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<p>Trying to figure out a way to do pull-ups or inverted rows is the biggest challenge for a home workout.</p>
<p>The suspension straps also come with a door anchor that can be wedged in the top of any door. Another option is a broomstick or other pole across two tall bar stools or two kitchen counters.</p>
<p>The other option are the pull-up bars that mount in a closet door.</p>
<p>Be careful on those pull-up bars that mount in a doorway – My daughter BROKE the wood frame of her door with this. Sigh. Three years later it is still on the list of stuff to get fixed.</p>
<p>I wanted to share some good news on my back. </p>
<p>During the MRI for my back, they found what turned out to be 10cm dermoid cyst on my ovary. In doing the sono for that they found a smaller dermoid cyst on my other ovary. Six weeks pass & I have my surgery to have these removed because they have to come out but also in the hopes that it might help with my unrelenting back pain.</p>
<p>I had the surgery last week and they found I had stage IV endometriosis. In basic terms, my respective ovaries had become attached to other organs and to the pelvic wall along my back. I’ll need more treatment but they removed the cysts and cleaned up what they could.</p>
<p>My back feels better than it had in years. I feel free. I still cannot believe this is my new normal, that that constant buzz of pain is gone.</p>
<p>I want to encourage anyone struggling with constant pain to keep going. Keep pushing for those tests. This was just dumb luck but I would not have gotten here without continually pushing because I knew something was wrong.</p>
<p>The best part of my treatment plan so far was looking up my new medication and finding this,*
“…used to treat chronic adrenal disease in ferrets.”</p>
<p>Now that is reassuring!</p>
<p>Ah winter grilling. I grill in the winter too, but not as religiously as you do! (Mabye because we don’t have a deck so I have to decend several icy steps to get to it.)</p>
<p>Kate, at least you know for a fact that your medication has been tested on ferrets! 
I’m so happy that you are chipping away at your chronic pain issue.</p>
<p>Count me in as a winter griller. Luckily, we do not have snow to shovel, but 90% of the time I have to deal with cold pouring rain and sometimes wind. DH equipped our grill with a large foldable umbrella, and now I do not get soaking wet every time we want to have steaks for dinner.</p>
<p>Now that I’m old and feeble, I try not to grill when it’s actually pouring rain or snowing – unless it’s an immovable feast like Thanksgiving dinner. But, if I don’t shovel the deck, it is miserable to trudge back and forth to the grill even on a clear, starry evening.</p>
<p>BTW, this is the best winter grilling tool ever invented:</p>
<p>[Bean</a> Boots by L.L.Bean, Rubber Moc: Rain Boots at L.L.Bean](<a href=“Men's Bean Boots, Rubber Moc | L.L.Bean Boots at L.L.Bean”>http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/19067?feat=506794-GN2)</p>
<p>Slip on mud-shoes. Just leave them by the door, slip out of the Topsiders and into these things, then it doesn’t matter if it’s icy or wet or muddy. Come back in, leave the muddy things by the door. I can’t believe it took me 56 years to figure out how useful something like that would be!</p>
<p>I’m still gnawing on the pork roast I bar-b-q’d earlier in the week. Makes me almost feel like a warm summer night, sitting at a picnic table, swatting mosquitos, and washin’ it down with sweet tea…</p>
<p>Almost. It’s 6 degrees outside right now.</p>
<p>kate- That’s great! It sounds like you finally found the answer to the back pain.</p>
<p>pmk - congratulations on your “new normal”! Chronic back pain is no fun…</p>
<p>PugmadKate – That is fabulous news. I’m so glad you’re feeling better. I wonder if this will turn out to be the real cause. (I’ve heard that people can have bulging disks with absolutely no back pain/symptoms.)</p>
<p>PMK:</p>
<p>No wonder your back hurt! It must be such a relief to not only be pain free, but to know what was causing the problem.</p>
<p><a href=“I’ve%20heard%20that%20people%20can%20have%20bulging%20disks%20with%20absolutely%20no%20back%20pain/symptoms.”>quote</a>
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<p>That is true. Many of us have abnormalities with our backs and can be completely symptom-free.</p>
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<p>I worked out tonight. Wasn’t really planning to, but after work a couple of guys from work came in to workout so I joined them. I did hang cleans, push presses, and then had some fun. Flipped a tire and added a few box jumps. The tire sucked! Was hard. But it was a good one tonight when I wasn’t really feeling like doing it…</p>
<p>I took out my ruler 10cm = 4in. That’s huge. Glad that it’s out and you’re better.</p>
<p>BTW, here’s an article on exercise issues in the family:</p>
<p>[How</a> Couples Handle Conflict Arising from Exercise - WSJ.com](<a href=“How Couples Handle Conflict Arising from Exercise - WSJ”>How Couples Handle Conflict Arising from Exercise - WSJ)</p>
<p>Kate that is such good news. What a relief that must be for you.</p>
<p>So far I have kept to a schedule of doing my weights & core exercises every other day. I am in the middle of painting a couple of rooms, so I am substituting painting for running (I only have time for one or the other). I should be able to finish it up tomorrow, so hopefully Sunday will be a running day.</p>
<p>BunsenBurner:</p>
<p>The review you linked pushed New Rules of Lifting for Abs to the #2 spot on Amazon’s sales list yesterday. It’s still at #4 this morning and backordered.
Gonna be lots of people doing plank…</p>
<p>Gotta love planks!!!</p>
<p>I just finished bootcamp and came home to a very lonely dog who needs a walk. I am so thankful that the weather here is nice. I can’t imagine being in the snow right now. </p>
<p>A quick diet question. My 16 yr old loves smoothies and makes them after workouts. How can we add more protein? She puts yogurt in it already.</p>
<p>We just dump in a scoop of the Jay Robb whey protein powder – either vanilla or chocolate. They have an egg white version, but whether it is mental or not, it tastes like raw egg to me. (I also dislike the taste of soy protein powder, so I don’t go that direction either.)</p>
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<p>We’ll see how much I love them in a little while. Elevated planks and side planks in today’s workout, which means another go at plank and side plank with my feet in the TRX suspension straps. I’ll set the interval timer and do a continuous set: 25 seconds of plank, 15 rest, 25 seconds side plank, 15 seconds rest, 25 seconds plank, 15 seconds rest, then 25 seconds of side plank on the second side. Two sets. My abs will be on fire. The side plank is really tough.</p>
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<p>Got the rest of the deck shovelled. More snow predicted tomorrow. Everyone on my street has pretty much thrown in the towel. The snow has reached the point where it can no longer be moved. No place to move it and everything that’s there is frozen solid. The plow guys can no longer push it within six feet of the curb. My neighbor says he hasn’t shovelled his deck and it’s now piled 5 feet deep against his glass doors.</p>
<p>OK. I’m back and I can report that I’m not really lovin’ plank and side plank all that much right this second. I really had to just grit my teeth and hang on to git 'er done. These TRX planks actually hurt by the end of 25 seconds.</p>
<p>Did the same workout as Monday except that I bumped the lat pulldowns to “120 lbs” of rubber bands. That’s all I’ve got until my SuperBands arrive.</p>
<p>Single leg single arm deadlifts with a 40 pound dumbell. Did the alternating dumbbell overhead press with two 30 pounders again. That’s seriously all I can do – 12 reps on each arm without dropping them on my head.</p>
<p>That’s the end of New Rules of Lifting for Abs Phase I for me. I’ve done the Phase IA and Phase IB workouts eight times each. Made huge gains in a little over a month. I’m going to take a week break and revisit some old friends – iPod nazi workouts and Spartacus next week, just to see where I am on those. Then, I’ll dive into NROL4A Phase II the following week. The core stuff starts to get crazy hard in that – side plank while pulling on a band and so forth.</p>
<p>I definitely have to keep doing planks. Just had a minor surgery and won’t be able to get back to my exercise routine for at least 3 weeks.</p>
<p>My exercise days this week were Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and today. Monday - stretching. Tuesday, Wednesday - work on the back roof, today - work on the front roof. I spent an hour today working on the roof. There’s about two feet of snow on it and I heard on the radio that roof design is to support one foot of snow. But I expect that actual buildings are overbuilt. That was with five four-foot segments. I am thinking of going with six four-foot segments tomorrow to get in another four feet of snow.</p>
<p>Basically the back of my arms and my chest are sore.</p>