Free Spirits Rowing

Ian, I hope you have a swift recovery. There's plenty of time in April for more meta-nonathlon points!

Ian, I hope you have a swift recovery. And once you are fully recovered I'm sure there will still be plenty of time in April for more meta-nonathlon points!

Thanks both.

I'm trying to be sensible and resting it.

Sorry to hear of your woes Ian. I've got what feels like a "side strain" as well (upper left side behind where my left bicep would be if my arm was next to my ribcage) and it's been there for about 3 weeks and neither going away or getting any better - so I'm carrying on with it as it is. I once did an intercostal and that was so painful I had to stop for about 3 weeks and this is nothing like that so I'm hoping (like yours) it sorts itself out quickly.

At least I'm in good company then Dave - perhaps collective finger crossing will speed recovery.

Wishes for a speedy and full recovery!!

Sorry to hear about the injury Ian. You've had such a strong season. Take it easy!

Jon

I had the opportunity to coach one of my customers midweek after a business appointment (hence the oddball 2153 metres rowed). It was on a filthy Model D with PM5 (drag 139 with damper on 10) but somehow whilst showing him the correct technique, I've managed to slightly tear my left bicep (or where it attaches on top of my elbow joint). I've no idea if immobilising it or keeping moving it (slowly) is the best course of action.

My chap was rowing at 39 spm (as he thought SPM being high was good!) at about 2:20/500 pace. I sat next to him rowing at 17 spm pulling <2:10 to make the point that spm is pretty meaningless - it may have been then that I did it...

plummy wrote: ↑Fri Sep 06, 2019 8:25 am I had the opportunity to coach one of my customers midweek after a business appointment (hence the oddball 2153 metres rowed). It was on a filthy Model D with PM5 (drag 139 with damper on 10) but somehow whilst showing him the correct technique, I've managed to slightly tear my left bicep (or where it attaches on top of my elbow joint). I've no idea if immobilising it or keeping moving it (slowly) is the best course of action.

My chap was rowing at 39 spm (as he thought SPM being high was good!) at about 2:20/500 pace. I sat next to him rowing at 17 spm pulling <2:10 to make the point that spm is pretty meaningless - it may have been then that I did it...

Sorry to hear that, Plummy

Guess the "advice" is to have a professional look at it...

Did that - they said it was tendinopathy but I think there was some muscle damage as well. After about 6 days of it being very painful it eased enough on Thursday to allow me a 5k trial and it didn't react so I went ahead and raced anyway. It wasn't my armed that slowed me down but my wonky technique and lack of fitness!. No reaction apart from a bit of tightness after the race so I reckon all ok now.

Glad your arm is on the mend, Dave.

My back is feeling quite well. I have been doing static and dynamic stretching as well as Tai Chi.

Other things are... not so well. Last week I was hospitalized for two days with heart attack symptoms. All tests for heart attack were negative, though, and the diagnosis is acute pericarditis (a buildup of fluid around the heart). The plan is for me to take anti-inflammatory drugs for 3 months, no rowing, and only light workouts.

I return to see the cardiologist in 2 weeks for an update. I am hoping she'll clear me for rowing and moderate workouts at that time.

As I get older, it is becoming harder and harder to get any sort of traction with my workouts.

Cheers,
zoot

P.S. Just thinking about how much this is going to cost is enough to give anyone a heart attack.

That's a scary report Zoot - but glad to hear it wasn't as serious as it could have been and that you have been diagnosed. You seem to suffer far too many knock-backs for one person

Re the cost - that's where our NHS and single payer systems work around the world. Total cost for all your tests and treatment would be - $0.00

Hi Zoot, As someone who has had 2 Heart attacks,A quadruple bypass, Prostate cancer, has a replacement hip, peripheral neuropathy and has recently been diagnosed with spinal stenosis. I still row between 20 to 25 km a week and am aiming at a HM soon. I recently did the best 500m time that I've done for a couple of years. What I am trying to say is "Keep Trucking" and I'm sure with your rowing record over the years you will soon overcome whatever life puts in your way.
Best Regards,
David M.

Yes, glad that it worked out well for you, Dave

Sorry to hear about your setback, Zoot Easier said than done, but as other stated the best way is fighting back, one step at a time... Though from my own experience, heart issues are not the most preferable injuries to have... So as you write, Zoot, hopefully there will be good news in a couple of weeks

Thanks Dave, Davedcm, and Liefcat! I appreciate the support.

Dave - the weird thing is, I feel better overall than I have for the past 20 years. After struggling with my weight for many years I'm within a couple of pounds of being Lightweight. My cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure are very low. The gout, sleep apnea, and pre-diabetes are all gone. Once I realized it was the FOOD, everything just fell into place. As they say, you can't outrun a bad diet.

Davedcm - Keep trucking, indeed! You inspire me, sir!

Leifcat - Yep. I'll be fighting back until I can't fight back any more.

Cheers,
zoot

What did you change, diet wise? If you don't mind sharing...

I too have been looking after my diet for a number of years now, especially my saturated fat. In fact I managed to get my cholesterol down to 2.1. I use a food diary and input all my daily food (it is a pain in the butt but to my mind worth it). The diary also has limits for Fat, saturated fat, sugar, salt, protein carbs. I always try to keep my saturated fat well below the recommended limit. It also allows you to track the 5 a day, which I always exceed by at least 1.5 times. (it shows 5 a day as 100%).
Seems to work well. May seem excessive but it is very easy to lose track of what one has eaten during the day (especially the amount, which I weigh). Works for me!.

Davedcm.

CamiCrew wrote: ↑Sun Sep 22, 2019 3:33 am What did you change, diet wise? If you don't mind sharing...

Sure thing. I don't mind sharing.

But people can be pretty touchy about the foods they eat, and enthusiasm can often sound like preachiness, so I want to assure everyone that I don't care what anybody else eats. I'm not trying to change anybody and I'm not trying to change the world. I think we each need to listen to our bodies and determine what works for us individually.

On the one hand it's tempting to think that we are all human, so the same rules should apply to everyone. On the other hand, we are all individuals, so it's amazing that we can eat the same foods at all. The truth lies somewhere in between.

The biggest change for me was cutting out highly processed food (chips, store-bought bread, pastries, sugary snacks, french fries, packaged dinners) and preparing my own meals.

What I'm eatng: 95% of my diet is fruits, vegetables, starchy vegetables, whole grains and legumes, with no added salt, oil, or sugar. I don't worry about the other 5%. I use a lot of spices, and a typical meal is 50% starch by volume (rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, barley, beans) and 50% veggies with fruit for dessert. I know it sounds pretty extreme, but after 2 weeks my taste buds adjusted to where most processed food (and restaurant food) tastes sugary, oily, and salty and is pretty unappetizing.

This diet is sometimes called a "Whole Food, Plant-Based Diet" and is similar to that described by T. Colin Campbell in "The China Study" and Caldwell Esselstyn in "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease". Campbell spent 50 years studying the effects of diet on disease. Esselstyn was a heart surgeon who believed that the proper treatment of heart disease should start with diet and lifestyle changes.

Esselstyn, incidentally, won a gold medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games as part of the U.S. rowing team.

Cheers,
zoot

Agree with you we vary a lot in what works best for different bodies. I feel best (at this point in my life, anyway) on a diet similar to what you describe. It's a diet that takes planning & effort and is not inexpensive.

Thanks to you both for sharing.

Hello World I'm Back!

Last year I had progressive left shoulder and bicep pain that forced me to quit rowing. After lots of PT that didn't solve the issue, I finally got an MRI. I'd already been diagnosed with Shoulder Impingement Syndrome, and the MRI showed a partial tear of the sub-scapular tendon where it attaches to the upper arm bone (humerus). So in July I had arthroscopic surgery to repair the tendon and grind off some of the acromion (shoulder decompression surgery). Then came months of recovery (LOTS of PT), and after four months they let me get back on the C2 if I promised to take it easy. I'm up to 30 minute sessions now and feeling good about the whole thing. I should also say that getting back to hot yoga really helped my shoulder strength and flexibility, and has probably been more useful than PT this last month.

I landed at 259 on the Meterboard when I uploaded my post-surgery workouts, and hope to sneak up above 200 this season if the 60 people above me will just hold still for a couple months.

Great to see you back. One thing you can be assured of is the fact that the people above you on the meterboard are never polite enough to hold still to let you catch up/overtake them

Actually Plummy, people are being very obliging, and I'm up to 242. Starting to get the rowing motion dialed back into my body, which feels terrific!

Good to see you're on the mend John! Good luck and health for your return to the erg!

InlineJinn wrote: ↑Wed Nov 27, 2019 9:36 pm getting back to hot yoga

What exactly is "hot yoga" by the way?

Think literal
Yoga, in a sauna.

Had a visit with the physio this morning and he advised me not to row for a while. I'm still having a lot of lower back problems and he feels that erging will exacerbate the problems. I'm seeing him again in two weeks' time and will review the situation then.