First run of the year

There was no post last Saturday, and that was because I did, indeed, not get well. I had a whiff of fever coming and going, the throat soreness wandered into the lungs and became a rasping cough, my nose blocked up.... and so on. So there was no practice, no physical exertion out of the ordinary, for over a week. I was going crazy and my body, as usual, reacted. It started feeling creaky and painful in some joints, and I had to do a sort of gentle massaging of my lower arms and hands, to prevent it from feeling as if ants were living inside them. That can happen otherwise, too, but it definitely turns up after over three days without some kind of exercise.

So I had to take it easy. Until today, when I had a go at some easy core strengthening exercises, some stretching, some easy kicking and a quick run of no more than ten minutes. It was the first time I could run since winter came, so I took it easy on purpose - quite apart from the fact that I am still coughing. It felt incredible, to be able to move, stretch, use my muscles and... to run. Oh, what a feeling of freedom! On with the sandals and out I went into the bleak late-winter's light, up into the forest and onto paths well travelled. Snow lay in patches, the ground was often waterlogged, and at times rather muddy. I loved every step of it. But I reined myself in - it wouldn't do to go too hard, and take myself out of commission again!

I would have gone to iaido practice instead, had I been where I usually am. But I am not, and so I did something else instead. The same will have to go for most of this week, I'm afraid, but, there you go. At least I can do something, and not just sit still any more! And, I was recommended an Aloe Vera lotion, for muscle pains and other, and to my enormous joy and surprise it kicked the buttocks off the pain in my shoulder! So, I am going to get one for myself, and then let's see if we can't overcome that shoulder injury once and for all!

Now, I'm wondering, some people stay strictly to their training regime, while others take a break during, say, holidays. Have you taken a break during the Easter holiday?

See you in about a week or so, during which I hope we will all be able to enjoy training!

On stretching your legs

I believe I said I would write a post on stretching, and thus I will do! This might become a wall of text... be warned. Now, I have heard so many contradictory things on stretching, that it is quite ridiculous. I will once again revert to my favourite saying of "to each their own", but to me, that is a "yes please". Some feel nothing, some (like me) can immediately tell the difference the day after between having stretched properly, and not having done so. I am not a scientist, I am not a researcher in this matter, but these will be my personal reflections and recommendations. Regarding the main point of this blog, which is to keep me running and exercising because I know people know if I do or not, this brings with it several things. Stretching is one of them. I tend to say I am about as dextrous and limber as a refridgerator, which I am not alone in saying about myself. Remember the three important things I spoke about earlier? Strength, stamina and dexterity. The last is the trickiest, and the one most often overlooked, and the most important. Being limber helps prevent oh so many injuries, and that, at least, is something I have never heard disagreement of. Even weight lifters and boxers need to be limber and dextrous, whatever one may think. Stretching is something that needn't be done after training. It can be done before, during, or without relation to at all. The different kinds of yoga have different ideas about this, too - some say it should be done in a hot environment to keep the body soft and limber, others say it ought to be done with no warmup, so as to get better effect. But stretching after training have, with the majority of people I know, a beneficial effect, in that not only does it limber you up, it also helps the muscles so that they do not go all contracted from earlier exertion. I will here mainly focus on stretching the legs - that is the most important part for me, and there are really so many ways of stretching it is quite astounding. I recently saw a book which I liked, but could not afford at that moment, regarding "new ways" of stretching. They took a bit of a look at some exercises and told of how to change them, so as not to, with the new knowledge we have of the human body, risk injury or strain it involuntarily. There are many books on the matter, but the best also contain some anatomical guidance, so that you can see things from a more holistic point of view, and with a better understanding of how every little thing affects another. "Prescriptive Stretching" by Kristian Berg is one that might be good, as I am always a fan of going past the "everyday things" into the realm of recovery, medical aid and so on. After all, why should I do "everyday things" instead of things that are designed to be extra gentle and extra good and extra helpful in rebuilding a body, or keeping it in good condition? "The anatomy of stretching" by Brad Walker might also be of use, although I have not read it myself. The more technical and less popular-science-y a book, the more I am inclined to look at it... Your mileage may vary, however. An important part to stretching is this: we want to stretch our muscles, usually, first and foremost, and the tendons carefully and second. We do not want to bend our bones out of the way, nor make odd little bits of the body pop out of their sockets or strain to keep up. The standard starter point is a good posture. Oh, have you heard this until your ears fell off! But it is still valid. Stand straight, your knees ever so slightly bent, and clench your stomach muscles, straightening up. Then you can let go of that, but the important part is: do not rest on your back. Do not get a duck-butt. It is not good for your spine. Push your jaw in a bit. In fact, try to stretch out your spine, holding two fingers above your breast area and sliding them upwards, trying to follow with your entire body. Roll your shoulders back. Hold your head proud but not nose in the air! Roll a bit on your feet, perhaps, back and forth, but keep your weight perhaps 55%/45% onto the front part of the foot. And so on, and so forth. No one can learn this but you yourselves. When stretching, do not allow yourself to get all duck-butt-ed. Your spine was not made to hold you up on its own, that's the job of the muscles around it to help out with. Basic thing: Take it slow. Breathe. I try to count to between twelve and twenty breaths for every exercise, sometimes aloud, as you need air in order to speak, and you need to breathe in order to better relax your muscles! Stretching the front of the thighs is perhaps one of the most common sights to see. You can stand up, for which I recommend having something to hold on to - you want to relax while stretching, not have to constantly tighten the muscles in order to keep your balance. Or you can lie down, your bent knee on a thin pillow, and hold it up to your rump. That is a very effective way for me, by the way. You can also stand on the ground with one knee at about ninety degrees, leg forward, and hold the other (and do keep something soft underneath that knee!) up to your butt. Ideally, you should be able to stand and do this against a wall, but start out allowing yourself to bend forwards, if necessary. Straighten that back, friends, and your hips as well! This is not the time to allow them to sag, although for some, pushing them forward may help. To stretch a slightly different part of the thigh (and actually a part of some muscles in the lower back, or so I heard), one can stand on the floor, again one leg forward and knee at about ninety degrees, and the other backwards, letting it lie down (and that includes the foot and toes) and sort of allowing the hip to fall forwards. If you need extra leverage on this, twist your torso gently over to the side of the upstanding leg, and even raise the hand that is on the same side as the "resting" leg, to create quite a nice shape with your body, and help stretch it even better. From there one can easily go on to the hamstrings. Just put the toes of your back foot up instead, hold your hands behind your back (straight! no duck-butt or slouching!), keep the front foot on its heel and the knee slightly bent (oh yes, bent, I said), and lean forwards slwoly, relaxing the muscles all the while. And then, one can pull the front leg back, sitting with one leg and foot underneath one's butt (much like a one-sided Japanese seiza posture), and bend the front leg, almost hugging it, keeping the foot by the thigh of the leg one is sitting on, and trying to get the heel to touch the ground. This may take a bit of mucking about, and it might not work for everybody, and believe me, it is a dashed tricky one to describe, but you look a bit as if you're crouching down, hugging or leaning on your knee, and the lower thigh muscle is what is supposed to be stretched. While we're at that, stand up and put your front foot up against a wall. As steeply bent as you can! Straight back again, relax, breathe, and lean forwards. I find that I need to do this either by a low wall which I can bend over, or by a corner to bend around... It's not very effective for me. Then, you can use to your advantage a variant of what I know as the iai-goshi position. That is, one leg forward, the other backwards, try to keep the back heel to the ground and lean forwards, bending the forward knee. Easy, but takes a bit of knowledge of your own body to do effectively and not simply put strain on various important bits. The hips are part of the key here - and the back. And the stomach. Having core and stomach muscles help a lot in performing it better. There's the ever-popular standing up, straight legs and trying to reach the ground. I am now proud to say I have only about a finger's length left until I can do that again (I could when I was a child, before I broke my leg at least), when I started trying again about ten years ago, I could reach only down to just below my knees. Refridgerator, didn't I tell you? This is a good one. Sit on the floor, reading, with something against your back. Feel the back of your knees stretch, yummy! Or, when standing up, cross your legs, and reach down. Then switch foot. Good variation on the classic theme. Or, sitting down again, bend one leg to have the foot as far in towards your crotch and other thigh as possible, aaand bend. To the toes of the outstretched leg. Some people are able to do this sitting with their legs in a V, switching foot and holding them with both hands, putting their forehead against their own knee. I am not. But I am working on it, doggedly. Some people hoist one leg up over the other, hugging the knee to the chest and turning to the side of the bent leg. Some bend the then straight leg in under them. Do the Youtube on this, to get a proper idea of how it should look... Text works only so far, and I am not going to go the Photoshop way. I have a personal favourite which seems to require bare feet (no problem for me as I always seem to prefer bare feet). Stand on all fours, pushing your butt as high as you can. But still, no duck-butting! Your back should be straight, and your body ought ideally to make an upturned V. Push your shoulders away from your ears (try it, and you'll understand) and experiment a little with the position of your hands and feet. Sometimes keeping them closer together is better, sometimes pushing them further and longer apart. This is supposed to stretch the back of your legs, and some people prefer taking one leg at a time. The important part is to try, to keep your back as straight as you can, and to keep your shoulders back. This may feel like an exercise for strength, and in a way it is, but mostly, it is to stretch your legs. Don't keep that position for too long, though. No need to overdo it. Some people use four or six breaths, I tend to go at least to ten or twelve. Do the superhero thing, too - stand with legs wide apart, and lean towards one side. Some stop when their knee is a bit bent, others go down to stand on the front foot with knee bent, yet others go all the way to sit on leg and flat foot. The common denominator is to stretch the inside of the other leg. Some point that leg's toes straight up, I tend to keep them forward. It should not hurt except in a "good" way. A little pain, all right. Much pain, not good. Relax, take a quick pause, do again, and find out what works and what doesn't. Strive, but don't be stupid. You can then lie down on your back, put your one foot over your other thigh right by the knee or wherever it feels comfortable, and hold your hands around said thigh near the knee (usually), pressing it towards you. Straightening that leg is also a good idea, it usually feels as if I get more out of the bent and being-stretched leg then. There are many, many more ways, and Google is excellent help on the matter, but oh, do look at what you find with a critical eye! Stretching is for muscles, not for joints. They ought to be strengthened and helped along by said muscles, not torn apart or put to stress. I focus here on leg stretching, as without it, my knees would still be giving me much too much trouble. The muscles around my knees are what helps me go through some days almost without any pain at all, and I have in the past cried in happiness and joy and thankfulness and relief, that my iaido, which is so strenuous for the legs, have built up so much strength of the right kind, that recovery-type and medical exercises never did. I can walk, and now - I can run. The sense of joy and freedom and completeness is indescribable. But when the pain comes a-knocking, stretching can give quick relief, and it can help after training, and it certainly helps in an overall manner. Easy exercises help too, but oftentimes, stretching is more accessible, for example when one is oot and aboot on town. And remember, no duck-butt. Use the muscles in your back and your stomach. Do you have a favourite stretching exercise for the legs? Would you explain any of the above in a different and better way?

A couple of days in the same post

There's been silence here for quite a few days, not because I have not done anything, but because what I have been doing has caused me to come back home very late. (As you can see on the timestamp of this post!) Monday was a good day, as it contained iaido. I turned down the "offer" (I was the highest ranking, so by rights I should have) of leading the practice session, because I really did not feel comfortable about standing in front of people and doing so. In the end, we decided on having free practice after the warmup. It turned out very well, and it was refreshing to just occasionally be asked questions, and not otherwise be disturbed. The front of my thighs felt tired afterwards, which was a great feeling. The warmup consisted of some running in which I partook with joy, and some other assorted things - core, crunches, pushups etcetera. And cutting. I focused on koryu, that is, old style iaido, and did every Musou Shinden Ryu Shoden kata twice (at least) and the Chuden kata that I know, too. I showered in cold water, but forgot to stretch the front of my thighs, hence the above tiredness! Tuesday saw me try out Wudang Tai Chi Chuan (martial art, rather than the meditative slow style), which was both as I expected, and not. I do like the softness of it, the deceptive ease with which longtime practicioners move, but the practice itself was a bit too lax for my liking. However, I shall try it again next Tuesday, since one should not judge it from once only. And today, again, iaido. I was itching for it, since yesterday's practice wasn't very physically challenging. The next to highest ranking iaidoka in our club was there (as usual on Wednesdays) and it is always inspiring to have him near. He is not necessarily nice, but he is just, and his kiritsuke (cuts) are the best I have the honour of seeing on a regular basis. Or, in my opinion, they are, but I am merely sandan (third dan). It is perhaps his strongest point, and my weakest, so I appreciate every time I am able to watch it. For, watching, and seeing, and analysing how others do their physical exercise, is also training of a sort! Regarding my own session, it was much the same as Monday's (...I am sleepy enough that I can't decide whether weekdays are spelled with large or small first letters; such is the price for living an hour and a half away from practice), except that I had the opportunity to show the kata we call "Evil-nami" by Stille-sensei. It looks deceptively simple, but it is truly evil. Watch the thumb, as they say, and with good reason - you will one day have a very sharp sword in your hand. After kata practice, we were told to use some interesting ways of traversing the floor, all of them core-strengthening exercises. Before, we ran around the room, which I must admit, I rather like these days. This new way of running is really my way. I can't wait until Friday when I'll go out and have a run in the nature! Or, perhaps not, if the Kali Sikaran practice turns out to be exhausting. But then, I'll do it on Saturday. In iaido, there is a lot more going on than your eye may catch. We have great exlposive and static strength, but it is also very beneficial for your focus. And as always, in "sports" that require concentration, if you have good stamina, it helps you immensely. So being a runner is good. As in all things, a well-rounded schedule of exercises is the best. Don't just focus on one thing, but remember that everything is a part of a whole! If you are mainly a runner, you still ought to do some core exercises, something for your back, and of course various things for strengthening not only the legs, but the buttocks and lower abdomen. If you prefer to lift heavy weights, you should still make sure to move a lot, running or walking, whichever you prefer. And stretching! One must not forget the most important part of the triad of strength, stamina and flexibility, which is the last.

Exercises for efficient recovery

I had to remind myself that I am still working on building strength today, or I would have gone on a run. But I felt a bit stiff from yesterday's iaido, and decided to let my body rest from that kind of exertion. Instead, I went through a thirty (or a little more, possibly, timekeeping isn't one of my strong points) minute program of stretching and strengthening exercises, because I know that is a weak point with me. I tend to describe myself as being "as limber as a fridge". This is not a very good thing.

One should strive to balance strength, stamina and flexibility. Without the last, you are in a very real danger to hurt yourself. I am aware that the last is my weak point, and therefore, working on for today's excercises felt like a very good idea, no matter how unwilling I may be to sit still in various positions and count my breaths.

It loosened stiff muscles, had me feel a lot more limber afterwards, and did, actually, work to make me feel refreshed. Thus, very good.

Nothing exciting regarding eating today, except that I had fresh berries from the brambles outside for my morning yoghurt. Dinner was leftovers after lunch, that is, lots of white thick rice (sushi rice, without the fancy name, more or less) with wakame spicing and some sesame seeds, and an omelette with leek, mozzarella cheese, tomato and some sweet pepper. Wicked tasty.

I have a bit of trouble sleeping well. I may wake up and get up, but I inevitably feel lethargic and sleepy until afternoon, evening-time, no matter what I do (Well, I haven't had two cups of tea in the morning yet, maybe that might help). Come nightfall, though, I manage to perk up and have the energy to read and do things. I'm going to experiment with vitamin B-pills, and have soothing tea in the evening time, but honestly, it could be anything.
It does seem, however, that a movie or an episode of "Doctor Who" (or "Torchwood, for that matter) wakes me up, so perhaps I'll have to - oh woe! - watch one every morning for breakfast accompaniment. Worth a try, certainly.