The shoveling really was a PIA. What a wasted snowstorm. No good for XC skiing, screwed up the roads and trails for cycling, heavy as lead for shoveling and my torn calf was really aching by the time I was done so that I ended up not doing my scheduled indoor training ride. Grrr… Oh well, tomorrow’s another day.
One thing today made quite salient, however, is the importance of training in all three planes of motion. If you think about it, the vast bulk of the exercise we do occurs in the sagital plane of motion. Imagine a pane of glass passing through you from head to toe and dividing your body into left and right sides. Sagital plane of motion tracks along the sides of that plane of glass. Pushing, pulling, squatting, lunging, bend and lifts, curling, running, cycling, elliptical, all sagital movements. But in real life and daily life activities, our bodies must move with strength and balance in the frontal and transverse planes of motion. If you take that pane of glass and use it to divide the front and back of our bodies, the sides of the pane form the frontal plane. If the pane divides our lower and upper bodies, that’s the transverse plane. Think about the motion of putting shopping bags in a car and taking them out, of picking a child up to put in a chair, of moving packages from the kitchen table to the counter, pulling the cord on the lawnmower and, yes, shoveling snow.Training in these planes of motion is oh so important but so often neglected, often resulting in low back, hip and shoulder injuries when we try to compensate for deficiencies in the strength and flexibility needed for frontal and transverse movements. So as you plan your fitness routines, don’t forget to include exercises in these other planes of motion. Use those cross over cables, do those side lunges, do rotational exercises under load, do wood choppers and hay balers with pulley cables and medicine balls, do rotational planks from front planks to oblique planks (add a dumbbell in your hand for an additional challenge). Multiple planes of motion and compound movements involving more than one joint; that’s what functional training is all about - particularly on crappy snow days like today.
Shoveling snow, particularly the dense, heavy frozen variety we got yesterday, is potentially a high risk activity depending on age and a variety of health and fitness factors, even for younger individuals let alone older folks. My wife was not happy that I had to manually shovel yesterday instead of using our snow blower. I have a 34 year old client who is a stone mason who was regularly experiencing back pain until I showed him proper technique for bending and lifting and gave him rotational core exercises to do under load in addition to squats and deadlifts. He is now injury free on the job.
Yes, heavy wet snow here. H figured a snow day was a good time to make tons of phone calls, which meant he was conveniently unavailable to shovel the patio (so the pup could go out), shake off the heavy snow from the trees/bushes in the yard OR dig out my car, which is parked on the street. Grrrrr!! Streets are still fairly messy, but drivable. The problem is, if I drive anywhere, my cleared parking spot will be gone when I return. So, no driving for me.
Something scary here. Neighborhood friend who is a doctor, biker and good runner went down with cardiac arrest- 100% blockage. No symptoms. His wife did CPR and a week later he’s fine. He got a stent. He has to do cardiac rehab.
2.1 treadmill miles very early before my flight to Texas. It was 24 degrees outside. Looking forward to Corpus!
That is scary. Exercise and healthy lifestyle are only pieces of the total picture. Thats why I get all sorts of diagnostic testing every year or two, or even every 6 months, depending on the test.
Glad his wife knew CPR! Very scary. Quite a few years ago an attorney at my prior firm insisted on holding depositions in essentially post- blizzard conditions. While shoveling to get on his way to the depositions he insisted upon holding, he suffered cardiac arrest and died. Nothing is that important.
Went to Reformer class last night - felt good to keep moving. One of my calves is very tight and I’ve had lots of cramping. Decided not to run this morning as it was 15 degrees. Don’t know that I’ll go to Barre today. I’m feeling like a real slacker.
We ended up with 14 inches instead of 24–I shoveled the front walkway, steps, and a path on the deck (for my dog) t this morning. Yesterday, I did 2 miles (power walking) on H’s treadmill–it’s old and noisy but it works. Going to go to go a yoga class tonight.
She turned to running after battling alcohol addiction and had recently taken a self-defense class that enabled her to fight off her attacker. Scary stuff. Good reasons to run with others and/or make sure someone knows where you are.
Thanks, sabaray! Wow, that is super scary. The self-defense class definitely helped her - empowering her both physically and mentally. Sending this to the kiddos.
Sabaray- what a terrible story about the lawyer.
I read the story about the Seattle woman. Incredible poise and strength! Now I’m paranoid about bathroom stops. May stick to the bushes!
I had a decent 5.5 mile run last night. Looks as if I won’t be able to run tonight because of a couple late meetings that have popped up so I will be getting home really late. This job is really getting in the way!
H went to see somebody this morning about his hip issues. Turns out he has hip impingement as diagnosed from Xrays. The current plan is to treat with painkillers and PT. He shouldn’t do deep squats or lunges anymore - nothing more than 90 degrees. She said he is OK to run. This was a PA he saw this morning; he has a folllow-up appointment with the doctor at the end of April by which hopefully he will be doing better. Although she said he could run, I think he is probably going to back off the marathon we are registered for on April 22 and just do the half. He has missed a lot of training and I don’t think he could be ready for a full. He’s hurting way too much to do anything in the way of a long run right now.
sabaray - that is an amazing article about the Seattle runner! I really like the empowering message that was her take-away from the trauma. And the quotes about how she turned to running after battling alcohol addiction really resonated with me - it is something we see a lot with our Back on My Feet members. They need something to fill the void - new activities, new friends, new goals. Running has so many benefits!
MOWC - I hate the Houston airport! One of my least favorite airports!
I’m glad to hear Mr. Baker has a diagnosis and a plan - and probably smart to back off the full. You don’t want things to go from bad to worse! I’ve had a number of well meaning friends try to encourage me to try another full and honestly, I just don’t think it’s going to happen. My doctor thinks it’s a bad idea, Mr. Sabaray definitely thinks it’s a bad idea and my head is just not where it needs to be to start all that training again. I don’t know how you all keep the training cycle going. Back on My Feet sounds like an incredible organization. I really admire you for your time and efforts for them.
There’s only one park where I run alone where there’s a bathroom much like the one in the article and believe me, I’ve thought about how easy it would be for someone to be lurking in there. Most of our runs are in well populated areas with plenty of “runner friendly” businesses that let us use their facilities.
Sabaray- if you ever decide to do another full marathon, you will know it’s the right time for YOU! I haven’t done one since November 2013. I just didn’t want to. Sometimes you can handle working full time, family stress, relatives stress, medical issues etc along with the training and sometimes it just doesn’t need to happen!
C3B- I hope your husband improves. It seems like some of this stuff can take forever!
Wow. After leaving TN is 24 degrees this morning, I just ran along the sea wall by the Corpus Christi Bay. It was 72, humid, cloudy and windy. I’m staying at a very tired feeling Holiday Inn so that I could run by the water. There were a lot of families and others out on the sea wall- not running. I think it will be a little better early tomorrow morning without all the people. It’s sort of nice, but I didn’t feel great after the long travel day and the huge weather difference. 3.1 more miles done.
I see a lot of people posting stuff on Facebook about how the Seattle woman being attacked shows how you shouldn’t run alone. If I didn’t run alone, I don’t think I’d run–I honestly don’t know anyone who a) runs and b) shares my weird schedule. I’m not completely alone, of course–I run with my 58-pound dog, who mostly ignores people but occasionally lets me know someone worries him. If he’s worried, I’m worried. And yes, I do take him into the bathroom with me. (A month or so ago, the dog told me he really liked a man who was clearly homeless (and who asked nicely if he could say hello to the dog); we had a nice conversation. I really do pay attention to how the dog reacts to people.) I do let someone know where I’m going and how long I’ll be–but I don’t take my phone (I hate that electronic tether); I wear a RoadID.
I worry when I read about attacks on women, partly because I worry that women will take it as a reason to be afraid. It seems unfair to limit what women do because men can be awful. However, when my daughter goes hiking alone (with her locator beacon), I’m proud of her fearlessness–and I’m a bit worried too.
