Monthly Archives: May 2011

Here is a comment for Mark:

Hello:

I am a 46 (soon to be 47 year old!) powerlifter. In my two most recent competitions I benched 500 lbs. (equipped). I had several cortisone shots over the past two years and the pain continued…on March 30th I tore the tricep tendon. On April 13th I had reattachment surgery. I have a couple questions…I was told 6-8 months before I can even think about light lifting- is this true? I was also told that I would never be able to compete again and never be able to lift as heavy or the same way that I did in the past. Do you have any thoughts on these statements? Any suggestions? Thanks so much for your help!

Let me tell you first of all, longevity is at the top of my list when it comes to decisions I am making in the gym (so is sexiness, but that does not apply to this topic).  So, consider what you need for life functioning and adjust accordingly.

Both Jill Mills and I were benching 185 after ten weeks.  I didn’t do much of anything for 6 weeks.  Generally, it takes a tendon 6 weeks to heal into the bone.  But, I think tricep is so vulnerable being on the outside of a pointy joint.

Here is how it will go.  You will get doctors advise, but you will go by how well you know your body anyway.  It will come naturally when you choose limits and risks.  I was doing isometric contractions early on, light in the beginning.

Good luck, fellow powerlifter.  May the force be with you!!

(PS use the topics to the right and search for “tricep” blogs.  I wrote a two day blog on my injuries and recovery decisions)

I enjoyed the comparison between now and “then”.

In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that she should bring her own grocery bag because plastic bagsweren’t good for the environment.

The woman apologized to him and explained, “We didn’t have the green thing back in my day.”

The clerk responded, “That’s our problem today. The former generation did not care enough to save our environment.”

He was right, that generation didn’t have the green thing in its day.

Back then, they returned their milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.

But they didn’t have the green thing back in that customer’s day.

In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building.

They walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time they had to go two blocks.

But she was right. They didn’t have the green thing in her day.

Back then, they washed the baby’s diapers because they didn’t have the throw-away kind.

They dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts – wind, solar power really did dry the clothes.

Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.

But that old lady is right, they didn’t have the green thing back in her day.

Back then, they had one TV, or radio, in the house – not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief, not a screen the size of the state of Montana .

In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn’t have electric machines to do everything for you.

When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not polystyrene or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, they didn’t fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. They used a push mower that ran on human power.

They exercised by working so they didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

They drank from a fountain when they were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water.

They refilled their writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and they replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But they didn’t have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or rode the school bus instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service.

They had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances.

And they didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

Hear me now and believe me later…

It was many moons ago, but I recall reading from Protein Power that only about 20% of your cholesterol reading is from what you ingest.  The rest is your body creating cholesterol because the liver can not handle the amount of carbohydrates you have ingested.

The Paleo Solution is explaining this to me in more detail.  So, here it is… regurgitated all over you.

We get high blood glucose levels when we eat too many carbohydrates.  The liver converts this to a fatty acid and attaches proteins and cholesterol. This is called a VLDL (very low-density lipoprotein). It is sent out into the body and we can burn it for fuel or store it as fat.  This is where the nasty, small, dense and very damaging kind of cholesterol comes from… the kind that damages your arterial lining.

If you have high LDL cholesterol, you should read Protein Power or The Paleo Solution.

I have never been one to be a “fan” of a person.  I like and appreciate all types of people, celebrity or not.  This is the first time I am going to make a special trip to the book store to buy an autobiography.  I am a Steven Tyler fan!!

Aerosmith music has always been on the top of my itunes, not just because of alphabetical order.  But now, we can all view Tyler’s personality first hand on American Idol.  And tonight I saw him on Dateline.  Tyler OWNS it!  He owns his life, flaws, attitude, failure and success.  He is sweet, compassionate and consistently laughing… and I love it!!