I’ve always had uneven ribs. One stuck out, or maybe the other caved in.
When I worked at an ad agency I got a consultation from a chiropractor during a wellness event. I told him I was having neck and shoulder pain. He stood behind me and pulled my shoulders back, much farther than I ever thought they could go. Then he pinched all around my neck and back, explaining that I had no basically no muscles to hold my head or arms up, and this had consequences on my posture, shoulder strength, and overall mobility. Well!
Six years later at at the beginning of the pandemic, soreness from long walks in Sambas and my IG explore page gave me the determination to start my fitness journey from the ground up.
First I gained foot strength and balance by only working out barefoot. Then wrist and grip strength, mostly through holding dumbbells and the leash of a 100 pound dog who moves at a different pace than me sometimes. The final frontier has been upper body strength.
Last weekend I took a 30 minute strength class with Rad Lopez. This circuit completely disoriented me. I couldn’t make it work at all on my left side, I was kind of just jerking my arm around above and behind my head.
A few hours later I was stretching with my arms extended, leaning side to side, and I felt a soft grind and pop along my left ribcage. I straightened and looked down and realized my rib wasn’t sticking out anymore. When I raise my left arm, it has total range of motion just like my right arm.
Use it or lose it, people!!