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[EarthNSky <erthnsky AT gmail.com>]

On 9/10/2010 10:26 PM, Lynda wrote:
> It would have to be PDF because I don't have Excel or anything else on 
> this computer.
>
> I can tell you that the easiest way to get to doing pushups is doing 
> yoga to strengthen your back AND do doorway pushups first.  I find 
> knee pushups to be more trouble than they're worth.
>
> I would say that trying to increase the weight a bit with each workout 
> wouldn't be something that I would recommend.  I would get to "x" and 
> then do that weight for a week or so until it feels too easy and then 
> gradually increase and so forth and so on.

I did not know where to start, so I may have started too easy.    It is 
hard to find info online that is specific to my purpose. Many times the 
advice is generic.  I'd definitely be interested in seeing where I stand 
relative to others who are getting in shape.




> As to upper body strength, I've never been able to do a push-up worth 
> beans but I could buck hay all day long, toss sacks of grain, toss 
> calves, pull a horse over and other stuff that takes upper body 
> strength.  I stick with the doorway push-ups myself <g>

Me, too, but I find that I rely too much on my back and legs.  I use my 
arms for support, like with a feed back, or as extensions as I sling my 
weight around as a counter to tossing a bale.  I do doorway and 
countertop pushups too, but I can't go all the way down and get back up.

I might as well share something else that has been a pain in my 
ass...literally.

In June, I injured my back after dealing with 3 months of physical 
stress(standing in one place for hours on end).  Sadly, it gave out on 
me the Monday after I was fired when I was walking on the treadmill.  I 
have had disk problems and sciatica off and on prior, so I recognized 
the pain instantly and spent the next few days in bed.  Since then, my 
right leg has been numb. It was numb all over, but now it is numb only 
below the knee...half my calf and all of my foot.  They say that it 
might be numb for 6-12 months.  Anyway, before that, in the months when 
I was doing all of that standing at the counter(imagine cooking or 
dishwashing for 6 hours straight a day, standing at a sink), I kept 
having a pain in my left butt cheek.  It felt like sciatica, but it did 
not radiate out to my hip and down my leg.  I would say that there have 
only been a few days in the last six months that I have not felt this 
pain.  I learned recently that the piriformis muscle surrounds the 
sciatic nerve and that there is a thing as piriformis syndrome that 
mimics sciatica caused from herniated disks.  I do think I have a slight 
herniation at L5S1, that explains the right leg numbness, but I also 
think I have piriformis syndrome.  I think the piriformis muscle on my 
left side has gotten kinked or cramped or something and that when it 
does,  it irritates the nerve causing nerve pain and a deep butt cramp 
pain.  I've been stretching to try to alleviate this problem, but so 
far, no luck.   I am not sure what I need to do to lengthen that muscle...
 When you have sciatic nerve pain and a numb right leg, it kind of hard 
to balance properly for things like slinging hay bales or carrying bags.
The point is that I think my poor posture, working conditions, lifting 
history, etc. has all fed into this problem.  I need a good lifting 
posture, a good posture, strong arms, etc.   I am trying very hard to 
take care of all of these minor problems, but I don't seem to be making 
headway.  It's only been 4-6 weeks, and I don't know how much I should 
be improving.  BTW, I think the PS problem originated with hard cycling 
last Spring, and was further aggravated by all the standing at work.

I just want to be healthy and be able to do pushups.  Is that so wrong?<G>

Bev


--
EarthNSky Farm  34.498N 85.076W
SISU! (Finnish--There is no single word in English that encompasses
all that sisu means, but it combines the following ideas: guts, pep,
determination, stubbornness, perseverance, hardiness, stamina, go, do,
nerve, spunk, pluck, and grit.  It's like "Just Do It!"&  "Go for It!")