Sunday February 7

Excellent nights sleep! neck is feeling good. I started on Dog Collar orders right away, but didn't get much done. Went for a hike with the dog at that swamp. Some of the boys from the Forge came over and dod a buch of yardwork and burning for me since there is so little jobs and this helps them pay their membership.

Elana took this pic and sent it to me:




FOOD

9am...........8 egg white omlete w/ avocado, spinach, mushroom, red pepper & onion

noon..........4oz roast beef, green beens, avocado

6pm...........4oz roast beef, green beens, avocado

Friday and Saturday.......Work Days

Just took it easy and did a lot of traction on my neck while I was working Friday & Saturday. No training, just let my neck heal up some more. Moved the yard, racked some leaves, worked on dog collars. CA came up Sat afternoon while I was at work, he is going to help me put my work bench together, then he is going to look at some crane mats in Dade City tomorrow.

Thursday February 4

I woke up feeling like a million bucks! The meds & Chiropractor did the trick. This put a serious dent on my budget on an already slow month business wise. I have a lot of orders to work on today so I am skipping this morning class. Worked all day and got some orders shipped.




FOOD

9am........6oz chicken w/goat cheese, 4oz brussel sprouts
noon.......5oz salmon, spring mix salad w/spinach
4pm........4oz chicken, 4oz brussel sprouts, 2oz avocado
9pm........5oz beef, 5oz banana

Wednesday February 3

Woke at 7am and drank coffee and cruised the Internet then took Truman for a 4 mile run alongside my bicycle. Lots of Dog Collar work to do today as well as paying bills and running errands.

I went to the Doctor and got a shot of Depo-Medrol and some muscle relaxers and by the afternoon my neck felt so much better! I came home and iced it and did traction on it, then got some work done.

My chiropractor actually called me and asked why I hadn't been in, that was a shock for him to call me. I said I had been contemplating getting treatments on a regular basis to hopefully keep my neck from from flaring up like it does, so I made an appointment for 4:30, that way I could observe the 5:30 mma class.

I got to class and little Elaina was there and she said she wasn't going to take class if I wasn't. So I decided that she was tiny enough that she couldn't hurt me. She is 13 years old and only 115lbs. She is too shy to do anything with the guys so I jumped in. She needs a lot of guidance as she is lazy so I give her no slack on tell her to keep moving and quit talking. She is funny and cute so I don't mind working with her on the side, it takes a lot of workload off of Dan and I think he is very happy that I have taken her under my wing.

We worked on:

Escaping from Guard by pushing them to the side, scrambling out from under and taking there back, putting your hooks in and applying a choke drill.

Choke holds from the back and swimming from one arm to the other when they pull one arm off drill.

From the mount position we defended punches and drilled trapping their arms to hold off an attack

From a standing position with them on there back we drilled pushing their legs to once side then a hard shucking to the other side hard and fast and following it with a hard downward punch and following that punch inti Side Mount in one fast move.

Then the guys wrestled round robin style with input from Dan, I sat that out.


FOOD

9am.....5oz chicken, 6oz brussel sprouts, 2oz avocado

2pm.....5oz chicken, raw nuts

9pm.....6oz chicken, spinach salad with goat cheese

Tuesday February 2

I got back my Tuesday shift when Roxanne quit this week. I need the hours but hate missing 2 classes on Tuesdays. I woke up and started doing some dog collars orders after coffee and neck traction. Not being able to train hard has me feeling pretty good. Though my waking HR was 82 this morning. My BP is still high and I am sure it is the pain 162/94. I suspect the pain is driving it higher.

I did traction every hour for most of the day and it seems to be helping. I called Dan and said I wouldn't be working out for a few days. Worked all Day at Mr D's . I tried to stretch a few times but it just aggrivated my neck and made the pain unbearable.


FOOD

7am.........5oz salmon, 5oz banana. 4oz avocado, 1tsp olive oil

noon........5oz chicken, PB sandwich

9pm.........5oz chicken, 1 c. raw nuts and raisins

Monday February 1

Horrible nights sleep due to my neck. I finally was pain free last week after 6 weeks of chronic pain and now it happened again. Lots of hot showers, ice, traction and massager. I probably should get some ibuprofen if I decide not to go to the Doctor.

Met Dan at 10:45 ate the Forge. We went over Guard Passes.

One was pushing the leg down and laying heavy with upper body as I pass my hips diagonally threw by leading with the opposite hip first.

We did another one but I forgot is already, I'll post it if my memory comes back.

Next we did a move where I put my head on the floor and trap their head and arm with it then clasp my hands behind their head and squeeze.

We were doing something else and the muscle that is in a spasm from my neck injury flared up when Dan rolled on top of me and I screamed out in pain. I got him to dig his elbow into the area and it released. This is a bummer since it didn't effect my training before, I was always able to keep moving and it only really hurt when I sat still.

I got home and went through my anti-inflammation ritual for it then rested before going to UPS on the way to my evening class.

For my evening class we started out doing kicks. I am finally able to get my feet back to the fight stance right away, and throw one again without losing my balance most every time. We did about 4 rounds of 10 on each leg. Then Pete showed up and we went over escaping the clinch. I drilled everything with Elaina since she is so petite and can't hurt my neck. It was the first time she concentrated on her drills but I kept threatening to spank her or throw her down if she didn't concentrate. She is a little cutie but quite spoiled.

If your opponent has double hands behind your head, bring arm to his opposite shoulder and wedge it in and put the forearm on the chest and push off.

If your opponent has double hands behind your head, bring arm down to his opposite hip, the other hand will go on the the upper back towards the spine, now step the leg on that side around to the back and spin them around and drive them into a wall or other immovable object.

Same maneuver can be done but now place opposite foot on their ankle in a sweeping or kicking motion depending on how brutal you want to be and kick that foot out from under themas you spin them with your arms and scramble into side mount as they fall.

I grabbed some rum at the store on the way home to help deaden the pain and was asleep by 11pm and up at 4:30, so that was a better night sleep than I have been getting and I woke up refreshed, but the pain is what woke me up.

FOOD

9am.........6 oz chicken, banana

12:30.......PWO drink4:30........protein drink

3am.........6 oz beef, 1 cup raw nuts and rasins

9:30.........4oz beef, 8oz rum and coke

Sunday January 31

Active Recovery Day. I worked around the house most of the day. Most of my stiffness and soreness has been worked out from my rest days but again I did not do the flexibility work I should have.

Pain from my neck injury kept me from sleeping again and I was tossing and turning again all night.

A friend sent me this nice ankle flexibility video since breaking both ankles over the last 3 years has left them stiff and tight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxr9-IB0Rr4

Just as I was getting ready to take Truman for a hike in the Nature Preserve, the rain came so no hike today.