Ow My Baking Yak, As Mistress Krista Would Say

Aug 10, 2009 12:28

[Expletive deleted]

I went to the gym today for the first time since Tuesday (OMG the shame) and I was all revved up--my buddy
anubis_8 got back from the Sandbox this weekend and we wanted to be all hard-charging! Plus a friend of mine who wants to work out was going to meet us there as well.

So I got her to do my routine; we did Arnold presses, we did front two-dumbbell raises (as it was shoulder/chest day), and since my other friend was nowhere to be found for the nonce, I decided to do bench presses on the Smith Machine. Which went fine! Except--When I had finished moving the bench out of the way so that the next person didn't have to deal with it, I turned away from it--and ka-blooey went my lower back.

Yes, ka-blooey is a medical term; I ran across it several times during my stints as medical transcriptionist.

Now, ever since my thirteenth birthday and went diving off the diving board at a pool, my lower back has been a little dicey. If my knee is wonkey, I know it's my back. Headaches? Usually my back. I've never had pain like this before--and I know exactly what caused it: not seeing my chiropractor as much as I should've and too many hours in front of the computer, especially lately.

Very important: I did not subscribe to that old hee haw about "feeling betrayed by my body." Hell with that. No, I feel as if I did the betraying. See? So much more empowering! (I say this semi-sarcastically, but it is also True.)

The excercise has nothing to do with it--I think--no, I know that it's been helpful. This is the kind of pain where I have to think about every movement below the waist--where I have to stop. Breathe. Relax. Loosen up and sort of let my spine stretch away in both directions--and then make the movement, which so far has usually been something complicated like, say, putting my right foot in front of my left foot.

I finished my workout--all I had left to do was flyes, which are dead easy. I did learn a really cool stabilizer trick while doing them, which is letting my abs help--as you're lifting the dumbells, make sure your pelvis is tucked and your abs brace along with the lifting movement that your pecs and arms are doing. No arched back, by god!

I managed to get the kids in the car and then we toddled along to the chiropractor's.

I was scared. Why? I was thinking, holy crap, I have no insurance, I won't be able to work out, I won't be able to fight.

At Dr. Barth's (whom I've been seeing since I was 13), I talked to the very nice receptionist who is also married to Dr. Barth. I got another previous insurance issue cleared up in nothing flat, and then I told her that I no longer had insurance, and how much would an adjustment cost? she said $42. Boy, was I relieved. I had been expecting something much more. She told that they try to drop it down for folks who aren't insured.

So I feel mentally and emotionally much better, and will be making an appointment soon.

weightlifting, pain, iron

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