I had a check up appointment with my back surgeon this morning. They ended up ordering a CAT scan to make sure that everything was in working order and to double check that the tumor that I had in my L2 wasn't growing.
It turns out that I have degenerative disc disease. I have a herniated disc at L5-S1, which most likely has a tear in the spinal disc. When the disc becomes inflamed, it bumps up against my spinal cord and nerves in my lower back, which triggers the tingling/numbness in my legs and hips. Essentially, the jellylike material inside the disc may be forced out through the tears or cracks in the capsule, which causes the disc to bulge, break open, rupture, or break into fragments.
Degenerative disc disease is generally genetic, but can be aggrevated by age, obesity, and repeated heavy lifting. I'll let you decide which category I fall into. You can't reverse it. There is no surgery/procedure to correct it (besides spinal fusion, which is the ultimate last option). The only "remedies" are anti-inflammatories and physical therapy. I got the OK to continue working out and beast-moding it.
So, naturally, after I get this news I went to workout.
5:30 @ CrossFit Bloomington Normal
"Annie"
50-40-30-20-10
Double Unders
Sit Ups
TIME: 6:55
NOTES: The last time I did Annie I got 5:41. Today, it looks like I did a lot worse. But, this happened when I was warming up...
Instead of grabbing one of the gym's ropes, I decided to do Annie without a handle. It was interesting to say the least. I had to grip the tiny tip of the rope between my thumb and pointer finger (which creating an annoying blister!). Because of this, I missed quite a bit of reps. At least 1-3 every round. My shoe also came untied. The sit ups were fine. I was quite the adventure.
I remember Andy said he emailed Rouge (because he had the same problem with one of his old ropes) and they sent him a new one. I shot them a quick note, hopefully I hear back.
Front Squat
5 x 2 @ 85% (180)
NOTES: I don't remember the last time my butt/quads were this sore. The weighted pistols really killed me yesterday. It's always a good time to do heavy squats when you're struggling to walk before you even start. I tried to focus a lot on keeping my core tights, elbows up, and driving into my heels. I felt pretty solid.
Bench
3 x 80% (115); 2 x 85% (125); 1 x 90% (130)
3 x 85% (125); 2 x 90% (130); 1 x 95% (140)
3 x 90% (130); 2 x 95% (140); 1 x 100% (145)
NOTES: I failed the last rep of 140 and I failed the 145. Besides that, I felt pretty strong. I'm still getting used to benching with my feet on the ground (and not curled up on the bench).
I was supposed to do sets of Good Mornings and Pendlay Rows, but I didn't want to put too much weight on my back today. I was also running out of time. I was trying to get home at a decent hour.
WOD
4 Rounds
400m Run
15 Pull Ups
15 Box Jumps (24")
TIME: 14:34
NOTES: This entire workout was running. I'm horribly out of shape when it comes to running. It didn't help that it was super muggy outside and my legs felt like I was dragging bricks. My pull ups were OK. I did sets of 5 and tried to jump back on the bar quick. I should probably get out of the habit of dropping off the bar so much. I did sets of 10/5 for the box jumps. I'm not really sure why I stopped. I'm still paranoid that I'm going to tear my achilles when I bounce off the box, so I'm always a little more cautious than I need to be.
Cheers to golf umbrellas!
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