Arthritic training

[Evan with AS]

History: A month ago I was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, which is a genetic spinal arthritic condition. My left SI joint is partially fused, and my right is significantly eroded. The discs between L4/L5, L3/L4, T3/T4 are all narrowing, with T3/T4 doing a nice little impingement on some nerves by my left shoulder blade.

However, when I asked my doctor about lifting and bodyweight management, he said, "It's always better to have good muscle around bad joints. So if you want to put on 10, 20 pounds lifting weights, I would encourage that."

Stats: I'm 28 now, 5'8", and have back/pelvis pain for the last 9 years. Currently on 15mg/day meloxicam to manage inflammation, which helps a lot. Before the latest flare up that lead to the diagnosis, I had gotten my bodyweight to 173 (up from 142 in late 2010), my squat to 295x5x3, deadlift to 320x5x1, bench 185x5x3, press 145x5x3, clean to 180x3x3, and chins to +35x5x3. Cleans have always hurt like a motherfucker because of the impinged nerves, and because I'm a giant gaping vagina I haven't done any since this last flare.

I also have a habit of skipping workouts when I don't hurt, so I'm making this log to help keep me honest. I'm not running SS, but my routine is similar. I've been making 10lb jumps up until now, and am switching to 5lb jumps because of form breakdowns on my last workout.

Warmups for squats/bench are always: bar x5, 95x5, 135x5, 185x3, 225x2, etc.
Warmups for deadlifts are always 135 x5, 225x3, 275x1, etc
Warmups for press are always bar x 5, 95x5, 135 x1
Obviously I don't warm up heavier than my worksets, but I'm sticking to this pattern even though I'm a long way from PR land.

Therefore:

9/6/12
Bodyweight 168

Squat: 225x5x3 - right knee caved in on the last set and is sore today.
Bench: 115x5x3 - herp derp
Dead: 265x5x1 - probably the last time I can DOH my workset
Stretching and spinal mobility for 30 minutes

Today is walking for 35 minutes and stretching for 15.

[Evan with AS]

9-8-12

Squat 230x5x3 - better
Press 100x5x3 - ...
Chins 10, 10 - time to start adding weight
Stretching and spinal mobility for 30 minutes

35 minute walk after dinner.

[Evan with AS]

9-10-12

35 minute walk
20 minutes stretching and mobility

9-11-12

Squats: 235x5x3 - knee caved in again; going to repeat 235 again on Thursday and engage adductors more
Bench: 120x5x3
Dead: 270x5x1 - right hand supinated, easy peasy
30 minutes stretching and mobility

[Evan with AS]

9-13-12

40 minutes walking

9-14-12

Squats 235x5x3 - Better, no pain in my knee today, but it was sore for ~ 1 hour afterwards. Going to stay @235 for one more session. AS can migrate to other joints without much of an invitation, so I'll sacrifice a week of progress to make sure I can control my knees properly.
Press 105x5x3 - slightly out of breath after set 3
Chins +10x5x3 - easy
20 minutes of stretching and mobility


Today is 40 minutes walking and 15 minutes stretching.

[mariawolters]

Welcome to the Forum! What stretching and mobility work do you do? And if you follow the SS template, you might be better off in the Starting Strength Training Log section, where you will get a lot more views and comments than down 'ere.

[Evan with AS]

Missed my first workout in a month on Saturday; just did some stretching instead. And it was raining on Monday, so no walk.

9-17-12
30 minutes stretching and mobility

9-8-12

Squat 235x5x3 - probably overly cautious, but with recent form problems and missing a workout, i'm ok with it. Kept the Master Cue in mind and these were solid.
Bench 125x5x3 - nondescript
Dead 275x5x1 - left hand under, no problems.

Welcome to the Forum! What stretching and mobility work do you do? And if you follow the SS template, you might be better off in the Starting Strength Training Log section, where you will get a lot more views and comments than down 'ere.

I'm not really following the SS template. No cleans, no shoes (heeled shoes feel like nails in my heels), and at some point I'm going to start running on off days. This is more to make me feel accountable for my workouts than anything else. For stretching and mobility, I do a mix of yoga poses and things I don't know the names for.

Cobbler pose
Hurdler's stretch
Glute stretch where I lay on my back and pull each knee to the opposite shoulder
Lay on my back, knees together and twist to try to touch my knees to the ground while keeping my shoulders flat
Supported backbend thing where I lay on my back and bridge up my pelvis onto a box of paper
Hamstring stretches with my back against the wall
Child pose into cobra pose x5
Cat pose into cow pose x5

I usually hold each stretch until it stops hurting, but since I got on medication and got a standing desk at work, it doesn't hurt as much so I either hold for a 15 count or for the entire duration of a song (hamstring stretch and backbend).