Warrior Wellness thread-Beginning to Clean the Slate

[Ryan]

Hi all... I am posting this thread to track my progress with Warrior Wellness in regards to improving joint strength and health. Let me convey the story (I apologize in advance as this will be long):

I have been struggling with aching joints especially in my neck and back. I have 2 10lbs. clubbells and the CST manual and video. I began using them, exploring the movements with them and even got some advice from Coach Sonnon (thanks Coach) on how to begin with them for slow, general strength. When I began, I couldn't keep focused; I felt that somehow even with these remarkable tools I was creating more of an imbalance in my body. I stopped using them. I stopped doing all "exercise" except rolling and rocking on my spine to aleviate the pain there. The worst place is in the upper part of the middle third of my back (hope that makes sense). The area is tight and it feels as though there is a long, knotted cord of muscle about 4 inches long. This runs parallel to my spine about an inch to the left.

Anyway, I felt as though I needed to start more discretely and the base level of motor functioning. I needed retraining and proper joint strength before I try to move any further. I need refinement before strength. Building a house on sand is not a good idea.

I received WW a couple days ago and reviewed all the tapes. Biting back the urge to jump ahead I will focus on the beginning foundation. My goal is to free up my range of motion in all my joints but most especially in my back. I have a feeling that someone will probably suggest I need Be Breathed as well. I have a little one coming within the next week or so and my wife and I are trying to budget as best we can... It will have to wait for a while...

For the next 8 weeks, I will do nothing but WW everyday and track my progress faithfully. For some reason I feel like I may want to do it twice a day as tolerated, not in the beginning, but perhaps after the first four to six weeks.

I want and appreciate all feedback. I am grateful to have a place to post my progress and thoughts relating to my health. So here we go...

Thanks,

Ryan

[Ryan]

Date:7/19/04
Time:8:00AM, took about 25 minutes

Place:In my living room in front of the TV, on a hardwood floor, with the tape.

Energy level: Scale of 1-10: 3 (always low in the morning)

Nutrition: 3 eggs, small potatoe and 1/2 cup of blueberries with coffee after WW session. 10 0z. of water before WW session.

Exercise Selection:WW beginner's program.

Repetitions: as dictated in the tape.

Rest Period: 15-20 seconds between exercises

RPE:5 for most exercises, 9 for 4CBD, 7 for leg swings.

RT: Overall:5. I had difficulty with the neck sliding side to side (egyptian), coordinating movement with both arms for shoulder and elbow circles, 4CBD.

Feelings, Thoughts, Images, Sensations: I didn't have any notable feelings. I was thinking that the movements looked a lot easier than they actually were (starting out at least). During the session, while watching Coach Sonnon, I kept visualizing my tension as a gas that would depressurize though vents in my joints as I rotated and went through my DROM (weird I know). During the session and afterwards, my joints felt loosened and warm. All the joints in my neck and spine popped and cracked. I felt relaxed and mildly energized after the session.

Thanks,

Ryan

P.S. If there is a better way to include all information in a shorter format let me know. If I am putting in too much or not enough let me know that as well.

[rbibbs]

Good work, good observations Ryan. Yes, jumping ahead to strength work without full articulation adds to tensions as you noted.

If you haven't already seen it, this post/thread outlines the phases you'll be going through. http://www.circularstrengthmag.com/f...?p=16841#16841

[Ryan]

Thanks for the link and the encouragement, Rick.

Ryan

[Ryan]

Date:7/20/04
Time:5:00AM, took about 25 minutes

Place:In my living room in front of the TV, on a hardwood floor, with the tape.

Energy level: Scale of 1-10: 3 (always low in the morning) I was sore in the hamstrings and back of my hips from yesterday's session.

Nutrition: 12 oz. of water before session; afterwards 1/2 cup 2% cottage cheese, 1 cup low-fat yogurt, and 1/4 blueberries, 8 oz. of coffee

Exercise Selection:Warrior Wellness™ beginner's program.

Repetitions: as dictated in the tape.

Rest Period: 15-20 seconds between exercises

RPE:5 for most exercises, 9 for 4CBD (had a lot of trouble balancing on my flat feet), 7 for leg swings (similar balance problems).

RT: Overall:5. Still had difficulty with the neck sliding side to side (egyptian), coordinating movement with both arms for shoulder (inner to outer upper plane circles) and elbow circles (rear plane), 4CBD (my right leg balance is far better than the left).

Feelings, Thoughts, Images, Sensations: I was amazed that I actually was able to get up and do the session first thing. Any exercise or movement program in the early morning is difficult for me. I had trouble keeping up with the tape and had to stop sometimes and go through the motions slowly. I felt as though my body awareness was higher when I slowed the movements down rather than ripping through them. No images came to mind except I briefly imagined myself whirling a lasso when doing the upper and lower plane shoulder and elbow circles (funny, huh?) There was a lot of cracking and popping in my neck, all down my spine, the center of my chest, and my ankles, none of it was painful. My energy level seemed to drop later in the day and I feel even more sore in my hips, upper back, and hamstrings. I don't think this is a bad thing... From reading the posts of others who are farther down the path than I, it seems safe to assume that this is the beginnings of my stored tension slowly releasing.

Thanks,

Ryan

[Cilian McHugh]

Stick with the Neck Slide mate, it can be frustrating at times but it will come. Have a look through some of the old threads for an excellent post by Jon Richardson on a few assistance exercises to spur your CNS into action. Your best bet would most likely be to search for posts by his user name (Jrichardson I think) or PM him and ask if he remembers where he posted it.

Picturing a steel bar running horizontally through the rear angle of your jaw (the mandibular angle) helped me focus on not artificially exaggerating the ROM by tilting my neck.

Other than that, I'd just say keep at it, in front of a mirror if possible. In my experience it took about three weeks to start noticing the ROM coming back.

Good Luck

[Ryan]

First off, thanks for the suggestion Mac; doing the neck slide in front of the mirror shows me what I am NOT doing right. The steel bar is a good visualization technique as well...

Date:7/21/04
Time:5:00AM, took about 25 minutes

Place:In my living room in front of the TV, on a hardwood floor, with the tape.

Energy level: Scale of 1-10: 3 (always low in the morning) I was more sore than the day before. It was a good type of sore.

Nutrition: Nothing before the session; afterwards 3 oz. of turkey breast, 1 cup low-fat yogurt, 12 oz. of water, and 8 oz. of coffee

Exercise Selection:Warrior Wellness™ beginner's program.

Repetitions: as dictated in the tape.

Rest Period: 15-20 seconds between exercises

RPE:5 for most exercises, 9 for 4CBD, 6 for leg swings (I used a support very intermittently and lightly for balance for both. With the Left leg extended on 4CBD, I almost balanced independently).

RT: Overall:Still feels like a 5. I am getting better with the bilateral shoulder circles and most of the elbow circles. Coordinating my bilateral rear plane elbow circles poses a problem; they seem to want to go in the same direction. This only happens when I reverse direction. Makes me think of trying to say a tounge twister... 4CBD feels like it's getting better. Neck slide is still a problem although I noticed it's easier when I slide to the left rather than right.

Feelings, Thoughts, Images, Sensations: I looked forward to doing my Warrior Wellness session this morning. I had to smile at how I may have looked as my arms flailed while I balanced on my left leg for 4CBD. To be honest, I don't think of much while following the instruction. I'm trying to save evaulation for afterwards. There was one moment when I had a strange sensation: I was doing an inside/outside "air guitar" shoulder circle with my right arm. At approximately 60 degrees from the plane of the earth during the rotation, it seemed like a very mild "electrical" current ran from my shoulder down to my elbow underneath the head of my bicep. No pain, just a sensation I hadn't felt before...

I notice that I am beginning to feel more tired during the day than before I started the program. The energy slump happens around 2:30 or so. Lunch is usually nutritious consisting of salad with beans, lean turkey or tuna, and an oz. of italian dressing. Could this be residual tension beginning to work its way out?

Thanks,

Ryan

[Scott Sonnon]

Ryan,

What's your breakfast comprised of, and when do you time it?

[Ryan]

I wake up at 5:00 AM, and usually begin eating breakfast by 5:45-6:00 AM. Breakfast usually consists of a combination of the following macronutrients:

Carbohydrates: 1/2 cup of fresh fruit (blueberries, strawberries, or peaches) 1 cup 99% fat free yogurt. On weekends I'll have 1 1/2 cups of irish oatmeal or a small potato with butter.

Protein: 1/2 to 3/4 cup of 2% cottage cheese, 1 cup of 99% fat free yogurt (approximately 10g of protein) or three eggs. When I don't have cottage cheese I will eat 3-4 oz. of lean turkey. I'll have 3-4 slices of bacon occasionally.

Fat: Hmmm.... Now that I'm writing this out, I realize that I don't have very much fat in this breakfast. Perhaps that is a contributor to the energy slump.

Water intake in the morning is usually 16-24 oz. total. I will have an 8 oz. cup of coffee from 7:30 until 9:00 AM. Writing this out brings up another point I didn't think of... Caffeine has a half life of about 5-6 hours; 2:3o PM would be right on the mark.

Although these things could be contributors; I have been having morning coffee on a daily basis for at least a couple years. Not that I'm justifying it, but the only thing in my daily schedule that has changed is my beginning WW.

Honestly, I have been employing this eating pattern for about the last 2 weeks. Before that I was either eating bowl of multigrain cereal with 2% milk or 2 cups of the fruit mentioned above.

Last note: I begin getting hungry at about 10:30-11:00 AM. I eat lunch around 12:30-1:00 PM.

Thanks,

Ryan

[Scott Sonnon]

Sounds like you're right on with the caffiene. Happened to me as well.
What worked for me was to up the protein and THEN remove the caf. You can incrementally cut down the caf content by working from 3/4 caf to 1/2 caf to 1/4 caf to decaf.

Let me know if this removes the crash.