Kettlebells, Kettlebells, Kettlebells, Kettlebells

[Starkmann]

one warning on the whole KB are easy on the feet thing.

If you start to push hard for high reps, your feet start kinda curling or clawing a bit. After a 5 minute test my feet hurt as much as anything. Maybe not important to you right now but just a work of warning.

[Scott Styles]

08-25-2006 - Physical Therapist #2

Saw the 2nd Physical Therapist today. This time it was for a free screening. I would have paid. She was on top of her stuff and could relate the issues I had to other movements I do poorly. She could then explain why I was doing the movements poorly. I'm not really sure how to break down what she told me, but I'll probably understand better after my session on Wednesday.

She says I'm not allowed to press overhead even though it doesn't hurt. Apparently my scapula wings out, then I use my lat and trap to lift the weight, compensating for a shoulder that is shifted forward. That is why my right shoulder is stronger. She actually told me no kettlebells at all, but I talked her down to no overhead pressing.

I'm going to do no KBs till after I see her on Wednesday though. It sounds like I'm going to have to get my shoulder manipulated, then relearn how to use my scapular stabilizers, including the serratus. She's got some biofeedback deally that sounds fun. She also viewed a home care program as something required, but only as an addition to activities other than just strengthening and stretching.

I don't see how this will get addressed in 6 sessions, but if she performs at the level my confidence is at now, I'll figure out a way to extend it. Sessions are still around $150, but I can swing that twice a week for someone good. Once I peg $1000, my insurance kicks in at an 80% copay anyway.

Oh, and I ordered a pimped out 1 3/8" wrist roller from PDA. It should come sometime next week. I'm looking forward to it. There are definitely some upsides to overtime.

[Scott Styles]

08-29-2006 - Workout 20 - Grip Work in the Apartment

Grippers, Block Weight Tosses, Overhead Levers. Nothing of real note. 8th season of the Simpsons came today...

[bencrush]

DU bending plan looks solid Scott. Wish you could go the DO route though...sorry to hear about the ongoing problems with the shoulder and the physical therapists too. Are you using the Ironmind pads?

[gerryg]

08-29-2006 - Workout 20 - Grip Work in the Apartment

Grippers, Block Weight Tosses, Overhead Levers. Nothing of real note. 8th season of the Simpsons came today...

Simpsons season 8, PDA wrist roller, and new kettlebells............did you win the lottery or do you own one of those money trees ?

[Scott Styles]

Gerry, I just live really far below my means. Been working IT for 4 years, am now a project manager at a software company in Chicago. I live in a 1 bedroom apartment by the tracks, splitting the rent with my fiancee, and have no car. I don't really travel. My mandatory monthly expenses are under $1000 a month. I make a bit more than the $7.50 an hour it would take to keep myself afloat My biggest problem is finding the time to figure out what I want, then buy it at a good price. I still get uptight over parting with even $5 more than I have to though. I'm cheap at heart.

08-30-2006 - Physical Therapy Session 1 at ARC

I had my first real therapy session with Kathleen. She has fully won me over and I will be doing exactly what she says. Sadly that means:

1. No Kettlebells

2. No Bending

3. I'm only allowed to grip if I keep proper posture while doing it. I'll need to bring a gripper to the next session to talk that through with her.

On the bright side, 2 times a day I need to:

1. 20 x Reverse Chin Tuck

2. 20 x Elbow Fly

3. 3 x 30 seconds x Sidelying Posterior Capsule Stretch

So I'll have something to do to keep from going crazy. I also need to fix my posture at work, which will require procuring a new computer station. Obviously I'm not going to log every time I do the exercises, but I will do a status update after my therapy sessions, which are 2x per week.

I am extremely happy a went to find another therapist instead of sticking with the Athletico guy. He was just a glorified personal trainer. Kathleen is a professional. She has pointed out a number of locations where I have pain on my right side but not my left, and highlighted range of motion limitations that I just wasn't recognizing. She's spending time stretching certain ranges of motion and teaching me how to move properly. Things I took away from this session:

1. My posterior capsule on the right shoulder is extremely tight. The sidelying stretch addresses that.

2. My thoracic vertabrae are tight and a bit twisted, likely due to compensation for my shoulder issue. The reverse chin tuck addresses that. So does fixing my posture.

3. My pec minor is extremely tight, which is part of why the shoulder is shifted. When I stretch my chest, I'm just stretching the pec major. She's manually stretching it for now.

4. The reason I can reach higher on my back with my left arm than my right is that I cannot achieve full internal rotation with my right arm. Not sure what we are doing to address this. Also of interest here was that she counted the vertabrae I was reaching to, opposed to saying "yeah, they're about an inch apart" like that Athletico guy.

5. She pressed on my ribs in certain locations and the right side is painful, but not the left

6. Apparently my supraspinatus has spams, whatever that means

7. The reason I'm not supposed to do the kettlebells or bending is that I've got compensatory movement patterns. My body is moving improperly to go around the injury. Over time, this has gotten worse, which is why I've lost movements like incline dumbell presses. I _could_ keep pushing and getting stronger, but I'm just making the compensation worse, which most likely would culiminate in a tear of some sort.

8. She thinks the clicking I get in my shoulder is from a slight tear in the labrum and was able to position the arm where she could reproduce it. I'm not allowed to click the shoulder anymore.

Overall I'm really happy with how this is going. She seems genuinely pleased to help me work through my problem, almost like it is a puzzle and she's putting the pieces together. I'm going to do everything I can to follow her advice and make progress as quickly as possible. She says I'm allowed to do kettlebells and bending once I have learned the proper movements patterns. Some people that takes a week, others 2 months. If I need more therapy perscribed, she just calls the doc to get a new script.

By the time my six sessions are up (this was #2 counting athletico), I'm sure I'll have pegged the $1000 deductible. At that point therapy becomes 20% of the cost, dropping down to around $30 a session. Insurance picks up the other 80%. At $60 a week for 2 sessions per week, I can sustain that burn rate easily till the end of the year. If I'm not all fixed up by then, I'll need to pursue a new direction.

I feel like I'm finally pursuing a real solution for my shoulder problem and it makes me very happy.

[Scott Styles]

09-01-2006 - Workout 21 - Grip Work in the Apartment

Got my new PDA wrist roller today. The Zeus! It's pretty sweet.

Wrist Roller, Extension, Shoulder Height

1x25

1x50

1x35

1x35

1x35

Knurling on a wrist roller hurts like crazy! Either my hands have to toughen, or I have to clog it with dead skin and chalk. Ouch. Good work for the extensors. Tried it for flexion, didn't like it, didn't expect to.

Block Weights

Did some 5 second holds with the 25lb block

Pass the 25lb block hand to hand for a couple sets of around 5 reps

Attempt tossing the 25lb block hand to hand a bunch of times. Not there yet.

My blocks are coming up fast. As a result, I am enjoying doing them.

Finger Extensions

Did 'em. White through Yellow.

Overall a good workout. Gonna replace bending with grippers, but skipped it today because there was nothing left at the close after wrist roller. I've been doing my shoulder exercises like I should, and my foot is still slowly healing. Be interesting to see if I manage any PRs at the BBB2. I should be just about ready to start training for real the day of the contest. Also got a raise today at my yearly performance review. Go me!

[bencrush]

2. No Bending

WTF!?!? That sucks Scott! She might as well tell you not to BREATHE! Well, if it makes you get better then that's all that really counts, right?

[Scott Styles]

09-03-2006 - Workout 22 - Grip Work in the Apartment

Feeling pretty good and have a bit of cabin fever, so I decided to do some grip work.

Climber511 Loadable Sword

3xEmpty

3x2 Washers

1x4 Washers

2x4 Washers

1x2.5 lbs

1x2.5 lbs

5xempty

Good stuff, sloppy as all heck.

Climber511 TTK

5x15

3x15 Three Fingers

3x25 real sloppy

4x20 sloppy

3x17.5 Three fingers

These felt pretty good. Stronger on 25lbs than I've ever been, not full ROM closes though.

PDA Zeus Wrist Roller

1x35lbs

1x35lbs

1x35lbs

1x40lbs Lost a Callous

Man, the knurling on this thing is SHARP. I clogged it with chalk on the second set, that helped. But, overall, it's just too much and took one of my callouses off. It's also causing my skin on my hand between the callouses to swell up. Not sure if my hands will adapt to it. I hope so. Otherwise, I'm gonna have to tape it or sand it. Kinda dissapointing for a $135 dollar wrist roller.

Finger Extensions

Did 'em. White through Yellow.

Overall a decent workout. Kinda bummed to lost the callous, but I guess it'll get my hands some rest. Talked to my parents today, I guess in the past my mom's hurt the same tendon on her foot that I have. She said it took 8 weeks to heal, but she was able to wrap the foot and run on it. I'm gonna ask the PT about how I could wrap the foot to help it heal. I'm also going to talk to her about whether or not I can do front squats with my shoulder issue. I would hope so, but we'll see. I've been doing the exercises as prescribed and my shoulder is getting more flexible.

[Scott Styles]

09-05-2006 - Physical Therapy Session 2 at ARC

Hit my exercises around 1.25 times a day since the last session. I started backing off when it was apparent that I was doing them wrong. The therapist confirmed that. She spent most of the session stretching my shoulder, releasing tension in my ribs, and stretching my spine. The stretching hurts. I haven't been pushing hard enough when I do it.

Got the next session in 48 hours. Will need to do my exercises 3 times between now and then. Need to focus on just using the muscles instead of everything else. Really not a whole lot to write about, she has to stretch out what's tight before we can strengthen the shoulder appropriately.

[Scott Styles]

09-06-2006 - Workout 23 - Grip Work in the Apartment

Not a lot of time tonight, banged out a quick grip workout.

Grippers

1xT

1xT

1x#1

2x1xBBM, close righty, near misses lefty

2x1xBBSM negatives crushes

2x1xBBSA overcrushes

Pretty good on the grippers. Still down from my max strength though. BBSM negatives are right at the limit of what my knuckles on my middle fingers will tolerate. Will stay here for awhile.

PDA Zeus at Shoulder Height

3x1x40lbs

Focused on crushing the wrist roller and moving smoothly. Didn't rip up my hands this time. Can't say my wrists are getting the same pump they did with the formulator or 2" wrist roller, but that's cause my skin is still my limiting factor. I can feel that will change though. Also, I enjoy doing it. Today I sold my formulator to a lucky gripboard member in Canada, so I've managed to offset most of the cost of my new toy.

25lb Block Weight

Holds

Pass Hand to Hand

Tosses

Tosses

Can't really quantify these. Just do them till my hands are tired. Getting better.

Finger Extensions

20xWhite, Green, Yellow

Did 'em, that's what counts.

Overall a fine workout. If I had more time, I'd play with my loadable sword. Got a lot of work to do tonight though. Foot still slowly healing, lucky it's at a time when I can't push too hard anyway. I'm doing one of the physical therapy exercises right now that I was doing wrong before. Yay! It occurs to me that with all the downtime due to the physical therapy, I might not be able to do a lot of the BBB2 events. Guess I'll have to see how it goes. Worst case I enjoy watching the contest and exploring the U of I area.

[Scott Styles]

09-07-2006 - Physical Therapy Session 3 at ARC

Session 3 tonight. Every session I'm thinking it's time to go in there and tell her I better get back to using the kettlebells on top of therapy. Every session she pulls something new out of the hat to pacify me before I bring it up.

Tonight we stretched my upper spine, stretched the posterior shoulder capsule, released my ribs, then went to work with the biofeedback device. That thing is torture. I'm supposed to do different movements while activating my lower trap as much as or more so than my upper trap. If the ratio drops below 1 to 1, it stops beeping. There's also a little lcd display I can watch. It really helped me to focus on my lower trap and emphasized the difference between the two muscles. As many of the movements are similar to what I do with the kettlebells, it convinced me I need to keep waiting.

She gave me a new exercise to work the serratus and stabilization. I now have 5 to do every day. I also found out I am not supposed to do the exercises after therapy. My cab didn't show up to take me there from the train station, so I had to walk. I made it, and my foot did ok. I'm still hobbling, but slowly getting better. 8 weeks is probably accurate for things to heal totally.

The only down side of the session is it turns out my therapist is moving to an office in Geneva after next week. So I have to evaluate how hard it would be for me to go there, then choose between following her or working with the head therapist at the ARC facility. It's really going to come down to how much of a pain it is to go to the new place, vs. how many sessions she thinks I need to be functional.

[Scott Styles]

I am really happy with my therapist today. This morning, while walking to work and sitting, I've focused upon using the lower trap for shoulder stability while relaxing the upper trap. Everything is falling together.

The neck muscles we've been trying to strengthen / stretch are being used now. It is clear they are not conditioned. My upper traps are loose. I'm not leaning back on my right shoulder blade any more, cause the lower trap is pulling it in. I can feel things going where they should be even as I sit here. I am very excited. I think it is just a matter of time now.

[Scott Styles]

09-09-2006 - Workout 24 - Grip Work in the Apartment

The weekend. Nothing better to do with my time then grip work. Well, that or overtime

Grippers

Put chokers on hard #2 and BBSM.

Bunch of attempts on grippers above choked pretty far down.

The severe negatives on the grippers have been really hard on my middle finger knuckles. I needed to switch things up. I've never used chokers seriously before, so I decided to give them a shot. Still playing around with them and not sure on a set / rep scheme yet. I did close both grippers in the choker almost all the way down though, so it's definitely a good way to de-mystify a gripper. I'm nowhere close to shutting the BBSM normally.

PDA Zeus at Shoulder Height

3x1x40lbs

Focused on crushing the wrist roller and moving smoothly. Just waiting for my skin to heal totally on my hands before adding more weight.

Two Hands - Climber511 TTK

3x10lbs

3x10lbs Three Fingers

3x15lbs

3x15lbs Three Fingers

5x25lbs, really sloppy

5x25lbs, really sloppy

5x20lbs, Three Fingers, really sloppy

5x20lbs, Three Fingers, really sloppy

3x25lbs, partials

Guess I did a lot of sets. Not setting the grippers left my thumbs much stronger.

Climber511 Loadable Sword

5xEmpty

3x2 Washers

3x4 Wahers, sloppy

1x3 Washers strict

1x3 Washers sloppy

2x3 Washers sloppy

Working these back in. The hilt helps a lot when my thumbs are tired.

Finger Extensions

20xWhite, Green, Yellow

Did 'em, that's what counts.

Overall, a really good workout. I drank heavily last night and only got 6 hours of sleep, so I'm not sure why. I'll take it though. Physical therapy has definitely paid off. I was able to walk around today for a good bit wearing my laptop bag, with no shoulder pain. I had to focus on flexing my lower trap, and the lactic acid burn there was pretty intense, but I totally did that. I gave up on wearing backpacks pain free years ago. I'd just come to accept my shoulder would hurt and there is nothing I can do about it.

Also, my foot is good enough now that I can return to my normal activities of daily living. Stairs are still a little slow, I'm not going to be doing any DDR for weeks, but I can walk a mile now. That is critical for my quality of life, since I don't have a car.

I might be injured, I might not be kettlebelling, but I am improving from my current state. That's enough to make me happy

[Scott Styles]

09-11-2006 - Physical Therapy Session 4 at ARC

I've been practicing hard and was looking forward to impressing the therapist with how well I could do the exercises from last week. She went and changed them on me to make them harder! I did get to ask her about what I need to do to be able to do the kettlebells. She says I have to be able to do the movements with my shoulder tracking properly. Given that I still struggle to do them with no weight, I'm not there yet.

It looks like I'll be renewing my script and transferring to a new therapist at ARC when my current therapist leaves. Following her to her new office would add 2 hours travel time per session and an extra $40 in cab fare. I will be working with the owner of the therapy office though, and he looks experienced. The downside is, as the owner, I'm sure he will be busier and have a less flexible schedule. Tradeoffs.

I also worked out of her that the real secret to succeeding isn't the exercises so much as what I do outside of the therapy office. I need to fix my posture whenever possible to retrain the muscles. This has nothing to do with strength, it's all about mind body connections. I'm going to pull the back and arm rests off my chair at the office tomorrow, and force myself to sit properly.

Foot is starting to feel pretty good. I'm at that threshold point right now where it isn't healthy enough to move normally, but if feels healthy enough that I'm tempted to.

[Scott Styles]

09-12-2006 - Workout 25 - Grip Work in the Apartment

Was looking forward to playing with the choked grippers

Grippers

1xT

1xBBSA

5 attempts at choked #2 per hand

5 attempts at choked BBSM per hand

5 attempts at choked BBSM righty, choked #2 lefty

5 attempts at choked #2 per hand

Still feeling this out. Not sure reps and choked grippers go together. Nice to see handles closing on these grippers, even in the chokers.

PDA Zeus at Shoulder Height

3x1x42.5lbs

Bumped up 2.5lbs here. Taking my time to add weight so my skin can toughen.

Block Weights

Couple holds with the 25

Negatives, Thumb Press Lifts, Lifts with the 30

If I spit on my hands and rub them till sticky, the 30 comes up. Otherwise, need the thumb press right now. Used to be better. Wonder if I can get to the 35lb york by BBB2. Decided this works the wrist enough that I'll skip levering on these workout days.

Finger Extensions

20xWhite, Green, Yellow

Overall a good workout. Not as strong as I would have expected given the last workout, but they're not all winners. Foot is really starting to come along, walking faster than my fiancee again. Moved my desk at work all alone, even though it is heavy. See, this is the stupid stuff I was talking about that I'll do. Gotta be careful. Back is sore from physical therapy. Expected.

[Scott Styles]

09-14-2006 - Physical Therapy Session 5 at ARC

Last session with this therapist. Came into it with a good bit of pain on the right trap / side of neck area from trying to sit with proper posture. It was bad enough the day before that I got a headache. She tried some active release stuff that helped, but did not make the problem go away. Then we did some manipulation and stretching of the shoulder. Tried a new exercise, I'm not ready for it. Then did some protraction / retraction stuff. Overall, a dissapointing session, but I realize they will not all be great.

I did ask her about kettlebells again, pointing out that the protraction / retraction we are doing has me in a prone position with at least 50lbs on each arm. She says because it is closed chain, it is different. But, she did tell me I'm allowed to do squats with a kettlebell held at chest level using 2 arms. That's something.

Then I asked her about the BBB2. Basically said, "look, I'm going, I know once I'm there, I'm going to lift heavy things. Should I train for it lifting heavy things or not?". Figured since this is the last time I work with her, I could push it. She insisted she couldn't answer that question and that either way I was opening myself for injury. I tried phrasing it in multiple ways over a period of minutes to get an answer, but no luck. She looked irritated, so I stopped asking.

I am dissapointed progress hasn't been a little better in 3 weeks. I was contemplating resuming kettlebells in prep for the contest. Last night I tried a turkish get up with just a book. I can completely feel how I use the wrong muscles to compensate. Damn.

I am unsure what to do now. It is clear the process of getting the shoulder back up to heavy weights with proper muscle control is going to take months. The progress made in our 3 weeks is an indicator of that. I've even probably been pushing to sit with proper posture too soon.

The logical thing to do is as follows:

1. When at the BBB2 don't do the events that are not allowed. That would basically mean all I can do is blob medley and grippers. Really no point in competing then.

2. Continue with my grip work, adding in squats with the kettlebell at the start of the session.

3. My foot is starting to feel decent. Start doing daily activity, as much as my foot can tolerate.

4. Continue with my PT, increasing the stretching sessions for my upper trap to multiple times a day until I can sit with good posture pain free.

5. Continue avoiding weighted movements until I am cleared for them, meaning over the next 2 months my strength will return to an untrained state.

6. Restrict calories to drop weight, accepting that my body strength is already going since I cannot lift. At least I can get my endurance up. Being lighter will probably make it easier to get control over my shoulder as well.

That is definitely the logical approach for the long term. It makes for a pretty crappy short term though. I like to lift heavy things, I like to compete in grip contests, I like to eat lots of food. I don't like to do daily boring low intensity activity. So, I'm sure what I should do, I just don't want to do it.

On the bright side, if the therapy office has billed me correctly, I completely misunderstood how insurance works. What I though was $1000 of sessions has turned out to be more like $600 worth due to caps on rates set by my insurance. Not only that, for some reason my portion of the $600 was like $70. I thought I was going to have to pay all of it until I hit my $1000 deductible. I have no idea if I'm going to get billed later for it or what, but if I don't, that would rule. My foot is also feeling good enough that I no longer have to take a cab to and from therapy. I will start phasing the cab company out as time allows.

I need to man up and do the logical thing for the long term. Maybe I'll have one last good weekend and then get down to work. Bleh.

[Scott Styles]

Lord I'm whiney. I've decided though.

Today I'm going to eat out, get plastered, and be generally irresponsible. Then it's down to work for the next 10 weeks. I will re-evaluate my process, progress, and path over the Thanksgiving holiday.

[AP]

Keep it up Scott, 2 months time is nothing. I take a month off every year (December) and It takes me about 3 months to get back to when I was. But the amount of healing and recovery I do in that month is what allows me to hit those big PRs in July and August. It might seem far away, but when May comes around next year, you could be hitting stuff you didn't think was possible. Get that shoulder better, and keep it healthy!

[verdigriz]

Hey scott..you are probably aware of these KB exercises but hey ill add them just incase..

I think it was pavel that mentioned getting the KB into the overhead press position and then doing very small circle motions with it to help with the stability of such a delicate area. Another one was to get into the same position and to walk with it, for time or length..could be of help..

Let me know if you think of trying any of these:)

[Scott Styles]

Thanks for the support guys. I know listening to the therapist is the smart thing to do. I'm just a stubborn fool when it comes to not getting to do whatever I want. Verdigriz - the therapist says no overhead work. I'm going to ask about turkish get ups with a 3lb dumbell soon though.

09-16-2006 - Workout 26 - Grip Work in the Apartment

Been looking forward to this one for awhile. Went to downtown LaGrange to put in 8 hours of overtime, then came home to workout. Some small town rock band was having a concert in the train station parking lot across from my apartment. It was really annoying, but fired me up pretty well.

Grippers

Played with the choked grippers some more. Took a more singles focused approach, did a good number of attempts. Opened the Super Master up about 2 turns of the screw, cannot close it anymore. Did a weak close on the easy #2 righty during the workout. Hard to tell if this is paying off, really want to go back to full range of motion reps for at least one workout, but should stick with the choked grippers for a little while to see what it does for me. Also did some deep squats unweighted and holding the 16k kettlebell.

PDA Zeus Wrist Roller

3x1x45lbs

Upped the weight by 2.5lbs, being careful not to tear my skin. Need to stay here next time. Still annoyed the resistance curve on a $135 wrist roller isn't level. It works fine though. I also did two sets of 10 reps of body weight calf raises from the floor. I'm just trying to get my injured foot stronger now that it has strength over the range of motion. Not pushing hard.

Two Handed Climber511 TTK

3x15lbs

3x15lbs Three Fingers

1x20lbs

1x20lbs Three Fingers

5x27.5lbs, terrible form

5x20lbs Three Fingers

5x27.5lbs Sloppy Form

5x22.5lbs Three Fingers

These seems to be improving...Or I'm cheating more. In any case, I'll keep doing them like this for awhile.

Climber511 Loadable Sword

5xEmpty

3x2 Washers

2x4 Washers

2x4 Washers

I just need to keep doing these. When my shoulder is better, they will pay off with a DU bending PR.

Finger Extensions

20xGreen

20xYellow

10xBlue - baby reps

Doing them. Decided to start playing with the blue one. I can't open it much yet.

Overall I'm happy with the workout. Considering I got the drunkest I've probably ever been last night, I'm suprised my strength didn't suffer. That had the effect I desired, and I am over the strong need to keep trying different types of white wine. Probably a good thing, cause I progressed to the point where I had more than a full bottle of wine, opposed to the 2-3 drinks I typically have. It will be a few months before I drink again. Given that I have no hangover, it reinforces my belief that the only reason people get hungover is because they improperly attend to food and hydration while drinking.

Now that I've comitted to not competing at the BBB2, I'm getting over it. Fiancee and I are trying to decide if we'll still go down to the U of I area or do something else. I'm doing ok with the daily activity, got some walking around town today. I'm almost ready to start doing the PT more aggressively. Today I focused on sitting properly while doing my overtime and my tight neck is starting to loosen. Will do the exercises tonight.

The only change I'm having trouble coming to terms with is cutting calories. I like to eat and don't particularly care if I'm fat. Other than exercising to get that high, my favored activities do not revolve around sports or athletics. They never have. Not sure what's going to happen with this one. With my overtime I can afford to eat out as much and as often as I want. Hard to give that up without a strong reason. Averaging a 55 hour week right now, so it's also nice to get concentrated forms of relaxing entertainment like eating out.

[Scott Styles]

09-18-2006 - Physical Therapy Session 6 at ARC

I was not happy about this session going into it. I'm now working with the owner of the clinic, which means that in order to get on his schedule today, I had to do a 7am session. That required me to get up at 5:10 instead of 7:10. Luckily it's around a mile and a half walk from the train to the therapy place. By the time I got there, my mood had improved. My foot is starting to feel better and I made decent speed on the walk, almost as fast as a normal person.

I like the new guy. He's much more aggressive with the soft tissue manipulation than the last therapist was. It hurts, but I think it's what I need. A lot of times I felt like the last therapist wanted to push harder, but she wasn't capable of it. We spent almost the whole session doing soft tissue manipulation and manual resistance exercises.

I get the feeling this guy REALLY knows what he is doing. His summary form at the PT office says he's given seminars, treated elite athletes, and has word class experience. Those things just might be true! He was able to address some concerns that I had previously. Where the last therapist focused primarly on the lower trap and tigh posterior joint capsule, he moved around to pay a lot of attention to the upper rib and tight pec minor as well. There was also a PT student shadowing him, which meant another body to deal with documentation and getting equipment. Great for me, big time saver.

I'm doing good at getting the daily activity. Yesterday I walked around a bit and did a buch of chores. Today I walked around 2 miles in the morning and maybe 3/4 mile in the evening carrying a 30lb blob. I also got a 30lb blob I'm not any good at restricting calories, no motivation. I am keeping up on the physical therapy at home though. Got my PMP exam in a little over a week, so I definitely won't do much about changing my diet until after that. I'm now studying several hours every day I do not have therapy. It will be nice to be done with the PMP cert. It is much more work than I anticipated.

[Scott Styles]

09-20-2006 - Workout 26 - Grip Work in the Apartment

Skipped the workout last night cause I wasn't feeling it. Went for it today.

Grippers

Did a warm up then around 4-5 attempts on choked grippers. Using the Super Master Righty and the Hard #2 Lefty. I think what will be appropriate here is to do 5 attempts on my choked gripper per hand. When I get them all, open it one full turn of the screw.

PDA Zeus

1x45lbs

Had to stop here because I started to lose skin beneath the base of my middle finger knuckle. That's the same spot a lost skin on the other hand a few workouts ago. I managed to stop before a flap actually opened, so we'll see if what happens to the spot on my hand, that is now white. I assume it will dry up and have to be picked off, but maybe my hand will heal faster with it on there since it never quite ripped. I'm ticked that the knurling is so sharp. It's like no one actually tested the product through a series of workouts.

Blobs

With my 30lber and 35lber, I can officially base my entire workout around blobs. Did a bunch of lifts of the 30lber, some finger press lifts and negatives with the 35lber. My wide pinch strength is coming up. The 35lber is much smoother and rounder than my 30lber. Where my 30lb blob is easier than my 30lb hex block, I'd guess my 35lb blob is harder than a 35lb hex block would be.

Finger Extensions

20xWhite, Yellow, Green

10xBlue - Mini Reps

Overall the workout was ok. Little bummed about the wrist roller. Tried doing the kettlebell squats, but it's just not fun without the rest of the kettlebell work. I like swinging it, cleaning it, and pressing it over head. It also felt as though squatting deep without my knees warmed up wasn't the greatest idea. I may just need to enjoy the time off. Doing good at daily physical therapy, bad at daily activity. Diet has changed zero.

I've got my PMP exam next wednesday and have pretty much given up on worrying about changing any behavior patterns until I pass it. The test is hard. Not hard because the material is complex, but hard because the material is dully and the questions are written in a tricky way. I need to minimize my distractions from studying. I will be upset if I fail the test, have to pay the re-examination fee, and have to study for an even longer period of time.

Bedroom window and sliding glass door are getting replaced by the landlord tomorrow. I hope it blocks the train noise out better. That would greatly improve my night's sleep. It'd also be nice to be able to open the window in the bedroom again.

[AP]

Some chalk will help with the sharpness of the knurling. If its still too much, take a little sandpaper to it.

[Scott Styles]

AP, I've put so much chalk on the thing it is white I'm almost to the point of modifying it. I want to give PDA the benefit of the doubt for a few more weeks and see if my skin toughens up and stops tearing. If it does, I think that will really help me with v-bar.

09-21-2006 - Physical Therapy Session 7 at ARC

This was a really good session. I walked there in perfect 68 degree weather, then had time to study for my PMP before the session. The therapist listened to my goals and talked to me about getting back into the kettlebells. He had me describe all the exercises while he did a lot of soft tissue work. Then we got out the biofeedback. His approach is to push as hard as possible without injuring me, regardless of pain. That is exactly what I was looking for. He's also get 17 years of experience and is quite knowledgable. I spoke with him about the grip work as well, he seemed interested.

I've got another script for 6 more sessions now. At the rate I pay with insurance and the experience this guy has, I'll go as long as I can keep getting scripts. Not cleared for kettlebells yet, but we will revisit it on Tuesday. I also get the impression he enjoys working with me. I try hard and actually do my exercises at home. The PT student that is shadowing him says about 95% of clients don't do their exercises at home.

The walk to the train was very pleasant, and I got home in a great mood. Walking and taking the train is far more enjoyable than taking cabs. It saves me $22 and only costs me an extra 45 minutes. The activity is good for my foot, which is beginning to really heal. I'm very pleased right now.