Michael Harry Scepaniak - Diet, Exercise & Health Posts

Do What You Can Do

2022-05-12T21:07:09Z

Once each week, I do a sprint workout. This is something I've been doing for over 8 years now. I started doing it based on Mark Sisson's sprinting advice. I do it year-round. I do it despite my Spondylitis.

However, aches and pains and injuries happen and I do my best to respect them. I'm too old (and wise) now to expect that I'll to be able to just stubbornly muscle through them and expect them to heal.

I have a re-occuring groin pull that surfaces every once in a while, which did just that the other month. After a few weeks of denial, I decided that it wasn't going to heal while sprinting as usual. However, I'm loathe to just flat-out stop working-out. So, I've been doing backwards sprints for the past 3 weeks. It's not as satisfying as a conventional sprint workout and definitely not what I'd call a natural movement. But, it's a satisfying substitute during this interim.

This adaptation is a perfect manifestation of one of my personal mantras:

You can only do what you can do, but do what you can do.

I love this mantra. It captures a balance between a) recognizing and respecting your limitations and b) using them as an excuse for not giving your full effort.

In life, setbacks will happen. Do what you can to make them temporary.

Eating Hostas

2022-04-26T19:44:39Z

I've got a number of hosta plants growing in my yard. They've been there for years. I think some were in place when I bought the house a couple decades ago. Anyway, sometime within the past year, I stumbled across an article about eating hostas. So, last week, I decided to give it a try. The results? No death or illness to report. And they are pretty tasty.

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Three Remissions... and Counting?

2022-03-22T19:19:46Z

A long time has passed since I've written about my Spondylitis - over 5 years, in fact. That's not for lack of news or focus on it in my daily life.

When I last wrote, I was doing well - no medications, manageable pain, normal activities. Unfortunately, that didn't last. A few weeks after that article, I started on a daily regimen of Meloxicam, an NSAID. (Apparently, Celebrex, my previous medication, had fallen out of favor at some point during 2015 or 2016.) Fortunately, the Meloxicam definitely made a difference - a positive difference. Leading up to that point, my pain was bearable, but it had been increasing.

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Me, Snowboarding

2022-02-08T01:21:11Z

I had the opportunity to hit the slopes with friends a few days ago. It was my first time snowboarding in probably 4 years. And that time probably came after a layoff of 10 years. A frequent boarder, I am not.

My friend, Alex, took the opportunity to record me snowboarding. (He's an accomplished skier. I don't think I'd be able to do the same for someone else.)

Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos. Alternatively, you can download and watch it using a video player outside of your browser.

Video of a snowboarder S turning down a snow-covered ski slope.

Seeing yourself in a video, in action, interacting with the world, is eye-opening. There's something very out-of-body and magical about it. I'm videoed infrequently enough to still find it novel.

My initial, charitable interpretation of the video was along the lines of "wow, I look like a real snowboarder". 😃 My secondary, critical interpretation of the video focused more on the details. In the video, I see myself using my arms/body when making turns to the right, but not when making turns to the left. I assume better riders don't do that.

A Car Hit Me on My Bicycle

2022-01-31T00:56:03Z

Sadly, it finally happened. I got hit by a car while I was biking. Happily, it turned out OK. I got grazed on my left elbow by the side mirror. Nevertheless, it was still surprising and disturbing. Of course, anyone who is familiar with my biking activities most likely isn't - surprised at least. And, if I'm being honest, I'm not surprised, either.

I mean, c'mon, I bike along a major suburban arterial 5-lane roadway devoid of bike lanes. The only concession that it makes for cyclists is a couple "share the road" signs. Given that, you could argue that I've been biking on borrowed time.

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Harvesting a Big Log

2022-01-21T18:19:17Z

Functional strength FTW! I hauled this big guy out of the woods today. (By "woods", I mean the area past the picket fence you can see in the background of the photo. By "haul", I mean I flopped it end-over-end like a Slinky.) I'm guessing it weighs ~275 lbs. It's an inch or so taller than me. It actually wasn't as difficult as I feared it would be, even the part going uphill (out of the woods). I give the awkward/functional lifting work-out I've been doing for the past (almost) 2 years now a good amount of credit.

275 lb black locust log laid on side underneath my deck.

Ankylosing Spondylitis: A Good Start

2017-01-04T17:35:58Z

What happens after a piano falls on you? I suppose your initial question would be “What do you mean ‘after’”? Well, what if the piano doesn’t kill you? What’s the next day like? How does your life proceed?

In July of 2014, I was hit by a metaphorical piano - I was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS). Now, for me, it’s probably more appropriate to characterize that diagnosis as the final stroke of what had been a slow-motion, months-long piano drop. The diagnosis at the end was the swiftest part of the saga. But, obviously I survived. So what happened after?

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Stop Eating Processed Foods

2014-09-02T20:18:29Z

If you couldn't exercise for six months, do you think you'd lose weight - or do you think you'd gain weight?

During the first half of this year, I had to stop doing all of my normal physical activities. I had to stop lifting weights, riding my bike, going for walks, using my standing desk, etc. This stoppage lasted for about six months. (Actually, to some degree, it is ongoing.) During that time, instead of gaining weight, I lost weight. I lost 21 lbs, to be exact. That was almost 12% of my bodyweight.

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Whac-A-Mole Physical Therapy, Meet Ankylosing Spondylitis

2014-08-03T16:12:45Z

On January 1st of this year, I weighed a pleasing 178 lbs. About 45 days later, I had involuntarily lost almost 20 of them. And so began a progressively deteriorating 7 months for me.

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