On the DL

So yes, obviously I am finding it untenable to post the longer articles each week like I originally planned. My schedule is just too tight! So instead, I am going to try to compose shorter articles going forward. Who knows, I might even get more readers that way. :-}

I am dealing with a fitness-related situation right now that is, for obvious reasons, at the forefront of my mind. So I am going to talk a little bit about that today. No, the title does not mean that I am "on the down low". Unfortunately, I am on the disabled list! The world of fitness is not all sunshine and violins. Injuries are one of the pitfalls. I do not post this to discourage anyone from exercising, as injuries can be avoided. Here is what I can tell you about my current injury, how I think it was caused, and how I think it could have been avoided.

It seems this injury had its genesis several months ago. After doing military (over the head) presses one day, I wound up with some major soreness/stiffness a day or two later. It seemed to be in my neck, but the longer I lived with it, the more I realized that I really couldn't tell where it was coming from. Was I feeling it in my neck, because a tight shoulder was pulling on my neck, or vice versa? Sometimes I felt it more in my shoulder, and even my chest, and even my left arm. It eventually felt like everything was pulling on everything. Anyway, it gradually subsided after a day or two. I chalked it up to probably using too much weight, and did not think much more about it. I told myself I would "be more careful".

But to my unending frustration and annoyance, the pain kept returning. I tried to be more thoughtful about how much weight I was using. It kept returning. I tried to be very careful about my form. It kept returning. I tried tweaking the exercises I was doing, even eliminating the over-the-head lifts that some experts now discourage. It kept returning. I tried experimenting with the overall intensity of my workouts. It kept returning. Even worse, I realized that each time the pain returned, it seemed to be more severe, and last longer, than the previous time.

Things came to a head two weeks ago. After lifting on Friday, I was suddenly felled on Monday by almost unbearable pain. Due to my amateur racing "career", I am not unfamiliar with pain, but this was agonizing. On a scale from one to ten, it was at least an eight. It stayed that way for a couple of days before oh-so-gradually starting to subside.

However, it stubbornly refused to go away. It probably hovered around a six most of the time, maybe going as low as one or two at other times, and spiking back up to that original eight at times too. As before, it moved around: sometimes it seemed to be centered in my neck, other times my chest, other times my shoulder, other times my back, other times my arm. But it was always there, and it was not pleasant.

When it became clear that it was not going to go away on its own, I went to the doctor, where I was diagnosed with a pulled muscle. Also known as a muscle strain, this is where the muscle has either overstretched, or actually become torn. In addition to pain, stiffness, and a sensitivity to cold, muscle twitching and spasms
are also symptoms. Somewhat amusingly, my doctor said he could actually see the muscle "spasming", due to my low body fat. He said that the original injury had probably occurred on that day months ago, but that it had probably never been allowed to heal fully, causing the constant chain of re-injury. He prescribed an anti-inflammatory, a muscle relaxant, and a seriously-reduced workout routine. Though the pain seems to be gradually easing, it still lingers on.

So what have I learned from this debacle? As I have aged, I have become much more reasoned in my approach to exercise. I have started doing things that I never had the patience for when I was younger, such as stretching, and yoga, and gradual increases in intensity, and careful form. But there is one area that I have continued to give short shrift to, and I believe this is what bit me in the butt: I am not conscientious about warming up. Indeed, sometimes I skip it entirely. I have a tight schedule, so I often find myself anxious to "jump right in" to my workout. Besides, I'm fit, so I can get away with it, right?

Well obviously, wrong, so no more. I will not make this mistake again. Specifically, before lifting weights, the expert recommendation is to do some light cardio. It does not have to be much: even five minutes is probably sufficient to warm up the muscles. So head out the door, or hop on that exercise bike, or that treadmill, or run in place, or skip rope, or do jumping jacks. I also wish I had gone to the doctor sooner.

Trust me. For now, back to my heating pad. :-\