Friday, January 25, 2013

A New Frontier and Continnum (a?)


A new frontier of ‘mobility’ has appeared on my horizon this week, among other topics or awarenesses. It’s been a good week, with a sense of measured or paced progress.

Thing one: I’m well into a new continuum for even thinking about this pull-up thing. No longer is this a “Can Do/Can’t Do” thing. One side of my brain still doubts, but more of more of my awareness grows out of the continuum “Haven’t Done Yet/Will Do Sometime.” What’s the magic or the difference?

I’m realizing that every action on the bar is a combination of psychological, physical, and probably even spiritual actions. My window for learning a new aspect may be small, but there’s always a window within which to begin to learn proper form, good-protective technique. For instance, I used to think—in the impossibility category—that I couldn’t even hang on the bar with any control, or I couldn’t hold myself up above the bar at all. I’ve done that, for longer and longer moments on my own jump-hold reps, or for much longer duration with strength band-support. I cannot do either for very long, at this point, but I am getting accustomed to the view up there, for longer and longer moments. My body is learning the proper forms, and the proper protections, for playing with my full body weight at the bar in small actions toward a larger one.

Today, after a nice long run/walk, I jumped up to the bar to remember what I just barely felt yesterday, which was hanging from the bar, keeping my arms completely stationery, and swinging my hips in a controlled pre-kip kind of movement. I did that several times, noting the developing calluses on my hands with a sense of pain but satisfaction. I can sense the difference, too, between approaching the bar with a fresh energy and highest ability, and spent energy and lower ability, with a sensation of weary shoulder/arm/core muscles, which have been used to do a small part of this workout toward my goal. The window of opportunity to deepen the learnings is smaller than I’d like—meaning I get weary fairly quickly, at this stage—but it’s a window that is lengthening. It’s a window through which “I’m doing this, bit by bit.” So “Haven’t Done Yet, Will Do Sometime,” because little parts of this path I’m already feeling in my body. I’m already doing little actions of the larger action to come.

A whole different horizon opened up this week, too: mobility ‘wods.’ “Wods” simply mean “workout of the day,” a term from the Crossfit community, if I remember correctly. But there are ways to ‘work out’ that are not strength-training, per se, nor involve expanding one’s cardio-capability. These work-outs focus on stretching and muscle-release toward greater and greater mobility. Movement of the muscles. Freedom of the muscles to fire as they do naturally, without fighting the tension inside while they do the movement-work on the ‘outside.’ Those who do a lot of yoga increase their mobility, not to mention flexibility and more. This has a feel of that. But the simple stretches I learned—thinking “My body does not move like that!”—opened up space within my own musculature that I could feel in its presence or springiness or freedom, somehow. Again, my body is learning to do that/this. Will Do, not Cannot Do. Not only do I have a new frontier to explore—carefully, without overdoing it (she says to herself, with a stern glare)—but I have simple stretches and movements to integrate into my days of computer-bound work. I can bring my mind into my body without having to get myself to the gym, or take a shower afterwards. Deepening awareness, again and again, seems to be the body-tutorial going on in my personal-training.

And I took a formal, informal ‘plunge’ today, biting at the ‘half-off’ cost of the idea. I signed up for a beginner’s level e-training for a half-marathon. Now, I know this seems like a bit of overkill, but hear me out. Perhaps my weight is more than it needs to be, even as I develop muscles. What harm can come from beginning an intentional-community process where I get encouragement to deepen awareness of chi-living in all things—core awareness, proper form for running, greater flexibility and spiritual maturity in listening to the body? If I lose weight, then there’s less to pull-up over the bar, right? I don’t have a strong commitment to the ultimate goal of the distance, but I DO know that I am happiest when I am most active. I like the idea of having an e-training while I’m at the computer anyway doing my online-teaching work (that I dislike so much). Why not do something for my active life while I have to be there for my work-life anyway? While I’m engaging the pull-up fears, it can’t hurt to do something that is familiar, which is a re-distancing goal of walking/running. If my body discourages me with pain or immobility, then I simply lessen the engagement wherever I need to.  Besides, I’m so excited about it! How can that be any harm?

I wonder if I can get my husband to sign up for the e-training for a 5K?! Poor man. Will he know what hurricane is about to envelop him? :)


Monday, January 21, 2013

Shoulder Calculus


I have a new shoulder calculus, I think, and it’s telling me to lengthen the duration of my quest.

The basic algebra is this:

the longer I engage this particular adventure, the more fun it gets;
the more fun it gets, the more time I spend at it;
the more time I spend at it, the wearier my upper body muscles get;
the wearier my upper body muscles get, the less precise my form and technique;
the less precise my form and technique, the greater the chance of injury.

Evidence?  My left upper shoulder rotator cuff is beginning to feel a twinge every now and then.

So...a new shoulder calculus: all factors involved suggest I need to either have less fun or slow down. Slow down it is. This is way too much fun.

I’ve also learned about a new muscle group called the latissimus dorsi, which you can see below (thanks to the author of the blog--One Healthy Munchkin):
 As I’ve explored the various muscle groups involved in a momentum-pull-up, this is one I knew very little about. It’s directly behind you, so why would you notice it? Many shoulder issues stem from locked or frozen latissimus dorsi, I learn, particularly if one sits in a stationary position most of the day and rarely moves it. Like online teaching, for instance, or entire days spent at a computer screen. I’ve begun the painful--and I mean painful--rolling process of waking this muscle group up, both in use and in some simple bodyweight-roller massage movement.

I wonder if I learn to love and care for my latissimus dorsi--lats, for short, which one should use for an 'intimate' in one's life, I suppose!--I wonder whether my shoulder will let me do more of the jumps and pull-up practices I want to do?

I also wonder if I’m catching that body lifters’ disease of more, better, best. Or perhaps I’m finally just enjoying my body for who and what it’s always been. There for me, with its own limits and quirks that it’s my job to learn to love, but it's there for me, strong, built (even), and beautifully mine.

I'm learning how to isolate exercises for muscle groups too. I played with a wide bar, weights' use of the lats today at the gym. It felt good to use the upper back muscles and protect my shoulder.