Sunday, March 17, 2013

Off With Their Heads!


A lot has been going on, but not a lot has been going on that I can blog about.

I've been going to the gym. I've run the treadmill a few times, which bores me to death. But the treadmill allows me to focus on things that need work, like old injuries and bad form and various weaknesses. It's mind-numbing, but if I am to avoid an injury like I had to deal with last year at this time I think it is necessary.

I've been focusing mostly on legs lately, because of the coming race. I hadn't intended to join a gym just to prepare for a race, but that's only because I had forgotten that the race was coming up so soon. So far a big problem I've uncovered is my knee. It doesn't seem to be very happy. It's been several days since my last run, but it still hurts. It's a cranky bastard.


I found ... I don't know the official word for it .. a jump box? Many gyms these days are reacting to the rediscovery of the value of old-fashioned ideas like kettle bells and medicine balls and dynamic exercises like jumping. So they're equipping their gyms with stands for people to jump onto and off of. My new gym has 2, one very small and one larger stand. It looks like a stool that you'd drag around a library to reach higher shelves, but in fact it is for jumping on. I've been using it. It's easy to get because no one else uses it. I jump and jump and jump. And my knee doesn't much like it.

I also did a few sets of negatives with the leg extension machine, focusing heavily on my weaker and most frequently injured knee. I make it do extra sets. I go heavier and lift the weight with both legs and then force my weaker knee to slowly lower it. I do this over and over until my leg feels like it is going to fall off. I suspect this has something to do with my knee still hurting me all through the weekend. But I don't know that for sure. Hopefully its just soreness and complaining from the exercise and not an actual injury. With this particular knee there is just no telling.

"Off with their heads!"
Things at the office are starting to get ugly. This has nothing to do with Drama Queen or my coffee cup. It relates more to an attitude much higher up that filters down and affects all the rest of us. It's a bit like Alice and Wonderland and the Queen of Hearts' - "off with their heads!" No mistakes or its your head. Ah, but go fast, fast, fast and no mistakes. Faster, dammit, but NO mistakes. Go blindingly fast, don't slow down to think, but don't make even a perceived mistake that isn't a mistake or else its off with your head. Did you ever see the episode of "I Love Lucy" where she worked in a chocolate factory and the assembly line kept going faster and faster and faster? Yeah, its a lot like that.

So anyway, I have to stop here. I'd like to say more, but so much can't be said openly until I change my current situation.




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14 comments:

  1. Knees are always tricky, Emile. Be careful with it.

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    1. BlueGumpster, I agree. I'm spending a lot of extra time on warming up just because of this one knee. It takes it forever.

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    2. Doesn't seem like like you've got much of choice, now do you? Wouldn't it be great to order a new knee - or in my case a set of lungs - from Amazon? ;)

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    3. BlueGrumpster, no, I really have no choice at all. If I don't take the time to warm up the knee, however long it takes, then it will just tear it up and give me even more trouble. The possibility of needing knee replacement later in life scares me. I hope they figure out ways to repair joints so that replacement becomes unnecessary. I'm a dreamer. :-)

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    4. Better make that 'much of A choice.' I sound like Tarzan when I'm typing too fast. My Angie has the exact same problem, especially in winter.When she bends her knees you hear this awful awful sound like it's all coming apart. She's dead scared of needing knee replacement too. No wonder.

      There's nothing wrong with being a dreamer, but I'm biased. Check out that drawing in my latest post and join in on the fun with the rest of us ;)

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    5. P.S. Speaking of body parts... ever heard of anal beaver juice that's put in your vanilla ice cream? I hope not.

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    6. My knees don't make noise. One of them just makes pain and then I make the noise by yelling. I wonder if anal beaver juice might help with this?

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    7. Hahaha I'm not sure. But the title of this post of yours sure inspired me.....

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  2. I've been doing a lot of those jumps (onto the stools), plus step ups with Kettle Balls onto them; walking lunges with the kettle balls too. Last week we did boxing with kicks mainly on the weaker leg. It was amazing at the difference in power between them (legs). Take it slowly mate, don't want you any more injured that you already are!

    Not liking your work situation!!!!

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    1. AlleyCat, you seem to be in amazing shape. Not only are you already doing everything I'm just starting to do, but you're doing other things I've been contemplating, too! But yeah, I have to avoid those injuries somehow. Work is turning my hair gray.

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    2. Patience grasshopper. Although I cant speak. I broke the rule of increased mileage this month. Figured my legs are strong enough to cope now, but the right one is not coping as well as the left.

      It really does take restraint to wait until you have strengthened an area/muscle & can increase weight/distance/difficulty!!!!

      Your poor grey hair. We were just talking about putting grey streaks into one of our younger guys hair this morning so people believe him!!!!!!! He looks too young to know what he's talking about.

      Not sure if you are going for the distinguished look.........damn work!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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    3. AlleyCat, patience is hard, but getting past the realization that I'm not young anymore and can't just jump back in and pick up where I left off is harder still. I want to just run, like I used to, or as Nike says, just do it. But it doesn't work like that for me now. I have to train smart or I'll regret it, like last year at this time.

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  3. I'm hearing you. This getting older thing is pretty shit isn't it. :0(

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    1. AlleyCat, I don't seem to be doing it right, if it isn't.

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