Current Gym Set

...yup, another Robin. This time taken at the reservoirs a month or so ago. He was singing his heart out in the sunshine.

I've felt pretty wiped out again this week - a combination of still fighting off a cold and general fatigue. I stuck to the gym session on Tuesday, though, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I felt strong and fit and, of course, managed to push myself too much. I've spent the rest of the week recovering, lol.

Thought I'd detail what I'm doing during my hour at the gym now:

• 5 mins warm-up on exercise bike
• Stretching: hips/lower back
• Glute bridges (10 sec hold) 10 reps
• Press ups (plus) (at 45 deg angle) 2 x 8 reps
• Hip extension, abduction, adduction with blue theraband 2 x 6 reps
• Leg press 27kg 5 reps, 34 kg 5 reps, 41kg 2 x 10 reps
• Seated rows 4kg 10 reps, 6kg 2 x 10 reps
• Leg extension 5kg 10 reps, 7.5kg 10 reps
• Trunk twist using cable weights 4kg 10 reps (new exercise added this week - too much weight though and will drop down to 2kg)
• Wobble board 3 mins
• Bicep curls 3kg 10 reps, 4kg 7 reps
• Combo lateral/front shoulder raises whilst sitting on exercise ball 2kg 2 x 5 reps
• Step ups (with 2kg dumbells) 2 x 10 reps
• Left shoulder, front raise, lying on my back 1lb 10 reps
• Plank 3 x 25 sec hold
• Stretching: hips/lower back, hamstrings

As I say, I added in the trunk twist exercise this week and was a bit ambitious with the 4kg. I ended up with numerous mild strains around my trunk and aggravated the recurring right abdominal strain. I'll drop the weight down to 2kg next time. A couple of weeks ago I started doing 'press ups plus' rather than just 'press ups' - I'm hoping the strengthening of the serratus anterior will improve the 'winging scapula' and dropped right shoulder.

I plan to hit the pool this coming week. It'll give my joints a bit of a rest, give the ab strains a chance to heal up and be a refreshing change. I'm thinking of shifting my gym/pool day to Friday now that my pottery class has finished. This should make it possible for me to return to table tennis on Tuesday evenings. We'll see how this week works out. I think I'm going to need until Friday to fully recover from everything! Right now, I feel completely drained.

The Usual

A garden Robin shot, taken back in January. Still not been able to get any new photos recently.

Continued to feel pretty drained and mentally 'ill' at the beginning of the week (very tearful, disorientated, difficulty doing simple tasks like food shopping, deciding what I should eat etc). Anyway, went to the gym on Tuesday as usual and that felt quite grounding. I was pleased with the weights I could manage and the exercises I did. I came home feeling less mentally overwhelmed and 'ill'. The right upper thigh/groin/hip tightness/pain was bad again after the gym and I took painkillers to be able to sleep that night and Wednesday night. I wish I could figure out which muscle needs stretching or massaging but I can't, lol.

Wednesday was the usual recovery day, worn out in a 'healthy' way from the gym work. Didn't have the energy to do anything more than stay awake, feed myself and watch telly. Thursday, I woke up with a sore throat (very inconvenient!) and that's where I'm still at today. I've been taking Vit C and Zinc having read that the combination can reduce the duration and severity of a cold. It'll be interesting to see if it actually works!

Inflammed Left Shoulder

A juvenile Song Thrush on the garden fence last August. Not taken any new pictures recently due to poor light/weather or lack of opportunity.

Two things this week. Firstly my left shoulder (referring pain down my arm) has been very painful and I was taking painkillers to be able to sleep at night. It seems to have settled a little bit but I'm being extremely careful with it.

Secondly, the gym session went surprisingly well this week with very little muscle stiffness afterwards. Normally, I can feel that I've worked my legs hard and they're stiff for a few days afterwards (in a good way). But, this week, I barely noticed the workout even though I had pushed quite hard. It's a good sign I think.

I was pleased too that at pottery on Friday I was standing and leaning over my pot for most of 1.5-2hrs and I didn't get any back pain. I coped just fine.

On the downside, I've felt drained/exhausted all week. All I want to do is sleep or sit in peace and quiet. I guess mentally/emotionally I'm kinda drained at the moment.

Shoulders still weak

"Duuuuuck!"

A group of Black-headed gulls had been scared into flight by a lone Starling. The female Teal (duck) looked a little bewildered by the commotion, but didn't come to grief, lol.

It felt good to get back into the gym on Monday after 2 weeks out. I'd lost a bit of strength through my arms (the press-ups felt harder than normal) but overall I was pleased with what I was able to manage. I tried adding in some front raises (with 1kg dumbells) to build up the deltoid muscles but I think I need to go back a few stages before that. This week I'll try the front raises lying on my back so that the shoulder structure is supported and I can concentrate on only engaging the deltoid muscles (rather than letting the pecs muscles kick in when they shouldn't). My shoulders are still frustratingly weak to the point that it's actually difficult to find exercises easier enough for me to manage.

It's 6 days since I was at the gym and the structures through my shoulders are still inflamed/sore. I've iced my triceps and shoulders twice, which helped reduce the pain, but they're obviously still healing up. Very frustrating.

Edit: Just tested out shoulder strength and the most I can lift doing a combo front/lateral raise is 450g. Little more than a can of baked beans...

Back at Table Tennis

It's a garden Robin, taken a few weeks ago. I'd gone into the garden to fill up the feeders and this little fella was obviously annoyed that I'd entered his/her territory. He watched me like a hawk and let me get a few photos of him/her posing.

No gym or pool this week as I was going away on Thursday to stay with family, which didn't allow for sufficient recovery time. Instead, I've had a few decent walks and I went along to the table tennis club on Tuesday evening, which was great. It was the first time I'd been this year.

Apart from the match players, there were only 2 of us there to play socially so we had the table to ourselves all evening. I had a good laugh and actually played really well. I was also very pleasantly surprised by the lack of aches and pains. Normally, I have right neck and shoulder/arm pain right from the very start but I don't think anything hurt last week. The same was true the following day. I felt tired out (I'd played for 90 minutes) but I didn't have any particular neck/shoulder/arm pain (although I did have the usual right upper/inner thigh tightness/pain). It was another indication that finally something is beginning to change significantly - the gym work is paying off.

...so, I'm looking forward to getting back into the gym this coming week.

Swim (26 Lengths)

Two images of the same bird, tucking into different apples on the same tree (if that all makes sense!). This single Fieldfare, taken earlier this month, had a tree full of rotting apples all to itself.

A short post today. Kinda struggling with things other than the physical rehab. Isolation, really (as Britany Spears says, "the loneliness is killing me"). Anyway, went to the pool this week. Managed 26 lengths (13 backstroke, 13 breaststroke), the most I've done so far. Foot cramp (RHS) and left, front shoulder pain didn't kick in until about the 20th length, which is better than previously. Generally, I feel like the strength gained in the gym is paying off. Took a good 2 days to recover. Completely worn out on both Wednesday and Thursday.

I'm more confident that the way forward is the gym work. It's the only way I seem to be able to put on muscle/strength.

Strength Improving

Above are shots of the two species of Pochard we get in the UK. The top image is of the rarer Red-crested Pochard (drake), below him is an image of the male and female Red-crested Pochard, and finally, the bottom shot is of the smaller species, the Common Pochard (a drake). I had a lovely day this week, when the sun put in a rare appearance and I got up to the local reservoirs. These two ducks came up close to shore giving me a chance to get some decent photographs.

I enjoyed my gym session this week. I went on the Wednesday, which meant I'd had a full 7 days recovery since the session on the previous Tuesday. It seemed to make a significant difference. I didn't feel exhausted before I'd even started and I felt good through the whole work-out. I took it easy on the hip adduction/abduction/extension after the mild strains from last week. I also modified how I did the seated rows, so that I didn't extend my left arm all the way back on the pull stroke. This helped to prevent significant pain in my left shoulder. I actually came away from the gym feeling good rather than typically drained and wanting to sleep immediately.

I was worn out on Thursday and still pretty drained yesterday. I've also been needing to ice my left shoulder/arm/elbow. I think the press-ups have caused some mild tendonitis as its aching like anything through the arm and is esp painful at the elbow.

I'm looking forward to getting to the pool this week. I've probably written this in an earlier post, but my plan is to do two weeks in the gym, one week in the pool. It seems like the best way to avoid putting too much stress on my joints and to actually use the muscles I'm building in the gym as I go along. It also means I get some decent cardiovascular exercise as well, which feels good. Finally, the water really is very relaxing and relieving on my muscles etc.