Don't Wanna Be No Hero

Today's Day 12 of my Whole 30...almost half way through. I survived a big challenge yesterday. Going out to dinner. Normally this would be no big deal but when you're being strict with exactly what foods and ingredients you eat, it's rather a challenge to navigate a menu. We went to one of our favorite restaurants so I was familiar with the menu and knew what I had to address so I didn't eat something not approved. I knew that dairy was off the table so I had to bring coconut milk for my coffee. And I knew the salad dressing wouldn't pass muster so I brought some red wine vinaigrette I had made. My entree choice was a half chicken that was advertised as "Amish free range" which is good but eating the skin is off limits since the chicken isn't pastured. I had a good-sized salad with hearts of palm (never ate those before) and avocado. I gave the twice baked potato to Chris and passed on the brussel sprouts on the side (not ready to go there yet!). So I'm very happy with my success in that challenge.

I went to the gym for a proper workout for the first time in about a month. I was very very careful with my choice of weights and I'm glad because my back was at bit sore afterwards. Sore enough that I lay down on a couple of ice packs when I got home. Everything was fine after that so I don't think the soreness was a big deal. Just the product of doing movements I haven't done in a while. However, the squats were a problem (still). These old knees are just miserable. I squatted until I felt pain which was about 3/4 of the way down so I got through it but it didn't feel very good. On the hip thrusts, I decided not to be a hero and just did them with bodyweight to see how it felt (it was ok). The shoulder was a little painful with the floor presses but not overly so. I think with more shoulder strengthening over time that will get better. Overall, my feeling is that I have to concentrate on strengthening all the muscles that support the bad joints rather than focus on the big showy lifts that make my ego feel good. I don't need to be a hero that's always injured.

Here's the workout in more detail:

Floor press  12.5 lb x 3 x 8
Hip thrust     bw x 3 x 10

Lat pulldown   50 lb x 1 x 8, 45 lb x 3 x 8
Standing DB hold   22.5 lb x 3 x 30 sec

BW squat      3 x 10
DB hammer curl   10 lb x 3 x 12

Full can shoulder raise  8 lb x 2 x 10