The Friday Physical
Good evening. Is everyone happy that it’s Friday? I certainly am, I feel very tired today and I’m definitely ready for some relaxation over the weekend. My post today has a physical theme to it, with a summary of my training so far this week, as well as an update on the shoulder injury that I’ve had for a while now.
First of all, thank you for all your supportive comments and helpful advice about the problems I’ve been having with postural hypotension lately.
I thought that it might be useful to summarise what the advice was, as well as some of the tips I’ve found through my own research that I’ve been trying out.
- Drink plenty and don’t get dehydrated
- Up salt intake. This is an interesting one for me because I don’t like salt very much and I tend to avoid salty food for that reason. I have been having rehydration drinks after every workout and I’ve been making an effort to eat some salty foods like stir-fries with soy sauce. Also, I don’t want to cause myself problems by overdoing the salt.
- Eat more protein. I’ve not heard this one before, but I certainly will continue to make sure that my diet is balanced.
- Make sure I’m eating enough. I don’t think that this is an issue for me and my symptoms tend to occur no matter how much I eat. I can see why it could be an issue for some people due to blood sugar issues.
- Drink caffeinated drinks. This is another interesting one because I gave up caffeine about 18 months ago, probably around the time that I started getting symptoms. I’m not ready to launch back onto the caffeine bandwagon whole-sale, but I have introduced some matcha tea and a mug of black tea every day.
- Get the circulation going before standing up – e.g. crossing and un-crossing legs rapidly, clasping hands together. I’ve found this one really helpful.
- Get up slowly – I’m working on this!
- Don’t sit cross-legged. I do this all the time and it’s a tough habit to break, but I’m trying really hard both for my circulation and my posture.
- Wear compression socks. I haven’t tried this one yet, but I’m willing to give it a go.
This first half of my post makes me sound like a real invalid, but I am a pretty healthy specimen really … On Wednesday evening I had my regular appointment with my chiropractor. I have a pesky shoulder injury caused by a strain to my pec minor muscle (just under the collar-bone, near the armpit). I’ve had it since May and I’ve mainly been ignoring it because I can work through the pain. However, as my chiropractor pointed out, I shouldn’t have to put up with pain if it can be alleviated, so I need to put some real effort into healing it.
The chiropractor did some myofascial release on the strained muscle, on my bicep and around my shoulder blade. Oh my word it hurt – it was like a scene out of “One Born Every Minute”, seriously anyone would have thought I was giving birth. The work on my bicep was particularly painful and if he hadn’t have been holding my arm I might have just punched him. It did feel better almost instantly, although I felt like I really needed to ice all the areas that he’d been working on. I’m really bad at doing my chiro homework, but I’m going to make a real effort (I might have said that before). I’ve got to do the myofascial release on myself once a day, icing afterwards, and doing my stretches whenever I can.
On a slight tangent, has anyone been watching “One Born Every Minute”? It’s a fly on the wall documentary about a maternity ward and usually follows two women every week. I’m addicted, although I need a big box tissues next to be because I blub every time.
Now to my workouts. It been a tough week to be honest, mainly because of my anxiety around the colder weather. It’s not been too bad in Leeds, but I have had to modify my workout plans a bit. My mantra has been to take each day as it comes and to be flexible depending on the conditions. On reflection, I’ve done well and I’ve actually done all the workouts that I wanted to.
Saturday – 9 mile run. I started out early to beat the snow. It was incredibly cold, but overall a great run!
Sunday – rest. Very very lazy 
Monday – 90 minute ashtanga / vinyassa class
Tuesday – 4 mile interval run. My usual route was icy, but I found a stretch of pavement that was clear and dry. I warmed up for a mile and then did 2 miles of intervals (1 minute fast, 1 minute jog), with a mile’s easy run back home.
Wednesday – 60 minute yoga for runners download
Thursday – ~5 miles on the treadmill. It was raining when I got home from work, so I figured that it was ok to go for a run outdoors. I got dressed in many layers and stood outside waiting for my Garmin the get a signal. It then started snowing and I snapped – the weather finally got to me! I went to the gym that I used to be a member of and paid a one-off fee to use the treadmill. It was boring, but at least I got my miles in.
- 1/2 mile easy jog
- 2 miles at half marathon goal pace
- 1/2 mile easy
- 2 miles at half marathon goal pace
- Few minutes easy to cool down
It was icy when I walked out of the gym, so I was pleased with my decision to avoid the pavements.
Friday – rest, although I might do 20 minutes of gentle yoga if I feel like it later … perhaps!
I’m interested on your opinion of caffeine – do you drink a lot of it or try to avoid it?
How have your workouts been this week?
Every Day's a Picnic 
I’ve been back in the gym, my membership is pretty cheap though. I am injured form running at the moment so can’t run:( So been cross training on the epilipitical, rowing machine, bike and doing lots of streches.
The ice is driving me insane because it hurts my feet even more to run on a treadmill than outside – at least there I can vary terrain with trails and grass. I’m heartily sick of the weather. I try not to panic about it but I never succeed. So many tears every time the darn weather forecast comes on.
Caffeine…I love it. Love it to pieces. I never drank coffee at all as caffeine used to give me a migraine and make me hyper, but ironically I started when my insomnia got really bad because although I couldn’t sleep my energy levels were rock bottom. It perked me up for sure, but I’ve had to cut down (I cut it out completely for a week but couldn’t survive beyond that) because I was becoming completely manic again and getting a tic above my eye.
I have the same problem with postural hypotension – I don’t know about the protein thing, but mine does relate to blood sugar, hydration and potassium/sodium balance. I have to be sure to add salt to food and drink sensibly. I fell off the wagon recently and started having such bad vertigo whenever I stood up. I just forget to salt things sometimes because I don’t like salty things at all. Shame the solution isn’t to eat more sugar…
xxx
I’m impressed with those workouts; mine have been indoors all week because I can’t handle these temperatures!
Hopefully those tips will work for you, I’d never heard of the salt thing but interesting you noticed a difference when you cut down caffeine… I’m a coffee addict and add too much salt to vegetables so I’d be all right at least on those fronts… maybe that means I can call them both healthy habits 🙂
I’m always so impressed by your workouts! You’re so disciplined and you incorporate such great variety.
I am not really big on caffeine but I do need my morning cup of tea to start my day off right. I hope you have a great weekend!
I am not that bothered about my caffeine intake- (although at the moment I am tending not to have any black tea because the cyst is pressing on my bladder and the caffeinated drinks tend to make it worse for some reason)- typically I would have one or max 2 cups of black tea, then the rest of my hot drinks would be herbal/fruit/mint/rooibos tea, and the occasional hot chocolate. But then I can go months without black tea very easily, so I know I am not addicted! That is my main concern really- I would not want to have the withdrawal headaches or anything.
That is interesting about not crossing legs/ getting circulation going before you stand up- I get a head rush/ dizzy when I stand up sometimes, but I have a habit of sitting on my legs (legs bent up on the sofa)- I don’t think I have issues with low blood pressure, but I might try those tips.
Just catching up on posts, I get that dizzy when standing up thing and the doc said it was low blood pressure although I can safely say I eat plenty of salt! Looks like you’ve had a great workout week, I’m feeling very lazy now as haven’t worked out at all but I guess that’s what holidays are for, hope you have a good weekend!
I don’t avoid caffeine but I don’t over indulge either. I usually make myself a small pot of coffee in the morning. Sometime during the afternoon, Ralph and I have gotten in the habit of a cup of tea. A nice thing to share. Some evenings if I’m feeling “snacky” I’ll have a cup of tea to keep me from eating things I shouldn’t. Some times with caffeine, but sometimes herbal. I always “want” coffee, but don’t often go searching for it. Funny how that is.
I never drink caffeine, in face I’ve never had a cup of coffee in my life, I just don’t really get it! I like to stick to water, and herbal teas. I’ve had a pretty good workout week, tried to shorten my workouts and cut down on my cardio a bit, as well as taking active rest days.