Day 475: The Project Begins

I tell my students to sit up straight. Some of my teachers told me the same thing. What they didn't tell me, however, was that slouching in my seat would lead to chronic lower back pain due to shortening of the muscles in the lumbar region. I make sure to explain this to my students with myself as an example of what not to do.

And I am a excellent example of what NOT to do with your body. Over the years, my body has been put through all types of abuse. After years of being beaten and thrown through walls, I took up skateboarding and began to throw myself down flights of stairs. These days I think climbing buildings and leaping from one to another is a good idea.

What makes this all worse, is that I have never given thought to whether or not I was physically prepared for these activities, and I haven't taken care of my body afterwards. Rest days were not a part of my vocabulary. Neither was recuperation. If I could stand, then I was ready to participate again. Stretching? What the fuck is that?

So now I am left with a battle torn body and an ever-present desire to do more and push further. The come has come to rebuild this machine so that I can continue doing the things I enjoy and to reach new heights.

Project 475 begins today.

The Damage

For as long as I can remember, I have had chronic pain throughout my body with deep-set knots everywhere. Doctors call it muscle spasms; some have suggested I have fibromyalgia. I've tried massage, acupuncture, and rolfing with only temporary results. I have stubbornly refused to follow advice concerning rest, ice, and stretching. As a result, my flexibility and mobility are not what I would like them to be.

As I type today I have extreme pain in my left shoulder, my right knee resists movement after resting in any position for a period of time, and low back pain concentrated around the sacrum.

The Project

Over the next 475 days, I intend to strip down and rebuild my body as though it was a vintage automobile. Because science says results must ne repeatable to be proven, I will do my best to use minimal equipment so that any of you who want to follow along with me will not be limited by financial concerns or gym access.

The mission of this project is to improve my quality of life and adaptability to anything live throws at me. These will be evaluated based on three long range goals for improving:

mobility - I define this as the ability to reach full range of motion - the ability to perform all movements and assume all positions the human machine is capable of achieving
strength - This will be measured by periodic gym trips to measure max(3 reps) and working (12 reps) weights in various exercises 
quality of sleep - This will be measured by empirical (sleep duration, number of wakings) and subjective evaluations of restedness 

I will publish the techniques and exercises I use daily as well as changes in diet. 

Day 475

The goal for today was to get the blog up and the provide my readers an explanation of the project, so I did not make any major changes in my lifestyle.

Today was rather minor as far as exercise was concerned:

50 air squats - a basic squat with only body weight (no barbell or weight)

25 kettle bells with 30lbs makeshift kettle bell (more on that later)

40 pushups - 2 sets of 20

I will get more into diet later, but for now I will just say today I made no changes to my types or amounts of food.

Tomorrow I will discuss mobility and examine my body construction with beginning of project measurements and pictures - it's about data analysis folks.

Countdown...Day 476...Tomorrow it Begins

I have learned a lot in life by being stubborn. I have accomplished what I have often because I was told I couldn't.

As a mechanic, I took on the jobs no one else wanted, and I learned to love the "problem vehicles" for the puzzles they provided. I gained a reputation for being the guy who would rescue vintage European cars from destruction. When body shops told customers that the cancerous rust had consumed too much and that the pieces necessary for repairs were no longer available, lucky owners became my clients, and I created the tools and parts to make their beloved mechanized family member whole again.

As a generation of simple vehicles was dying out, a new fleet of machines with a host of high tech features was emerging. No longer merely transportation devices these vehicles became rolling servants capable of making calls for you, heating (and cooling) your rear end automatically, acting as co-pilot, and even calling for help if the need should arise. Each new feature, however, brought new technology and new malfunctions. With dozens of computers and network systems controlling how vehicles start, steer, and stop, the word mechanic metamorphosed nearly overnight. Many of my colleagues actively avoided confronting these new technological twists. I welcomed the new challenges as a way to prove to myself I was worthy. And so, the "problem vehicles" was once again passed on to me.

Blood, sweat, and skin - I left a piece of me in each of these vehicles.

I have been told, "It is the cobbler's kid that goes without shoes." This rings true. While I have repaired and restored so many others' vehicles, I have allowed my own vehicle to fall into disrepair. I have abused it over and over throughout the years without providing proper maintenance.

Tomorrow I begin to repair the damage and to re-tune it into a high performance machine.

475 days have been allotted for this project.