musings on muscle mass and metatarsal malaise

My foot hurts. I have been limping for the past few days. Every so often, I would have metatarsal pain (either foot) and it would go away. But this time, it's settled in my right foot and not going away. The doctor won't see me until Monday.

I hate limping around and having people stare at me strangely. Wouldn't it be nice of someone walked up and said, "Are you alright?" even though there's nothing anyone can do? Unfriendly world we live in.

When I limp for a while, the pain disappears from my foot, making me want to walk normally. But as soon as I start walking normally, the pain starts up again, and I have to limp.

/end whining

Moving right along...yesterday was my one-month "hoopiversary". My daughter and I, hooray us, have been hooping for one entire month now! And we have much to show for it. As it turns out, hooping is a powerful thing. In the first five days, I felt a looseness and fluidity in my hip joints that I didn't have before. After the first three weeks, I could do a full, unmodified Pilates rollup, while my legs didn't even lift a single millimeter. (In previous Pilates training, it had taken me weeks to get to that point.)

Pilates is the most intense thing I had ever done with my abdominal muscles before hooping, so I seem to use it as kind of a reference point as my muscles strengthen. Today was no exception to that -- while sitting in a chair and studying, I tried to apply the oft-repeated command in my favorite Pilates DVD - "grow taller!" This simply means sit up and lengthen your spine as much as possible (thus correctly aligning your posture).

Usually when doing this, I would feel myself straighten up significantly, and I'd realize that I was slumping. However today, to my complete surprise, I didn't get any taller at all. My back didn't uncurl into a straight line. My muscles were engaging all around my middle, but no "growing" happened at all. Then it hit me...I was already sitting perfectly straight and tall in the first place!

It's the hooping, I tell you. Best thing I ever did for my spinal column. Not to mention all the other gazillion other benefits...but that's another post or seven.