Sunday, January 30, 2011, Check-In

[muck_a_luck]

Hey, EED community!

Here is your daily check-in post! Hope everyone is having a great day!

If you are posting for the first time, or new to the community, please review the community's standards, below.


1. Mod (that's me!) will post a Daily Check In post, for those who prefer to note their daily activities in response to a prompt. Please only place exercise comments here.

2. All members are encouraged to post daily independent posts about their activities, if they prefer that to a prompt.

3. Please place any NON-EXERCISE comments in independent update posts and behind a cut. Some people are sensitive to discussion of diet and nutrition. That is integral to many people's exercise activities, so I want members to be able to discuss that, but for those who are here strictly to log exercise, I would like them to be able to avert their eyes.

4. Everyone is encouraged to introduce themselves, discuss their exercise goals, and post updates on their activities. "I finally made it to running a mile!" or "I kicked up into handstand today!" are updates that we all want to hear about and share! Please put long posts and entries involving diet and nutrition behind a cut, though.

5. Aside from intro posts and injury announcements, please try to include an exercise update in every post.

Comments

[yvi]

10 minutes of yoga after getting up. Now an hour of walking through the zoo. Weight training later.

[yvi]

30 minutes of strength training and I am so very wiped, but also so glad I did it again (my last strength training was 10 days ago!). Did various exercises and didn't really keep track, this was more "fun fun and getting myself thoroughly exhausted" :)

I am excited because I am very close to a point where I can do push-ups again (it's been years since I last could) - I can do a few knee-push-ups and also push-ups with my arms on the weight bench. Maybe in a week or two, I'll be there \o/

[natmerc]

25 min of low-key yoga and a 2 mi walk. Yesterday was 20min of pilates at the end of a errands filled day.

After almost a month, I'm starting to feel that "relaxation response" creep past the immediate end of the yoga sessions (nice), although I'm only seeing small improvements in flexibility. My hamstrings in particular are stuck in "extremely stiff".

Suggestions for hamstring/hip flexibility (time length of stretch, food, supplements)?

[rydra_wong]

This podcast is good stuff -- it's a 20-minute class focused on hamstring-opening:

http://www.yogajournal.com/video/57

(Bear in mind that you really don't have to be as flexible as the students; just go to your current edge.)

This is a great explanation of the role of bending from the hips in hamstring stretches, which makes a huge amount of difference. You may find that you don't reach as far, but the stretch gets "inside" the muscle more, and your flexibility will increase more:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX0FZRfLusM

Time length of stretch: that's a good point. It can be nice to get into reclining hand-to-big-toe pose and hang out there for a while, a good 30-60 seconds as a minimum but it can be way longer -- really, as long as it feels good. If your hamstrings are tight, the strap (or tie or bathrobe belt or sweater or whatever you're using) makes a lot of difference as it stops you from hauling with your arms so much, which enables you to relax into the pose more.

The other thing that springs to mind is a foam roller. You can use it for DIY deep tissue massage, and it's easy to use on the hamstrings:

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_repair/feel_better_for_10_bucks

If it "hurts so good", you know that you need it. *g*

[natmerc]

Thanks very much for the tips and the links. I'll be checking them out.

[rydra_wong]

I hope they're some use!

I was just going to ETA: I can't think of any supplements that will make you more bendy, but if you find you tend to be stiff and achy overall, it could be worth experimenting with natural anti-inflammatories like Omega-3s, turmeric and ginger. They can make a striking difference.

[natmerc]

Great tips. I had totally forgotten that I used to do bits of yoga moves while watching tv years back.

I'm going to keep on experimenting and trying things because I'm tired of the hamstrings getting tighter. Time to reverse that trend.

[rydra_wong]

Another belated thought: I do a lot of hamstring (and hip) stretches while watching DVDs.

I felt terribly un-yogic when I started this, but in a lot of ways it's useful to get your mind out of the way so you're not counting seconds or getting bored or frustrated or too focused on discomfort, and the body can get on with doing its thing. And there's less of an impulse to get the stretch "done" so you can do something else, so you're more likely to stay in them for as long as your body needs to stay in them.

[jjhunter]

22 minutes erging--haven't done it in ages, so I took it slow, but it felt good.

[just_ann_now]

Kundalini Warrior Workout . I'm good with the exercises, but still have a hard time sustaining the Breath of Fire - I keep having to stop and take long catch-up breaths. Huh.

[smackshack]

Took my sister's beagle for a run, then did crunches, back extensions, and planks. I expect to do more lifting of household furniture this afternoon...

[lyorn]

A 6 km walk, and climbing a tree.

[yvi]

Oh, climbing a tree! Sounds like fun :)

[lyorn]

It was, though I expected the tree to open its eyes any minute and ask me in a deep voice what I thought I was doing. It was that kind of tree *g*.

[rydra_wong]

Morning yoga, then in the evening it was BARBELLS TIME. I've been off for ages trying to sort out my shoulders, so I was a bit nervous about getting back to the gym.

Short version: my left shoulder still goes out of whack if I try to overhead press, but I think I know what it's doing now. My squat and bench press are no worse than they were, at least. My dips have become inexplicably terrible. The extra shoulder flexibility means I can now do a decent front squat, yay. I may have got a 6th pull-up (I got distracted by something and lost count).

And I got a personal best deadlift (133% bodyweight!), and I'm pretty sure I got it without straining my back ("pretty sure" because these things have been known to sneak up on me the following morning).

So all in all, I'm fairly pleased with myself.

[yvi]

Wow, 133% body weight! Congrats!

[rydra_wong]

Deadlifts are my favourite lift. I actually bribe myself to work on my squats (which I struggle with) with the promise that I can deadlift afterwards.

[eris_discordia]

45 min on my stationary bike. 300 calories burned. =)