My Favorite Way to Blow Out Your Back

Christmas Night, 2015 (a Friday)…

At the local Cinema 12 in Daytona, Florida, I enjoyed a movie with my family to end our Christmas vacation. It was difficult for me to fully appreciate Will Smith’s performance in the film we watched. The movie showed NFL players losing their mind once their playing career had ended, and how it affected their lives. I was close to losing my mind, but not as a result of a brain injury. All I could think about was how my lower back felt like it was on the verge of disintegrating into a pile of dust.

4 days ago it was Monday…

My spine closely resembled the shape of a candy cane as I sat against the wall, waiting for our flight to board. At the time, this was the most comfortable position I had any interest in holding. We boarded the plane, flew, and landed. As I stood to my feet after 2.5 hours in the air, my back felt stiffer than an overcooked Christmas ham.

Tuesday…

My back felt more crumbly than pumpkin pie crust as I stood up to head away from the vacation house to get some lunch. I had been laying around all morning. After eating some sandwiches we returned to the house, and I continued being lazy as I awaited supper. I was starting to feel more sloppy than a gift wrapped by a 4 year old.

Wednesday: the day that involved the most activity…

After sitting around all morning, we ventured out of the house and headed toward Daytona Beach to eat lunch. After eating, we took a walk along the beachside boardwalk. After visiting a few shops and sitting at a bar long enough to discover that they didn’t serve margaritas (bye), we stopped to look out over the water. As I leaned against the handrails, I noticed my back feeling as brittle as a peppermint patty. 

Thursday…

My back was more tangled than Santa’s beard and more rounded than his belly, as I jammed myself into the corner of the couch. Part of the family toured the Daytona Speedway. I turned down the offer because by now I lacked the confidence to wander away from the living room without going for a spill.

Friday…

In recognition of Christmas Day, there was little to do in the city of Daytona. Other than our trip to the movie theatre, the only thing to report for this day was my back feeling more stale than biting into a Christmas cookie on Valentine’s Day. 

Saturday…

I am back in the air, sitting on my returning flight as I write this. Since waking up at 5am, my back has been throbbing worse than frostbitten hands.

The condition of my back has been slightly dramatized in this entry (as well as the activities of the trip), but I hope you understand my point. Sitting is truly the new smoking. As someone who spends 85%+ of my waking hours on my feet, I never experience back pain. Spending less time being sedentary and following an exercise program (that contains heavy lifting and total body stimulation) is the best way to prevent and combat against body aches and injury. This is contrary to what many would probably think. 

The next time you are feeling sore or achey….before you take the generic approach of resting or avoiding activity, consider this post. Building strength and moving around will make you feel better and help restore function to problem areas. 

2016 Comin' In Hot

What's your New Year's Resolution for this coming year?

Or do you have several New Year's Resolutions?

Or maybe you are one of those people that have your life together and don't set resolutions....

"If I want to make a change in my life, I don't need to wait until a specific date to start, I just make a change."

That's called not having fun. 

To have fun, every once in a while you should....make food choices poor enough to cause mild depression....don't workout for 1 to 15 days in a row....refuse to be responsible with your decision making....wonder how you're going to climb out of the bottomless pit of misery you were Sparta-Kicked into....decide that your best bet is to wait for a specific future date to get things back on track, and in the meantime continue to let loose and be careless. When things are going this bad, you can't just up and stop on the spot....you need time to prepare for the abrupt lifestyle changes that are creepin' up.

I'm the master of getting it back together on Monday. Most weekends I end up abusing my diet to the point that I refuse to do anything more than go from the bed to the couch. When Monday comes around, it's time to once again slap myself in the face with the consumption of bland food and the attempt to train the same way I did last week. It's always a struggle but the pattern always continues.

I prefer to make resolutions on this micro level, but for those of you choosing a macro-based approach, what better time of year to put a good plan into action than New Year's Day (forgot about new year's day parties) January 2nd? It is the ultimate reset button. The day of the year literally starts back at 1 and to me, it seems perfectly acceptable to associate new habits with the brand new year....just like I do with each new week. 

As long as we balance out the periods of gluttony and inactivity, with periods of disciplined eating and hard work in the gym, you and I will both be fine and happy. 

Are you on the weekly or annual plan?