Ok, so I've been out for a bit with a shoulder injury, which has been an awfully boring, but ultimately fruitful experience. So I decided to post a video of something that I was able to do a couple of weeks ago: handstand pushups!
I've found these to be one of the best exercises for your shoulders. Not only does it give you massive shoulders (since you're pushing about 90% of your weight off the floor), but it helps with rotator cuff stability (something that was damaged a bit with me during my injury), as well as balance and core work. Try a few for yourself, but make sure you use a wall first.
Check out these tips to get the most out of your handstand pushup:
Sweet!
I'm beginning a new workout routine next Monday, but until then I'm going to relax, and keep working my shoulders. Suffice to say, it's gonna be a doozy of a workout.
A few weeks ago, I injured my shoulder during filming. During this phase of training (because really, isn't everything training?), I've managed to learn a few things.
Lesson #2: Embrace something you wouldn't have done before. In my case, this was biking. I've never been very into cycling or anything like that, always attributing the strange shoes and tight shorts as guys and girls showing off (this coming from a swimmer, who spent most of his swim team youth in a mankini). However, I decided to quit knocking it and give it a shot. Yeah, it sucked at first (the seat is so uncomfortable!), but in time I grew to enjoy it a little bit, and it even became therapeutic for me. It's something that I'm going to add to my routine.
So, a few weeks ago during filming for a new web series that I'm hosting, I messed up my shoulder in a stunt known as the "Human Adagio." Basically I was supposed to keep my arms straight the whole time.
Time for a game boys and girls, entitled "Where Did Jordan F*ck Up." Can you guess where he messed up (hint: it's where everyone goes "ooooo").
Ow.
During this time, I have written several things and made a lot of observations on what has happened. I'll be writing one thing per entry for the next few days or so.
The first thing I have learned: don't stop working out after injury. After what happened in the video, I stopped working out for about two weeks. During that time, the injury went from one shoulder to affect both shoulders. Not only that, but the pain was different on each one. Again, not a smart idea. So I decided to train for my triathlon (which is coming up this Saturday) by doing a lot more biking and running, since I am not comfortable on biking or the biking-to-running transition. Little by little, my body began to heal itself.
I read somewhere recently that if you get injured, you shoulder continue to work out, because not only will you heal faster, but you will actually become stronger in the affected area. That seemed to be the case, as about a week after I started biking and running again, I tried my hand at swimming, and ended up swimming about 2 miles in an hour using mostly my arms.
Today for my Motivational Mondays, I'm going to talk about swimming.
I was a competitive swimmer for nine years of my life. I remember first jumping in the pool at age nine and attempting to swim across the pool as fast as possible. Swimming sets, when timed by the clock, with nothing but a pair of goggles and a swim suit. It's poetry to me. I was partially inspired to get back into the pool by watching the U.S. Olympic trials, which are nothing short of extraordinary. The USA has an amazing swim program; it's a shame it's not covered in the same way as basketball or football, especially with a little fella named Michael Phelps came on board.
I was also inspired by an old swimming buddy of mine who, after much coaxing on her part, got me to jump in head first and compete in a triathlon. No prepartion, no decent equipment: just me and my wits. I didn't do half badly, but I can do much better. So I decided to take it upon myself to get back into training. Not just for stunt work and acting, but for swimming and potentially triathlons.
It's nice when people push you out of your comfort zone. The problem where I live is that there are so few people willing to go that extra mile in their workouts (however, if you're out there, please train with me!). Now thanks to those two big influences, and having this girl check in on me from time to time, I'm getting back in the saddle, and giving competing my first real try since...well, ever.
Let's see what I can do. Oh and America: the next time we race, you'd better watch out.
Today I got back in the water for the first time in almost two years. Even though my shoulder hurt to swim, it felt so nice to get back into the water.
Also did some shoulder work and pull ups and pushups. No handstand work yet, but some great functional stretching.
Today I had a success story: I was doing full pull ups without pain. My shoulder isn't 100%, but it's very quickly getting there. I also did some pushups and worked with my shoulder rehab sequence. In addition, I also did a nice 20 minute run, with a few speed runs and two 100 meters sprints. It felt very good to be working hard again. Tomorrow, I'm going to give the weights a (very gentle) go.
On another note, I'm learning a lot more about my body, such as the tightness I tend to get in my upper trapezius.
Ok, so I know I haven't been able to work out much. This is because during filming this weekend for my new web series, I injured my shoulder attempting to execute a move. Check out the video below and see if you can figure out what happened:
Ow!
In case you didn't figure it out, I hurt my shoulder. Tweaked the rotator cuff I believe. Even still, with the injured shoulder, I forged ahead, and did a lot of cool stuff, including this:
Check out my legs!
Afterwards, I started feeling a lot of pain and discomfort, specifically when I raised my shoulder. A lot of tension as well. This tells me that my body was trying to protect me. It did a very good job too, as my injury seems to have almost been healed (famous last words).
But during these past couple of days, I've had some time to reflect on what I've learned as a result of my injuries. My first significant injury that really affected me was when I was 17, and developed chronic tendonitis in both of my shoulders from swimmers. Tendonitis is when your tendons become enflamed due to overuse or stress. Now I've had tendonitis from track and cross country, but I asked my doctor "ok, so I'll be ok right?" His response: "no; you will have this for the rest of your life. If you don't keep your shoulders strong, it's going to come back."
Something in me clicked. For the first time, I understood that I wasn't invincible. I was human, made of flesh and bone, and that I had to take care of myself.
I started to understand the human body more, started to explore what worked best for my body. From dance to swimming to yoga and Reiki, I absorbed everything I could find about the human body. It probably led to me wanting to become a personal trainer and nutritionist.
But what I learned the most about my body is this: that our bodies are so smart. Whether you believe in Creationism or Evolution, our bodies are designed to protect us, to keep us alive. When we receive a cut, our body creates millions of different kinds of cells to make sure that that cut doesn't harm us further. We have a complex survival system that, when threatened, allows us extra strength to either run away at blinding speed, or fight for those we love.
Our bodies are smart. That's why I've been able to do the things I can do. I know ultimately when to push my body, and when to back off. This week, my shoulder has some inflammation; my right trapezius and neck muscles are tense from making sure my shoulder didn't dislocate; and my lattisimus dorsi is very sore.
I've altered my shoulder rehab routine, and a friend of mine is going to help supplement my workout routine with circus/gymnastic style workouts, because these guys are insanely strong, flexible, and have fantastic endurance.
