I thought about going to the gym yesterday but decided I'd rather take advantage of the windless sunny day, just brisk enough to warrant a sweatless outdoor chore day. So I dragged a bunch of things out of the house and into the newly cleared garage, and then I got down to doing what I really needed: moving some firewood into the house. There was already a half dozen sticks from last winter, but I'm more comfortable with a bigger stack next to the wood stove. Ostensibly to dry out since the wood's been outside all year. Never mind that the logs had already sat for a year or two before being split and stacked.
Temps dropped into the high 20s last night so I got a fire started. To my delight, the outside wood ignited quickly with just one match and a bit of newsprint for a starter. It was enough to raise the chilly living room a modest 4 degrees, which meant a comfortable 67F. My doc called to tell me that the report from my X-rays were finalized and instead of playing phone tag, I told them to just leave the message and tell me what that meant. Cuz it's not like they're gonna put my X-rays online for me to view. The news wasn't great. "Degenerative changes in your lumbar spine. Recommending you see an orthopedic specialist." Yeah, well, that could mean arthritis, which literally everyone has, or something worse. I won't know until I speak to an orthopedic doc, so once I get my X-rays in the mail, I'll have to search one out in my health insurance network. Yes, I'm audibly groaning.
Meanwhile, my sciatica hasn't gotten any better. It hurts a lot if I'm upright and active. It hurts less if I'm sitting in a proper seat, not with my legs dangling or too soft a cushion. Standing around hurts the most, like I got kicked by a horse. I had a few errands to do and then I went to the gym. There was a guy in a cherry picker affixing a proper sign outside. I wonder if that means our gym fees will be increasing? It's late and the Senior class has ended. There's not a lot of people inside, although Wind Breaker is on elliptical #3. I climb on #1 and start pedaling program #3.
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| program 3 |
I have to start slower than I'm used to just to warm up the recalcitrant right leg. The toes and front half of the foot are numb and tingly. The lower outer calf, just over the ankle feels like a mesh claw has clenched it tightly, and the glute starts to throb, eventually becoming sore. By the end of the 35-minute program, the numbness and pain has dissipated, at least until I step off and walk down to the Stretch Cage for pull-ups.
The one good thing about having bad sciatica is that it prevents you from kipping or otherwise using your body to help get your nose past the bar. It just hurts too much. Now it's easier to just do pull-ups with a straight body and legs crossed to keep from swaying. It's literally the only good thing about this aggravating condition. I do my 10 minutes on the step machine, and then back to pull-ups at the Stretch Cage. I'm more tired and the temptation is great to curl the lower body just to give a bit of assistance. Except this is just too painful. Nope, straighten the body, cross the legs. Done.
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| Stair Master |
The Aerobics Room is sufficiently cold in spite of the previous Senior class. A lot of those folks wear sweaters while getting their steps in although that's not the weirdest inappropriate dress choice I've witnessed. Recently, I saw a fellow on the leg press machine wearing a big leather slouch hat like the Aussie cowboys. And tinted shades. Not like he's gonna get sunburned. Or windburned.
I've looked into recommended exercises and stretches for sciatic pain. There are several that I've done over the years, but will no longer do. I read the comments section of an online article where people discuss the worst exercise for them, ranging from cat/camel through cobra. I can do cat/camel but cobra wrecks me and I suspect that movement is what's caused this latest episode. I figure, if it makes the pain worse, it's not doing anything good. Everyone has different sciatic pain because everyone has a slightly different circumstance for why that giant nerve bundle has been aggravated and aggrieved. So, bye bye to hip bridges and bird dogs. For now at least.
I did double down on push-ups because I've been musing about bone density and getting old and weak. One of my elderly friends (who is actually still quite active but is in her 80s) has trouble standing up from a chair that's too low. Those quads and glutes have weakened. I also know someone in their 60s just a tad older than me who also can't get out of a chair without help. Their son is a fitness freak and quietly complains about dad's lack of exercise consistency. I never want to be THAT person.It occured to me that I haven't pushed weights in several weeks and I feel guilty. Is doing a few pull-ups and push-ups enough?
Sure, gentle cardio is the recommended exercise for sciatic pain. And glaucoma. And I've been doing mostly cardio. But I have nightmares about losing muscle strength, so today I decided I would see what doing two sets of push-ups was like. One set of 25 was easy. My feet did go a little numb, especially in the toes. Did some arm circles and then a second set of push-ups. It didn't get difficult until rep 20. That tracks. Squeaked out the last 5 and felt okay. If I were to go straight through, I'd probably start to struggle somewhere near the 40th rep. The only reason I've stayed with 25 reps is because my glaucoma doc warns me against too much exertion (and asked me to limit to 25 reps) which might raise my eye pressures, and I'm already losing peripheral vision in my right eye. (It's always the right side!) Wonder if I'll be sore tomorrow.
19 Nov 2025 1:04-2:43
Wednesday Cardio & X-ray report
Basics with Sciatica
Precor elliptical #1
Program 3
Time: 30 + 5 (5186)
Distance: 2.71
Cal: 294
Avg Hr: 146, 188
New FB: 42-134
upgraded FB is slow
HGPU 18
right foot numb & throbbing lower calf/glute
Matrix StairMaster (R)
Manual timer 8+2 cool down
Speed 5? (48-45) / 2 (31) / 1 (29)
Steps 423
Floors 26
Cal 64
Hr 114
HGPU 17 right foot aching
Skip Hip Bridges
20 Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
Skip hip rotations
DeadBugs 20 x 5
10 Piriformis stretches
Skip hip bridges
Child’s Pose
Cat/Cow stretch 12
Child’s Pose
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Skip Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2
Push-Ups 25 x 2 (!) with Arm rotations 20 between push up sets
Air Squats 25
Neck Stretch / eye yoga
