Sassy69 2013: Physique in the Midwest
sassy69
TID Lady Member
- Aug 16, 2011
- 1,067
- 398
2/26/13 - Tues
Holy snowstorm Batman! It was sleeting this morning so weird suiting up for a snowstorm and going outside and the first thing you reach for is your umbrella. And then its been snowing since noon. Yay slush!
PM Training:
- 10 min stretching - between the bump up in training and return of my rotated pelvis issue a few weeks ago - my right lower back and IT bands are STOOPID tight...
- 60 min PiYo (pilates / yoga)
- upper body complexes
- 20 min posing
- 10 min stretching
Holy snowstorm Batman! It was sleeting this morning so weird suiting up for a snowstorm and going outside and the first thing you reach for is your umbrella. And then its been snowing since noon. Yay slush!
PM Training:
- 10 min stretching - between the bump up in training and return of my rotated pelvis issue a few weeks ago - my right lower back and IT bands are STOOPID tight...
- 60 min PiYo (pilates / yoga)
- upper body complexes
- 20 min posing
- 10 min stretching
sassy69
TID Lady Member
- Aug 16, 2011
- 1,067
- 398
2/27/13 - Wed
PM: Cardio -- had to work late so missed my yoga class
2/28/13 - Thurs
AM: 35 min cardio - alt HIIT (where HIIT really means walk 2 min, fast jog 90 sec -- I'm not a runner so I'm working on getting this better.)
Afternoon: chiro adjustment. I originally found a chiro in my building and saw her because of a raging 3-day headache I developed (I get those occasionally...). And as I've been working with her, I mentioned all my foot issues and she basically said, sure there's a bit of a genetic contribution (I can attest to at least 3 generations of bunions on my mom's side of the family..), but the functionality of your foot is heavily dictated by your overall stability & balance and is driven by pelvis / hips / knees / ankles / etc. Given that I have a plantar fasciitis & neuroma issues in both feet, it would follow that I should be looking above my feet for the origin of my balance & stability. So, as of this afternoon, I've been informed that there is an actual strategy that her "team" (a couple different chiros and an LMT in her office) will be following for me in the coming weeks. I also really appreciated that she totally took my competition schedule into consideration and actually said she would email everyone on the "team" so they were aware.
So this weekend I'm getting a full "foot evaluation" and we'll go from there. If there's any chance in hell that I can get my feet back to a state of "standard functional", I'm all over it like a cheap suit. Seriously!
PM:
20 min DeFranco wu
lower body complex
stretching
PM: Cardio -- had to work late so missed my yoga class
2/28/13 - Thurs
AM: 35 min cardio - alt HIIT (where HIIT really means walk 2 min, fast jog 90 sec -- I'm not a runner so I'm working on getting this better.)
Afternoon: chiro adjustment. I originally found a chiro in my building and saw her because of a raging 3-day headache I developed (I get those occasionally...). And as I've been working with her, I mentioned all my foot issues and she basically said, sure there's a bit of a genetic contribution (I can attest to at least 3 generations of bunions on my mom's side of the family..), but the functionality of your foot is heavily dictated by your overall stability & balance and is driven by pelvis / hips / knees / ankles / etc. Given that I have a plantar fasciitis & neuroma issues in both feet, it would follow that I should be looking above my feet for the origin of my balance & stability. So, as of this afternoon, I've been informed that there is an actual strategy that her "team" (a couple different chiros and an LMT in her office) will be following for me in the coming weeks. I also really appreciated that she totally took my competition schedule into consideration and actually said she would email everyone on the "team" so they were aware.
So this weekend I'm getting a full "foot evaluation" and we'll go from there. If there's any chance in hell that I can get my feet back to a state of "standard functional", I'm all over it like a cheap suit. Seriously!
PM:
20 min DeFranco wu
lower body complex
stretching
sassy69
TID Lady Member
- Aug 16, 2011
- 1,067
- 398
Well, based on the ongoing amount of pain I've been experiencing w/ my couple of foot issues, and the amazing taping technique my chiropractor came up w/ to help them - I felt I was too far behind in prep to make a reasonable (i.e. nondesperate) run for a May 11 show date. But I also wanted some time to let this taping technique help my feet heal up a bit before I start beating on them for a show date (yet to be determined later this summer.
For anyone interested - I've been dealing w/ intense pain for about 10 months from 2 Morton's neuromas in my right foot - basically inflamed nerves in that little area where all your toes (metatarsals) come together at the ball of the foot. It feels like all the padding has been ripped out of the ball of my foot and I have to walk barefoot across a field of golf balls. It burns when I'm just sitting and hurts like a muther when I walk. And keep in mind I live in downtown Chicago, so I walk everywhere, including work every day. I also have 2 neuromas on my left foot, but the only real 'pain' I experience is randomly I'll get a pinch / numbness in my middle toes. Its not so bad in terms of pain, but I've been experiencing that for probably 3 years and the extreme case of neuromas is the nerve is dead and has to be removed. From what I've read it seems like about half the surgeries actually leave the patients worse off than they were before. And if you've ever had any sort of foot pain, its humbling and you get a really good appreciation for the mobility that you might otherwise not half. It is life-affecting. I also have plantar fasciitis in my left heel - that's been going on for about 5 years - had it in the right heel but its taken care of itself. The left foot has been present for quite a while. Not as bad as the neuromas but also burns occasionally and generally feels like someone has been tapping on it w/ a ball-peen hammer all night.
So the corrections I've used in the past and what I'm doing now:
Neuromas:
- using orthodics (higher arch) - have been doing this for the last 25 years related to genetic bunions (had 3 surgeries for those)
- using neuroma-specific orthodics - they have a dome in the center / ball of the foot area designed to help take pressure off that neuroma - sorta helps, but not making it go away
- ice / ibuprofen - like after training - helps a bit but not making it go away
- got 2 cortizone injections back in October. Didn't do anything At this point my podiatrist started talking about surgery. In my mind, I told him to go **** himself.
- My chiropractor came up w/ a way to tape my 2-4th toes to promote stability and take the pressure off that area. The idea is the same as if you've ever twisted up a paper towel or kleenix and laced it between your toes to spread them out (e.g. to let toenail polish dry). Using some muscle testing techniques (applied kinesiology), she determined that the direction of the lacing should be a certain way to improve the balance & stability of my foot during the transition of balance from one foot to the other while walking. Here's the lacing method & orientation of the toe taping that I am using. (Sorry I really need a pedicure - I had a 25 lb plate drop on my big toe a few years ago and the nail is just finishing growing back (a second time) so it all looks a bit rough.)
The end result is that I am using standard "coach tape" (cuz its cheap - since I'll be taping like this for a while) - take 3 strips that are hall of the tape width (~3/4") and ~4" long. Tape the 2nd toe to pull it up - wrap the tape around the back of the toe, anchor on the top of the foot, 3rd toe goes down - wrap the tape around the top of the toe, anchor on the bottom of the foot, 4th toe, same as 2nd. And then wrap another piece of tape around the whole foot to hold each of the little pieces down. (And make sure to step down and stand on the foot before securing the tape so it doesn't strangle your foot when you try to stand on it.)
Here's the prototype tape job using the stretchier tape my chiro likes - but I haven't found where I can actually buy it yet -and also found it is too bulky to really wear comfortably in shoes). I like the coach tape better.
And voila! The amount of pain is nearly negligible. I also notice that I am walking w/a normal gait - in other words, I'm not anticipating the pain w/ the way I walk, because I forgot about the pain. And the extra push/pull of the tape is helping get my foot to the structure it should be while taking some of the pressure of the area where the neuromas are. Also by getting my gait back to normal, my balance and stability is closer to 'normal' all up & down my body. It is also helping reduce some of the exaggerated pelvic rotation I'm experiencing right now. I've been getting adjusted like 2x /week for the last 3 months for this.
Plantar Fasciitis
This is more of "d'oh shoulda thought of this earlier", but the whole tape approach to the neuromas inspired me to go search youtube for some Kinesio Tape methods to help deal w/ this as well on the off chance I might actually get myself to a point of being pain free in my feet for the first time in many years.
I used this video because the person does the taping on herself instead of needing someone else to do it. I found the KT Tape comes off in the shower, at least on the feet so I'm experimenting w/ coach tape as well - again - its cheaper but it doesn't have the stretch that KT Tape does. I'm also finding the 3 pieces of KT Tape works better than only 2 for pain, and at $12-13/roll of 20 pre-cut pieces, I can go thru that in a week. (Yes I can put a bag over my foot in the shower, but I'm just not real excited about doing that. I like my feet clean!)
So anyway - wanted to give myself a couple of weeks using these methods to let my feet start healing. I know feet aren't the sexiest thing in the world, but when they hurt, it really does affect you. For me, this is huge! If you have any sort of structural instability in your feet, as you get older you can probably plan on experiencing at least one issue w/ your feet. It seems plantar fasciitis especially starts to show in around mid-40s.
For anyone interested - I've been dealing w/ intense pain for about 10 months from 2 Morton's neuromas in my right foot - basically inflamed nerves in that little area where all your toes (metatarsals) come together at the ball of the foot. It feels like all the padding has been ripped out of the ball of my foot and I have to walk barefoot across a field of golf balls. It burns when I'm just sitting and hurts like a muther when I walk. And keep in mind I live in downtown Chicago, so I walk everywhere, including work every day. I also have 2 neuromas on my left foot, but the only real 'pain' I experience is randomly I'll get a pinch / numbness in my middle toes. Its not so bad in terms of pain, but I've been experiencing that for probably 3 years and the extreme case of neuromas is the nerve is dead and has to be removed. From what I've read it seems like about half the surgeries actually leave the patients worse off than they were before. And if you've ever had any sort of foot pain, its humbling and you get a really good appreciation for the mobility that you might otherwise not half. It is life-affecting. I also have plantar fasciitis in my left heel - that's been going on for about 5 years - had it in the right heel but its taken care of itself. The left foot has been present for quite a while. Not as bad as the neuromas but also burns occasionally and generally feels like someone has been tapping on it w/ a ball-peen hammer all night.
So the corrections I've used in the past and what I'm doing now:
Neuromas:
- using orthodics (higher arch) - have been doing this for the last 25 years related to genetic bunions (had 3 surgeries for those)
- using neuroma-specific orthodics - they have a dome in the center / ball of the foot area designed to help take pressure off that neuroma - sorta helps, but not making it go away
- ice / ibuprofen - like after training - helps a bit but not making it go away
- got 2 cortizone injections back in October. Didn't do anything At this point my podiatrist started talking about surgery. In my mind, I told him to go **** himself.
- My chiropractor came up w/ a way to tape my 2-4th toes to promote stability and take the pressure off that area. The idea is the same as if you've ever twisted up a paper towel or kleenix and laced it between your toes to spread them out (e.g. to let toenail polish dry). Using some muscle testing techniques (applied kinesiology), she determined that the direction of the lacing should be a certain way to improve the balance & stability of my foot during the transition of balance from one foot to the other while walking. Here's the lacing method & orientation of the toe taping that I am using. (Sorry I really need a pedicure - I had a 25 lb plate drop on my big toe a few years ago and the nail is just finishing growing back (a second time) so it all looks a bit rough.)
The end result is that I am using standard "coach tape" (cuz its cheap - since I'll be taping like this for a while) - take 3 strips that are hall of the tape width (~3/4") and ~4" long. Tape the 2nd toe to pull it up - wrap the tape around the back of the toe, anchor on the top of the foot, 3rd toe goes down - wrap the tape around the top of the toe, anchor on the bottom of the foot, 4th toe, same as 2nd. And then wrap another piece of tape around the whole foot to hold each of the little pieces down. (And make sure to step down and stand on the foot before securing the tape so it doesn't strangle your foot when you try to stand on it.)
Here's the prototype tape job using the stretchier tape my chiro likes - but I haven't found where I can actually buy it yet -and also found it is too bulky to really wear comfortably in shoes). I like the coach tape better.
And voila! The amount of pain is nearly negligible. I also notice that I am walking w/a normal gait - in other words, I'm not anticipating the pain w/ the way I walk, because I forgot about the pain. And the extra push/pull of the tape is helping get my foot to the structure it should be while taking some of the pressure of the area where the neuromas are. Also by getting my gait back to normal, my balance and stability is closer to 'normal' all up & down my body. It is also helping reduce some of the exaggerated pelvic rotation I'm experiencing right now. I've been getting adjusted like 2x /week for the last 3 months for this.
Plantar Fasciitis
This is more of "d'oh shoulda thought of this earlier", but the whole tape approach to the neuromas inspired me to go search youtube for some Kinesio Tape methods to help deal w/ this as well on the off chance I might actually get myself to a point of being pain free in my feet for the first time in many years.
I used this video because the person does the taping on herself instead of needing someone else to do it. I found the KT Tape comes off in the shower, at least on the feet so I'm experimenting w/ coach tape as well - again - its cheaper but it doesn't have the stretch that KT Tape does. I'm also finding the 3 pieces of KT Tape works better than only 2 for pain, and at $12-13/roll of 20 pre-cut pieces, I can go thru that in a week. (Yes I can put a bag over my foot in the shower, but I'm just not real excited about doing that. I like my feet clean!)
So anyway - wanted to give myself a couple of weeks using these methods to let my feet start healing. I know feet aren't the sexiest thing in the world, but when they hurt, it really does affect you. For me, this is huge! If you have any sort of structural instability in your feet, as you get older you can probably plan on experiencing at least one issue w/ your feet. It seems plantar fasciitis especially starts to show in around mid-40s.
Last edited by a moderator:
sassy69
TID Lady Member
- Aug 16, 2011
- 1,067
- 398
5/13/13 - Monday
Figured its time to get back into this.... As mentioned above, some foot problems I've been dealing w/ for a while now, really started to get aggravated so I decided to take some time off and really try to treat all of it while not continuing the aggravation. I did a pretty targeted protocol of massage / chiropractic / accupuncture. I was making some progress, but a couple hours of volunteering at the local animal shelter, basically just taking the dogs around for a 10 min pee /poo break, was literally setting me back a week at a time. I took time off from the volunteering (with much sadness - love doing it!). I wasn't getting good enough results from all the time & money I was spending on the massage and all that to justify continuing so I'm just doing 1 accupuncture / week for a couple more weeks.
The one thing that seems to have made the biggest difference is getting a pair of the Vibram Five Finger shoes. I currently only wear them around the house, but the way the seperate my toes (which are naturally close together) helps relieve a lot of the neuroma issues. I still have all of the issues, but to a much lesser degree and I'm still being very careful about it.
That said, I felt like it was time to get back in the gym. In my mind I want to target a show here in Illinois maybe in October, but my immediate focus is getting my body, mind and feet back in operating order. I think this next week will be about seeing where I'm at and what I need to work on. I'm also following a keto diet during the week and relaxing it on the weekend - again just as a place to get things rolling again.
Training: legs
20 min Defranco WU
giant:
- bodywt squats: 15 x 4
- bar squats: 95/15 95/20 95/15 x 2
- russian lunges: 10/side x 4 (KICKED MY ASS!!!!!!)
leg press: 360/15 x 4
leg press (alt legs drop rep sets): 180/7 -> 5-> 3 x 2
DB SLDL: 25/15 x 4 --> need to work on my lower back..
seated leg curl (no lying leg curl machine): 120/15 105/15 x 3
super:
- abductor: 130/15 x 4
- adductor: 130/15 x 4
super:
- lying leg raises (strict focus on pulling w/ abs): 20 x 3
- oblique v-ups: 15/side x 3
Ima be in pain on Wed I think..... :c/
Figured its time to get back into this.... As mentioned above, some foot problems I've been dealing w/ for a while now, really started to get aggravated so I decided to take some time off and really try to treat all of it while not continuing the aggravation. I did a pretty targeted protocol of massage / chiropractic / accupuncture. I was making some progress, but a couple hours of volunteering at the local animal shelter, basically just taking the dogs around for a 10 min pee /poo break, was literally setting me back a week at a time. I took time off from the volunteering (with much sadness - love doing it!). I wasn't getting good enough results from all the time & money I was spending on the massage and all that to justify continuing so I'm just doing 1 accupuncture / week for a couple more weeks.
The one thing that seems to have made the biggest difference is getting a pair of the Vibram Five Finger shoes. I currently only wear them around the house, but the way the seperate my toes (which are naturally close together) helps relieve a lot of the neuroma issues. I still have all of the issues, but to a much lesser degree and I'm still being very careful about it.
That said, I felt like it was time to get back in the gym. In my mind I want to target a show here in Illinois maybe in October, but my immediate focus is getting my body, mind and feet back in operating order. I think this next week will be about seeing where I'm at and what I need to work on. I'm also following a keto diet during the week and relaxing it on the weekend - again just as a place to get things rolling again.
Training: legs
20 min Defranco WU
giant:
- bodywt squats: 15 x 4
- bar squats: 95/15 95/20 95/15 x 2
- russian lunges: 10/side x 4 (KICKED MY ASS!!!!!!)
leg press: 360/15 x 4
leg press (alt legs drop rep sets): 180/7 -> 5-> 3 x 2
DB SLDL: 25/15 x 4 --> need to work on my lower back..
seated leg curl (no lying leg curl machine): 120/15 105/15 x 3
super:
- abductor: 130/15 x 4
- adductor: 130/15 x 4
super:
- lying leg raises (strict focus on pulling w/ abs): 20 x 3
- oblique v-ups: 15/side x 3
Ima be in pain on Wed I think..... :c/
Last edited:
sassy69
TID Lady Member
- Aug 16, 2011
- 1,067
- 398
5/16/13 - Thurs
LONG ASS week.. dangit I've worked a lot. And YES I am still doing the leg day shuffle. A friend gave me a big fat challenge this afternoon doing a 15 mile trail ride on a borrowed bike. Aside from falling off the bike twice because I'm so rusty using clip-based pedals (my first ripped up knee in 35 years....), it was awesome. We didn't really ride fast or take any crazy jumps but I was pretty happy I had the energy and my legs didn't poop out on me. I also finally got around to getting an MRI of my right shoulder which has been bothering me since a week before my last show 2 1/2 years ago. I regularly have to see my chiropractor to get my scapula and a rib or two pushed back into place after doing anything that works that shoulder. Reviewing the MRI w/ my doc on Saturday. And happy to say feet are doing reasonably well. They were burning a little after the bike ride today but relatively speaking, pretty good! My goal is really to get all of my major issues dealt with during this summer so I can actually consider getting to a regular training schedule for a competition and just generally be able to go to the gym w/o being crippled or jacked up every time I do anything other than pink weights.
LONG ASS week.. dangit I've worked a lot. And YES I am still doing the leg day shuffle. A friend gave me a big fat challenge this afternoon doing a 15 mile trail ride on a borrowed bike. Aside from falling off the bike twice because I'm so rusty using clip-based pedals (my first ripped up knee in 35 years....), it was awesome. We didn't really ride fast or take any crazy jumps but I was pretty happy I had the energy and my legs didn't poop out on me. I also finally got around to getting an MRI of my right shoulder which has been bothering me since a week before my last show 2 1/2 years ago. I regularly have to see my chiropractor to get my scapula and a rib or two pushed back into place after doing anything that works that shoulder. Reviewing the MRI w/ my doc on Saturday. And happy to say feet are doing reasonably well. They were burning a little after the bike ride today but relatively speaking, pretty good! My goal is really to get all of my major issues dealt with during this summer so I can actually consider getting to a regular training schedule for a competition and just generally be able to go to the gym w/o being crippled or jacked up every time I do anything other than pink weights.
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