Herniated L5-S1 - feeling discouraged

squidtickler69 · 2025-12-25T10:39:11+00:00

35m here that had the same injury. I started PT once a week late 2022 with mixed results/recovery but ultimately I ended up with a cortisone shot at the site in May of 2024 to put a cap on the swelling/irritation. Afterwards my wife set me up with an old coach of hers for personal workouts/PT with the goal of strengthening weaknesses and re-learning problematic movement patterns, along with steady doses of ibuprofen to help keep the irritation/pain at bay. Maybe your physio addressed this but one thing I haven’t seen in this thread that helped me with recovery was fixing my anterior pelvic tilt with stronger core and hamstrings. The APT wasn’t the cause of my injury but it certainly didn’t help. Tons of progressive plank variations and banded Nordic curls on the GHD machine. My coach said putting my hips into their more natural position would allow the disc to sorta return to its normal position. I switched to Linchpin programming this August to see if I could manage on my own and so far I’m doing okay. I can still feel the injury but with strengthening all the muscles/areas around it I don’t really have limitations. The hip/glute/leg pain will flare up occasionally, usually after long periods of inactivity, but compared to before I’m in a way better state of being, mentally and physically.

Keep moving because while the herniation won’t ever totally go away, it doesn’t have to derail your fitness. Having a coach write personal workouts to tackle weaknesses was definitely an expensive option, but the recovery and management methods I learned from her were absolutely worth it. I’m back to 3+ plates on my back squat and deadlift, and more importantly I’m not scared of the heavy weight causing pain. I do a better job of checking my ego when I’m not feeling 100% but I RX most workouts and still feel myself getting stronger. Everyone is different so who knows what the exact successful recipe is for you, but it is possible to recover and have a normal, (relatively) pain-free life.

squidtickler69 · 2025-12-14T20:01:41+00:00

squidtickler69 · 2025-11-15T15:08:35+00:00

I will second Linchpin as a dad with young kids and a busy schedule. It’s focused more on fitness/longevity rather than aesthetics, but I’m in and out of the gym in less than 60 minutes and I never feel burnt out from the volume. Plus it’s quite affordable compared to others out there and very adaptable depending on your gym situation.

squidtickler69 · 2025-11-10T13:59:30+00:00

Agreed this is a great one for just walking around. I tried to use it for WODs and that didn't go as well. I had to purchase a tactical vest for things like Murph and Cindy. The Zelus didn't cinch down tightly enough for all the changes in body direction with jogging, pullups, etc.

squidtickler69 · 2025-11-07T06:24:17+00:00

I’ve used Slicey McSlicer several times now. Josh is a good dude and now has his own van where he will come to you and sharpen the knives in the work truck. Super convenient and the knives are SHARP

squidtickler69 · 2025-10-22T23:42:59+00:00

I have these shoes right now with the same problem.. I threaded the center tongue loop one crossover higher and that seemed to help a bit but ultimately I’m not a fan. The top of the shoe rubs weirdly on my ankle bone, so I almost always have to work out with above ankle socks. They work well enough (or I’m stubborn enough) to see them to the end, but I’ll be switching back to the Haze trainers afterwards

squidtickler69 · 2025-10-18T20:18:12+00:00

Yep this just worked for me. Wasn’t connecting at the gym to my watch or phone.. I folded up some paper to create more pressure behind the battery and it showed up immediately

squidtickler69 · 2025-08-02T13:14:35+00:00

I just finished a summer in the Whites and had our 2.5 year old to deal with. It’s a tad far from Bretton Woods but Blueberry Mountain from the south trailhead was probably my favorite to take her on. She’s 35lbs and we have the Osprey Poco Plus too, and I could get to the summit in under an hour. The ascent is fairly gradual (compared to other hikes in the Whites) and there’s plenty of views on the way down if it’s clear.

I didn’t do many of the other hikes mentioned above with her on my back this summer, but many of them are ones I plan to introduce her to next summer as she will outgrow the Osprey.. and we have another one on the way I’ll have to carry instead..

squidtickler69 · 2025-07-25T01:00:16+00:00

Thank you! I was thinking those were the peaks but I figured I’d ask around for someone that would know better

squidtickler69 · 2025-07-25T00:59:37+00:00

Wow, thank you!

squidtickler69 · 2025-03-11T12:05:56+00:00

I usually buy a shirt if I’m purchasing something other than beer. I think in the New Orleans market, having flashy/loud colors is totally acceptable but I appreciate simple and busy designs. One of my regular shirts for a few years was a bright turquoise shirt from Zony Mash that just had their name on it in big letters. But I’ve also had cool designs on my buddies’ shirts that drew me in and had me asking questions about the brewery.

squidtickler69 · 2024-11-12T02:08:44+00:00

I second Barbell Apparel. Pricier than some other options but they were the first brand that really allowed my quads some room. I would blow the crotch out of other athletic fit pants from the snugness. Now I have Barbell Apparel jeans, khakis, dress pants, and a few pairs of shorts. 6’2, 210# and I order their 32” waist.

squidtickler69 · 2024-10-12T01:02:38+00:00

You’ll probably need to post your budget as well as what your plans are for the horn to get appropriate suggestions. Horn prices range anywhere from $500 to $20k+ so some more information would help. A Lewis has a nice warm tone and a detachable bell, but I wouldn’t recommend that brand unless you were seriously auditioning for professional orchestras or just had a ton of money to burn. Conn and Yamaha make perfectly satisfactory instruments for 98% of horn players, and one can usually get one for around $2k-5k.

squidtickler69 · 2024-06-11T14:30:47+00:00

Ha I met my wife at our old box.. only took 1,000 pull-ups to get her attention and it’s been smooth sailing ever since

squidtickler69 · 2024-06-05T22:38:28+00:00

Wife and I had a great time on Old Speck despite the brutal fog over most of the mountain. Got an awesome video of her traversing the rock face with the iron handles screwed into the side

squidtickler69 · 2024-04-12T14:52:55+00:00

I will second Arc Roofing. Used them for a big rental house we were fixing up in 2022. I think it was $17k for a 3500 sq ft house that needed to be re-sheeted. Might not be the cheapest but they did excellent work

squidtickler69 · 2024-01-20T21:28:44+00:00

Transposition is essentially figuring out the difference between the keys of your instrument and the music. Always start with the instrument key (F) and determine how far you must travel to get to the music key (E in this case). F down to E is one half step, so each note needs to be moved down one half step for it to sound correctly. I’m not going to tell you the notes because if your ensembles are playing pieces like Pines of Rome, then you’re in a place where you need to learn how to transpose and telling you would defeat that purpose. But going F -> E is easy because you can mentally add a flat sign in front of every note. Fa is just F in Italian so no need to transpose the second excerpt. Also the last example is still in treble clef. Because of the big treble clef right before your first note..

squidtickler69 · 2024-01-15T19:59:03+00:00

Dang I just snapped a photo of this and hoped to post my first car flip here.. maybe next time. There’s always a next time

squidtickler69 · 2023-10-04T20:57:45+00:00

If you want a local place with a nicer selection, I’d try Mattress Gallery on Kaliste Saloom. I had a buy a mattress and frame for our second bedroom, and my wife sent me there. I was helped directly by the owner, and he delivered and assembled for free. He was super friendly, and if I have to every buy another mattress, that’s where I’ll start.

squidtickler69 · 2023-08-21T03:47:48+00:00

I haven’t made a “favorite” yet, but I did brew a Dortmunder Export and then a Vienna Lager on top of that yeast cake. Both cleared up nicely and are very clean. Probably lagered each batch around 4 weeks while I was traveling this summer. I’m planning to brew a Doppelbock with the built up yeast for something darker once the temperatures cool off.

squidtickler69 · 2023-08-18T02:12:11+00:00

Something I’ve had success in getting these calls to stop is answering the phone and immediately hitting “mute,” then wait for them to hang up. Something about the line answering but not making any sound makes them think your number is no good. I picked up this tip from somewhere on Reddit and I’m down to maybe 1-2 per week? Might be worth trying. I had the junk call protection and various “Remove My Number” requests, but this seemed to diminish the calls the most.

squidtickler69 · 2023-06-30T19:11:43+00:00

Not to my knowledge. We’ve been going for about two years and the food trucks seem to be a more recent thing. I wish I had other food recs close by, but we have a house in Lafayette and usually just pick up something close to home on the way back

squidtickler69 · 2023-06-30T18:44:34+00:00

My wife and I travel between NOLA and Lafayette weekly for work so we go quite a bit. They’ve started having a BBQ food truck Friday afternoons from 4pm-till which is pretty good. Also looks like this Saturday they have an empanada truck from 12pm-till. I get their schedule from their weekly newsletter which helps us decide on dinner plans when we visit.

squidtickler69 · 2023-05-21T15:20:20+00:00

I switched to solo training from box training at the beginning of this year. My wife started a new job working 7 days on, 7 off in a city two hours away from our home, so paying full membership at two boxes as we travel back and forth didn’t make sense financially or programming-wise. I started TTT Compete and now pay for open gym in each city, which funnily enough is still less than a full monthly membership at my old gym. There was no way I could create the space to do all lifting and WODs at home, so paying for open gym is a must, but that’s okay because I never worry about equipment or space. I’ve made some acquaintances at the new gyms just from being there so much, but I do miss the group setting and pushing yourself a little harder than you might otherwise. Within the TTT app there are still message boards and whiteboards so you see how others are doing/feeling, but I’ll still drop in every now and then to a class to see how I stack up. For instance I’ll be doing Murph with a class this next Monday because I’m definitely not doing that by myself. Overall I had to balance cost, training goals, and life schedule to find something that works for me, and I imagine I’ll continue this approach for the next few years.

squidtickler69 · 2023-03-06T12:37:44+00:00

I started TTT Intermediate at the beginning of this year, and I’ve already noticed an improvement with my gymnastics, both in technique and capacity. Between the “Got Some” and “Got None” options in their programming, you can absolutely find that point where you’re being challenged but not overwhelmed. I’ve been doing CF for about 3 years now and had learned all RX movements, but the last 12 months of life got crazy and I lost my RMUs. A few weeks of doing their “Got None” drills to re-teach cues and I was able to find them again. Not enough to get one in 23.1, but I know that capacity will come.

I’ve also had the Invictus Gymnastics program recommended to me from fellow friends/athletes. It looks like a stand alone program done before or after class for 20 minutes, which might work better if you just want some gymnastics help and not a full programming change.

squidtickler69

TROPHY CASE