This is apparently a common issue but one I hadn’t experienced before now. If you’re like me, and getting on a little bit in life, and you do anything with a huge amount of hard cardio in it, then you will shed a lot of water. Judging by the weight of my kit after a session, I can shed a litre of water in an hour and even with proper stretches, that means I am going to cramp up hugely if I don’t deal with it, and while thrashing around on the floor in shrieking pain is a life choice. It’s no way to spend an evening. Obviously people talk about posh sports drinks to restore your electrolytes, but my PT said to just have a Dioralyte1, and ill be dammed it worked like a charm, no more cramps, That’s it, just thought I would pass the tip on
This is just a reference blog for other people because I couldn’t find what I wanted out on the internet.
In another post I started to get a very sharp pain in my elbow, which was initially diagnosed as bursitis, by both my PT and by a very good physio, it had all the symptoms, apart from the fact that it had no swelling, the symptoms were:
No issue with movement or restriction.
No loss of strength.
An incredibly sharp and sudden pain when my elbow was touched on the bone (just the slightest brush was enough to trigger it), no other pain experienced.
This persisted to the point where it reached probably an 8 out of 10 on the jump up and down in pain scale. To the point where I decided that a trip to accident and emergency was in order. I went and was initially diagnosed with bursitis by the GP in attendance, I said that was what had been diagnosed before but none of the normal treatments had made any difference, he allowed me to go for an x-ray to confirm one way or another, when the x-ray came back it was determined what was actually happening was that the soft tissues in my elbow were being aggravated and inflamed and were in turn then pushing out my Ulnar nerve so that it was resting on the outside of my elbow. explaining the tenderness and pain.
He prescribed some really powerful painkillers, that ice was better for it than heat and advising me to use an elbow splint to sleep in 1. The painkillers didn’t do what I hoped, as my guts hated them more than my elbow liked them and the arm splint hurt like hell when I rolled over on it in the night. However now that I knew what it was and what it wasn’t, I could have a good check on what had changed in my life, Although it seemed the obvious culprit, I discounted the fitness I do, my PT is fanatical about keeping my activities even on both sides and this was very definitely effecting only one side.
Then I realised that one of the main changes recently was that I’d moved desks. And as someone that uses a trackball, I previously rested my elbow on an ordinary mouse wrist rest, just to keep my elbow off the table. however in my new desk, I didn’t do that as the mouse was much closer to the front of the desk. So I went and purchased one of those strange elbow arm things to rest my elbow on,
and while I was waiting, I found a very good make of gel pack that was soft after freezing, and took to putting that in the bottom of a bowl of water, letting the water chill to near freezing, then suspending my elbow in it without touching anything for 10 To 15 minutes.
This gave me amazing relief. The pain would completely recede, stay away for nearly three hours and then only very slowly start to come back. when the arm rest arrive I started using it. And now the pain stopped getting worse.
I’m not a doctor but I feel its a reasonable conclusion that as I was doing 60 hours a week with my elbow raised and no support using a trackball, I was rubbing a very small part of my elbow joint and inflaming it.
So if you are getting the same thing try:
Resting the joint so its not constantly in use in on what seems low impact work.
Proper Ice baths for that joint.
,the same that is used with repetitive strain injury in your elbow[↩]
One of my big sins has always been energy drinks. I absolutely adore them, but I know they are bad for me, all the people that care about my health have very gently been trying to get me to cut them out. I have tried SodaStream with healthy energy powder, I’ve tried some of the more expensive non bad drinks, and I have tried cold brewed coffee. But none of them have been perfect. But we’re getting closer. The latest iteration is a type of cold brew coffee smoothie with Yfood + bits and I think I am getting much better at it. To recap: The best cold brew coffee maker at a cheep price is the Hario Cold Brew Coffee Pot Mizudashi Red 1000ml , which I slow filter and then leave in the fridge over night (as long as I can) this gives a very none bitter coffee, I would advise you actually get 2 of these jugs as leaving it for 24+ hours gives the best result. Next Yfood has turned out to be the best meal replacement , and far nicer than Huel (it tastes far less like porridge), I find Yfood smells far more like Nesquik but doesn’t seem to be any worse for you, it seems that it’s a much finer powder and in any cheapo blender works perfectly, it produces a lovely near milkshake level of drink. Made with cold brew coffee instead of water and you have your morning rocket fuel while tasting great. understandably the coffee flavour works best with actual coffee. The banana one I had high hopes for but it’s just not right. A recent addition to the mix is Athletic Greens, this is a good dietary powder and the only one I have found that does not swamp the other tastes. Unfortunately I do have a serious sugar craving and Golden syrup is my base line, I try to have better option such as Maple syrup or a banana if I have planned correctly. A storage medium for this kind of stuff is actually far harder than I would have expected as the stuff gets in to every crack and if you don’t clean it it sets rock hard, I have found that a couple of good options: the 330ml classic LockNLock work well to split the drink into a breakfast and a lunch portion and never leak, but seem to have been phased out by the parent company, more practically is the Chillies Coffee Cup 2 which is VERY easy to clean and works just right. Lastly the blender, I have found that just about anything works with Yfood, so no worries there.
Welcome to Episode 8, as I continue trying to get a really good “Acid Sam” time 1, An “Acid Sam” 2 is 100 Kettle bell Snatches followed immediately by a standard “Acid Bath” fitness test.
This week I set the hard goal of under 12mins, I managed 11:56, so I am very happy, this time I remembered to set up all the equipment correctly and that saved a good 10 seconds, but I think the big difference is that I set a final “reasonable goal” interval at the end as currently I know I wont get to 11mins, but now that I know I have the timings right it seems stupid to mess with them, so I just bolted a final interval on the end, and aimed for that
20 Snatches Off hand (0:58)
20 Snatches On hand (0:58)
15 Snatches Off hand (0:43)
15 Snatches On hand (0:43)
10 Snatches Off hand (0:29)
10 Snatches On hand (0:29)
5 Snatches Off hand (0:15)
5 Snatches On hand (0:15)
Transfer Over to Acid Test (10 seconds using the Kettle Bell time, 10 seconds using the Acid bath time) (0:20)
Time: between 5 – 10 mins, with under 5 mins without the Kettle bell touching the floor as the strict challenge (see details).
Details: The proper details of the challenge ( taken from) + the no set down rule:
Begin by getting into position, Hike-pass the kettlebell back and snatch it overhead in one movement, ending with a straight-arm lockout.
You may swing and change hands as much as needed
You may set the kettlebell down and rest as needed
Acceptable hand-coverings for the test include: tape, socks, Dragon Skins™, and minimalist gloves (i.e. cotton gardening gloves). You may use chalk and reapply it during the test, if needed. You may not use belts, thick or padded-gloves, wrist wraps or any other equipment designed to support your body.
No Count Criteria
Not locking out the elbows.
Rebending the knees on the way up.
Failure to stop all movement at the lockout.
Pressing out the kettlebell to finish your lockout.
Touching the chest with the working arm or passing through the rack position on the way down.
Placing a hand on the knee or thigh.
Failure (strict challenge)
Failure on the strict challenge will occur if:
You Touch the kettlebell with the non-working arm, unless you are switching hands.
You drop the kettlebell rather than setting it down with control (at the end).
You run out of time before completing the required number of reps.
You set down the kettlebell on the floor before the end.
Snatch Test Requirements:
For the snatch test, the sum of both arms is scored. There are different requirements based on gender and age group (Only the Open ones are listed here). They are as follows:
Men’s Open Class:
Up to 135 pounds 18kg 100reps / 5 min
136-150 pounds 20kg 100reps / 5 min
151-165 pounds 22kg 100reps / 5 min
166-250 pounds 24kg 100reps / 5 min
Over 251 pounds 24kg 100reps / 5 min
Over 251 pounds (mad option) 28kg 100reps / 5 min
Women’s Open Class:
Up to 100 pounds 10kg 100reps / 5 min
101-120 pounds 12kg 100reps / 5 min
121-135 pounds 14kg 100reps / 5 min
136-200 pounds 16kg 100reps / 5 min
Over 200 pounds 16g 100reps / 5 min
Over 200 pounds (mad option) 18kg 100reps / 5 min
Acid bath
Details: The “Acid bath” is a standard fitness set which consists of the following:
Welcome to Episode 7, as I continue trying to get a really good “Acid Sam” time 1, An “Acid Sam” 2 is 100 Kettle bell Snatches followed immediately by a standard “Acid Bath” fitness test.
Time: between 5 – 10 mins, with under 5 mins without the Kettle bell touching the floor as the strict challenge (see details).
Details: The proper details of the challenge ( taken from) + the no set down rule:
Begin by getting into position, Hike-pass the kettlebell back and snatch it overhead in one movement, ending with a straight-arm lockout.
You may swing and change hands as much as needed
You may set the kettlebell down and rest as needed
Acceptable hand-coverings for the test include: tape, socks, Dragon Skins™, and minimalist gloves (i.e. cotton gardening gloves). You may use chalk and reapply it during the test, if needed. You may not use belts, thick or padded-gloves, wrist wraps or any other equipment designed to support your body.
No Count Criteria
Not locking out the elbows.
Rebending the knees on the way up.
Failure to stop all movement at the lockout.
Pressing out the kettlebell to finish your lockout.
Touching the chest with the working arm or passing through the rack position on the way down.
Placing a hand on the knee or thigh.
Failure (strict challenge)
Failure on the strict challenge will occur if:
You Touch the kettlebell with the non-working arm, unless you are switching hands.
You drop the kettlebell rather than setting it down with control (at the end).
You run out of time before completing the required number of reps.
You set down the kettlebell on the floor before the end.
Snatch Test Requirements:
For the snatch test, the sum of both arms is scored. There are different requirements based on gender and age group (Only the Open ones are listed here). They are as follows:
Men’s Open Class:
Up to 135 pounds 18kg 100reps / 5 min
136-150 pounds 20kg 100reps / 5 min
151-165 pounds 22kg 100reps / 5 min
166-250 pounds 24kg 100reps / 5 min
Over 251 pounds 24kg 100reps / 5 min
Over 251 pounds (mad option) 28kg 100reps / 5 min
Women’s Open Class:
Up to 100 pounds 10kg 100reps / 5 min
101-120 pounds 12kg 100reps / 5 min
121-135 pounds 14kg 100reps / 5 min
136-200 pounds 16kg 100reps / 5 min
Over 200 pounds 16g 100reps / 5 min
Over 200 pounds (mad option) 18kg 100reps / 5 min
Acid bath
Details: The “Acid bath” is a standard fitness set which consists of the following:
For standards these all have to be done on the concept2 range of equipment.
Time: Men are supposed to do this under 6 minutes and Ladies under 7.
I monitor all of this with “Seconds Pro” as the best app to time it and here is the current set for you to use.
Progress and attempt times
This week was 12:28, the 100 kb snatches are still proving to be an issue to do solidly and correctly, there was a lot of puffing and panting and I have ripped my palm, I have moved to dry chalk over liquid chalk to save a bit of time, but its just going to be down to practice,
On the Acid Part of the test, I wasted about 10 seconds as I had not set up the machines properly (also I had put the bike out of camera shot), but the pace is settled, the SkiErg pace should be about 1:47/500 split, then the row should be 1:50 (so I can catch my breath), then go hell for leather on the bike.
The allocated times seem to be good, its just a case of actually hitting them.
20 Snatches Off hand (0:58)
20 Snatches On hand (0:58)
15 Snatches Off hand (0:43)
15 Snatches On hand (0:43)
10 Snatches Off hand (0:29)
10 Snatches On hand (0:29)
5 Snatches Off hand (0:15)
5 Snatches On hand (0:15)
Transfer Over to Acid Test (10 seconds using the Kettle Bell time, 10 seconds using the Acid bath time) (0:20)
