Shoulder....Venting

[Catrin]

So glad you're waiting. I keep thinking about the millennia of people who figured out how to work through this sort of thing, and kept on. We all jump at surgery no matter the cost or outcome, and sometimes, I truly think, it would be better to wait and see what our bodies really need.

Agreed Pax. I did find it interesting that the Ortho didn't consider it worthwhile to clean out my other shoulder - it has large pieces of cartilage floating around, cysts, tendinopathy in all tendons, and other things. There was a time they would have been encouraging that as well - but it is degenerative so it would simply return. So something may be changing out there.

[Catrin]

Back in vent mode....had a flare in my severely arthritic left shoulder and relented - allowed an injection today to calm it. My ortho has convinced me that even kettlebell swings are bad for me - not just overhead work. Guess I need to find another form of cardio work but right now I don't know what that might be.

Then again, my body is so accustomed to the KB swings that hiking gets my heart rate up much higher than even swinging heavier weight, so perhaps mixing speed walking in with hiking and, of course, continue the Tai Chi. I just thought about adding in speed walking - as long as I've the right shoes where my arthritic feet and knees don't overly complain...

Anyone want to buy a set of kettlebells? Oh, and by "speed walking", I just mean walking fast. A friend told me that real speed walking is something different that my body probably wouldn't like.

[ny biker]

Sorry the shoulder is still causing problems. Walking has been my go-to cardio exercise since college -- 30 years now. All it really takes it good shoes and comfortable clothes. I increase the effort with hills, which are plentiful around here. And walking on a treadmill can be quite a workout if you increase the incline enough. Walking up and down stairs can also get your heart rate up if you knees are okay with it.

[Crankin]

I agree, Catrin. I've always been a walker, through the time I was teaching aerobics right up to now. While it's not my go to cardio and has never been, it's a consistent activity, for over 30 years. Like today, I didn't have the will to get ready for a cold weather ride, but I could force myself out the door for a 3 mile fast walk. I can walk at a 4 mph pace when I want, which is pretty good. DH and I often take short walks on the days we don't do other stuff. And, I used to walk with my mom when she would visit, or I would go to San Diego. Before she got sick, she was often asked if she was a runner when she went for her physicals, she was in such good shape from walking.

[Catrin]

Thanks NY Biker! Sadly my shoulders are just plain...shot. One with torn tendons and the other an arthritic hot mess for which there is no fix unless it eventually gets bad enough for a shoulder replacement. As bad as it is now, it will have to get MUCH worse before I even consider that. Then there is the jacked neck and the...you get the picture.

I've always been a fast walker, my usual walking space is roughly 4 mph on the terrain around here. Tempted to fire up the gym membership again, but what would I do there? Only 2 machines that don't hurt on good days and the non-machine work just isn't possible. Why spend the money? Planet Fitness has the only fee structure I could justify, but I am very much against their philosophy. I simply refuse to belong to a gym that has free bagel and pizza nights, and for a couple other reasons.

So I'm trying to sell my kettlebell herd to reduce the temptation. While it's sad, it's also true that even light swing workouts have been causing sacrum and SI joint pain, probably lower back arthritis as well. Why not? It's everywhere else.... sigh.

But I can do Tai Chi, hike, and walk. I will take it! There may be other things that turn up that I can also do.

[emily_in_nc]

Oh Catrin, I am so bummed to hear this. I know how much you enjoyed your kettlebells. Dang if it's not always something!

I do think fast walking, tai chi, and hiking are good, but it's also good to have at least a little upper body strength, just for daily living. Not sure how you could achieve that without kettlebells and with your bad shoulders. Sigh...

[Catrin]

Oh Catrin, I am so bummed to hear this. I know how much you enjoyed your kettlebells. Dang if it's not always something!

I do think fast walking, tai chi, and hiking are good, but it's also good to have at least a little upper body strength, just for daily living. Not sure how you could achieve that without kettlebells and with your bad shoulders. Sigh...

Oh I had to to give up the upper body part of it more than a year ago because of shoulders and neck, we just kept discovering more and more about the pathologies underlying all of it. In the last year I could only use kettlebells for swings - which, if done properly, is NOT an upper-body exercise but uses the hips and legs for a good cardiovascular workout. There are many other kettlebell lifts for the upper body, such as the single-arm snatch, jerk, and Long Cycle (the last one was my chosen competition lift - it's a clean and jerk with a KB). And yes, it's not good for my upper body strength but what can I do? Isometric hold exercises IS an option, still researching if it could adversely impact my torn tendons in the one shoulder. It's is good for muscle strengthening, so it COULD be an option.