Anyone have a spine for sale?

Just when I thought I had this whole back pain thing under control, my L4 and L5 decided to remind me that I'm not the one that is in control of my body.  One emergency trip to the chiropractor later I'm feeling better, but I finally hit the breaking point today.  Needless to say, it wasn't good.

It's been a little over a month since I started really taking care of my back problems (daily stretching, chiropractor care, etc.), and last week I thought that I finally had everything handled. Unfortunately I was wrong, and when I woke up this morning I was back to having a bit more pain than I could deal with. While normally I would stretch, suck it up, and make another chiropractor appointment, today was my final breaking point. While I sat there at the edge of the bed wondering what the hell I did to deserve all of this, I felt my whole mindset switch from relatively happy (I did have a great holiday weekend), to straight up doom and gloom.

I have been in a state of constant pain since I got back from overseas. At times it's better than others, but most mornings consist of me slowly getting out of bed, hobbling to the bathroom like a 90-year old man, and then starting my regimen of stretching and groaning so I can at least tie my shoes. While I've weathered the storm relatively well (I try not to complain at least), I've been realizing as of late the OTHER negative results that come from all the pain. Any weight that I lost during P90X is back. I'm constantly tired because I can't get into a workout regimen (every time I try my back protests very heavily). I find myself not giving a shit about sucking down fast food.

In simple terms, I'm frustrated. I want to work out, I want to hit my goals, and I definitely don't want to be a couch potato. Right now I'm at that tipping point where I could very easily turn into a disgusting fatbody.

My initial plan of getting into kettlebells is definitely not going to happen right now, and my previous plan of using yoga to rehab my back is out as well. So what am I going to do? Good question... here are my thoughts:

1) Take SERIOUS control of my diet - While normally I would have 60-90 minutes a day to keep my metabolism going, I don't have that right now. That means I'm going to have to go into actual diet mode. That means as of right now no fast foods (okay, I know I really shouldn't eat them, but doing it every once and a while is normally fine), desserts, fried foods, etc. Yes, it's a bit much, but I don't have a choice. We'll consider the super clean eating as a cleansing, heh.

2) Daily stretching - I've been good about this one, but I'm probably going to have to up the ante until the pain subsides.

3) Heavily restricted workouts - I thought that if I kept enough pressure off my back I would be fine, but as of right now I can't have ANY pressure on my back until the pain goes away. That rules out a lot, especially kettlebells. The replacement for now is going to be a lot of pushups, pullups, and free squats. Not exciting, but it's something.

4) Continued chiropractic care - There are people that will say chiropractics is bad, and my continued pain after a month of treatment is an indication of that. However, my chiropractor has kept my quality of life very high for a long time, and along the way he has fixed some nasty problems. I'm going to stick with this for another 2-weeks. If the pain is still there, then I'm going to investigate other alternatives.

Wish me luck!

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Tony Horton Has Met His Match

My kettlebells and training video arrived, so for the next I don't know how long, Anthony Diluglio is going to be my replacement for Tony Horton. Now, it's not that I have anything against Tony (well, actually, I do find his constant hitting on Dreya Weber a bit creepy). It's just that it was time for me to grow up, be a big boy, and actually try and get some strength. Like I went into it before, P90X does make you stronger, but I need to fast forward a little more and really move things up. That means more weight, and some seriously intense workouts.

So who is this Anthony Diluglio guy? First off, he's the owner of Punch Kettlebell Gym, and the person behind the Art of Strength training DVDs. According to his bio, he is one of "America's top kettlebell instructors." However, we all know what that is - marketing fluff. We're going to have to pop the hood on his training DVDs to really evaluate his skill.

While admittedly I bought into P90X because of the never ending onslaught of 3am infomercials, in the end Tony proved to be a good instructor... even if he didn't come up with the training programs himself (and he's a little less creepy than John Basedow). Anthony and his training was suggested to me by my buddy that suggested the kettlebells. He trained with Anthony, and his exact comments were, "he's a great trainer and knows his stuff, so get his DVDs. However, he's a pompous ass." I figured that his recommendation, in spite of his personal feelings, meant that the training had to be at least halfway decent.

I always looks at things from a training perspective, and I knew that in order to be successful with kettlebells these DVDs would need to be very specific and cover all the bases. Kettlebell training can be dangerous if done wrong (remember, you're swinging around a giant piece of iron), so solid training, especially if you're doing it via DVD, is essential. Well, Disc 1 of Anthony's Art of Strength Clinic didn't disappoint. He went through all the basic moves, broke them down into pieces, and even taught "assistance" exercise that are good to help your overall technique. He also had a "problem" section for each exercise which gave you common issues people have with each move. From an instructional standpoint I was satisfied.

The unfortunate part is that I can't really tell you all that much about the workouts. My back is still a mess (thankfully I'll be at the chiropractor Monday), and some of the moves really aggravate it (and by aggravate I mean send searing pain through my lower back).

And yes, for all your kettlebell masters out there, I know that I should be using my legs and glutes with a lot of the swings and lifts. However, each move is still based on your core being at least mostly serviceable, and no matter how perfect my form, there's still stress put on the lower back. If it wasn't hurting I would be fine. Unfortunately, there are just certain ranges of motion that set it off.

My plan over the next few weeks is to use the lighter of my two bells (8kg) to go through the workouts and practice the moves. I definitely won't be working my strength like I would like, but it'll give me a chance to perfect my movements. I also need to really work on my flexibility (especially in my squats), so I won't have any lack of things to do.

For now I'm going to have to hold off on running since I know that the constant pounding puts pressure on my back. The hope is that between a few extra chiropractor appointments, the lighter kettlebell workouts, and more yoga, I'll be back into shape in no time. Then I'll be able to kick my kettlebell workouts into high gear.
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The New Weapon of Choice or What the Hell is Kettlebell?

This past week has been fraught with my dealing with my oh-so-shitty back, so instead of not working out and bitching about it I decided to put my intellect to work. I've been going back and forth about P90X, and while I know that I will get results with it, they're not necessarily the results that I want. That brings us to the question that stifles so many on their quest to the world of pecs and abs. What should I do for my workouts?

Back in the day I was considered a "fitness professional," but I definitely wasn't what most would consider a personal trainer. As a self-defense instructor I relied on tried and true athletic training principles from traditional strength training to pilates and yoga. While I became very familiar with principles from a lot of different disciplines, I never got good at putting together traditional workouts (i.e. a weight-lifting schedule). I can smoke myself in a cardio or interval workout, but I've always been behind the power curve on how to develop strength - especially explosive strength. Sure, you can get strong doing Krav Maga, but in order to move past a certain level you need to start incorporating different things - mostly additional weight.

The problem that I've always had is that I hate going to the gym (I know, go figure). Aside from the issues that most people have with traditional gyms (waiting for a bench, people not re-racking weights, those insanely jacked guys that lift more with their triceps than I can squat), I never liked the typical strength training routines. Yes, there are proven methods to building strength, and pounding out some iron is one of the best ways to do it. Unfortunately, the traditional programs just don't keep my interest. I'm sure if I had an awesome trainer or a good training partner that wouldn't be a problem, but that's not in the cards right now. Trainers are too expensive (when I get independently wealthy I'll have Mark Verstagen come to my house), and finding a training partner with my schedule is tough. To make matters worse I will only have access to a traditional gym about 50% of the time. If I build a workout routine that requires benches and squat racks I'll just be setting myself up for failure.

P90X is definitely an option, and it will without a doubt make you stronger. However, the one thing to understand about P90X is that while it is partially a strength program, one of the main purposes of it is to help you burn fat and lose weight. While I will never scoff at dropping a few lbs, my main concern right now isn't about how I look. What I need right now is strength... lots and lots of strength.

So the requirements for my new regimen are pretty straightforward, but a little difficult to satisfy:

1. The main program needs to be strength training. Cardio will be supplemented with runs (which I need to do) and Bas Rutten workouts (since my Krav Maga technique has gone to shit).
2. The program needs to be as portable as P90X. The Powerblocks made it easy to bring weight wherever I needed.
3. As little additional investment as possible. I spent over $500 on my P90X investment, so I don't want to be buying a ton of crap unless I know it's going to last me.
4. Enough potential variation in the program that I will keep my ADD side satisfied.
5. The program needs to have a significant core strength portion to get my lame back into shape so this pain will go away.

In order to help with this decision I made a phone call to a good friend of mine for some advice. Not only is he a walking bulldozer, he's a training freak that is always on the lookout for something new to make his workouts more intense. His advice came in one simple word - kettlebells.

For those of you that don't know, kettlebells are a Russian torture, er... workout device, that have been around for some time. Basically it's a cannonball with a handle, and you can use the kettlebell in an almost unlimited variation of movements including lifts, swings, throws, etc. Kettlebells have gotten extremely popular over the past few years, and several of my friends have been working out with them for some time.

I never really got into kettlebells mainly because I never had access to them. Back when I ran my schools I had thought about purchasing some, but they're not the cheapest things around, and I didn't have a certified kettlebell instructor around me to work with. While normally I would just purchase them willy-nilly and figure out how to use them, I didn't want to hurt any of my students trying to use them in training when I didn't know what I was doing. Yes, from time-to-time I do make sensible decisions.

Kettlebell enthusiasts will tout these portable munitions as the greatest thing to come to strength training since someone realized lifting a weight makes you stronger. However, just like CrossFit, P90X, John Basedow's abs, and Denise Austin's workout videos, there are people that swear by them and others that think claims are nothing more than marketing hype. Since I'm a little more rational than most, I understand that the truth lies somewhere in the middle, and that the success of a program ultimately relies on the person that's actually doing it.

Just to go off on a tangent for a moment, lets look at CrossFit as an example. Yes, CrossFit is an amazing organization that has brought a lot of people to the pinnacle of human performance. Coach Glassman has pioneered new methods and principles in athletic training that are so significant that the Marine Corp modeled their new PT program after this teachings. However, CrossFit requires a lot of equipment (olympic weights, bumper plates, ropes, pull-up bars, etc.), and an experienced coach is an absolute necessity for beginners than have never attempted olympic-style lifts. For those that have access to the equipment and proper coaching, CrossFit is great. Unfortunately for me it's not really a possibility given my current constraints. And before any CrossFit zealots, ahem, enthusiasts, jump down my throat... yes, I know CrossFit posts new workouts everyday. Yes, I know they post very good how-to's for many of the lifts they do. I've gone through a lot of CrossFit workouts in my day. Unfortunately, I don't have much space for tractor tires in my 1100 square foot condo.

But I digress. Looking at my requirements/constraints, it appears that kettlebell workouts are the most conducive to what I'm looking for. Let's see how they fit my requirements:

1. Kettlebell workouts are inherently strength based (you're swinging around a giant piece of iron for godsake).
2. They are extremely portable, and starting out I will only need a few (technically just a couple - an 8kg bell and a 16kg bell).
3. The investment for the bells and a highly recommended workout video was only $200. While I would've rather spent $0, the money isn't a huge issue.
4. Kettlebell workouts are limited only by your imagination. There are plenty of great instructional videos out there with new workouts and advanced moves, so I won't be hurting for material.
5. Kettlebell workouts are heavily focused on core strength, which is exactly what I need.

So there you go - my new weapon of choice is the kettlebell. It'll take about a week to get the new equipment, but that's fine with me. I'm going to focus the next week on rehabing my back and getting with the chiropractor a few times. About the only downside to all of this is that yoga is the one thing that actually makes my back feel better... and we all know how I feel about yoga.
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