Limiting Your Ambitions

Sometimes the mind is willing but the body is unable. That's quite different than having an able body thwarted by mental obstacles. I admit that I have doubts and fears. But I am more confident at the gym than I am anywhere else. I guess that's why I'm a gym rat. As an older athlete, I have less issue with motivation (I've been doing this too long to succumb to excuses) than I do with actual physical limitations. I'm not talking about the various and sundry aches and pains. I'm not talking about coughs and sneezes. I'm talking about tendinitis.

Even when I'm not at the gym, elbow pain will stop me abruptly from a mundane task, like hoisting a bag over my shoulder. It's a repetitive motion type of injury, involving micro-tears to the muscles connecting the humerus to the ulna. Muscles don't connect directly to bones but by tendons. When those tendons are damaged, they become inflamed and can compress the ulnar nerve (your funny bone).

My tendinitis hasn't become acute or chronic yet. But I've suffered such in the past when I wore tennis/golf elbow braces dutifully every time I worked out. They didn't really do anything. Standard treatment calls for rest, ice and NSAIDs such as ibuprofen. However, that does nothing to correct the problem, and ibuprofen, while a potent anti-inflammatory, is counterindicated for strength-training. Standard treatment also does not allow you to return to the activity that probably caused the problem in the first place.

So, while I'd like to knock out 5 sets of 20+ hammer grip pull-ups in a single workout session, I won't. Because my elbows can't handle the stress. I've pulled back from increasing my reps past 22-23 exactly for the same reason. I can get to 28, but my elbows suffer so much damage and pain that it's not worth it. My concession is to do fewer reps, but more than one set. Today is a Cardio Day, which in my book, includes core, pushups, and pull-ups. Because my right elbow has been intermittently sensitive, I only do two sets of pull-ups but add another set of pushups. I'll attempt 3 sets of pull-ups on Friday. Depending on how my elbows feel, of course.

Online, there are a lot of purported experts claiming to know how to fix your golfer's elbow. But because everyone is different, not everyone will respond to the same treatment the same way. Most treatments include stretching and some also advise foam rolling or massaging down the forearm. The most common type of stretch involves holding your arm straight out in front of you, with palm facing up, then tip your fingers downward which will stretch the inside of the forearm. What we all want to avoid is surgery. And steroid injections.

The most innovative technique involves a position derived from yoga. I found it on a climber's blog. Click here to visit the site and read how to perform the move. While I've not actually attempted this yet in my house (got to find a clear spot on the floor that's not covered with Boy Scout camping gear), I might give it a go at the gym tomorrow.

The other recommendation is, of course, to strengthen all the muscles affected by this tendinitis, i.e., forearms and hands. I do Reverse Grip BB Curls once a week. I suppose I could add wrist curls but I've never found them to be effective for strengthening forearms. I worry that I'll just be adding more stress to my repetitive stress injury.

I felt my glutes while doing HIIT cardio this morning, so yesterday's Smith RDLs must've done something. My timing was off on all my cardio events today (not nearly as many points as last week during the Dragon Island game on the Expresso bike). I did notice though, that only the Precor elliptical gives me crazy pulse rate readings (today a low of 80 to a high just shy of 190), while other machines like the cross-trainer, the StepMill, and the Octane show me a steadier, more reasonable heart rate. Maybe it's not me. Maybe it's the equipment.

Another Cardio Wednesday

Norwegian 4x4
5 min w/u (4 min on / 3 min off) x 4
5, 9, 12, 16, 19, 23, 26, 30, 33
Calories 283
Miles 2.62
HR 135-186 (80)

Cage Stretch
HGPU 21

Push Ups 50
Crunches 30/30
Leg horizontal scissors 50
Bicycles 50
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s

20 Expresso Bike
Dragons Island
Calories 66
Miles 3.28
Points 173,090

HGPU 20

20 Step Mill
Level 3
Calories 112
Total steps 705
Floors 44
HR 126

Push Ups 60
Mat Stretch