June Update: Semi-Functional
Added 2021-07-09 00:20:35 +0000 UTCHey team! Sorry for the late post, it's hard to tell one month from another these days.
My Spine
Here's where things stand with my lower back: I have recovered from my relapse and am now doing better than I was before everything went to heck for a second time. I'm down to doing physical therapy only once a week and, provided nothing goes wrong, I will be discharged in two weeks. I do not need surgery, though I will be getting a cortisone injection later this month. We think we know the cause of the injury and the relapse, which is a mix of having crappy genes that leave me prone to herniation (both my parents have had surgeries for this), a year of quarantine where I was even more inactive than usual, and - here's the kicker - Ring Fit Adventure. I started doing Ring Fit in January as a new home exercise routine, and I liked it very much! But, if you've played, you know it centers around a lot of running in place. And the guy who's going to shove a needle in my spine recently informed me that, if you are genetically prone to herniations and already have a weak core from inactivity, running is about the worst exercise you can do. And my relapse happened two days after my PT said it was safe to resume Ring Fit.
This suuuuuuucks because Ring Fit was the first home exercise I've actually enjoyed. So I have to figure out a new exercise routine that doesn't put so much impact on my spine and also builds core strength. Once I'm discharged from PT I'm probably going to get a personal trainer, which I can't exactly afford but it'll be cheaper than the couple thousand I've spent on physical therapy. We'll find something that works for my abilities.
My Videos
It felt very nice sending you my UC Merced talk this past month. Putting something online! What a high! The next tasks are as follow:
- My "lying prone and editing from my laptop" setup kinda works! So I am, very slowly, putting together the next and final CO-VID. I'm not going to make predictions about how long that will take, since it's not entirely under my control, but we're making headway, and my hope is that it won't be long now.
- I have hired an animator to help me with the next Alt-Right Playbook! I've also got a draft of the script I'm happy with. This video is about institutional white supremacy, and, given the subject matter, I'm querying sensitivity readers to look over the script and tell me if there's anything I shouldn't be saying, anything I should be saying that I'm not, etc. So the script isn't final until I get that feedback, but, once I do, I an my animator will go into production. I'm going through the script in its current form and making notes on how everything might be visualized so I can share it with the animator once everything is locked. It's a new experience for me, having to plan all this stuff in advance, but the person I'm working with is very talented and I think they're gonna make it look pretty great.
- My collaborative project has moved from the researching-and-brainstorming stage to the outlining stage. For thematic reasons, we'd like to get this thing online sometime in August, because it's got an "end of summer" vibe, though we'll have to see what we can manage.
My Life
Uh, let's see. I'm reading Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson, which is really good so far. I've enjoyed some small, adventure-ish games recently - If on a winter's night four travelers, In Other Waters, FAR: Lone Sails. I'm currently feeling a bit of a metroidvania vibe so I've been working through Environmental Station Alpha. Oh, and the Criterion Channel just launched a neo-noir collection, and I've decided to work my way through the whole thing (skipping only the ones I have already seen and know for a fact I dislike). Just rewatched The Long Goodbye for the second time in my life, and it's on to Chinatown next!
Consider those some recommendations. Also, as ever, I recommend not getting sciatica. Do some planks!
-I
Comments
There are lots of beginner workouts on youtube. Definitely not as good as a personal trainer, but if you go into that relationship with a bunch of primer info on improving core strength you might be able to get more out of the time with the PT? I also like the Hybrid Calesthenics channel. The videos have a nice 'start where your body can' vibe, and don't seem to push a gym-bro culture.
Kristian Gregory
2021-07-20 02:26:19 +0000 UTCI really hate to be the weed evangelism guy, but I've got a chronic hip injury that only started improving when I used cannabis to facilitate stretching and mobility exercises. A different category of injury, and definitely not a panacea, but it was a key element for my (continuing) recovery.
Coupcumber
2021-07-16 04:29:26 +0000 UTCRecommendation back at ya: Winter's Orbit. SO. SO. GOOD! Also, I feel you on finding an exercise regime that is 1) enjoyable and 2) suitable for what your body is capable of / not going to actually make whatever genetic weirdness you inherited MUCH WORSE.
Kait Hatch
2021-07-09 20:30:34 +0000 UTCHi Ian! I'm also genetically prone to herniation and had a pretty bad one in 2011. My type of hernia is not the kind you recover from, unfortunately, it's the kind you manage. I've had my ups and downs since and the only sure thing I learned is basically what you already figured out: be careful with the kind of exercise you do, find what works and do it consistently. I was never into fitness and had to become a regular gym user and swimmer, but once I got into the habit I found I liked it more than not. Acupuncture also helped but I had to find the right person. When it didn't help it didn't really hurt either, it just didn't make much difference. Of course with COVID lockdown I had a hernia flare up back in Sept last year and since I can't go swimming or to the gym (I can't, or won't, risk it yet) recovery has been slow, but it's doable. While spinal recovery is tricky because it has to be a little custom made for each patient and takes a lot of changing habits, it can be done. I wish you a speedy recovery and the best of luck with it.
Alien6981
2021-07-09 19:29:56 +0000 UTCI love Beat Saber… there is twisting but it is pretty darned low impact. So I don’t know how your spine would do. If it can handle it, SO MUCH FUN! … if you get a personal trainer be so careful in choosing one. I had an amazing one but I have also had two who were both experienced and good but the first was very sceptical when I said certain things were hard on my back - I worked so hard on other things and wasn’t being a wimp with those. The other listened to my physio about limitations surrounding back flexion at first but unknown to me had this idea that of course I would work up to things like deadlifts - which my amazing physio has said I personally should never do in my life. And I paid the price when she started ramping up to that. Bad backs suck. Best of luck.
Kel
2021-07-09 16:43:14 +0000 UTCWell, the only running I've ever done was Ring Fit, which was VERY MUCH not prestigious! I feel no shame doing whatever works for me, just gotta figure out what that is.
Ian Danskin
2021-07-09 16:17:48 +0000 UTCI'm having a weird experience with choosing an angle for my bike. I was forced to use a replacement bike a while ago where my angle was higher than what I usually cycle with and even though I felt worse about it, I actually broke the record for my highest average speed on one the tour I did with it. When I got my bike back from the repair shop I decreased the angle even _further_ because laying lower is always my intuitive impulse at higher speeds, and it feels better, but it's also MUCH more exhausting and my speeds are worse. Do you have any idea what that means and what I should probably go with?
Nikki
2021-07-09 08:58:16 +0000 UTCThis sucks man. You have all my sympathy. I started exercising and working on my body a couple years ago and I think it was a good choice to make the executive decision to just not try to force myself into doing running as an exercise and just try to find what else works for me. Running has probably the most "prestigious" of exercise reputations and it's easy to not feel "valid" enough when not doing it - and very valid WHEN doing it - so the incentive to try to get yourself to do it is very high both socially and psychologically, but it's also a SUPER taxing kind of exercise where a lot can go wrong if your body is not in the right condition for it. Situations like yours would be one of many examples; being fat (meaning excessive stress is put on joints) like I used to be would be another. I started with hiking and am now cycling and it's working well for me. I can recommend everyone to try to maybe find something else even though it feels so "respectable" to be running, there's much healthier and less risk-loaded kinds of exercises (of course, all carry risk and you always need to check in with your body and do some research).
Nikki
2021-07-09 08:52:40 +0000 UTCGet a road bike and get cycling. Yes, road bike, contrary to common belief, they are easier on the spine than other, more upright, types of bike (where the load is all on your back and bum instead of being shared amnong hands and arse like on a road bike). This is a mild, impact-free exercise that strengthens your core (waist down). I always had lower back issues until I started cycling regularly. Now after the lockdowns and the winter it's coming back, but I'm building up strength and it's getting better. And you get around. See stuff. Smell stuff. Climb mountains. Cycling is the best Ersatz for the meaning of life I have found so far.
horrovac
2021-07-09 08:04:28 +0000 UTCI wonder if Just Dance would be a suitable kind of exercise, or if it would be just as bad for your spine? Because it's the only other home exercise I can think of as "fun". Don't know if it builds core strength tho
2021-07-09 04:42:10 +0000 UTCOh boy, planks!
2021-07-09 03:31:10 +0000 UTCGlad to hear thing are getting a little better, and that you're finding a setup that works for you right now! Definitely take it easy though :) Also, I'm not sure if this is helpful at all, but Ring Fit has a couple of modes that make it playable without any running : the Silent mode replaces the jogging by squats, and there are various assist modes including "knee assist" which automates the running and turns it into an upper-body only thing.
Siddharth M
2021-07-09 00:46:43 +0000 UTCEnvironmental Station Alpha is a fantastic choice. There's a lot packed into that game. Hope you enjoy digging into all the mysteries and secrets!
Alex D.
2021-07-09 00:41:02 +0000 UTCToo relatable: busted my ankle a couple of weeks ago, so the whole "getting fit—oops, crap" exercise-to-injury pipeline is much too familiar. See also: yes, planks. Once I can put weight on that foot. Also: yay, no surgery! Otherwise, looking forward to all the upcoming content! Take good care of yourself!!
Jacque Marshall
2021-07-09 00:39:17 +0000 UTCTake it easy fella!
Jake Hadley
2021-07-09 00:31:16 +0000 UTC
