I Blame Hurricane Sandy

You know you're old when you have to do stretching every day to keep from falling apart.

I need to exercise every day!

I restarted exercising a couple of days ago after I realized that I had stopped my stretching sessions when Hurricane Sandy hit. Right after that my back went out for a week, followed a week later by my knees going 'kablooey'.

All my misery is due to Hurricane Sandy throwing off my exercise schedule. Maybe I should sue NOAA .

Then this evening I got a new fitness video in the mail. Quick Fix Knee Rehab with Jen Miller. It requires two small balls in a net bag to self-massage your joints.  I did the 11 minute Pre-Hab section where you lie on and roll over the balls in the little net bag; First the hip joints, then muscles of the thigh, then the knee. This is to get you warmed up for more difficult exercises. It was a pleasant experience, not too difficult.  The instructor mention this 'weird heat' that people would get when the muscles were responding but I didn't get that while doing the pre-hab exercises. (There are two additional sets of exercises on the DVD, I just haven't done them yet.)

However, as I was seated cross legged on the floor, reading the New York Times, I started absently massaging my knee where it hurt with the massage balls. And you know, my knee felt better. I started doing the massage more purposefully. I massaged the knee with the ball until it stopped hurting, then changed the leg position, found a new pain and massaged that. So, that took another 10 minutes before I quit.

A half hour later this 'weird heat' flooded through my knee as if someone had put a space heater in my knee and plugged me in. For 10 minutes my knee was without pain.

Wonderful.

I'm going to keep up with this!

How it works, what it's doing; No idea. Just feels great--for a few minutes at a time.

Walking Wounded

Once every few years, I'll do something to throw my back out. The first time was in my 40's when I bent over to pick up a pencil, and couldn't straighten up for an hour  (my face was stuck within licking distance of the dog and I was too impaired to push her away. 60 minutes of 'sit', 'lie down', 'stop it, damn it').

This time I'm able to move, but I've been in pain and had some difficulty standing up from chairs for 3 days. It's gradually improving, but I had to be helped off the ice tonight as I felt fine walking, but couldn't stroke more than halfway round the rink or extend my legs while stroking.  Cruella just sent me home.

The exact problem has always been unidentified but it's probably an iliotibial band problem, plus a chronic case of 'snapping hip'. There's tests to identify the really bad stuff (herniated discs has clearly been eliminated and it's not piriformis syndrome either), so I'm stuck with the 'it will get better with time' treatment. Time for home remedies!

Fortunately, my pain is your gain. Stuck with an annoying pain in the lower back and hip? Here's some stretches that have worked for me.

Although these stretches are directed at piriformis syndrome, I've found figure 18 (below) to be amazingly effective over the years whenever my back pain pops up.

I cross the leg on the sore side over the leg on the good side.
I sigh with relief

Since I also have 'snapping hip' (a popping in the hip when doing certain rotations with the leg while it's in extension) I have to take care of that too. The Army (!) has a whole document on this, which you can download here. (Note the overlap with the piriformis syndrome stretches, those things have so many applications!).

I think this problem popped up for me because of Hurricane Sandy. Since I wasn't on my regular schedule, I neglected my daily stretching regimen, and I'm paying for it. 

The internet is useful in finding these helpful home remedies for problems like this. I've rounded up a few for you to look at, but if you have similar issues, just google a description and root around in the web pages until you find something promising.  At the very worst, if you try a stretch and it causes more pain, you know it's time to stop. At the best, if you find the right stretch---ah, it's wonderful.

Stretching DVDs

One of the things that happens to adult skaters is that they accumulate injuries the way diplomats accumulate parking tickets. While diplomats have immunity, we poor skaters don't. We pay for our injuries every day. So it pays to work on maintaining some reserve fitness.

Fortunately, I'm of a get up and go personality. I don't like sitting around bemoaning my fate. So, first things first: Sitting is killing you. At work I don't use IM or the phone. I get up and walk to talk to people. It helps keep the joints from stiffening up during the day.  Also,  I keep my back straight when walking or sitting. Those little things can contribute to feeling good throughout the day.

Secondly, I've always been a big believer in stretching. I'm not talking here about stretching to get that Beillman. I'm talking about stretches that help keep you going in spite of the pain in joints, muscles, and tendons. Here are some good DVD's to help.


Annette Fletcher Save Your Back -- Release Strengthen Stretch.
This video starts out deceptively easy. The three segments each last about 12 minutes. I like doing all of them in one sitting. In Release you relax the muscles and joints and warm them up for the challenge to come. In Strengthen you do some exercises to support your back by building up the core muscles. Then in Stretch, it's pretzel time! Because of the preparation in the first two segments, I was able to get into deep stretch even in the most extreme positions without pain.

If you have a beillman--maybe not for you. On the other hand, I'm flexible and I felt it was worthwhile. My back felt great after doing it once. If you have back issues, well, it's designed for people with those so look at it on Amazon and see what you think.

Cathe Friedrich Stretch Max
I bought this thinking it would be intimidating. Some of Cathe's strength videos are beyond me at the weights she uses. This stretch video is good and doable by a fit adult. It presents some nice exercises for opening the hips. It's not an extreme stretch video like some yoga videos that require a year of practice to complete. The Cathe video offers three stretch programs: no equipment required, on the ball, and resistance band. (You will need a mat) I like doing the no equipment one, and the resistance band one. Taken together these two really hit skater stretch needs. In the no equipment segment lots of emphasis on getting open hips and working those hip flexors. In the resistance band one, more hip work and work on the articulation of the feet and ankles. Great video. 

Why yes, I have been working on my stretching.

Dance Lesson: Tweaks Are Evil

"You have good edges," Dance Coach said, "Why can't you do this?"

The compliment on my edges is first. Let me take a moment to celebrate.

What can I say, it's been a good week for basking

But Dance Coach now wants me to do my inside swingrolls the 'proper' way, by rising up on the swing, then not going back down, while swinging the leg even yet higher. Yes, that last part does feel a bit rushed. Plus he also wants, more curve - aim for the boards.

Sigh. Put hands over face. It's not happening.

Oh, yeah, and I booted out on the cross-and-hold step of the Rhythm Blues.  It was an exciting split second. 

Overall, I feel I've developed more power over the last couple of months, but the rest of my skills aren't keeping up with it. What with all the new proper posture and edging I'm getting from Coach Cruella, I'm in that awkward transition stage. My skills are all over the place, while I struggle to coordinate them. 

Maybe some practice will fix this. Or maybe A LOT OF PRACTICE will fix this. Sigh/Again.

Now let me end the post on a positive note. Here's a warm up exercise I like.

This week my off-ice trainer, Miss Fitt, has me working on my turn out. This hasn't't yet translated  into improved skating skills, but it's nice to have every muscle in my legs aching in the pleasant 'I've had a workout' way.

One of her exercises is my new favorite.

Balance on one foot. Bring the free leg forward and do a rond de jambe attitude , then with the free leg in the back, rather than go en pointe, bend the balance leg deeply.  I've started doing this at the rink before skating to warm up my legs after my very brisk walk. It stretches the hip flexors and the knees in the same exercise. I do it 30 times each side.

Don't.Slouch

I can't tell you how many skaters I've seen, young and old, amateur and elite, slouching while they skate.  As an ice dancer I am sometimes forced to look at video of myself skating and I occasionally see myself as bad as everyone else. Slouching is a terrible posture problem for both young and old, and it's easy to fall into bad habits. It's also bad for you.

Let me describe the kind of slouch I'm talking about.

1. The shoulders roll forward so the chest is narrowed.
2. The upper part of the back curves so the chest is collapsed
3.  The head is pushed forward

This posture has a lot of effects. It can impede deep breathing since it compresses your internal organs and rib cage into your lungs, it can affect the angle of the pelvis causing back pain, it disrupts your balance,  the angle of the head can cause pressure on the brain stem raising blood pressure and most critical of all....

It makes your boobs sag and your stomach pop out!

MO-TI-VA-TOR! Right, am I right? People will ignore the health issues, but talk about looks, and everyone's all standing up straight!

So what do to? Good posture is mostly good habits, stand up with chest out, shoulders back is enough. But you have to do it all the time. Every minute. Every hour. Every day.

Is it hard to be consistent? Yes. I lift weights, do Pilates, and yoga and I still catch myself slouching. Still, there's some simple exercises that you could try to help you straighten up. I found these on  the Women's Health magazine website.

No matter how young and beautiful you are. Slouching is ugly.
(And bad for your health)

Skating with out slouching gives you more breath to skate with, centers your balance, improves your looks. All you have to do is be conscious of it. All.The.Time.

Johnny Wier. Always perfect posture. A lesson for us all.

Warming up is more than keeping Warm

I wasted the first 3 years of my skating life by not warming up before I skated.

3 years of ice fees, 3 years of lessons, 3 years of time on the ice down the drain.

Then I was off ice for a year. This is about what happened when I restarted.

If you're a teenager or in your twenties you may not see the benefits of warming up. But once you hit your 30's the natural resilience of your body begins to fade. One day you say to yourself "I was a little 'off' today." and you wonder why. There's other little hints, the spiral that doesn't go as high as it used to, the sore knee that appears out of nowhere.  When you pass your peak of strength and speed in your twenties there is a gradual diminution of your skills; you can help deal with that with a proper warm up.

How did I get to be such a warm up hot shot?  I was taking a lesson with Coach Great Hair while Dance Coach was on his honeymoon. She flatly told me I needed to warm up, and that skating a half hour before a lesson wasn't enough. It was warm up tough love.

So before Dance Coach (aka Coach Frowny Face) got back from his honeymoon I had instituted a warm up boot camp. I stopped at a mall near the rink and did 45 minutes of fast walking including going up and down stairs as quick as I could without running. Then I got to the rink and did 10 minutes of stretching before I put on my boots.

After a month coach did his frowny face at the end of a lesson. "You're doing much better. Usually students get a little better a little at a time, but you just got better like an explosion. I've never seen it happen before."  Notice what he said: I had a SKILL EXPLOSION.  How many lessons is that worth? So even though it takes time, it's worth it.

Is there anything special about my warm up? Not particularly.  You want to get the large muscles of the legs warmed up and walking is excellent for this. Going up and down stairs warms up the knees. It's not rocket science. How long I take is due to my age. As I approach social security payment time, I find I need more time. It's a part of my life now. If I was younger I might jump rope or jog in place, but no one exercise is absolutely essential. What is essential is getting the blood moving into the legs.

What about stretching?

It's hard to do stretching at my rink because the party rooms are always booked, there's a hockey game in the rink area and no place in the boot changing area to do anything.  I've had to make do by finding a little corner off of the rink and doing 10 minutes of standing stretches. Holding each stretch for 30 seconds and repeating it 3 times does appear to be critical for me.  There's lots of books, articles and web pages out there about stretching. Pick the ones that work for you. I need stretches for my hips and I pick exercises for that.

Have I convinced you to warm up before skating? I hope so. I don't want anyone thinking as I do about the wasted money, time, and effort that I spent because I didn't think I needed to warm up before getting on the ice.