New Year's Eve - Active Recovery

With my back tight (as it's been as of late), I decided to make today an active recovery day.

Started out with Intermediate program of Intu-Flow.

Then worked through a short session of the Xtension program with my mini clubbells. I incorporated the Front Swipe for the first time for completeness. That made the entire session include the following:
1) Front Swipe
2) Side Swipe
3) Hammer Swing
4) Split Swipe
5) Alternating Mill
6) Alternating Backstroke

Finished off with Kettlebell Foundations Compensatory Program and some trigger point tennis ball work.

Let me now wish everyone a very Happy New Year. May 2009 bring you health, happiness and bigger kettlebells!!

Impromptu Jerks

I was feeling pretty good this evening and being off from work inspired me to sneak in a quick, exploratory jerk session.

Very short and very sweet...

Jerk:

2 x 16kg - 3 minutes @ 5 rpm

2 x 20kg - 1 minute @ 5 rpm

2 x 24kg - 1 minute @ 5 rpm

I wanted to get a taste of some heavier jerks than I've been practicing. My New Year's Resolution... by the end of 2009 get ranked by WKC with 24kg bells in the biathlon (jerk & snatch).

Tumbleweed, Take 2

I woke up early today even though I'm off from work to try out the suggestions made to me by Coach Adam Steer following yesterday's session.

I started off performing Intu-Flow's Intermediate program.

I then warmed my body up with a selection of FlowFit movements:
Trinity Squat
Quad Squat
Leg Swoop
Tripod Switch
Upward Facing Dog
Spinal Rock

Forgetting to repeat the mid-line Intu-Flow (oops), I then gave Tumbleweed another go.

Being warmed up this way definitely made a bit of a difference for me. I still am very tight and don't expect miracles first time through. But I will continue to practice this way until my body begins to unknot itself. As I'm typing this I can feel the after effects of this session on my lower back and rear pelvis. Hopefully, I didn't over do it(!).

Tumbleweed

I've been taking a bit easier the past few days as I have been waking up to some nasty back spasms. They are actually occurring on the opposite side of my back from where I have/had my injury.

Yesterday I practiced IntuFlow Intermediate only.

This morning, again with IntuFlow Intermediate as well as starting to practice the Tumbleweed Prasara Flow. I have two things working against me right now. (1) Yoga first thing in the morning when your body is tight is not an easy thing to do. (2) Not having a lot of space to work in also makes Prasara, known for its fluid transitions, somewhat difficult to perform.

Being new to this, I focused mostly on the individual postures. I now have a new respect for Sleeping Warrior pose after watching Scott Sonnon explain the counterpoints to the movement. It's not a restful position at all, even though it appears to someone else that you might be sleeping! Plow is difficult for me this early in the morning with all of my current back tightness.

It's a start. I feel good. I'm glad I woke up early to practice this. I may opt for some bodyweight movements tomorrow depending on how my back feels, otherwise it'll be the bells. That's it. Off to work now. Only day in the office this week! =)

Long Cycle Progression

It's been a few days since my last workout and my back has been rather tight the past few days (maybe I overdid it with the Floor Scorpion?), so today I wanted to get things moving again without getting too intense.

So I grabbed my 12kg bell and put together a combination long cycle progression that looked like this...

1-Arm Long Cycle Press: 12kg - 4 minutes @ 8 rpm

1-Arm Long Cycle Push Press: 12kg - 4 minutes @ 10 rpm

1-Arm Long Cycle Jerk: 12kg - 4 minutes @ 10 rpm

12 minutes total time with no rest, this was one continuous set.

I then followed with mini clubbells (the usual):
Side Swipe
Hammer Swing
Split Swipe
Alternating Mill
Backstroke

Finally finished off with compensatory cool down.

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas today!

I am about to travel once again to visit some family this afternoon. No training today nor yesterday. I'll make up for it tomorrow.

One very nice present that I received from my wife...














The Big Book of Clubbell Training! This should help compliment my kettlebell work nicely! And I am looking forward to plowing through this in the days to come.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Incremental Improvement

That's the name of the game when it comes to the bells.  Nice and steady upward movement - in time, in pace and in weight.  Creeping improvement.  (Sometime creepy too!)

Today I moved back to the Jerk.  My goal to improve upon my last outing which was a 4-minute set.  Here's how it all went down...

Warmed up with the 6lb medicine ball - big circles and standing twists.

Swing:  12kg - 15/15;  16kg - 12/12;  20kg - 10/10

Jerk:  2 x 16kg - 5 minutes @ 5 rpm - total of 25 Jerks

Cooled down with some yoga, muscular retraining exercises and tennis ball trigger point therapy.

I was happy with today's outcome.  I am experiencing quite a bit of tightness in my back.  Not the injured site, but other parts mostly on the opposite side of the injury.  Like I said before, I'm not sure what it means, if anything, other than possibly balancing things out(?).  I will stay vigilant to be sure I don't develop anything more than tightness this time.

On a positive note, my injury continues to feel improved.  I am now adding back in a few more of the Kettlebell Foundation Compensatory Movements that I avoided earlier.  Today for the first time (ever) I was able to include the Floor Scorpion into my routine(!).  I also added back Camel, Seated Chair and Tripod.  All of these had caused irritation before.  Let's see how I hold up after today.  

I hope to squeeze in a workout session tomorrow and then allow myself some rest on Christmas Day.  Let's see how it goes, shall we?  Jerk 'em up, y'all!

Kettlebells for Sale

If anyone in the NY Metro Area is interested in some Perform Better or Dragon Door kettlebells give me a shout at howie@kettlebellsny.com.

I'm pricing them just below list price before shipping & handling and tax. My Dragon Door 24kg bells are pretty much right out of the box.

I'm asking the following:

(2) 16kg Perform Better - $70 each

(2) 20kg Perform Better - $85 each

(2) 24kg Dragon Door - $125 each

(1) 32kg Perform Better - $125

Since I commute from Rockland County (just north of Northern Jersey) to Stamford, CT just about every day, passing through Westchester, I can drop them off along the way pretty easily.

Winter Wonderland

It's a Winter Wonderland here in NY!

I had a 3-hour commute home from work on Friday, making my way through the treacherous snow and ice. Yesterday was still nasty trying to get around town. And this morning I woke up to more snowfall. And it keeps on falling!
















































My back tightened up a good deal after Friday's

workout session (both jerks and snatches practiced), so I decided that today I would back up a bit in terms of intensity. I reverted back to the tried and true Fitness Protocol - Level 1.

Press: 16kg - 2 minutes @ 12 rpm - 12L/12R

Snatch: 16kg - 2 minutes @ 16 rpm - 16L/16R

Long Cycle Push Press: 16kg - 2 minutes @ 10 rpm - 10L/10R

Then did some work with the Mini Clubbells:
- Side Swipe
- Hammer Swing
- Split Swipe
- Alternating Mill
- Backstroke

Cooled down with some yoga. And there will definitely be some tennis ball trigger point therapy later.

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!!

Double It Up

This morning was the first session in a while that I performed both Jerks and Snatches together.  I have been keeping them isolated from one another as I worked through my back issues, trying to keep my training variables very visible.  Since I am starting to feel some major improvements, I decided to work them both this morning.  Still being conservative, I varied the intensity between the two.

This is what this dark morning's session looked like (we're waiting for the snow to arrive!)...

Jerk:  2 x 16kg - 2 minutes @ 8 rpm 

Snatch:  16kg - 6 minutes @ 12 rpm

Cooled down with some yoga and trigger point massage.

I am happy to report that the Jerk set felt pretty good.  Two minutes is pretty short.  Short is nice!!  The Snatch set was a bit trying.  The last minute on each hand (minute 3 and 6) was all about staying poised and keeping my breathing under control.  

I am so psyched to be able to be at this level now.  By the time March rolls around, I hope to be VERY comfortable working with the 16kg's and hopefully will be doing some work with the 20kg's.  This is a great way to end off the year for me, given with what I have been dealing with since August.  Snatch 'em high everyone!!

Slow and Steady

I knew it!  I told you so!!

Those clubbells definitely work my thoracic mobility in the right way!  I felt things tightening up last night and awoke this morning feeling like someone tightened a belt around my mid back.  Not one to add insult to injury, I knew the perfect way to stretch things back out - Jerks!

Today was a nice, steady progression with the 16kg bells, similar to how I worked up on things with the 12kg.  This is what today looked like...

Swing:  12kg - 15/15;  16kg - 10/10

Jerk:  2 x 16kg - 4 minutes @ 6 rpm - total of 24 Jerks

Cool down with some yoga (I'm getting tired of writing "Kettlebell Foundation Compensatory Movements" every time, so from now on, I'm simply going to refer to it as "yoga") and some tennis ball therapy.

I am continued to be surprised with how well my twisting motion is improving.  The only thing that has really changed is the introduction of the tennis ball therapy in the past two weeks or so.  Everything else is the same.  I haven't even finished reading my Muscular Retraining book!  I should be able to finish it off this week and then will start the exercises within.  But by then, they might even be prehab work and not rehab as they were intended (if things continue to improve as they are).  But even so, I am feeling some soreness on the opposite side of my body in some similar places.  My goal is to try to balance all of this out and make sure I don't start down a similar path with my left side.  Now that the right is improving, let's bring it all up strong and healthy together.  

Jerk 'em up, y'all!!

Holiday Fundraiser

It’s that time of year again, when my family tries to raise money to support the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance. This is our third year fundraising and the third holiday season we are celebrating with Anthony.

As some of you probably, my beautiful son Anthony was born in March of 2006 and was diagnosed with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC). This devastating genetic disorder causes the formation of tumors in vital organs such as the brain, heart, skin, kidneys, eyes and lungs. The tumors can cause serious health problems like heart and lung disease, kidney involvement, skin manifestations, epilepsy, autism, mental retardation, and even death. There is no present cure for TSC. 

Anthony’s third birthday is now approaching. He is walking, but is not able to run, jump, or climb stairs without assistance. Starting to speak, but with a very limited vocabulary, he quickly gets frustrated when not able to communicate his needs. And as Anthony has only now started to feed himself, one can only image how difficult things are for Anthony and his care givers. Despite all this, Anthony works extremely hard each and every day, receiving 8 therapy sessions each week. His sessions include physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and special education. Anthony also attends an Infant Development Program three mornings a week at a facility near our home.

A sweet, lovable boy with a great sense of humor, a wonderful personality, and a love for music, Anthony continues to improve and progress forward. Although constantly struggling to control his seizures with various combinations of medicine, Anthony is doing very well and is nothing but a pure joy and a gift from heaven. We continue to be so very proud of him.

If you have the ability to make a donation during these hard economic times, the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance can use your help.  All donations are tax deductible.

If you would like to make a donation and help us reach our targeted goal, please go to Anthony's page and click on "Donate Now".  Thank you!

ttp://ecommunity.tsalliance.org/netcommunity/anthonybrewer2008

Changing It Up A Bit

This morning I decided to change it up a bit with an Intu Flow warm up, followed by an Xtension Clubbell mini session.

I feel some different tightness in various parts of my back and pelvis from the past few days of higher intensity bell work.  Not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing.  It's different.  I'm hoping it's my body re-learning how it should be moving and handling weight.  I hope I'm right.  In the meantime, I just need to do everything I can to help it along.  

Overall, I'm feeling pretty good these days.  I think back to last December when I was starting to prepare for the RKC Cert.  I was in a different kind of pain.  My forearms were shot.  I recall that any type of pressing was terribly painful.  And I was forced to palm press my lighter bells.  This year it's a different story.  Live and learn.  Just keep moving forward.  And have fun!

Anyway, this morning was a blend of Beginner and Intermediate Intu Flow.

Followed up with my mini clubbells performing:

Side Swipe

Hammer Swing

Split Swipe

Alternating Mill

Alternating Back Stroke

It's amazing how even with the mini clubbells these few movements get your warmed up to a light perspiration.  And I'm only performing one small set of each right now.  The Hammer Swing is something I need to take slowly.  If you perform it correctly, it is a GREAT movement to open up the thoracic spine.  Unfortunately, the first time I performed it, I felt like a pretzel for a few days afterward.  The other movements are great for the core and shoulders, which are also in need of some "different" attention right now.  That's it for today!

You Might As Well Face It, You're Addicted To Bells

Even though I am still sore from Saturday's adventures, something inside me was itching to get under the bells, just a bit, today. Figuring if I get moving a bit and then follow up with some compensatory movements, I might be better off.

So I was faithful to myself and kept it short and sweet...

Jerk: 2x16kg - 3 minutes @ 6 rpm - total of 18 Jerks

Push Press: 20kg - 4 minutes @ 8 rpm - I alternated arms each minute with these - total of 32 push presses

Cooled down with a selection of Kettlebell Foundation Compensatory movements.

I was surprised at how well the Jerks felt. Maybe the heavier bells let me drive my elbows into my hips more so than the 12kgs. I thought about going a bit longer but opted to be conservative today.

The 20kg Push Presses actually felt kinda light at that pace.

Gotta go.... that's it for today.

Weekend Fundraiser

This past Saturday. Gold's Gym in Paramus, NJ allowed me to offer three 1-hour kettlebell lifting workshops. Everything we collected is being donated to the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance.

My son Anthony, who will turn 3 at the end of March, was born with Tuberous Sclerosis. Each holiday season since he was born we try to raise money for the Alliance whose goal it is to help fund research for cure as well as help improve the lives of affected families. This year I was able to offer these classes as a way of saying thank you to those generous enough to make donations.

The classes were scheduled one right after another. As I cooled down one session, the next session was on there way in ready to be warmed up. We went over the basics, swing, clean, press, push press, long cycle press/push press, half snatch and snatch.

Between the three sessions we had a total of 23 people attend and in all raised over $600!

For the most part, everyone seemed to enjoy the bells (even when they looked like they were in pain!). If there is a demand for more at that location, I promised to return to continue sharing the fun.

I myself am still recovering from it all. My personal workouts typically only last 30-40 minutes. In this sort of setting, not only was I demonstrating each movement, but also working along with the group as we practiced timed sets with each. Also, being limited in the number of 12kg bells I have, I used the 16kg for the first two sessions and was able to drop down to the 12kg for the last. On a good note, everything has been hurting it seems except for where my back injury was.

Even today my delts are still fried, traps, forearms, abs, obliques, quads, hamstrings, you name it. But it's a good sore. This was definitely a good way to transition back to the 16kg for my own training! That's all that's been happening. Tomorrow, perhaps we test the waters with 16kg Jerks.

I would like to especially thank Art, Mike and Eileen for the great opportunity this weekend. They did a lot to help make this the success that it was. Thank you all!

Baby Steps

Warmed up this morning with some 6lb medicine ball circles and twists.  

Swing:  12kg - 15/15, 16kg - 15/15,  20kg - 10/10

Snatch:  16kg - 4 minutes @ 12 rpm - total 48 snatches

Cooled down with selected KF Compensatory movements.  I was amazing pleased to find my range of motion in the Spinal Twist has increased somewhat without pain(!).  Things might actually be starting to work for me.  This could be exciting...  =)

I could definitely feel the difference Snatching the bigger bell this morning.  I considered switching hands after the 4 minute mark to squeeze out an additional minute per hand, but I decided not to be greedy and go slow.  Slow and steady have been working for me so far, I'm hoping it won't let me down.

On a side note, the AKC Coach's Certification is coming to NYC in June.  I plan to attend.  Although it seems like so far off, it will allow me to keep progressing and hopefully I'll be moving bigger bells and numbers around by then (24kg's maybe??).

Gotta run, early meeting at the office today!  Snatch 'em up y'all!

Recovery Day

Not much doing here this morning except a little Intu-Flow Beginner Routine and a little "tennis ball therapy".

Yesterday's 10 minute Jerk set exhausted me.  My own fault, I didn't eat nearly enough yesterday to compensate.  This morning I awoke to a pretty tight lower back and some sore forearms.  There are still traces of fatigue in my shoulder girdle and I'm sure as the day goes on I'll notice other places as well.

But the best part is that my back does not have me screaming in pain this morning.  It tightened up pretty good across my lower back and particularly at the injured site, which is where the tennis ball therapy came in.  I have only flipped through a few pages of my newest purchase, Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Claire Davies.  On order is the Thera Cane, but in the meantime tennis balls work pretty well at hitting the "knots" in the muscle.  And like I said, I still have to read the book so I might not even be performing this correctly, but however it seems to be helping.

I'm just about finished reading the first half of Muscular Retraining for Pain-Free Living.  It's only in the second half that the exercises are introduced, so that will be starting shortly as well.  But from everything else, so far so good.

Tomorrow I would like to introduce the 16kg back into my regular training.  Stay posted.

Another Milestone Met

I took yesterday off to rest after my 10 minute Snatch set on Saturday. I was pleasantly surprised at how well my back withstood the session. I was a bit tight around the site of the injury as well as my core in general. The most soreness I experienced was in my traps.

I had followed up that session with a few selected Kettlebell Foundation Compensatory movements as well as some initial Trigger Point therapy using a tennis ball. Either one or the combination worked really well at keeping things at bay.

This morning I was intent on hitting the 10 minute mark with the Jerk. I had done 8 minutes at 6 rpms the other day and was confident I could give it a run today. Here's how it looked...

Swing: 12kg - 15/15; 16kg - 12/12; 20kg - 10/10

Jerk: 2 x 12kg - 10 minutes @ 6 rpm - total of 60 jerks(!)

This was a tough set! I think part of the difficulty is performing these first thing in the morning when my body is still not fully warm and flexible. Two minutes in, I was thinking "there's no way I'm getting to 10 today".

But again, I turned my concentration toward my breathing and my alignment. Trying to reach my hips with my elbows between each and every rep.

Into the fourth minute, I was thinking "just two more, get through 6 minutes". At some point the minutes became a blur, I found my hips a bit better which makes it a lot easier. And my breathing settled in. Next thing I know, 9 minutes are passed. One minute to go! Only 6 more reps. And then... I completed the 10th minute!

This is a great feeling to have. What a hurdle it's been. Now it's time to change things up a bit. Similar to my Snatch work, I will now broaden my practice two ways, bump up to the 16kg bell and start with shorter sets, working my way up, and continuing to work with the 12kg, also shorter sets but at an increased pace, again building up.

I didn't have a chance to cooldown as I did on Saturday. I'll get some in later on today. Hopefully, I'll feel alright tomorrow. That's it for now. Jerk 'em up!!

Long Road to 10 Minute Snatch Set

It's been a while coming but today I hit my first milestone - 10 minute set of Snatches with the 12kg!

I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't start Snatching with the 16kg until I was able to last for 10 minutes with the 12kg. And today I did it and feel pretty good afterward as well!

I missed my training sessions the last two days. Thursday I took off to rest and yesterday I slept through the alarm. (If you know me, that happens every now and again.) I saw the chiro yesterday and woke up today with my back a bit sore from it. Nonetheless, I decided it was time to go for 10. Here's what it looked like...

Swing: 12kg - 15/15; 16kg - 10/10; 20kg - 10/10

Snatch: 12kg - 10 minutes @ 14 rpm - total of 140 Snatches

In case you're interested here's the play-by-play on how I performed the set...
I have a large clock in front of me with a sweeping second hand.
On the floor out in front of me I have a digital timer that's on zero.
I chalk up and wait until the second hand of the clock hits the "9" - 15 seconds till we begin the set - at this point I start the digital timer.
I then prepare my stance, position the bell and get ready to begin.
When the second hand hits the "12", I start.
My focus my becomes gets the pace set and synchronized with my breathing. I've got to hit 3 reps before the second hand approaches the "3" on the clock.
As it hits the "3", I hit my 4th rep.
Three more to go before the second hand hits the "6".
And now we repeat for the next half minute.
And so on.
If I zone out and lose track of how far into the set I am, I glance down at the digital timer.
Once my breathing is comfortable, I then focus on my form.
At the top, the bell rested diagonally down across my hand.
To start the downswing, I focus on rotating the bell gently out of my hand to descend.
As it passes through my legs I focus on tightening my 'ok' grip.

Once I hit the 5 minute mark with my left hand I knew I was home free. My breathing was steady and controlled. It's all about pacing yourself.

With the Snatch, there are two avenues that I am now going to pursue. (1) Improve this 10 minute set by increasing my rpms. (2) Start with the 16kg once again and work my way up to longer sets as I did with the 12kg.

I still have a lot of work to do with my back. But at least I am able to move and train again. That makes it a lot more tolerable. Snatch 'em up baby!!

Not Too Bad

Slept a little better last night.  I was able to cut back on the dose a Nyquil a bit which made it easier to get up today than yesterday.  I wanted to keep things moving without overdoing it today.  Therefore I opted to forego the Snatches today and work on my Jerks.

Swing:  12kg - 10/10;  16kg - 10/10

Jerk:  2 x 12kg - 8 minutes at 6 rpm - total of 48 reps

Cooldown consisted of some foam roller work, Kettlebell Foundation Compensatory movements and some impromptu trigger point massage on my quadratus lumborum using a plastic polar bear(!)  in place of a tennis ball.  (Hey, sometimes you gotta make do with what you have on hand.)

I was mentally set to eek out this 8 minute set of Jerks.  Around minute five I was started to have my doubts, but I stayed focused on getting through each individual minute and tried my best to find my hip bones to get in some rest.  Funny thing is, sometime in minute six I thought about going for ten minutes.  I probably could have but didn't want to push it too much today.  My back is hurting a bit today (and yesterday).  

I'm off to Barnes & Noble again today to pick up a book on Trigger Point Therapy.  I'm going to figure this back thing out (eventually).  I've decided to remove the heal insert I have been wearing.  Since I have been wearing it for weeks now and still have not gotten lasting relief and since I don't totally believe that my condition is structural but muscular, I don't want it overcompensating things.  Worse case, I can always put it back in.

So that's it for today.  Hopefully, tomorrow I feel even better than today!  Jerk 'em up y'all!!

I Hate These Workouts

The ones when you're sick and would rather sleep in, but you know you'll feel better if you just muster up the strength and will to push through it.

Yeap, I've come down with the usual, cold and cough.  My two-year-old and I overlapped our colds this time.  He started to improve yesterday while I seemed to worsen.  I am taking the day off from work though.  I'm continuing to use the Neti pot as I had been trying to keep this thing at bay but will also be sampling some Claritin-D today as well.  Hopefully I can keep this thing under control.

Anyway, I still had the fortitude to get up and train a bit.  Here's what it looked like...

Swing:  12kg - 10/10;  16kg - 10/10

Snatch:  12kg - 6 minutes - 18/16/16/18/16/16 - 100 reps total

One-Arm Jerk:  16kg - 4 minutes - 12/6/12/6 - 36 reps total

Annex workout included Seated Russian Twist 12kg, Windmill 12kg, Standing Big Circles 6lb ball, and Standing Russian Twist 6lb ball.

I have been wondering a lot lately about how it feels to Snatch at a 20 rpm pace.  Up until now I have never ventured past 16rpm.  So I started to introduce within the 6 minute set, the first initial minute for each hand at 18 rpm.  It is fast!  At 16 rpm, you still have a moment at top to catch your breath.  At 18rpm, that starts to become non-existent.  I can only imagine what 20 rpm feels like.  At this point in my training 20 rpm for 10 minutes seems like an impossibility. But then again, that's why we train, right?  =)

I then added on the heavier One Arm Jerks.  I wasn't sure going into these how long I wanted to last.  I thought maybe 6 minutes, but after the first rather rapid set, decided to ease back and not push it too hard.    Particularly since my back wasn't too happy that I started to include these again in a prior session.  Which leads me to something interesting about my back...

I have started reading a book title Muscular Retraining for a Pain Free Life.  This book was recommended by Scott Helsley on his blog.  (I'll let you check out the synopsis on Amazon.)  As I was reading it last night, I decided to skim through some of the later chapters to see what was in store for me.  In the chapter on posture and alignment, the author described by current condition to a tee.  Laterally tiled pelvis with accompanying scoliosis.  Only he goes on to say that this sort of condition is typically caused by muscular dysfunction and that this type of scoliosis is in fact reversible as it is the result of the muscle imbalance and not the cause.  If this is true in my condition, I have much more work to do.  My chiropractor has told me the opposite.  I'm not sure which is correct, but I am tending to lean toward the book's view.  Although the initial visits to the chiro produced some immediate improvement, I am again stuck in a place where I have something of a constant ache in my lower right back.  I am gaining some increased mobility when twisting to the right, but this condition has been going on now for over 4 months and I have not ever been totally pain free in the whole time.  

Luckily the second half of this book includes muscular retraining exercises that are supposed to help.  I am going to try to start experimenting with them today.   The author, an occupational therapist out on the west coast, now also provides online consultations.  I am going to attempt to start working the exercises in the book first, but might also have to explore that option especially if I start to see some improvement on my own.  There might be hope for me yet!!  

Enough babbling from me.  That's it and that's all for today!