strength and cardio: Frustrated and ignorant...opinions?

CoderGal

Sorry for the about to be long post. I need some ideas to bounce around in my head for sanity sake. Though I wouldn't take them over a professionals opinion, I'd like to hear some options, perhaps ones that I haven't thought up because I have no idea if I'm doing anything right. I like opinions (good or bad). If you're on my friends list and you have that silent feeling of "she shouldn't do that/that's wrong/doing ___ would totally help her instead of ___" please tell me. Tell me multiple times if it doesn't sink in. I'd appreciate it. So this is my situation right now:

Did the weight loss thing, want to get strong now. Would love to rid myself of jiggle (mostly in my arms and gut). Would love to lift heavy but I have some concerns with it (keep reading). Would love to do running but also have some concerns (mostly, it can't be good for arthritis, right?).

I have had arthritis in my joints since I was 8. Standing for long periods hurts. Rain hurts. Cold hurts. Everything hurts. Mostly it's tolerable.

I'm hypermobile, no idea if that's relevant lol. But maybe it has an affect somewhere along the lines on lifting I don't know.

My resting heart rate was 110...I've got it down to 65 (yay! biggest health nsv) but it spikes very quickly upward to higher then my heart rate monitor can read sometimes by simply walking (not so much anymore). I started hiking and it has since gotten allot better, but still happens, especially if I run or lift things...even light things, I start to get hot and dizzy and things start going black...and I mean with like 10 lb weights or one lap around the gym even after warming up...when I check my hrm it's always as high as it can read (189). This isn't the "I'm out of shape and blood is pushing to a specific part of my body and leaving my head because I'm pushing myself hard" gym dizzys...this is the 'could be fine and a moment later even if I'm not doing anything but standing in the corner talking to someone and my heart could start pumping and the next day it doesn't feel like I went to the gym' dizzys. I also have the doggy heart rate thing. My heart sometimes decides to stop beating for a beat or 2 and kick in again. My mom has this also.

My spine is F*ed and has I'm guessing a disk out of place? Instead of the 's' curve I get a 's' with a block falling out of it. I've never gotten it checked out but it hurts if I stand for long periods of time in a its not arthritis kind of way.

So the reason why I made this thread which is somewhat ranty is I want to be this pinnacle of monstrous strength but I lift 10lb dumbbells and then play possum lol. I don't think this is normal? Is it normal? Advice for ways to improve strength? I know it takes time to build strength but I'm not feeling it in my upper half. I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing.

Does this seem like a good idea: I started doing the Spartacus workout a few times a week which I can mostly handle as long as I take longer breaks between (http://www.starz.com/SiteCollectionImages/Spartacus2009/downloads/MH_Spartacus_Workout.pdf for details). I basically picked this because I have a bad everything and wanted to work on my form, I have friends who are willing to do this workout with me, and the weights could start light so I don't need to worry about cracking my back in half right away. My biggest problem is my thighs are feeling it heavily but I already have scrawny *kitten* thighs, I don't particularly want them to get any slimmer. That and my joints tend to hurt I guess from all the excessive bending this workout requires. And i'm not feeling it in my upper half at all. And I'm kinda stuck because even with the 10lb dumbbells I guess they stress my heart...maybe because I'm not use to lifting? I've danced for years and years but always had a pathetic upper body. Should I change workouts and lift heavier? Suggestions for workouts? Suggestions on if I'm normal in terms of me getting dizzy only lifting small weights? Maybe I'm just pathetically weak? The guys doing the workout at the gym with me are also only using 10lb dumbbells...But since I'm not feeling it in my arms I have a feeling that it's not doing much benefit?

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read all of this. I'd appreciate your thoughts!

zen82

Have you seen a doc about any/all of those things? I'm currently sporting a heart monitor (a medical one that I have to wear at all times except when showering/swimming) and have to keep it on for two weeks. This is because I get palptitations (sounds like that's what you have - the arrythmia thing when it stops/gets out of rhythym and then goes THADUNKALYDUNKADUNK which is it getting back into rhythym after making up for the blood it forgot to pump there for a sec. Sometimes I get feelings like bubbles in my chest too. So, my great grandad had this too and lived to 101, so not necessarily worried BUT then with me starting running I read an article about people snuffing it doing marathons and palps were on the 'if you have one of these get checked' list. My consultant thinks it's probably fine as the palps are not *during* exercise but they want to look at what happens over a longer time than a short ECG to see if I can produce a symptom that gets recorded. If you haven't had it checked, it might be worth a mention - not least to put your mind at rest.

So, re my monitor, I am supposed to be hammering it to "try" to bring them on (for me it's stress too - lots of that!) but I have hurt my knee and can't run until it's better. And my Mum has osteoarthritis in her knees and so I am also worried about that but currently trying to keep running. Re arthritis - there are people who run with it, and am sure I saw an in depth article on someone who was even doing marathons, but can't recall where - if I find will let you know! I've a feeling hard line runners will be like "eff yeah keep running" and non running friendly Drs will be like "noooo don't run!" so it's probably going to come down to trial and error for you?

Re back - no expert but if I had all that going on I would be getting it investigated! Or have you had it looked at already?

Re hypermobile - me too, and depending whether you have it in some/all joints it will affect running and lifting but the thing is to be aware of how. So for example when I squat I can get ridiculously close to the floor (way below parallel) but whereas most people would be like "lower the better", it's actually bad for my (dodgy) knees. My trainer has me going to a little below parallel - I found a point that I can go down to which doesn't make my knees click and we're going with that. My friend is a physio and has taken a photo of my freak ankles :-S - I had no idea they were weird. But the fact they flex too much means I find it harder to get a calf stretch, so I have to find other ways to do it - that sort of thing. So, IDK if you're clinically hypermobile (there's some scale otr the other) - I'm not (am nearly, but just shy of clinical) but my friend is, and she told me the old advice was no exercise, and the new advice is exercise is better - I think she has specific exercises for stabilisng joints that extend too far by working certain muscles. I have some exercises from my physio that are a bit like this too. So again, would suggest getting a 'professional' opinion...

... After typing all that I've just realised I think you might be in the US and thus might have to pay for all of that medical stuff? :-S

SteveHunt113

I've got a couple of questions, but I may be short on any good advice.

When you work your arms with those 10 pound dumbbells, how many reps are you doing, are are you going to failure? You may be getting a benefit if you are going to failure and you're not doing more that 12 or so reps. If you are grabbing 10 pound dumbbells, doing 10 reps and stopping at 10 because 10 is the number to stop at (or whatever that number may be), but you could still do more reps - then you probably aren't getting much out of the exercise. Working to failure is key. My goal is to go until I have to cheat to complete a lift. If I'm cheating, then I'm done.

As for your HR, that's a hard one to gauge. My fist thought was that you are not in very good shape. But it sounds like this may not be the case. If a take a few weeks off from the gym, when I go back I find that I start to get dizzy and feel a little sick to my stomach for the first few workouts while my body gets back into the swing of things. It sounds like this is not the same situation for you - and since you use to dance, you should have a good idea what your body's limits are. So if your HR issue is not related to being out of shape, I'd really consider getting a doctors advice.

BTW, what did you do to get your HR down from 110? Was it diet, exercise, or something else. I know you've told me this before, but for the life of me I can't remember.

Are you limitted on the amount of time you have to workout? Something else to consider is taking longer breaks between sets. This does not work for cardio, but all of your questions and comments were geared around weight training (even though the topic does include cardio). I would assume that you have HR issues with cardio as well?

I sure hope you can find some help ... it's got to suck that you have these limitations impeding your ability to make the progress you want to make.

CoderGal

Have you seen a doc about any/all of those things? I'm currently sporting a heart monitor (a medical one that I have to wear at all times except when showering/swimming) and have to keep it on for two weeks. This is because I get palptitations (sounds like that's what you have - the arrythmia thing when it stops/gets out of rhythym and then goes THADUNKALYDUNKADUNK which is it getting back into rhythym after making up for the blood it forgot to pump there for a sec. Sometimes I get feelings like bubbles in my chest too. So, my great grandad had this too and lived to 101, so not necessarily worried BUT then with me starting running I read an article about people snuffing it doing marathons and palps were on the 'if you have one of these get checked' list. My consultant thinks it's probably fine as the palps are not *during* exercise but they want to look at what happens over a longer time than a short ECG to see if I can produce a symptom that gets recorded. If you haven't had it checked, it might be worth a mention - not least to put your mind at rest.

So, re my monitor, I am supposed to be hammering it to "try" to bring them on (for me it's stress too - lots of that!) but I have hurt my knee and can't run until it's better. And my Mum has osteoarthritis in her knees and so I am also worried about that but currently trying to keep running. Re arthritis - there are people who run with it, and am sure I saw an in depth article on someone who was even doing marathons, but can't recall where - if I find will let you know! I've a feeling hard line runners will be like "eff yeah keep running" and non running friendly Drs will be like "noooo don't run!" so it's probably going to come down to trial and error for you?

Re back - no expert but if I had all that going on I would be getting it investigated! Or have you had it looked at already?

Re hypermobile - me too, and depending whether you have it in some/all joints it will affect running and lifting but the thing is to be aware of how. So for example when I squat I can get ridiculously close to the floor (way below parallel) but whereas most people would be like "lower the better", it's actually bad for my (dodgy) knees. My trainer has me going to a little below parallel - I found a point that I can go down to which doesn't make my knees click and we're going with that. My friend is a physio and has taken a photo of my freak ankles :-S - I had no idea they were weird. But the fact they flex too much means I find it harder to get a calf stretch, so I have to find other ways to do it - that sort of thing. So, IDK if you're clinically hypermobile (there's some scale otr the other) - I'm not (am nearly, but just shy of clinical) but my friend is, and she told me the old advice was no exercise, and the new advice is exercise is better - I think she has specific exercises for stabilisng joints that extend too far by working certain muscles. I have some exercises from my physio that are a bit like this too. So again, would suggest getting a 'professional' opinion...

... After typing all that I've just realised I think you might be in the US and thus might have to pay for all of that medical stuff? :-S

I've seen a doc about many of those things except the heart problem he doesn't know anything about it at all. I know my mom has the heart palpitations and said that it's nothing to worry about so I didn't bother. I did see "a" doctor about my heart, he's a friend and he only just started working in the hospital. His advice was go see my doctor and that I needed drugs. I said give me 6 months and if my heart rate was lower would he be satisfied. He said he'd be surprised. He has ceased nagging me to see my doctor since so I haven't bothered, however I do have a doctor slip to get x-rays on my back, and the doctor wouldn't tell me any 'guesses' as to why my back was f-ed but said that it definitely wasn't normal. I've also heard it was normal to have palpitations and since my heart rate 'spikes' are getting less and less, I'm worrying about it less and less. Now, for all I know, it could be that I'm completely out of shape. But if that was the case I'd figure the situation would be different when things go black? I remember being a noob at the gym and doing leg presses and standing up and literally passing out. That I'd blame on being out of shape. When I get them when I'm just standing there...I don't know what on earth that is. Or when I get them when I'm just rowing 10 lbs...and I know I could do a million more...then I start thinking somethings not normal, but I could be wrong? And yes, an arrhythmia is what mom has and I assume it's what I have too. My heart has always been like it. That part's not new.

What do you mean by bubbles in your chest? Do you mean pain during heart pumps? And would you happen to have that article you talked about handy? Sounds up my ally, I'd like to read it.

I am planning on seeing a doctor about the heart probs eventually, I just want to try to get rid of the problem myself first because if my option is pills, I'll likely not take them.

"eff yeah keep running" and non running friendly Drs will be like "noooo don't run!" so it's probably going to come down to trial and error for you?

^my only concern is I'm not sure if the pain I get are doms or my legs seizing up.

And omg than you so much for mentioning the squats thing. It's my lower body thats hypermobile (not been checked but according to scales it is), my arms I'd just say they're flexible. And no I haven't had that checked out but several of my dance teachers are concerned about how bendable I am, I've been told I'm digustingly bendable and to get it checked out several times. A few dance instructors asked me to look up hypermobile because they thought I had it. I can put my foot behind my head easily, I can stand straight and touch my elbows off the floor without warming up. Stretching muscles is a huge problem. If I were to sit on the floor with my legs straight out to each side and lean forward I can actually get my body lower then the floor (so I can touch my chest stomach head everything off the floor with a straight back, the same way you bend when you squat):

I also notice I can get significantly lower then everyone that does the workout with me but I've been avoiding it because my knees feel...well...funny...I'm not sure what to call it I wouldn't call it pain I'd call it just not feeling right when I'm trying to keep my legs perpendicular to the ground. Plus I have arthritis in my knees so I don't want to kill them.

Stabilizing joint info would be greatly appreciated if you ever find it.

And I'm in Canada.

Thanks so much for writing all that out!

CoderGal

I've got a couple of questions, but I may be short on any good advice.

When you work your arms with those 10 pound dumbbells, how many reps are you doing, are are you going to failure? You may be getting a benefit if you are going to failure and you're not doing more that 12 or so reps. If you are grabbing 10 pound dumbbells, doing 10 reps and stopping at 10 because 10 is the number to stop at (or whatever that number may be), but you could still do more reps - then you probably aren't getting much out of the exercise. Working to failure is key. My goal is to go until I have to cheat to complete a lift. If I'm cheating, then I'm done.

As for your HR, that's a hard one to gauge. My fist thought was that you are not in very good shape. But it sounds like this may not be the case. If a take a few weeks off from the gym, when I go back I find that I start to get dizzy and feel a little sick to my stomach for the first few workouts while my body gets back into the swing of things. It sounds like this is not the same situation for you - and since you use to dance, you should have a good idea what your body's limits are. So if your HR issue is not related to being out of shape, I'd really consider getting a doctors advice.

BTW, what did you do to get your HR down from 110? Was it diet, exercise, or something else. I know you've told me this before, but for the life of me I can't remember.

Are you limitted on the amount of time you have to workout? Something else to consider is taking longer breaks between sets. This does not work for cardio, but all of your questions and comments were geared around weight training (even though the topic does include cardio). I would assume that you have HR issues with cardio as well?

I sure hope you can find some help ... it's got to suck that you have these limitations impeding your ability to make the progress you want to make.

That's a great point tmch. I'm NOT going to failure. I'm doing a routine with a group of friends so I just go along with everyone else. There's good points and bad points to group stuff. With that being said the last set I'm pretty freakin' tired. I almost want to try 12s but I'm afraid I'll hit one of my passing out moments, so maybe it is that i'm out of shape. I hope so, that means it will get better lol. I'm use to dancing, I've never been use to weights.

And I have no idea what happened with my heart rate. I started hiking like crazy as you know. I also lost 30lbs. I also got a lot less stressed out given I only have 2 non english speaking professors this semester, so I'm not sure if it's all of it or none of it. I'd like to blame the hiking since I went from hardly being able to walk anywhere without passing out to well...basically being in the same situation but more manageable. I sure can manage a hell of a long hike compared to at first and if I give myself a moment I can feel my heart rate lower which was a problem before. Give me a minute and I can decrease my HR about 50 points (which I'm pretty sure is a sign of a better heart).

I well be getting more and more limited time but I'm willing to make an effort to make time. I do take longer breaks between sets then my friends, but then I get behind on the workout since everyone else is a go. I'm wondering if there's a way so I don't have to take breaks in between sets. And it's sad considering a lot of these people are significantly more out of shape then me. And yes, the issues exist with cardio as well

Yeah the biggest thing that bothers me is there's so many f-ed up things I don't know what's normal and I don't know what's not. And I don't know if I'm going backwards or forwards. Thanks for the advice!

And I plan on seeing my doc again after I get results back from the xrays for the spine problem.

cmacphee3

I'm sorry this isn't helpful, but I never had a name for my "double jointed" ness before now, I didn't realise I was hypermobile in many of my joints.

I am a bit scared that it says I'm more prone to osteoarthritis because of this though! haha.

Vividjen

Hi
Wow - it sounds like you have a lot going on. I had one thought: you might want to have your adrenal levels checked out. When people have Addison's Disease or depleted adrenals, their body does not produce sufficient cortisol when under stress, such as when physically challenged. As a result, the body does not respond adequately and you can have a crisis or sorts. I am not overly familiar with the condition, but it seems to me there might be something like this at play...causing the dizziness, heartrate spikes, etc. when you exert yourself.

Good Luck!!

dmkoenig

I think the first thing you need to do is get a better medical opinion on some of the issues you are dealing with. Newfoundland may not be the place to find that kind of expertise so you may have to research and plan a trip to Montreal, Toronto, etc. where you can see doctors who are true experts and specialists who have access to the right equipment and know what tests that can be run to help identify root causes. Take a few days to see a show while you're there so it's like a vacation but without clear knowledge on what's going on it's hard to come up with a plan and have confidence it's not going to cause your early demise. If you don't have the desire or $$ to run with that another option is to try to locate a good chiropractor. They often look at health and body issues holistically and have a very good handle on the musculo-skeletal system. They typically are not ones to jump on the "solve it with a drug" bandwagon. In any case I think you have enough concerning health conditions and uncertainty about them that really speaks to getting the right trained medical professionals involved.

zen82

I've seen a doc about many of those things except the heart problem he doesn't know anything about it at all. I know my mom has the heart palpitations and said that it's nothing to worry about so I didn't bother. I did see "a" doctor about my heart, he's a friend and he only just started working in the hospital. His advice was go see my doctor and that I needed drugs. I said give me 6 months and if my heart rate was lower would he be satisfied. He said he'd be surprised. He has ceased nagging me to see my doctor since so I haven't bothered however I do have a doctor slip to get x-rays on my back, and the doctor wouldn't tell me any 'guesses' as to why my back was f-ed but said that it definitely wasn't normal. I've also heard it was normal to have palpitations and since my heart rate 'spikes' are getting less and less, I'm worrying about it less and less. Now, for all I know, it could be that I'm completely out of shape. But if that was the case I'd figure the situation would be different when things go black? I remember being a noob at the gym and doing leg presses and standing up and literally passing out. That I'd blame on being out of shape. When I get them when I'm just standing there...I don't know what on earth that is. Or when I get them when I'm just rowing 10 lbs...and I know I could do a million more...then I start thinking somethings not normal, but I could be wrong? And yes, an arrhythmia is what mom has and I assume it's what I have too. My heart has always been like it. That part's not new.

There's no way to know if you would need drugs unless you know what's causing it - and you might be fine and it just be a "thing" (as I am hoping for mine). The black outs would worry me though - and I am no expert at all but could there be a blood pressure issue here? My mum blacks out when hers goes too low. Better to know and then deal with it, and it might just be putting your mind at rest.

What do you mean by bubbles in your chest? Do you mean pain during heart pumps? And would you happen to have that article you talked about handy? Sounds up my ally, I'd like to read it.

No pain, just it feels like someone put lemonade in my chest - like gentle bubbles. It doesn't last long and I'm not sure if they're "mini" palps or what. It's sometimes alongside an episode where I get the THUMPYBADUNKS, sometimes on their own.

I can't find the article (think it was a local newspaper about a running hero who has had chronic arthritis but still runs) but there are some useful ones on the net all the same, this might be interesting:

I am planning on seeing a doctor about the heart probs eventually, I just want to try to get rid of the problem myself first because if my option is pills, I'll likely not take them.

Hmm. You do realise this is "stubborn donkey" mode? I am guilty of this too. You're not a medical professional. Go see one, get checked, then discuss options. If you don't want to take pills you may be able to explore other options with doc, depending what it is. You can't magically fix something if you don't know what it is - you're just seeing symptoms and have no iudea of the cause. With all your stuff taken together - get checked out, and tell the doc about the blacking out also!

"eff yeah keep running" and non running friendly Drs will be like "noooo don't run!" so it's probably going to come down to trial and error for you?

^my only concern is I'm not sure if the pain I get are doms or my legs seizing up.

What's the pain like? DOMS is sort of stiff and can be released with foam roller etc (at least a little) and sports massage. Arthritic aches feel a bit different, and are more in the joints than the muscles I think.

And omg than you so much for mentioning the squats thing. It's my lower body thats hypermobile (not been checked but according to scales it is), my arms I'd just say they're flexible. And no I haven't had that checked out but several of my dance teachers are concerned about how bendable I am, I've been told I'm digustingly bendable and to get it checked out several times. A few dance instructors asked me to look up hypermobile because they thought I had it. I can put my foot behind my head easily, I can stand straight and touch my elbows off the floor without warming up. Stretching muscles is a huge problem. If I were to sit on the floor with my legs straight out to each side and lean forward I can actually get my body lower then the floor (so I can touch my chest stomach head everything off the floor with a straight back, the same way you bend when you squat):

I also notice I can get significantly lower then everyone that does the workout with me but I've been avoiding it because my knees feel...well...funny...I'm not sure what to call it I wouldn't call it pain I'd call it just not feeling right when I'm trying to keep my legs perpendicular to the ground. Plus I have arthritis in my knees so I don't want to kill them.

Woah, I am not as bendy as you BUT it's funny - at gymnastics as a kid I was berated for only being nearly able to get my chest on the floor in that position! :-S You might have enough points of hypermobility to count as having the syndrome thing, and there are people who get it with pain (like my friend) and those who get it without pain. Both can put you at risk of more wear and tear so it would potentially be a good idea to get this checked if you're worried about it. My friend who is also my physio took pics of my ankles to show me the bone is coming right out of place and moving too far to give me an idea of what is happening! So as my PT also has hypermobility and is teaching me to squat we just figured out where I can get to without my weird ankles kicking in and stopped at that point. You'll probably find it easier to get good squat technique, but bear in mind the 'low as poss' advice is for the naturally-non-bendies, not us bendies!

Stabilizing joint info would be greatly appreciated if you ever find it.

This might help though it's obviously a bit general. My physio disagrees with clam exercises and has a different version for me where I like on my back, bend knees, feet together, raise hips and bring knees together and down again - so a similar motion but more 'functional'. He has examined me and found my quads do too much of the work running etc as my hamstrings, while strong, aren't "firing" so there's then an imbalance - quads get tighter faster, pull on my knees, make my knees hurt faster and cause tracking issues = more likely to get injured. So I have activation exercises too.

And I'm in Canada.

Don't you have socialised healthcare there? I know it will work differently to the NHS here but I was under the impression you were better off than those south of the border for medical care/coverage? I really think it'd be worth getting a lot of this sorted. I think a lot of it is interrelating too, so you can'[t really "fix" one bit without considering the rest. I teach ethics in a med school and we're al about teaching them to remember their patients are whole people - you are a whole person and this stuff is affecting you! Even that you're writing about it here says to me it's niggling at you enough to be worth getting it checked out. Like someone else has posted here, I think it would be a good idea to ensure the doc(s) you see are decent ones if you can have some degree of choice. I have a GP here who I trust, and I always go to her first because while she isn't an expert in all the things, she appreciates how it all comes together to affect everything including my mental health... currently corssing my fingers she will be able to send me for an MRI of my knee!

Hope you get sorted! xx

zen82

Forgot link in above! http://www.runnersworld.com/running-tips/running-arthritis-13-training-strategies

Also:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/81551-run-arthritis/
http://www.runaddicts.net/stories/road-to-recovery-from-arthritis-to-marathon

CoderGal

Well have to wait and see what the heart issue is.

What do you mean by bubbles in your chest? Do you mean pain during heart pumps? And would you happen to have that article you talked about handy? Sounds up my ally, I'd like to read it.

No pain, just it feels like someone put lemonade in my chest - like gentle bubbles. It doesn't last long and I'm not sure if they're "mini" palps or what. It's sometimes alongside an episode where I get the THUMPYBADUNKS, sometimes on their own

Interesting, is it always in your chest? I get this thing in random places in my body where if you put air in a bag that had a small hole in it and put your finger over it and squeezed it in another place and essentially made a whoopy cushion it feels like what your finger would feel (like tiny air bubbles, or like a fast repeating twitch that I can never see and stops after a second or so). Oh bodies and their weird things. It never concerned me but now that I explained it maybe it should lol.

Yes, I'm also a poor donkey. I also have no plans to slut myself out for money to by tickets to montreal any time soon haha *cough*...My obese friend was suggested hardly eating and needles to lose weight (same doc). His suggestions are rarely natural things I find, and I looked for another GP (apparently my doc had a hard moment in life where he temporarily 'changed') but I've had no success. Everyone is 'full', slim pickings. I managed to see one GP and he was a loon who told me to see a doctor about a ear infection....thats why I went to him lol...It was like he was scared to diagnose....I even asked the next guy if anything looked 'off' and he laughed at me lol. My friend has lost the weight and is a valley of health complaints. My poor friend was suggested the same thing but he exercised instead. Guess who's healthier now? On that note though I go by feel, not by other peoples experiences. But if I can deal with it, I'm not going to be pumping drugs that reacts with things for the rest of my life...I'd rather start meditating and exercising. And what do you know that problem went away (high heart rate) :P I've always had the out of sync heart beats. I well discuss options my next visit which may be soon because I think I'm getting a ear infection and I well take drugs for that :P Who knows, maybe I'm just still a weakling. Don't worry though, this well eventually get checked out (whenever my next visit well be). I don't want to wait 5 hours in a snowstorm for a doctor this week though lol.

What's the pain like?

It's a mix of doms and something I'm not sure is related. I get very stiff. Not owe I can't bend my muscles hurt and lock beyond a certain point stiff....but literally forces against them joints move slower when they move because it's hard to get my legs to bend at all because they seem frozen and slow stiff. Is that normal? They also pain in the knees sometimes so I wanna go for a run sometimes but am concerned its arthritis and that I shouldn't. Massaging them feels amazing...I'm just not sure about the actually literally stiff and knees part. Arthritis is usually felt in my bones, but this is more on the surface of them (so debating if it's muscle or bone but its near joints) then inside like usual?

I'm not concerned about geting the hypermobile stuff checked out. I've been pretty in control of it my whole life. Just gotta control myself when I do high kicks in dance and such so I don't tear anything since I can go higher then others without warmup. The strength training part is new to me, so I twisted funny and pulled something behind my knee, but I think that was more to do with the fact I didn't know what I was doing. That was my own fault. I should have known better really. Don't think my doctor can tell me anything I don't already know since my pain from either that or the arthritis is pretty tolerable. I don't take anything for it but occasionally change my diet if it gets bad. It's rare I'm bed ridden because of it (except for when I was younger).