year, as I really do think that: Had I taken Candy’s weekly Feldenkrais classes last year I would not have gotten hurt. I would have had more awareness and agility so that IF I fell, which I probably WOULD NOT HAVE DONE, I’d have gotten both feet down and not destroyed my tendon and my life with it.
I really don’t dwell on that, but it is there . . .
But the point is, Feldenkrais can be great for eveyone. I was dismayed that no one in her class was at all physical. Yes people with “issues” need it but the athletes here could make use of it as well. I strongly recommend the book Awareness Through Movement by Moshe Feldenkrais and looking at some videos. A good way to practice is to download some audio lessons and listen to them on an MP3 player while doing them. It will make a difference in your coordination, perception and ways of moving.
Today I carried a small desk up two flights of bendy stairs. How it this training related? Because it took something to get it up there. Several things actually, none of which I had enough of even a short time ago to accomplish this task: energy, willingness, coordination, strength endurance and gumption. Kicked my ass so I was flatlining for a half hour or so then was able to carry a medicine cabinet up and that was it.
So the limitation exposed is that’s how little I have in me right now, but the capability assessment is that it’s more than I had a while back.
I need to work hard now to gain any more. The easy gains back are gone – I have to do focused work on each of the rehab components as well as work on mobility, coordination and overall fitness with an empahis on fat loss and agility/coordination and body control. Strength is important too but this time I am not letting it take priority. Weight work is like 7th on the list at most. It will be in there but not going above what I can’t do 3x5 with and not being the priority ahead of other elements.
A good day that gets ruined is somehow worse than a just plain crappy day. That’s what today was. Part of the whole being hurt thing is that the nerves are fried so bad things become much worse. I did it to myself, as usual – I knew my roommate would be a dick given the chance and I was tired enough to not think ahead to prevent that and he ruined my day. As usual I didn’t think ahead and had a good day destroyed. Just typing this until my brain settles down a little. Would have posted pics of my day kayaking the Charles River but I deleted them b/c now I don’t want to remember today. Bad day. Should have slept instead, would have saved me $25 and AN HOUR of walking on a leg that was already cooked from the day.I don’t know how I do it – when I somehow manage to have a good day I still destroy it, or in this case, allow someone else to.
Can’t assess knee progress right now since everything is black and worthless. Tomorrow I can get to work and forget today ever happened.
Looking back over this it is clear that I have been backsliding for a few months now. There’s been progress but there hasn’t been a systematic, organized, focused effort like there was in July. I am getting more organized here in Boston and that means rehab work will be more detailed as well.
I have made an effort to be less negative but as you’ve seen that doesn’t always work :rolleyes:
Just got back from a difficult walk around Walden Pond. Plus did a very short swim in the pond which was cold.
Some hard inclines and steep declines on narrow trails. Overall I give myself an A+ for the quality and quantity of walking I did on those sometimes quite hard trails. Plus someone who saw me do a steep uphill trail said there was no sign of impairment during that part 
Bought a power rack last night so weight work returneth. It’s going to be super cold in the basement so we’ll see what can be done to make that work.
Today’s w/o was hauling the all the pieces of the rack out of the car and down to the basement. Doesn’t sound like much but it wasn’t easy.
I’ve been keeping this journal at P&B. Been doing both but I will probably just post it there from now on.
On second thought I’m going to continue to post my rehab here. To have a complete picture in one place and in the unlikely event someone finds it useful someday for their rehab.
Today was RDLs and extensions. Wiped. Numbers later.
Yesterday’s #s were 135 on RDLs :o
10 lbs. on the leg extension. Just did 2 sets of these after warmup since the knee had had enough. Nothing bad, just that’s all I would take.
Today was both decent and horrible. Decent since I did some OK work, horrible in that I’m weak as hell. A month before I fell I BPed 275. Today was 185x5 for two hard sets :rolleyes:
Also Press for 95x5. I’ve been cutting cals as well which makes me more cranky than usual and even less energetic.
Feeling erratic moodwise, which is usual as winter sets in. I must not sink into the usual black funk this winter. I’m not clear on how to do what’s needed to avoid it.
Was able to go blues dancing this weekend so mobility is improved. Had a major scare afterward because my night vision is now super slow to kick in so I could have fallen down the stairs I didn’t see. Yet another thing I have to do from now on – when leaving a bright place for a dark one I must wait to be able to see
Still kind of flat from the last w/o. Weight work wasn’t much you would think but I was fried. The leg work I did the day before tooled my tendon, as in making it quite stiff and tender. More work is needed on bending and massage.
Just went up and down stairs in 24 F and as I suspected the cold stiffens the knee fast. More bending and general maintenance as above will hopefully keep this from being a big problem.
Just a remiinder to myself – I cannot tolerate the weights I’ve been doing. I am not only much much weaker but my CNS can’t take anything above 70% 1RM and maybe not even that. I’m going to go super light for the next few weeks at least. I’ll go too light for a week and see what that’s like.
Thursday I hiked part of the skyline trail in Blue Hills Reservation. This pic doesn’t do justice to how gnarly the trail was at times –
This was way beyond the Walden Pond walk and really more than I should do. It was clear evidence of progress though since I could not have done that in September. I vetoed doing that trail to the summit but did walk up there on the road and got that great view of the area from Eliot tower. Was majorly fried after but feel physically great today.
Contact Improv tomorrow. Regretting not being in better contact shape but I am where I am. It’s important so off to bed as soon as I eat and then do the Underscore all day with Nancy Stark Smith
Had some good contact. Tired today. Kicking hard bending and strength into high gear this week. Plus it’s snowing and stuff now so I need gripping soles, mobility and speed of response.
I may juggle a bit just for general awakening so I’m faster. Just some beanbags. No goals.
Just a reminder to myself that I am an okay coach (in what I know, obviously) and a decent coachee but I’m awful at knowing what to do in the moment. Therefore I am writing out a plan for rehab work and weights. I dislike plans but if I don’t write it down it doesn’t get done.
The general idea is –
Do a hard bend ideally twice a week but at least once a week
Lift 3x week
Good mobility work before and after lifting
Plus epsom salt baths, which I’ve not been doing as much as I should, namely nightly.
Daily w/os will be on paper and I’ll report back with the details.
Oh yeah, and do EMS before extensions.
Was suddenly walking much faster today. Gave the tendon some nasty jolts though walking too fast. As always, there is the amount more I can do, and what I can do safely and tolerate.
Today’s lift was just DB C+P w/ 40s for 3 sets, just to get back into it.
I tend to skip training when things get sideways in life, but things get even more frelled when I slack off. My mind turns to goo.