2018 W7 of 52 – Steve’s Body Progress Journal

A solid week! Slowly but surely finding my feet into the new business venture, which allowed more headspace to commit to the things I know are important – sleep, rest, down time from thinking, time with family, mobility etc.

THE GOOD

I’m telling you – sleep, rest and recovery has a massive difference on how you show up! Some of the impacts have been:

1. Morning ritual is self-correcting – the early morning all-in gym sessions before the day gets going has been resurrected
2. Less low-level stress and overwhelm over small things
3. A lovely few days with family for my daughters 8th Birthday. And great food!
4. Hit several PR’s in the gym –
5. • Deadlift – 170kg for 5×5 (twice body weight)
   • Bench Press – 112.5kg for 5×5
   • More volume across each workout – Reps x Sets x Weight
6. Weight up to 190lbs – goal is to get to 192lbs and then mini-cut (within 2-4 weeks)
7. Looking Bigger – People commenting and seeing some changes in the mirror

THE BAD

But, life is not perfect. Some of the issues I’ve been dealing with as of last week:

1. Missing my mobility and mindfulness regime – Consequences starting to show
2. Left knee pain – Annoying.com! And I know why – it’s all my fault. See below…
3. Sitting down in bad posture for too long – a result of the long computer-based hours
4. My Squat is going backward – due to knee pain / hot knees, I’m lifting much less than my best
5. Skin issues are still present – mostly on face and scalp. Definitely sleep/rest related, and seem to be subsiding
6. I’m looking thicker – as in, I can see the fat build up. Not lots, and knew it was coming as a result of the bulk, but still not good to feel the weight around belly

Knee Pain – Its All My Fault!

To dig into this a little more, I’ve been getting ‘hot-knees’ for the last few weeks. A heat and pressure behind the knee cap when I put load on my back and flex my knee to 90 degrees or more. The funny thing is, I suffered with this issue on my left knee for about six months in 2016-2017 every time I tried to do leg training, and generally movie-goers knee (knee pain when siting for long periods of time) for many years.

I thought I’d need surgery on my knee. Turns out it was a combination of tight and weak quads, glutes and hip flexors – a result mostly from long periods of terrible seating positions at a desk without any corrective work. Bryn and a Chiropractor were able to guide me through a series of stability, stretching and mobility drills in combination to correcting my squat form. I became more functional with better range of motion, and the knee pain went away completely! A miracle.

But now it’s returned. The great news is I know what to do. The bad news is I allowed myself to regress, and as a result am likely dealing with some ligament inflammation that will set me back a while. Note to self – working to correct the issues caused by bad posture and excessive amounts of poor sitting form should be a regular year-long commitment for everybody.

Bryn will share some rehab and mobility drills to combat the ‘sitting disease. One quick drill is the Super Couch stretch.

NEXT WEEK

[same as last week] Getting in More Mobility Work & Mindfulness – I feel my body needs more attention right now, what with all the sitting down typing or looking down at a computer screen for far too long on Instagram or Facebook! I’ll be looking to get in more mobility drills for my back, hips and legs. I’ll also aim to make more effort on my breathing and mindfulness sessions.

Will do full-body measurements – More than just weight, I will measure body fat using body callipers and muscle size using a measuring tape. I’ve periodically taken these measurements, so will share the differences from Nov-Dec 2017.

Need to think about Workout Programme – I’ll be halfway through my 8-week programme. It’s an opportunity to make any minor adjustments, assess effectiveness and perhaps think about when I’ll build in a deload week.

I’ll let you know how I get on… 🙂