Ruining My Posture

I'm in danger of ruining my posture and my gait because this unrelenting sciatic pain has me curled forward like an elderly arthritic. I'm standing lopsided and probably favoring my right side, putting a lot of stress on the left. 

Once I get things like my kid back to school, my car repaired properly, and one of my dogs diagnosed, I'll look into making an appointment for myself with the neurosurgeon about fixing the diagnosed spinal stenosis. Meanwhile, I have an appointment tomorrow with a new veterinarian because I found a hard lump on one of my dog's rib cage that I'm fairly certain isn't a benign lipoma aka fatty tumor. I've had pups with those and this is not that.

I did make it to the gym today. We're in the middle of a heat advisory that hopefully breaks this evening. My sciatica makes it hard to carry my gym bag, makes it hard to pedal the elliptical, makes it super hard to do pull-ups. I needed a change so today I pedaled the Intervals program for 25 minutes, and later added an additional 10 minutes on the step machine. Slow and easy, but still sopping with sweat. The a/c is on but it's so humid that the gym is barely cool. The locker room is positively balmy and warrants cold showers. 

No weight lifting today. I spent a lot of time in the Aerobics Room trying to relax my aggravated sciatic nerve, and avoid all the movements that have caused the most pain. No Dead Bugs. No Bird Dog planks. I stubbornly refuse to give up push-ups, and they hurt, but not to the same extent as Dead Bugs. I don't know why this exercise specifically causes so much trouble. But Air Squats are fine. 

I still have 3 plants that need to go into the ground but I'm not digging my yard with temps in the 90s. Luckily, torrential rains have mitigated the heat and nothing needs watering. If anything, there's flood watches in various neighborhoods. 

The dreaded spotted lantern fly hasn't made much of an appearance either, although I did find a nymph (juvenile form) in the dog water bowl at the Bark Park this morning. Rinsed that out and dispatched the critter. I hope tomorrow will be cooler. This heat is making me consider installing a second a/c unit in my little house, and I know future summers promise to be even hotter. 

7 August 2026 1:26-2:55

Sciatica Heatwave Friday

More heat & humidity & hungry

Precor elliptical #1 (1:54)

Program Intervals

Time: 20 + 5 (3194)

Distance: 1.84

Cal: 189

Precor HR: 128, 198-97

Google Health: 44-119

(Foot numb / calf clenched / glute)

HGPU 15

Sciatica makes this really painful

Matrix StairMaster (R) (2:05-2:15)

Manual timer 8 + 2 cool down

Speed 3 (38-36) / 2 (26)

Steps 342

Floors 21

Cal: 54

Hr 104

Mild A/C in the Aerobics Room!

20 Piriformis/Hip flex (2:26-

15 Hamstring / nerve flossing

Skip Dead Bugs too painful

25 crunches x 3 (hungry!)

12 Piriformis stretches

Child’s Pose

Cat/Cow stretch 12

Child’s Pose

Fire Hydrants 30 x 2

Arm rotations 20

Push-Ups 26 (stressful sciatic)

Air Squats 25

Neck Stretch / eye yoga