Becoming Fit

While I'll probably be taking a break from it for a week (or two; more on that later), Tene and I have begun to do something new together.

We've signed up at a gym, and on Thursday finished our final beginners CrossFit course.

First off - I'm surprised the world still exists, since I'm pretty sure me even considering entering a gym, let alone becoming a member, is a sure sign of the apocalypse. But Planet Granite, the gym we're now members of, seems to be completely awesome. It's a climbing gym, primarily, which means there's all sorts of fun rock-towers and the like. I'm hoping to take some classes and learn how to do some rock climbing, as well as looking more into Crossfit and Yoga.

Every Tuesday and Thursday night in January, Tene and I went to the gym and worked out. We learned squats, deadlifts, back lifts, snatches ... played with kettlebells and wallball, started learning how to do pull ups (not surprisingly - I can't even get one, yet), got very acquainted with the rowing machines, etc.

For me: I feel pretty good about it. Crossfit is hard and is definitely a workout, but I've felt good when I've gone and done the workout of the day. I'll admit, the endorphins work pretty well for me for a good hour or two after coming home from the gym.

But I might be taking a break from Crossfit for a week or two - potentially longer. My TMJ is acting up again, and I'm going to attempt a liquid diet to try to help the joint heal a bit. I'm also going in and seeing a specialist, who will hopefully be able to give me some good advice.

As it is, I've taken the highest dosage of an NSAID for about a week and a half (this was a couple of weeks ago), tried to avoid hard or chewy foods for the last month, worn my splint at night ... just generally trying to do what I could to keep my jaw from getting aggravated. Nothing so far has helped for very long, and I'm in near constant pain. I don't know what my next options are - if they include surgery or something else.

So, until my jaw starts feeling better, I'm going full liquid - no more chewing for me - which means that I'm going to need to stick to very low amounts of exertion (I'm going to try to go for a walk every day, but a hard workout like Crossfit seems like a bad idea). I'm also going to talk very very minimally - thinking of going so far as buying a white board to carry around with me to communicate. Like a singer on vocal rest, I need jaw rest.