Ed's log (climbing, calisthenics, piano, and stretching)

[Nathan]

Hey Ed,

I'm guessing a lot of people won't be able to see your image since it's in HEIC format. I've converted to JPG and resized for you:

Glad to hear you're making progress! 

[Ed Heddle]

Cheers Nathan! Appreciated.

[Ed Heddle]

Tue 14 Feb.

Yoga Nidra.

Stretching.

• partner hip flexor stretch
• lying biceps stretch
• chest stretch — really felt right shoulder (sensations maybe from pec minor or coracobrachialis, not quite sure)
• palmar interossei — working on my handspan for piano

[Ed Heddle]

Been occupied with music rehearsals, gigs, and other sources of business, so I've had to pare everything back this week:

Wed 15 Feb.

Yoga nidra.

Thu 16 Feb.

Yoga nidra.

Outdoor Bouldering. No progress on the boulder project, but given how condition-dependent the boulder is, and given the heat (the daytime max ended up being 38°C), I think that's totally fine.

Fri 17 Feb.

Listening. Danish String Quartet: Last Leaf. I absolutely adore this album—full of arrangements of Western European folk music mixed in with modern compositions.

Sat 18 Feb.

Yoga nidra.

[Ed Heddle]

Mon 20 Feb.

Massage. Good massage today. Had a lot of work done on my right arm, in particular. As she was working on the right brachioradialis, my whole body relaxed, and I felt I wave of sadness that had somehow gotten lodged there. (This particular release has actually happened before: for whatever reason, one of my "sadness" holding patterns seems to involve my right arm.) Took it easy for the rest of the day.

[Kit_L]

Keep going, @Ed Heddle. And the 'Stick of Virtue' will prevail, I can tell you—but it will take time, and perhaps longer than you want. The good news is that you are off the streets, and thus can't get into any trouble! Seriously, it is all about keeping going, especially when things look like they're going in the opposite direction to where you want to go (not suggesting that's what you are saying here, just making the broader point). The fact that you're doing all these things will get you to where you want to go in time. Believe me, from my own experience, I can sympathise immensely.

[Ed Heddle]

2 hours ago, Kit_L said:

[I]t will take time, and perhaps longer than you want.

I have a "grook" (an epigrammatic poem) by the Danish polymath Piet Hein, framed and hung on my wall, with words to this effect:

 

Put up in a place

where it's easy to see

the cryptic admonishment

T. T. T.

 

When you feel how depressingly

slowly you climb,

it's well to remember that

Things Take Time

 

Thanks for your words of encouragement! I find it very helpful to be reminded that (a) Rome was in fact built, but (b) nowhere near a day.  Onwards!

[Kit_L]

Things do take time. Wisdom is recognising this. I would love a copy of that poem. PM me, please.a

[Ed Heddle]

Tue 21 Feb.

Stretching.

• Stick of virtue. I was playing with doing this in seiza, but on my toes (that is, with ankles dorsiflexed). I used a bolster between my hips and heels to lessen the intensity to a relaxable level, meaning that I could play with the position for longer.
• Elephant walk
• Lunge hamstring stretch
• Lying rotation

Wed 22 Feb.

Yoga Nidra.

Stretching

• partner hip flexor stretch
• "human crossbow" chest stretch

Fri 24 Feb.

Busy with music obligations (for the Adelaide Fringe).

Limbering. Worked on some squat movements.

[Ed Heddle]

Sun 26 Feb.

Stretching.

• squat movements
• stick of virtue — calf-ham softening
• loaded soleus stretch (using 36, 40, 44kg kettlebells)

Strength. Took last week off strength training, due to business with music stuff, and because my right shoulder was a bit grumpy from overzealous bent-pressing. Since I'm doing a long-haul flight halfway around the world tomorrow, I figured that my body needed to do some vigorous exercise, lest I turn into an air-travel zombie. Did a relaxed(ish) Simple and Sinister KB workout today:

• haloes: 3 x 10r x 16kg (2r = 1r clockwise, 1r anticlockwise)
• goblet squat: 5r x 24, 28, 32kg
• 1H swings: 10 x 10r x 32kg (50 reps per arm, 100 swings total)
• get-ups: 2 x 1r x 24kg (testing out shoulder); 10 x 1r x 32kg (5 get-ups per side)

I last did this workout just after new year's, so it's great to feel that I own it with the 32kg. (To do this racing the clock would be another matter, however.)

There was some wariness around how my right shoulder felt, but that just made me go slowly and carefully. I've experienced this before—the shoulder/biceps might be saying that there's an niggle or a tweak, but, in reality, I just need to pick up a sufficiently heavy weight in order to wake the relevant muscles up from their stupor. As always, there's a fine line between the sensations around the injury site: is the muscle saying "I am injured, please do not use," or "I was injured, are you sure you want to use me?" Today, during the get-ups, I could feel the external rotators in the right shoulder waking up (especially in the overhead position), and my shoulder feels far better than it has in a two weeks. Huzzah!

[Ed Heddle]

On 2/22/2023 at 7:03 PM, Kit_L said:

I would love a copy of that poem.

Obviously, I applaud your taste!

For anyone who's interested, the collected "Grooks" of Piet Hein can be found here: https://piethein.com/shop/34-books-in-other-language/

[Ed Heddle]

Back to it! For the past few weeks, I was away in Fernie, Canada, catching up with my sister, and generally skiing up a storm.

Friday 24 Mar.

Stretching.

• jefferson curl, 2 x 5r x 20kg, super slow. For the last rep of each set, I would pause at the bottom, and then do a subtle isometric contraction with the intention of "lifting the weight" without actually lifting the weight. I also found that focusing on driving through my heels seemed an effective cue for getting the hamstrings and lower spine to release while still being active.
• bolster piriformis (w/ partner). Quite tight to begin with (which is expected after three weeks of skiing with only minimal stretching), but both sides released quickly, especially with the help of a partner applying some force on the free hip.
• single-leg downward dog (w/ partner). During the stretch this felt horrible (in particular just under the glute), and I felt amazing afterwards, which tells me it's a key stretch for my body. I did both sides twice. I eagerly await the day when I can do this stretch without it feeling like one of the circles of hell. 😁
• quad stretch (w/ partner). Right quad was quite tight, so I did it twice.
• chest stick stretch (w/ two partners). Of late, my right biceps, brachioradialis, and right arm generally, has been quite sore, but never in a consistent manner, leading me to think that it's a nerve being compressed. When I stretched scalenes the other day, they released quickly, but with no major amelioration of the right arm soreness, making me think that pec minor may be the culprit. With the help of two partners, I was able to get in deep to my right pec minor tonight. It is substantially tighter than my left. There was a good release tonight, although it still feels like I wasn't able to fully relax in the end position. There is more to be done in the area, but this feels like progress for sure.

Great session. On the drive home, I had a bout of spontaneous laughter. Good sign!

[Ed Heddle]

Sat 25 Mar.

Yoga Nidra.

Movement. Played around with a few movement tasks:

• Ido Portal stick game, trying to catch every fall of the stick in a squat position.
• sissy squats
• limbering with the single-leg downward dog pose. Noticed how the body escapes the stretch by letting the free hip move forward towards the hands.
• arm-bar press on RHS, 5r x 8kg. This is currently the limit for my R shoulder, where I can be mindful of all the sensations (mainly pec minor today) and keep everything in control.

[Ed Heddle]

Sun 26 Mar.

Yoga Nidra.

Movement.

• arm-bar press, both sides: 5r x 8kg, 2 x 5r x 12kg, 2 x 5r x 16kg. A lot of progress from yesterday.
• squat movements
• actively lowering into a quad stretch — not sure what the name of this would be
• bow pose

Bouldering.

• three V4s on the moonboard, five times each. Great to be climbing again!

Stretching.

• loaded pancake: with a barbell on my shoulders, lowering down into end range. I made good progress, but, alas, I felt a tweak near the glutes and inner groin area. The area is sore but functional, fortunately. I'm keen to see how the area feels tomorrow.

[Nathan]

3 hours ago, Ed Heddle said:

actively lowering into a quad stretch — not sure what the name of this would be

Do you mean reverse Nordic curls? If so, that's a great movement. Really enjoy them

[Ed Heddle]

Mon 27 Mar.

Right hamstring/adductor (near the buttock) is very sore today.

Yoga Nidra.

Massage. Discovered that my delts are exceptionally tight. I'll go hunting in the S&F book to find some good stretches for deltoids.

 

16 hours ago, Nathan said:

Do you mean reverse Nordic curls? If so, that's a great movement. Really enjoy them

Yes, that's the one! Thanks—I figured the movement must have a name.

[Kit_L]

Re. tight delts—start here:

 

[Ed Heddle]

@Kit_L Thanks sensei! And, belatedly, many happy returns for your 70th!

Stretching.

• Very tentative forward bending movements, seeing how my right leg feels. I can feel strong protective sensations near the ischial tuberosity, and I suspect it's one of the hammies. My suspicion: some old scar tissue was exposed and then pried apart when I went a bit too deep into the pancake stretch the other day. (Back in 2015, I fell off my bike in a particularly stupid manner. I think there was probably some residual scar tissue in the right hamstrings which never got properly stressed and straightened out.)
• Supraspinatus/delt stretch—feeling some mild nerve tingles along the whole arm, especially on the RHS.
• Rear delt stretch. Put my arm on my piano bench, crossed my chest over it, and then slowly hunting for the tight line. R side was v/ tight, so I did it a few times. Also played with rolling a lacrosse ball on the tight spots in my rear delts.
• Thoracic extension: exercise 14 from S&F, using the top of the couch and holding a 6kg KB with the arms.

[Ed Heddle]

I've been desultory with my log of late, but I've still been training and climbing hard. Because things were quite busy for me (lots of climbing, coaching, teaching, and music), I've been in maintenance mode stretching-wise. Things are a bit calmer now, so I'm able to due some more serious stretching work. My current plan is to do a short session two to three times a week, working on loosening my posterior line with the aim of improving my pike and squat, and doing a all-round maintenance stretching session of Friday evening where I'll do some of the big ST stretches.

Stretching. 

• Elephant walk, with toes raised on a block. I certainly felt all the hiking I did through the Grampians, heavy bouldering pad strapped on my back!
• Jefferson curl, toes raised on a block, 3 x 8r x 20kg. Going very slowly, and trying to keep the abs well-engaged for the first part of the descent to also get a nice stretch through the T-spine.
• KB soleus stretch, using the 36 and then 40 kg 'bells.
• Single-leg downward dog, toes raised on a block, with the other leg on a wall, letting the free hip drop down, and hunting for my tight lines (which were not hard to find). Felt a very strong sensation in the outer hip in both cases—could this perhaps be a stretch of a line in piriformis that is otherwise hard to target in my body?

Strength.

• KB haloes: 10r x 16, 20, 24kg
• Ring pushups: 3 x 8r
• Goblet squats: 5r x 28, 32, 32kg (plus a bicep curl in bottom position for each rep)
• 1H swings: 10r/side x 32, 40, 32, 44, 36kg
• Get-ups: 1r/side x 28, 36, 32, 36, 28kg

Bedtime Limber.

• Boxing the compass
• Piriformis
• Lying rotation
• Biceps

[Ed Heddle]

Tue 25 Apr.

Bouldering. Did some board climbing. Body tension wasn't the best, which I attribute to the heavy KB swings yesterday. Not a problem—a slight deficit in body tension meant that my technique and timing needed to be impeccable, so this deficit served as an instructive constraint.

Wed 26 Apr.

Strength.

• KB haloes: 3 x 10r x 16kg
• Ring pushups: 3 x 5r
• Goblet squats (plus bicep curl): 3 x 5r x 24kg
• 1H swings: 10r/side x 24, 24, 24, 24, 24kg (100 swings total)
• Get-ups: 2r/side x 24, 24, 24, 24kg (16 get-ups total)

Stretching.

• Ring lat stretch, long hold
• Revolved head-to-knee pose
• Bolstered piriformis
• KB armbar with 6kg, long hold, exploring sensations

Thu 27 Apr.

Bouldering. Bouldered outside, working on my project. Reached a new high point, which was exciting, especially since I was still feeling Monday's efforts.

[Ed Heddle]

Fri 28 Apr.

Strength. A compressed KB session:

• KB haloes: 2 x 10r x 16kg
• Goblet squats (no curl): 2 x 5r
• 1H swings: 10r/side x 32, 32, 32kg (60 swings total)
• Get-ups: 1r/side x 32, 32, 32kg, plus an extra rep with 36kg on my weaker side (7 get-ups total)

Sat 29 Apr.

Bouldering. Bouldered outdoors in the Flinders Ranges. Did a moderate grade highball* boulder (around 10 metres, I think). Fortunately, the difficult moves extended only to about the 5m mark (which unfolded in a complete flow state, happily), after which the climbing was very easy and could be done with infinite care and precision. As always, an interesting engagement with the mind!

*Highball bouldering is the climbing term for larger boulder objectives where the consequences of a fall get correspondingly more severe. I think of it as the space between regular bouldering and free soloing.

Sun 30 Apr.

Bouldering. Pulled on to an old (much smaller) project to see if the holds felt any bigger. They did! Nonetheless, I think I need to get quite a bit stronger before I can realistically hope to climb this particular line. My guess of the grade would be around V12, give or take a grade.

Mon 1 May.

Massage. Needed! Had a fair bit of tension down in the sacral area.

Tue 2 May.

Bouldering. Just a quick board session this afternoon.

Stretching. Not much today. Just stretched out my finger flexors, did some squat movements, and had two long holds in a German hang on the rings, breathing deep into my chest.