<p>
</p>
<p>What stretches did you find? I may be able to give you a couple more…</p>
<p>The heat wave continues… The good news is we’re at our beach house in RI, with the ocean just around the corner. The bad news is we’re at our beach house in RI with no A/C. Going to the gym, which does have A/C, is actually a reprieve … </p>
<p>So far so good on my attempt to get back to running. Lots of stretching of hamstrings after seems to be a good thing …</p>
<p>MOWC – had to check the map for Houlton, ME. Not quite the middle of nowhere, but could be close.</p>
<p>BB…what is a steroid pack? I’ve been fighting lower back pain for months now (on and off) and I really should go to a doc to check it out. I’ve been doing core exercises and stretching that my Physical Therapist showed me - but nothing is working. Thankfully, it doesn’t hurt during activity (walking, biking) - just at night and while sitting or bending.
Knee feels good though…and that’s not always the case. Oh, we are creaky souls now aren’t we?? </p>
<p>Crazy hot here so my walks have been early morning. Did a real long bike ride at a fast pace on Saturday afternoon and I think I drank more water than I ever have in one stretch! It’s funny how you don’t feel all that hot on a bike because of the breeze…but your body still needs heavy hydrating.</p>
<p>Hot here but not like some of the rest of you! The gym is air conditioned but still warm and muggy…or maybe it is just that I sweat so much anyway! Really worked on the weights today. My workout buddy is still on vacation so I enjoyed the solitary time increasing my weights and doing my own routine. </p>
<p>I tried some new crackers, Mary’s Gone Crackers, at book club this month. They are gluten free, organic, kosher, vegan-dairy free with no hyrogenated oils or trans-fats and no sugar. They have brown rice, quinoa, flax seeds and sesame seeds. I like the toasted nutty taste. Still has some sodium and total carbs is higher than I would like but they satisfy my need for crunch! WOnder if they are good for me???</p>
<p>I did the second, third and fourth stretches shown on this site:</p>
<p>[Physical</a> Therapy Corner: Iliotibial Band Friction Syndrome Treatment — The Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma](<a href=“http://www.nismat.org/ptcor/itb_stretch]Physical”>http://www.nismat.org/ptcor/itb_stretch)</p>
<p>and this: </p>
<p>[Iliotibial</a> IT Band Standing Stretch for Flexibility](<a href=“http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/flexibilityandstretching/qt/ITBand-Stretch.htm]Iliotibial”>IT Band Stretches to Relieve Iliotibial Band Syndrome)</p>
<p>Then had D use the foam roller.</p>
<p>Another hot day, but not quite as bad. Another 2 mile hilly walk after dinner as the sun was going down. Drenched, but I feel like I’m getting bonus workouts in. There’s just no way in the afternoon right now.</p>
<p>New booties are good. Legs and hips feel like a million bucks. I don’t know how much is getting in better shape (my legs are starting to look pretty good for an old fat guy, if I do say so myself…) and how much is getting a little much needed arch support from the right shoes.</p>
<p>BCEagle:</p>
<p>This back doctor expert hates sit-ups and crunches for the back. Says that anyone with lower back disc issues should definitely NOT do sit-ups or crunches. Here’s a NY Times article with video exercises:</p>
<p>[Is</a> Your Ab Workout Hurting Your Back? - Well Blog - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/core-myths/]Is”>Is Your Ab Workout Hurting Your Back? - The New York Times)</p>
<p>Toneranger, you do not want to mess with a painful back. Chronic pain might mean “pinched” nerves, and according to the stuff I read on the web and what the neurologist told me, this condition can lead to all sorts of problems ranging from muscle atrophies in the legs to incontinence :eek: I was given a six-day “pack” of 21 tablets of methylprednisolone (a corticosteroid): started with 6 pills a day and gradually ended up eating the last tablet today. Fingers crossed. Corticosteroids are supposed to relieve the inflammation and the pressure on the nerve.</p>
<p>I (and my doctor) totally agree with that article about crunches etc. being bad for one’s back. Doctor said I could do as many planks as I wanted, but no crunches.</p>
<p>My personal perspective is that when I’m doing situps, I don’t have back issues. When I don’t do them for a long time, then I’m more prone to back injuries though they are usually triggered by something else. That said, squats with a barbell places everything under considerable load which may be why it’s such a good exercise for the core.</p>
<p>Hitting serves at 110 mph also puts a lot of stress on the back and stomach and one leg, arm and shoulder. That’s my empirical science.</p>
<p>I do understand that many do situps improperly. We have an incline/decline bench at the office and the gym and there are many that use the bench for decline situps which is very, very bad for the back. I do think that technique is important.</p>
<p>I’ve been doing (or rather was doing before it got so hot) an excerise that was great for the lower back. Stomach on stabilty ball, feet against wall at the floor, legs and back straight, so you are basically holding your upper body up with the lower back core muscles. Then, do reverse flies with two dumbbells, lifting them straight out to the sides to shoulder height and back down in front of the stability ball. It’s awesome. The back doesn’t move, so it’s not flexing the spine, but it works all kinds of shoulder and lower back muscles.</p>
<p>Strengthening my legs (with squats and simlar excercises) has been the best thing I’ve ever done for my back. I totally notice now using my legs to lift my weight, even for something like getting out of bed or a chair. It clicked for me listening to a blog from that back doctor where refered to the “shortstop position”, knees bent, weight back. I finally understood the mechanics of the old saying “don’t lift with your back”…</p>
<p>pilates is great for the back</p>
<p>Idad…I like the sounds of that back exercise. I’ll give it a try. I also do the plank, and bird-dog…both good for the core. And I stay away from full crunches. My legs? They’re real strong from the biking so no trouble getting up. </p>
<p>BB…you’re right, I should get it checked out by a doc. I went to a chiro a while back and his adjustments made it feel worse. I would be worried about going on steroids though…the last time I did was for poison ivy and I was pretty hyper and then went into deep depression for a full day after my last pill. Couldn’t get out of bed! Now, I understand how that feels. </p>
<p>I think my biggest problem is that my work requires lots of computer time, sometimes under deadlines (so I tense up). I have a good chair and a lumbar support cushion and try to take frequent breaks…but the body wasn’t made to sit so much. I think that’s why I enjoy getting active and outside so much…just can’t stand the thought of staying inside no matter how hot or cold it is outside! Out for my walk!</p>
<p>Fitness moment this morning. I put on compression shorts today because I ran last night with cotton shorts and it resulted in chafing so the compression shorts make walking around comfortable. I put on my pants without a belt and they fell off. I had to dig out my one pair of pants that’s a few inches lower than all of my other clothes.</p>
<p>I guess I need to do some shopping.</p>
<p>Yay for BCEagle! Congrats on the loss! Always fun to shop for smaller sizes!</p>
<p>Today was just biking for me. Not bad. Weighed in and was happy not to have gained over the long weekend. Small victory for me. Now to blast past these last few pounds to reach my next goal. Some of my friends have noticed my better toned legs but nothing mentioned about the weight loss. sigh…I’ll keep working at it! I just keep thinking of wearing no sleeve shirts next summer! 
Thanks to all of you here who really help keep me motivated.</p>
<p>Awesome, BC! We should start “pants on the ground” CC club! :)</p>
<p>^^^I bought some pants about a year ago that were a very small size for me. I recently had them taken in!!! I’m very happy with how I’m doing. I can’t imagine not exercising.</p>
<p>^^VeryHappy, I’m very happy to hear that you are very happy! ;)</p>
<p>Ha. I bought smaller jeans and before I ever wore them, took them back and exchanged them for the next size down. I’m now two sizes down from where I started (and men go down in two inch increments) and I have to wear a belt. I gathered up the size I’ve been wearing (the first step down), tied all the hangers together with a big twist tie, and threw a garbage bag over them, for storage. Included in that bundle was one nice pair of new kakhis that I never wore. Still has the tags. I’m keeping one pair of the biggest size jeans I ever wore out just as a reminder of where I never want to go again.</p>
<p>I remember distinctly being in the hotel room at my D’s graduation a couple of years ago, being dismayed to find that I only fit in one pair of the pants I had packed and barely into those. They were retired shortly thereafter. Too small. So it brought a smile to my face when I wore them today, first that I could fit in that size again, but then that they fit loosely and fell down without a belt.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure I can get down one more size, still. That may realistically, be the end of the line. I think getting into the size I wore in my 30s might be a stretch. We’ll see. I just take it five pounds at a time.</p>
<p>Bunsenburner… how’s that dose-pak going? Bouncing off of walls yet? ;)</p>
<p>Read the NYTimes article. I’m sensing they’re suggesting there’s a difference between crunches and sit-ups and are advising against sit-ups, but are OK with crunches that are done properly. When I do them during my training sessions, I’m on a core bench, and my trainer is down on his knees watching my lower back to make sure my form is correct. The core bench has the ability to adjust at each end, so where I started at the bench being parallel to the ground, I’m now on an incline of the fourth hole in the legs of the bench (which I know, means nothing to you all because you can’t see the slant I’m describing).</p>
<p>The IT band is definitely feeling better. Saw the chiropractor yesterday and he did some ultrasound and electrical stim, as well as some soft tissue manipulation. Also did some stretching there on the Precor Stretch Trainer. Felt even looser today so I kept my session with the trainer. We only did upper body work, though… nothing that really involved the legs. Going to see the chiro again tomorrow and have a 1/2 hour with the massage therapist again on Monday. I can also get my heel back up to my rump again, although it’s tight. Can also go up and down stairs without holding onto railing. </p>
<p>When I was showing the trainer the area that was sore today, I told him I’d kind of been half expecting the outer part of my leg to be bruised after having so many people working on it… it feels like they’re digging in really deep, deep enough to cause bruising, but they’re not really using that much pressure - it just feels like they are!</p>
<p>Might try the foam roller tomorrow with my own weight (strongly supported by my arms!) and see how it responds.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This here is the best part! You’ve succeeded when this is the case…</p>
<p>I listened to a lengthy interview with Stuart McGill, the back researcher. His basic point is that the human spine (actually the discs) only have a finite number of flexes in them over a lifetime before the discs start to degenerate and that it is not a great idea to “use up” those flexes doing hundreds and thousands of situps or crunches. He’s basically going against the latest “ab workout” fads more than anything else. He designs workout routines that protect the back for people who have lower back disc issues.</p>
<p>He’s done some really interesting research. His deal is hooking up athletes to a whole bunch of nerve/muscle electrodes driving a computer program that measures and then models muscle activation. He does golfers, tennis players, baseball batters, olympic weight-lifters (his specialty), professional football players, pro basketball players, and on and on. Really interesting stuff on how various athletes tension their core. For example, NBA players have a completely rigid core when they plant a foot and leap. Every bit of energy from the foot plant is translated thru the core into leaping. Similarly, he says the worst thing for an NFL runner is a regime of stretching to “loosen” their muscles. Their instanteous cutting ability is derived from unusually tight leg muscles, again translating energy from a planted foot instead of dissipating it. Top level golfers have a flexible core that is coiled on the backswing and the abillity to pulse/stiffen the core at the moment of impact. </p>
<p>I’ve really worked on not moving when I’m doing cruches. Just lifting the shoulders an inch is enough to fire the abs. It doesn’t take a lot of movement. BTW, that “stir the pot” exercise is the plank on the stability ball that has been kicking my butt. Man, that’s a hard exercise.</p>