Just some semi-relevant odds and ends from yesterday:
--GPP = three 20-minute sprint/agility (for me) sessions with
the dogs out in the yard (read: just a lot of running around keeping three dogs riled up and moving, and HOLY SH*T have they packed on some muscle in the past few weeks from all the running they've been doing, not to mention that Max is growing like a weed).
--I still haven't decided what my next training phase will be. I know I should probably take some time off from strength training, but dammit, I LIKE IT, plus I found a
powerlifting gym semi-near Charlotte that I need to check out at some point. Regardless, I need to figure out a lower-carb diet that won't completely compromise strength gains, which seems possible after reading
this thread (which also broke out into some great tangential discussion). It'll probably be a last-minute decision toward the end of my upcoming break.
--I suppose I should've mentioned that I started supplementing creatine back when I started that two-week GPP prep for the Marine event that never happened. I don't know if it's had much of an impact, but based on anecdotal evidence here as well as picking up on stuff in
Essentials as I continue studying (yes, slowly but surely), I decided it had a good cost-benefit ratio. Five grams in my daily morning coffee.
--I'm starting to wonder if I have a broken finger. Using the following image for reference:
I noticed some pain in my left index PIPJ joint a week or two ago, like a knuckle wanting but unable to pop. The pressure kept building over a few days, but there was no pain unless I moved the finger to the ends of its ROM in any direction (flexion and extension made no difference). Whenever I tried to pop it, it hurt like a bitch (and of course wouldn't pop). After some poking and prodding the other day, I noticed some pain in the MCPJ joint and associated metacarpal (the proximal phalange was/is practically numb) as well as an odd grinding sensation in the MCPJ. Whether it's bone, ligament, or synovial fluid is unknown, so while my initial thought was an onset of arthritis, which wouldn't surprise me given how long I've popped my knuckles (bad, I know), I'm now thinking this is some kind of fracture, though I don't recall any recent trauma to the area, so maybe this is some sort of stress fracture? At any rate, it hasn't hindered my performance in the gym, just in the bathroom (a comment to make Michael, Rob, et al come up with something else
). I'll keep monitoring it, though this is my last week in the gym before a long-awaited, much-needed two-week break, so hopefully that'll give it some down time.