Lifting Heavy Things… Besides Wine Bottles

So I started taking my prescription strength anti-inflammatory meds, and with my doc’s permission pedaled around on the elliptical for a little while on Wednesday. I did about 35 minutes, my hip didn’t fall off, and it wasn’t any more sore than normal, so win? Obviously running is off the table, and here is where my concerns lie, if I can rehab this by myself without surgery will running ever be “ok” again? Or will I always have a problem with it? If that’s the case, I’d rather have the surgery and know for sure I can be back up and running in 6 months or so… I dunno.

I met my friend, Pat, at the gym at 8:15 this morning to get a weights session in before he went out fishing and enjoying the warm weather for the day, so that he could keep me motivated. I hate him for not letting slack on weights/form/reps, but I love it at the same time.

Workout ‘B”	5/9/2014
Superset 1
Incline Dumbbell Pres	20, 25, 55* x10
One Arm Dumbbell Row	25, 30, 35 x10
Superset 2
Squat	90, 105, 115 x10
Assisted Chin-Up	65, 55, 50 x 10
Superset 3
Seated Arnold Press	15, 20, 25(4), 20(6)
Standing Calf Raises	160, 180, 190 x10
Superset 4
Good Mornings	60, 70, 80 x10
Assisted Dips	60, 50, 45 x10
*barbell

115 lbs, last set. burnnnnn

I was a sweaty mess at the end, and that’s why I’m really loving about these lifting sessions. There’s really no recovery time, except when you’re setting up the next move, so your heart rate stays up and keeps your muscles burning. Pat left me after the last set of dips, and I claimed I was going to do some abs, but I instead chose to lay on the ab mat for 10 minutes… doing nothing. Meh, whatever, this workout has enough lifts in it that involve core stabilization.

Tomorrow is my BFF/Roommate’s birthday so we’re going to be doing a little grillin’ and a little drinkin’ to celebrate and I’m excited! Happy Friday, kids!

MRI Reports are Weird

Well, I finally had my Arthrogram and MRI on Monday and oh boy did it suck. Obviously since I’m a Type A control freak, I had intensely Googled all the things that would be happening, but I was in no way prepared for just how much it would hurt to have a very long needle inserted into my hip-joint. Maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad if they could have gotten in the right place the first time, but I was fortunate enough to have the needle removed, inserted again, and then pushed in a little deeper no less than 5 times. Funsies! Also, it occurred to me after the fact that while I was telling this story in the gym, passer-by listeners would think I was telling a very dirty story. Anyway…

I went back to the doctor yesterday for the results of my MRI, and as expected I have a “Small tear or fraying in the superior lip lateral portion of the Acetabular Labrum on the right side.”

These are my hips

No one actually pointed the spot of the tear out to me on my MRI, because why would they do that, so this is my best guess in recognizing where the contrast fluid leaked through the joint, also with the assist of Google. I was pretty much expecting that so I wasn’t too surprised, and I get until June 24 to try to rehab this baby by myself. Luckily the hip and glute strengthening activities are ones I am very familiar with from my 3 month stint in physical therapy for my ITB Syndrome a few years ago. I also get some prescription strength anti-inflammatory meds, neat.

The best part of the MRI report though, is the other random observations they make, that no one explains to you, you’re just left to read and analyze on your own. For example: “The bladder is unremarkable, the uterus is anteflexed, there are follicular cysts on the ovaries.” Um… what? Naturally I sat in my car outside the doctor’s office looking all this garbage up, and it appears that they’re all relatively normal and common things, and I am not dying nor barren… so that’s cool.

It’s been a super fun week so far, and I’m finally recovering from the pain of being stabbed multiple times in the hip. I met my friend Kathryn for one of our weekly weights sessions yesterday, because hey I need to strengthen my butt and hips!

Workout ‘A’	5/6/2014
Superset 1
Dumbbell Bench Press	20, 25, 30 x 10
Bent Over Barbell Row	55, 65, 75 x 10
Superset 2
Barbell Stiff Leg Deadlift	85, 95, 105 x 10
Close Grip Barbell Press	40(10), 50(10), 50(11)
Superset 3
Military Press	30, 35, 37 x 10
45 Degree Calf Press	290, 300, 310 x 10
Superset 4
Barbell Rear Lunge	60, 70, 80 x 10
Assisted Pull-up	70, 65, 55 x 10

Ended the workout with some ab stuff, and an extreme face plant on a mat. My butt was kicked yesterday. I guess I’m supposed to start trying the elliptical and bike to see if I can do that without pain, so maybe I’ll do that today. I dunno, I find it hard to believe that something that’s now been giving me problems for 2 months I’ll be able to rehab in 6 weeks, but we’ll see. Maybe I’m just not meant to be active, sigh.

Weights Day

Since I haven’t be able to do any cardio since March 31 (we’ll discuss another day just how I’m dealing with that; hint not well) I’ve been trying to find other ways to make sure I keep fitting in my favorite J. Crew neon shorts and white jeans. Also so I don’t completely spiral out of control and have a meltdown, because ain’t no one got time for that. That’s where the weights have come into play. Twice a week for the past two weeks (this is week 3) I’ve been doing a full body circuit with some fairly heavy weights. Yesterday was Day ‘A’ workout.

Some Notes:

• Each exercise pair is performed as a superset. There are three sets of 10 repetitions per exercise. So for each pair of exercises (A and B), you will do 10 reps of A, then 10 reps of B, increase weight and do 10 A and 10 B again, and then increase weight again and do the final 10 and 10.
• Weights should be chosen such that the first set is not so difficult to finish all 10, the second set takes almost full effort, and the third set takes every last bit of effort and you may come up a couple reps short. If you’re not finishing the first or second set, do not go up in weight for the subsequent set.

Day ‘A’

First Superset

• Flat Bench Dumbbell Press (20, 25, 30 lbs)
• Bent Over Barbell Row (40, 50, 60 lbs)

Second Superset

• Dumbbell Stiff Leg Deadlift (40, 50, 60 lbs)*
• Close Grip Barbell Press (30, 40, 50 lbs)

Third Superset

• Standing Barbelll Press (27, 32, 37 lbs)
• 45 Degree Calf Press (skipped)

Fourth Superset

• Dumbbell Rear Lunge (40, 50, 60 lbs)*
• Assisted Pull-up (70, 60, 55 lbs assistance)

Abs

• Decline bench medicine ball toss (we go middle,  right side, middle,  left side as 1 rep, 20 reps 3 x)
• Hip Thrusts  (on the floor hands behind head, 3 sets of 25)
• Plank ( 2, 30 second planks)

*As a precaution I’m being a little bit of a weenie with my leg weight selections just until I find out what’s wrong with my hip

My friend Kathryn and I do this workout together, and our friend Pat motivates us to not slack off/makes us laugh with “that’s what she said” jokes while we’re trying to reverse lunge. It takes about an hour, if you account for the much-needed face plant time on the ab mat at the end. It’s a good workout that leaves me sweating, out of breath, and incredibly sore the next day. In fact, I might need help washing my hair tonight. If you’re looking  for a new routine, give this one a try!

xoxo