Video on Page 8

Seiji said:

Some people were telling me I was doing it wrong so I had to save face by saying I was doing a modified version of the exercise.

hey man, drop the weight and the ego. if someone is giving you advice on technique, you should be listening to them, not acting defensive about it. don't lift heavy to impress your classmates, make sure you learn the movement properly with just the bar and no added weight first.

I don't know if I would take advice on the deadlift from a high school kid. lol Just sayin.

Well, it was my first time deadlifting with a bar.

There were these tire things, and I don't know how heavy each one actually was. That machine ruins everything :/

So now I always do it with the bar (in good form! perpendicular shins and flat back). So now I'm the only guy in the room who actually does it correctly lol Yes, I dropped the weight. I'm hanging around 185 now, happily.

I second Tsoooooonami but sounds like you got it Of course watch out who you listen to.

Yesterday I wasn't feeling well so I didn't go to school. Today, I just messed around in the weight room because I'm still not 100% over what I had.

So for the past few days, I have been tricking as my form of exercise. (It's a mix of martial arts and gymnastics, to put it in a basic form... go to www.club540.com/tricktionary to see what I'm talking about)

I just want to make sure my arm is at 100% before going back to planches. Also, I have made insane progress in the past week. Backward tumbling is so awesome

Well, I found out that I'm moving.

My family bought an amazing house.

We're moving in during spring break, so that'll be my workout I think.

Expect pictures, I get a whole shed to myself! Doesn't sound like much, but considering the shed is 12 ft by 20 ft... *grins* It's bigger than my current room.

There's a MASSIVE tree in the back yard. Besides a permanent residence for my rings, I'm going to put up a rope for me to climb on. Perhaps two so that I could do that style of climbing.

Anyone have tips for tumbling?

Seiji said:

Anyone have tips for tumbling?

Any more specific request?

Sounds awesome, seji. I just live in a sucky trailer house :s Its cool you got a giant tree in your yard to hang ropes on too. Do you know what kind of tree it is?

No idea. I'll find out when I move in

I'm moving some time in march, the week before spring break.

Also, pictures will be coming

Until then... I get to live in my small, backyardless apartment Another upside to the new house, I don't have to live in the same room as my jerk brother XD

I don't really know what to work now.

My schedule includes breakdancing on tuesdays and thursdays, plus a dance class in my school's first period. (40 mins i think) I do all of my weightlifting which I speak during my weightlifting class. During breakdance, I convinced people to come outside occasionally in the grass for power moves. I am their flipping teacher, of course I only consider the weightlifting a work out. I have kung fu classes on wednesday and saturday, which I get a lot out of. That's a work out sometimes: there are a lot of students, and my fitness level is up near the top 5 of them, so most classes seem easy to me. I haven't gotten sore from them in a long time.

So basically... everything above this is a baseline fitness level.

I don't consider weightlifting a work out sometimes, even if I turn up the intensity. It could be harder, but my goals don't want me to go over what the workouts are. In other words, I have enough energy after all of this that I could practice tumbling every day and not feel it the next.

Anyways... my workouts (weightlifting class 30-40 mins) are going to be like this: PLEASE MAKE SUGGESTIONS! I'm at an impasse D:

Monday and Tuesday are... Deadlifts. #'s to come on monday, I forgot how much I do. BARBELL OF COURSE!

Wed, Thurs, Friday will definitely include barbell overhead presses. (hoping to increase my balance and wrist strength, as well as pressing strength for HS, I still can't tuck planche to HS) For these, I usually go with 85 or 95 lbs for 5 reps or so (I stop when I have to start using my legs to push it up). I think I did 105 one time for a few reps, but I don't remember how many.

This is probably pretty good for someone who is 127 lbs and has tiny arms

I'll do some jumps for distance when I get bored. Please, again, make suggestions for what I can include in my work outs.

I'm not going to work on inverted planche seriously until I can straddle planche because of the foretold muscle imbalances, and I need some encouragement right about now Accomplishing something like that would definitely give me drive to do work it. I'm not saying I have no drive, but you know.

OK, cut that last post.

I'm going to do the WOD's in weightlifting class. Basically, WOD instead of lifting and the rest stays the same. I'll still do barbell military press until I can do my bodyweight +10 lbs and then switch to dumbbells.

I never started the WODs.

My shoulder started acting up again. AND THIS TIME! SO IS THE OTHER ONE !!!

Not. Cool.

This time around, I'm starting a log to see when it hurts. It should lead me to what I'm doing to aggravate it. Started with the ice packs and the pills again... This time, one advil every 12 hours when it's bothering me.

I still don't even know what's wrong with it... The doctor didn't know first time (because I didn't have the symptoms... by the time my mom took me, I was almost perfectly fine). I'm pretty sure it's a rotator cuff thing. I can use them, and I can do that thumb down 45 degree test, but once I get to shoulder level, I can't raise it any higher with the thumb down at times. Sometimes I can, sometimes I can't.

My mom now refuses to take me to see a doctor because I "didn't rest it". Despite getting a full recovery for a month or two... maybe even three.

So I saw the school nurse two days ago, and she said it might be tendonitis. It isn't her field of specialty, and she still recommends a specialist. I'm moving the friday spring break starts, so I won't have time to see one for a while. That, and my mom probably wouldn't take me

So, I'm doing the recommended treatments for it...

Nothing!

Well, I'm going to ice it, but that's about it. As little use as possible. I decided (and I'll keep this promise) not to do anything that uses my shoulder strenuously for 3 weeks. It's really gonna SUCK. I'm a very active person, and not using my arms basically ruins all of my goals. All I can do is stretch and work my legs.

Well, I get to see a specialist tomorrow

I'll convince them to get me an MRI to see what's really going on.

My workouts have mostly been leg work. I didn't want to hold things (like barbells) so I've basically been jumping over stuff and doing seated leg presses. Spring break I didn't do anything, so my workouts aren't all that crazy.

I HAVE! Started working on one arm chins. So far I do assisted with my left arm... my right has problems, so I don't want to mess anything up. Just left

I FINISHED HANGING MY RINGS TODAY! Even though I can't use them right now, I'm so happy that I have a permanent place where I can use them full length. I'll try some assisted chins maybe tomorrow...

Boy oh boy, I have questions to ask and stuff to say.

Yay specialist! I saw a specialist today and learned that I should have bicep tendonitis in the shoulder. He was great and dislikes fat people. (He was very pleased with my body structure, he said "I'm glad you aren't a fatass."... he's 70!) He also talked to his recorder old school style and I'm going back to see him in 3 weeks. If the treatment doesn't work, I get a shot. If that doesn't work, I get a MRI.

Basically, I get to take Ibuprofen 3x a day with food. I had treated myself semi-successfully with over the counter ibuprofen (200mg), and he prescribed me 600mg. o.o I only took the over the counters once or twice a day, rarely 3. That's more than 4x the previous dose! It only cost me $2 because of insurance for 100 pills, and I also get a refill

I've also been prescribed physical therapy, so that will be interesting. I don't know much about that though, we accidentally left without picking it up, so they mailed it to us. (oops) I wonder what they do in physical therapy... hope I learn a lot. I'll make sure to add some of their exercises and warm ups into my routines from now on.

He also said there are no restrictions... I'm allowed to do whatever I want. Of course I will be careful, but after a week of no pain, I'll start up basic upper body work. I haven't benched in forever (literally never have done a work out that includes multiple sets or strain), and I really want to now!

I'll stick with my one arm chins too. That's been a goal and now it would be one of the best things for me to do.

This also allows me a small experiment... how this medicine affects soreness. I'm not going to get more afterwards despite whatever results (unless they're insanely amazing results like "ibuprofen is the new steroid!"), I'm just curious to see.

Be carefull with cortosone shots as while they do get rid of pain they actually weaken the tendon and leave you more prone to ruptures and other stuff like that you dont want. They can also be only a temporary solution with the pain eventually coming back. Personally I wouldn't get one until physical therapy proves to be ineffective. NSAIDs also have been shown to slow healing (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16463375) and are not a cure for tendonitis.

Also, you should absolutely get an MRI before you get a shot. What if his diagnosis is wrong and he injects you with something in a place you dont need it?

I can't find the link, however I read not long ago the effects that over the counter drugs will have on the body.

If memory serves me well, Ibuprofen will slow the repair your body is trying to accomplish.

If you can easily bear the pain, then I wouldn't take it. But I'm no MD either.

Take it with a grain of salt.

High doses of ibuprofen won't do shit, captain, unless you have a good layoff. Not total, but really low levels of activity. If you work out hard, do it once a week so there's plenty of time for recovery later. Take this advice from someone who has gone through what you are dealing with multiple times the wrong way, which is what you're trying to do.

Amebix is right, and I'd like to add that you SHOULD get an MRI NOW. Ask for it. Sometimes doctors have to go through these steps to get approved by the insurance company, but see if he can buck the system if that is the case. It can happen. Don't take that shot until you have an MRI and know what you're dealing with. The PT will go a LOOOONG way, and if you are SMART and spend the next several months almost entirely on improving the shoulder stabilizers with band work I've shown, band work and other stuff your PT prescribes, and low-intensity stretching, you will be fine. If you start feeling better after a month and try to work back into your old routine you will fuck yourself up. I am not mincing words here because this is serious business. I've done it and learned my lesson. It is natural to want to find out for yourself, but you will be a complete fool if you don't follow my advice on this. I don't usually take this line of speech. I am now because you're going to screw yourself for a long time if you don't listen, regardless of how you feel about it. I know what it felt like to be your age, so I don't expect you to listen. Just know that when you try to work back in slowly too soon and you start losing the benefits of your PT, at the FIRST SIGN of regression STOP. Don't think "oh it's just a fluke." STOP. Go back to doing what your PT prescribed and this time do it for a few months, along with the chest expander work I've shown. Be smart the second time around, or you will just keep repeating the cycle.

True ibuprofen will just hide pain and will not cure the cause, injury will increase if you will proceed in this manner.

I had to fight over with my doctor to get prescription for other doctor, I had to tell her, her diagnosis is wrong and it's not overtraining wich other doctor (sport doctor) confirmed it'snot overtraining.

Well, I didn't know the cause of injury (shouldn't be overuse, I might be able to trace it back to a wide push up with completely terrible shoulder angle), so this is the best I got. Like I said, if it doesn't work, then we'll look into other things.

First doctor I went to said shoulder sprain... which I knew was wrong right after she told me.

Thanks for the experience, I'm sure as hell not going to do anything with my right arm.

Ah... I'll stop everything.

Thank you all!

All right.

I'm laying off of work now. Next week, I'll start up resistance band exercises (internal and external rotations only for now). If I don't cause any more pain to myself in two weeks time (completely painless and haven't taken ibuprofen in 3-4 days), I'll add some more resistance band work (front raise with overhand and underhand). Two weeks from that, lateral raise with over and underhand. A week from that, the empty cup thing raise (lol, thumb pointing down).

I need some assistance with this though. Reps, sets? I honestly know little to nothing about recovery, so could someone help me out with this?

Although it might not have much effect on my tendonitis, I bought some glucosamine today that I've started to use. I might as well make it easier for my joints to function, less strain from everyday activities.

The sets/reps is going to be a touch call. At first, 3-5 sets to the first hint of oddness or discomfort will be plenty. As time goes on you'll be able to start doing say 5 sets of 10-15 reps, as an example, and can slowly increase difficulty every time you can complete whatever goal you set without any hint of oddness or discomfort. It's slow, but this way you only have to do it once.

Sounds great. Does the plan I had set up sound reasonable? (two weeks before adding a new motion to the exercises?)