Today I got to the gym late morning. Because the sun is out and temps are mild, the gym is virtually empty but for a few seniors plodding along. I do my HIIT cardio and instantly start to sweat. It's too early in the season for A/C, but there are plenty of bugs. Thankfully, the gym doesn't have their doors wide open because that always leads to pesky flies trying to bite me while I'm exercising. Cardio always starts off difficult, but by the end of the session, I feel as if I could go for another half hour. Of course, I don't because I have other things to do!
There are a few HS boys I haven't seen before. They're cheering each other on, and spotting each other on the bench press and seated shoulder press. It's good to see. It's also apparent by their soft overweight bods that they're not jocks so it's doubly good to see them using the equipment. They wipe down the benches and rerack their weights! Awesome!
After my warm-up routine, I see that the Smith is vacant. I do RDLs. My lower back feels better so I'm assuming it was the shoes causing a problem last week. RG BB Rows are also routine. I'm careful to swap out the standard aluminum handles for the thinner old steel handles when I set up for Lat Pull Downs. This one change alone has made a big difference on whether I can complete a set at my max weight of 115 lbs. But I'm also not as tired as I usually am, which means I actually pull more reps. I'm attributing that to taking yesterday off. Normally my Pull Day follows immediately after a Push Day. I'm going to have to rethink my routine again.
There are new people here today and a few regulars. My "radar" tells me that some are staring but I don't know why. I'm insecure enough to wonder if there's something wrong with my clothes. Then I block everyone out of my mind, kick the volume up a tad and finish my workout routine by upping the weight on my sets of RG BB Curl. I know this exercise mostly stresses the brachioradialis (top of the forearm) because that's where I feel it. I'd have to go heavier and do regular BB curls to feel my biceps. Besides, I let the One-Arm Seated Cable Rows do "double duty," working biceps, lats, and forearms.It's late enough in the day that the locker room is completely empty. I look at myself in the mirror and realize that although I'm heavier than I'd like, I don't actually look bad or fat. Whew! I also realize that my right inner elbow is tender when I bend it the wrong way, or if I press on it. Ugh. A friend has recommended something called VooDoo Flossing. There's a lot of YouTube videos showing you how to wrap the afflicted forearm and elbow with VooDoo floss, a stiffly elastic rubber strip. Then you go through a wide range of motion with the arm for a few minutes. Do this 2-3 times a day. It's supposed to be very effective. I've posted a video here. Decide for yourself. I might try the moves without the floss.
I'm hesitant to try it though, mainly because of my issues with compression. Although my glaucoma doc and my GP both believe I have Raynaud's (and Raynaud's is purportedly helped by compression gloves and socks), I don't quite fit the parameters and compression tends to cause me a lot of discomfort. Numb extremities are painful extremities. I suspect I have a type of faux Raynaud's that's not due to spasms in the microvessels in my extremities.
Instead, my symptoms are more aligned with a structural problem at the cellular level in my blood vessels and connective tissue, but it's not EDS (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome). I don't have stretchy skin! I know someone with EDS and I definitely do not have her medical problems. However, I get a bit freaked out when I read a list of odd symptoms that people with diagnosed EDS report, because I have a lot of these issues, but not as severe. Lucky me! The 10 little-known symptoms: dysautonomia, blue sclera, difficulty scarring, irritation from adhesives, "bad" veins, Raynaud's Syndrome, soft & delicate skin, bruising in unusual places, hyperextension & dislocation of joints in hands and fingers. I don't think the last one is limited just to the hands and fingers though.
 |
| from WebMD |
This explains why I have "poor circulation" where my hands and feet go cold and numb if I sit for too long, my rolling veins and my horrible "allergic" reaction to adhesive tape (still got a discolored scar worse than the mole that was removed back in October!), why I can't wear turtlenecks, belts, knee socks or anything vaguely tight. I have problems with regulating my temperature -- I thought that was just the IV (ichthyosis vulgaris). This may explain why I can't walk barefoot as the little bones in my feet sometimes painfully dislocate. And my skin isn't stretchy, soft and delicate only because I have IV, a different inherited skin disorder due to a different errant protein.
I still don't think it's mild EDS, but perhaps something related... or maybe I'm just in denial. EDS is another heritable disorder. My mother and my grandmother had lesser forms of IV but also suffered from "poor circulation" with hands and feet that often went numb. I've had entire quadrants of my body go numb -- that wasn't any fun at all! My mother bruised easily, but we all thought it was because she was malnourished as she didn't like to eat and had digestive issues (another EDS symptom). I'm putting all these puzzle pieces together but it's unclear as to whether the picture I'm making is the correct one. Isn't science fascinating?!
Sunny Wednesday Pull
Norwegian 4x4
5 min w/u (4 min on / 3 min off) x 4
5, 9, 12, 16, 19, 23, 26, 30, 33
Calories 290
Miles 2.66
HR 141-192 (107)
Cage Stretch
HGPU 22
Push Ups 60
Crunches Legs Up 40
Bicycles 60
Crunches knees bent 50
Horizontal Scissors 50
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Smith RDLs
Bar (30) x 15
80 x 12
100 x 12
120 x 12, 12, 12
Smith RG BB Row
80lbs x 25 reps x 3 sets
Lat Pull Downs (narrow neutral grip)
85 x 12
100 x 10
115 x 10, 10, 10
Seated 1-Arm Cable Rows
30lbs x 12 each arm
40 x 10
50 x 8
RG BB Curls
40lbs x 20 reps x 3 sets (yaaaay!)
Mat Stretch
No comments:
Post a Comment