Thursday, June 7, 2012

RKC 2 envy

I'm so excited for my friends that are going to the RKC 2 in Italy next week. However, in the midst of their excitement and hard work, I find myself frustrated that I'm nowhere near ready for the course. My goal is to be ready by the time I need to re-certify next year. I'm seven months into the recovery on my right foot and still have to do the left, so it may not be a realistic goal, but it is something to work towards. If nothing else I'll be overly prepared to re-certify at level 1. With that in mind, I went a little heavier tonight.

Joint mobility

12 kg presses and assisted pull-ups: 1-2-3, 3 rounds
(first time using the 12 kg for presses since last year)

Two rounds:

24 kg deadlift- 8
10 kg get-up sit-up- 4+4
assisted bodyweight pistol squat (with the band hanging from the pull-up bar)- 4+4
12 kg side press 4+4 (it was a little heavy on the left side so I used the 10 kg on the second round, darn shoulder acting up after using the 12 kg for the military presses) 4+4

Swings! 24 kg, 10 rounds of 10 = 100 :)

I want to address floor textures. I've been doing the majority of my workouts in my bedroom on the carpet. It was after doing a couple of workouts on concrete outdoors that I realized how much better it felt to be on solid ground. I'm much better able to grip the ground and push against it that way. Luckily I have a great bedroom setup including a very open and laminated bathroom floor that's big enough to work out in while still watching Netflix on my laptop (up to season 3 of Desperate Housewives!... again). I did my presses, deadlifts, assisted pistol squats (the only door frame my pull-up bar fits in is my bathroom due to the smoke detectors in my house), and swings standing on the hard floor. A great bonus is using the square pattern on the floor to make sure my feet are aligned properly so I'm not favoring one side. I strongly recommend using the hardest floor surface possible for your workouts (and for goodness sake ditch the athletic shoes unless they have a hard, flat sole!). Even on the school playground I had to move from the cushy padded part to the blacktop. The cushy stuff was perfect when I was still in very early recovery from the surgeries and extra sensitive to weight bearing, but now I need the stability.

I'm feeling stronger and more confident in my training. I've also gained back a couple of pounds (I'd lost 10 immediately after the first surgery) which is helping my strength and how I feel about myself. Now if I could just get off these darn pain pills I'd be in really good shape. They really affect my thinking, and not in a good way!

So be happy, train hard on the best floor surface possible, and enjoy life. That's all that really matters, isn't it?

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Keep on keeping on

My doctor was on vacation last week so his office has just started the process for the next surgery, the fifth on my right foot. He said there are a few bone fragments that should be easy to remove (followed by "famous last words!" haha). It'll probably happen in two weeks since I'm going out of town next week. So for now I'm just doing the best I can.

I feel really good about my last two workouts. Unfortunately I'm not always up to doing them! I usually have a bit more pain the next day so I'm still not pushing myself very hard.

31 May

Joint mobility

10 kg presses with band assisted pull-ups after each press, 1-2-3, 4 rounds

circuit (2 rounds):
double 12 kg windmills, 3+3
double 12 kg clean, 6
goblet squat, 12 kg, 6
renegade row, 3+3 (alternating)
lateral traveling swings, 12 kg, 6+6

5:00 double 12 kg swings!! sets of 10, 50 total :)

4 June


Joint mobility

10 kg presses with band assisted pull-ups after each press, 1-2-3-4, 3 rounds

FULL TGUs, 10 kg, 6 (alternating with each rep, 3 per side)
* this was the very first time I successfully did full get-ups on the left side without assistance
bottoms-up clean, 10 kg, 5+5, 3 rounds
1-leg deadlift, 16 kg, 3+3, 3 rounds

6:00 1-arm swings, 16 kg, 5+5, 9 rounds (90 total)

Highlights were the double 12 kg swings and the full get-ups. I'm still struggling with my pain meds and am trying to limit it to 5-6 pills per week. I'm keeping up with 800-1200 mg of motrin daily to keep the inflammation down. I've had to stop a different herbal supplement I was taking because of the upcoming surgery, so that's been an adjustment as well but overall I think I'm doing ok. It's hard to believe I've been out of work and dealing with this for seven months now. Still waiting to see the finish line.