So, what kind of "gym" am I doing these days?

It's been a long time since I've talked about it here, mostly because I just haven't felt like talking about it.  But I'm still having problems with the right trap muscle in my neck that started bothering me last fall.  It doesn't really interfere with my paddling, but it's tight and sore and generally unpleasant to live with.

Back in November and December I spent many sessions with my chiropractor, letting her have at it.  But for whatever reason, the ailment just never got any better.  She told me the next step would be to see an orthopedist and get referred for some physical therapy, and see what good that might do.  So I got in to the doctor about a month ago, and since then I've been visiting a physical therapy clinic that fortuitously is located just a short walk from my house.

My therapist, a young woman named Sharwil, is quite the taskmaster.  She's done some dry-needling and some deep tissue massage, but most of the therapy involves putting me through all kinds of stretches and weight exercises.  I have a list of dynamic stretches that she recommends I do before getting in the boat, and I have several exercises to do at home several times a week that are designed to strengthen the supportive musculature in my neck and shoulders area.  The exercises include a sort of sitting military press with dumbbells, shrugs with dumbbells, and an exercise I do with my arms while lying on my stomach.

Meanwhile, Friday has been my "gym" day since I started working with Maks.  So lately on that day I've been doing my rehab exercises and supplementing them with a couple of core exercises and some lunges to work my legs.

I'm now about four weeks into this rehab effort, and some days my neck feels significantly better while other days it seems as bad as ever.  Meanwhile, the extra work seems like a lot on top of the extra training load I've taken on in Maks's program.  For now I'm just trying to be patient and give all this work a chance to have an effect.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.