I went to a new massage therapist this past Friday afternoon. For purposes of confidence, we will call her R. I could hardly contain myself all day because I just knew she would cure my shoulder and neck pain. Even though she told me I have issues and I'll be seeing her again in two weeks, I do have some relief. I have not had to use the ice pack the last two nights to go to sleep.
I filled out a lengthy intake form which prompted R to go over some general nutrition things with me. Take for instance her thoughts about artificial sweetners...even though I have a can of diet pepsi like every two days if that...R let me know the horrible, frightening, scary effects. UGH! Glad I'm not addicted to the stuff. We also talked about the importance of drinking water. I used to only drink water back in the day. I still do drink quite a bit of water, but not enough. R has encouraged me to forgo a little iced tea and drink half of my body weight in ounces of water each day. She's all about me having my iced tea. These past two days I've followed this recommendation. Main change: frequency of trips to the bathroom. I know you're shocked right? Anyway, this increased water consumption is supposed to help my neck, shoulder, and lower back pain as well.
R told me the effects of us working together would be cummulative as my body needs to get used to her touch and she needs to get to know my body. This massage was different than any I have experienced before. My past massages I have been passive in a tranquil room with aromatherapy, soft music, and quiet. R told me that I would not be passive in this massage. That's not how she operates. So while the room was a tranquil bedroom in her home, it was not exactly relaxing. There was stretching involved where I had to push against her. She also told me everything she felt. There was never a moment of quiet. She used her whole body to try and work the knots out of me. At the end of our session, she told me there is so much more she needs to do, but since I am new to this she didn't want to be too rough on the first day.
Today was the first day I met with Trainer Mike since the massage. He asked about the massage and I gave him the highlights. One thing R discovered was that my hamstrings are really tight. She thinks part of this is because I sit on my tailbone and not on my sitbones. (She had a lot to say about posture.) Trainer Mike took what she said seriously and we did some deadlifts with me standing on a bench and bending to pick up the weight. Tonight, my legs are on fire. The front of my legs are really strong, but both Mike and R agree I need to do some stuff to build up the hamstrings. In case you aren't aware, I know I wasn't, low back pain could mean your hamstrings need to be stretched. While I was hoping for an easier method than deadlifts, I'll do what Mike says in order to get rid of the pain.
R didn't feel anything besides knots and a lot of tightness in my neck and shoulders. She pushed on this spot on my side under my arm and said, "Oh honey, I'm sorry I know it hurts really bad right there." I hadn't said a word. Yet she could tell. Mike decided we needed to see how my shoulders were so he incorporated quite a few pushups in today's workout. I did okay. Shoulders aren't killing me yet so I think I'm okay.
I had a minor meltdown yesterday. Several things going on. I'm up to my eyeballs in doctorate work. It's a writing process. I've been working soooo much this past week and there isn't a finished product. There are milestone projects due this semester, but for the most part it's write, write, write and then write some more. We had three more snow days this week and then I was out at a wonderful training on Friday. All of this has put me behind at work which overwhelms me. Due to shoulder pain and everything else I have been a total slack on my workouts. Total catch 22. Shoulder hurts so you don't workout/don't workout lose energy and don't feel well. Seriously, my energy level has been down and I just don't feel right.
Today Mike and I had a great workout. He told someone at the beginning that he was ready to kick my butt. I kinda feel like he did. It was soooooo what I needed. While I thought I couldn't lunge or sprint one more time it was an incredible feeling. Now in order to be more on my game next week when we meet I have to get myself to the gym every day this week. My only day off is the day I have class. I have to keep telling myself that I owe it to me. Sometimes this is really difficult for me as I try to balance so many other things.
I'm also the type of person that is all or nothing. Let me explain how this plays out in my working out. If it's time to go to the gym and I don't feel like I can give it 200%, I will opt not to go. This has been especially true this month with the shoulder and neck problem. I have to kick my butt into gear. I'm going to let today's workout catapult me back into my routine. In exactly 199 days my birthday will be here. I have 57 pounds to lose by then! There is ABSOLUTELY NO time to spare! Even though the week ahead is FULL and then some, I will go to the gym. Gotta make it happen. No excuses!
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