Hi everyone!
So I think a monthly cadence is about right for me and these updates... but I left it about 5 weeks so that it wouldn't clash with the Splinterlands reports that I do every 2 weeks. I wanted to hit an inbetween week to spread out the effort.
Here are my previous updates...
Figuring out the overuse injuries (Aug 2024)
Overuse injuries – 2 weeks later… (Aug 2024)
Overuse injuries – First month… (Sept 2024)
Overuse injuries and general fitness (Jan 2025)
I had a really stressful couple of weeks about a week ago. I got what I needed to get done, and so last week was a bit of a recovery week.
One thing I've worked out about myself is that when I'm stressed and anxious, my sleep goes out the window, I start waking up at 3am most nights, my exercise falls apart, and my eating habits crash.
The eating habits is super interesting... I'm usually well stocked but I don't quite have the mental bandwidth to put together lunch, and so I often end up changing my clothes, walking to the food trucks, waiting, and then taking my food back to my place to eat.
You could argue that all of that is way more effort than just making lunch at home. It's quicker and cheaper and I have all the stuff right there...
I don't know if when I'm stressed and exhausted that I don't have the mental energy to make lunch, or if it's that I don't have the mental energy to fight against the food noise.
If you haven't heard the phrase 'the food noise' - it's essentially the voice in your head that convinces you to snack when you're not hungry, or eat fast food because its tastier or more fun.
I remember a trainer a long time ago told me that you have an amount of finite will power per day, so the more things you can make into a habit, the better... but that may not be true, and instead will power is more like an emotion than a fuel tank, and when it feels like your will power is lacking, it means you're just not interested in doing that task.
So... it could be that when I'm stressed and anxious and choose to get takeaway food instead of making lunch, I'm as much looking for a change of scenery and a break to get away more than the actual food itself. I honestly don't know... it kind of feels like one of those areas where the truth is whatever you believe it to be.
When I'm stressed, I'm also less likely to do my rehab exercises... choosing instead to crash on the couch. I don't know if it's because stress itself takes up a ton of energy or if I'm just good at talking myself out of things that are good for me.
The reason I need to do rehab exercises each night are these guys:
Essentially there are a bunch of things I'm working through, and here is the list:
1.) Golfer’s Elbow in both elbows
2.) Plantar Fasciitis (heel pain)
3.) Stiff neck headaches
4.) Lower Back pain
5.) Hypertonic Pelvic Floor muscles
Alright, let's go through it.
So I gained a little weight in the last 5 weeks but nothing really to worry about. What is interesting is that this app takes Visceral Fat (body fat around organs) seriously and the jump from 6 to 7 goes from Good to Acceptable (with 11 then being High).
Muscle Mass and Bone Mass went up as well as all the fats, so it'll be interesting to see if I can keep the muscle up but get the fat down over the next couple of months.
As I mentioned, I've eaten way more fast food than usual due to a couple of intensely stressful and anxiety-filled weeks, but I think I've got things a bit more under control so I'm expecting my overall stress levels to come down.
I've also noticed the cost of food has already started increasing in the US with talk of tariffs and ICE targeting agricultural workers - the Honey Crisp apples I've been buying doubled in price between this week and last week... so looks like I'm back to boring old Granny Smith (which have stayed the same price so far and, as I understand, have less fructose sugar in them).
Since I'm on a tear to save money at the moment, I might not be able to afford to hang out at the local food trucks.
I'm also going to try and steer away from break for the moment and stick with rice and oats as my source of carbs.
In the 5 weeks since my last post I've done my upper body exercises 6 times... but ideally I would have done it 10 times.
This is my upper body routine currently...
2 sets:
I changed up the 4 sets of 6 pull ups to 2 sets of 10 - and I'm finding it a lot harder - so that's fun.
When I'm stressed, this is the one that falls off the most...
I did this routine twice in 5 weeks - not good.
2 sets :
The last month or so I've been trying to work a 5K treadmill session in once a week - and I've been successful every week except the most stressful week where I tried twice, and gave up at the 20 minute mark. I just talked myself out of it both times.
A month ago I did 5K in 28 minutes and 52 seconds.
3 weeks ago I did it in 28 minutes and 2 seconds.
2 weeks ago I did it in 26 minutes and 54 seconds (huge improvement).
This week I did it in 26 minutes and 56 seconds.
With these treadmills you set the speed at the start and try to keep up so it's not quite the same as those treadmills you have to power yourself with your steps.
I haven't noticed an increase in endurance yet, but it's always going to take a while.
I was worried this would increase with the change from 4 x 6 rep pullups to 2 x 10 rep pullups, and I think my elbows were a little tender after the first couple of times, but I think I've generally got this issue under control. It's nowhere near affecting me as much as it used to.
This is worse than it was when I started these posts... and I think it's because I'm using the stairs just as much, but I haven't been doing my rehab or my lower body exercises as much... so I'm going to have to be way more consistent to see if it makes a difference.
I've definitely had extremely sore heel pain first thing in the mornings one a number of occasions. Super hate it.
This one also seems to flare up way more when I don't do my rehab exercises... I've had a couple of afternoons which incredible headaches that essentially put me out of action. From a purely time ROI , the time I spend doing rehab exercises is way less than the time I spend sulking on the couch because I have a headache.
Honestly, this hasn't been too much of an issue because I'm really careful about standing at my desk. It can flare up pretty quickly if I do spend any time standing, and so I just need to be really diligent.
I still can't sleep on my stomach, which feels worse when I'm stressed and waking up at 3am, but overall this problem is affecting my life a lot less than it was.
Still a big impact in my life... and this one gets worse the more time I spend lying on the couch or in bed. The stretches I have do seem to make a pretty dramatic difference, but I have to actually do them. This issue is still problematic at various points throughout each day... but I know that if I can be really consistent I can reduce that to only being an issue once or twice a week.
So, that's where I'm at. I'd really like to check in with these posts once a month - it helps keep me accountable even if literally no one read them... so if you do read it, thanks!
I hope your health and fitness is going well!
Thanks for reading!
Also posted to my blog https://lifebe.com.au/fitness/managing-stress-exercise-and-diet/
