Pushing Myself Hard

Spring is here where I live and I have been a busy bee. My Mom's swimming pool is back open and we were the first ones in it again. It felt fantastic to be back in water. There's no other workout like it. From the first day back in the pool I decided I was going to push my muscles.

Still working out with water weights.

I felt like all winter I physically atrophied. I did the basics, but not really anything that pushed me physically. The only way I can keep what muscle I have (or hopefully build on it) is with pushing myself. I'm already in physical pain every day. There's nothing like fresh pain to make you forget your old pain. And boy do I have pain!

But I also think it's a kindove good, almost normal pain. Like the buff girl limping as she leaves the gym. It is also teaching me about my body. I'm much stronger than I think I am. Strength isn't my problem. Stamina is.

Getting the summer garden ready took a lot of strength!

I've also learned that my lower back is the first muscle group to feel the pain and to give out. My back brace is a big help, but it doesn't solve the underlying problem. I'm going to do some targeted exercises in the pool to see if that can help. 

I have my recent MRI to thank for this push. It was incredibly painful to endure laying still on the table. My right leg and back were screaming at me to stop. But I pushed through the entire process. I was able to go much further than I thought I could. To tolerated more pain then I thought. This got me thinking about the limits I place on myself and my body with my mind and my fear of pain.

Now to be clear, I'm not going into Rhabdomyolysis or running miles around the block. I'm cleaning, gardening, moving small things around, re-potting plants (that are heavy for me.) Pushing myself in all these areas of what I usually do. I've been cooking dinner at night as well. These are all tiny things to most people, but each activity leaves me drenched in sweat. Seriously. I can't remember the last time I sweat this much and for so many days in a row. I do not enjoy that part, but I do like feeling stronger.

I masked out where our new TV is going.
This was a ton of work!