In my teens I was your basic skinny kid, graduating from high school weighing 150 pounds at six feet tall. During the summer prior to my first semester in college I incurred a serious back injury while working at a iron foundry. I was told I had a grade 3 spondylolisthesis, not to lift anything over 30# and that I would have to have a spine fusion by the time I was 30 years old. Pretty grim prognosis for an 18 year old kid.
The muscles surrounding my spine were healthy and functional so I surmised that if I strengthened the extensors of the spine and my hips and legs, that I could minimize the impact this condition would have on my life. As I strengthened these areas in addition to the rest of my body I found that I had no recurring back pain in spite of my condition.
At 59 years of age, I have been involved professionally in the health and fitness industry for the past 40 years. During this time I have been involved in all facets of the industry ranging from employee to owner/operator of multiple facilities, strength and conditioning coach, professional trainer and competitive athlete for 22 years.
I received my first Health/Fitness Trainer Certification through the American College of Sports Medicine at Memphis State University in 1988. I was certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine in Chicago in 1991 and was a member of their teaching faculty for the next 5 years, teaching anatomy, biomechanics and exercise performance to new trainers. I am also a Certified MedX Technician, studying under inventor Arthur Jones and Dr. Michael Pollack at the University of Florida.
My own ignorance of how my body functions and the lack of information provided to me by the doctors forced me to embark on a life long mission of learning about how the body is supposed to function. This knowledge should be basic to every living person but unfortunately everyone, like I was, is ignorant about the very body they live in. I learned how the body functions by way of the "school of hard knocks" as they say which for me is the world of weight lifting and a ton of reading and research over a span of 40 years.
My wife and co-author, Debra Corbo, is 51 and has been involved in the medical/rehabilitation field for the past 28 years as Physical Therapist. She has extensive experience as private practitioner in Physical Therapy in home health care as well as owning her own private practice. She has experience in all facets of injury, rehabilitation, strength training, flexibility for everyone from children to senior citizens.
Debra went into this field of study as a result of a serious spine injury in her teens where she ruptured 3 discs in her back leaving her incapacitated for two years. Refusing surgery, she read voraciously and learned how to strengthen her body to regain normal function. She decided on a field of study in Physical Therapy attending Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania School of Physical Therapy, graduating at the top of her class.
We have combined our disciplines and began the learning process of understanding how the body was meant to function and why people succumbed to back pain and all the other common maladies that people incur. The past 15 years have been enlightening to say the least. We both still deal with our back injuries on a daily basis. We have found if we maintain our strength in our hips, legs and postural muscles that we have minimal to no discomfort.
As the Official Guides to the Anti-Aging and Longevity, our mission is to share with the rest of the world the beauty of the pain free function of the human body. Most people live and die without ever knowing the wonder of the body they have spent their lives in. Instead most people only know the results of the abuse and misuse they have put their body's thru and attribute this to aging.
Nothing is farther from the truth. With the privilege of ownership of the body we live in comes the responsibility of maintaining this body so that we have a place to live while we are on earth. Without proper direction from the owner, the body is forced to compensate to accommodate the wishes of the owner, which becomes the cause for most of the pain and dysfunction people encounter as they age.
Completely preventable and for most people reversible with knowledge, properly performed stretching and exercise and knowledge of proper dietary intake resulting in improved function, less pain and the active lifestyle everyone longs for when they retire.
The privilege of ownership of a human body comes with the responsibility to take care of it. If you don't take care of your body, where are you going to live? This basic maintenance is required by all of us. The missing component is knowledge.
This knowledge is missing from all facets of our lives. The medical community is lacking which is why no one really gets better after they are hurt. This is also the reason 80% plus of all adults will have back pain in their lives. Most of this could be prevented but it takes work and direction.
Everyone knows they should exercise but no one knows how to position their body for optimal response and pain free function. It is not about finding some fun activity to do or finding the perfect modality to use. Rather it is applying basic body control and position to any or all of these chosen activities. This is where people lose it and just perform "their version" of an activity.
This learning about our own body is the most important first step for any person interested in improving their lives. This is the first self-help book that should be read. It does not involve wishful thinking or visualization. It requires continual conscious control and direction by us. Just as your car requires that you drive it each time you use it, your body requires that you direct and control it each time that you use it. You are either "in control" of your body or you are "out of control". Most of the maladies that people encounter with their body's are self induced due to lack of direction and maintenance.
This is very empowering for those that want to take control of their lives. Remember, if you don't take care of your body, where are you going to live?
Everyone needs to exercise and most people know this to some extent. What most don't realize is that everyone needs to exercise PROPERLY. There are no varying versions of human function as some people would suggest. Talk to 10 different trainers or authorities and you will get 10 different opinions. The body works in a predetermined manner. This is the reason why medicine can be applied to all of us. We all work the same way.
The first step is to educate yourself about how your body needs to be positioned for optimal function. Our book, YOUR BODY, YOUR RESPONSIBILITY teaches what is called The Alignment Resistance Training Method. This methodology requires that the user align their body first and maintain it while applying resistance against the various joint motions of the body. The adaptation of the body to the resistance applied is a continuing process throughout our lives.
In our book, we use the modality of stretching to teach the reader how to properly position their body while they focus on stretching a particular joint. In order to effectively stretch, a person has to hold on to both ends of the target muscle. This sounds simple but the practice of stretching for most people amounts to letting go rather than holding. We have included a DVD where we demonstrate and teach the viewer how to begin to learn to direct and hold the body for each stretch. The tape alone is a life long teaching resource for the viewer.
As you begin to understand the complexity of addressing the entire body at one time, the effectiveness of the stretching techniques becomes easier. The stretching gives your joints movement that they probably haven't had for a long time. Strengthening needs to be addressed at this time.
Go to any gym and watch different people performing "their version" of a given exercise. This variation is their interpretation of how this exercise should be done. This is also the reason why they probably will not get much benefit from their efforts. Lack of progress is the main reason people give up exercising, chalking it up to lack of motivation, wrong program or improper goal setting. All of these reasons are excuses borne out of a lack of understanding about how their body works.
The body responds or adapts to stress imposed upon it. This is part of our survival mechanism. It is very simple, if your body is not responding by gaining muscle and strength, it hasn't been stimulated to do so. Like anything else, the more you know about something, the better you use it.
Our second book, the sequel to Your Body, Your Responsibility, is at the publishers right now. We are looking for a early summer release. This book is the same name as the first but features WEIGHT TRAINING and how to strengthen the entire body. It comes with 2 DVD's that teach explicitly 74 different exercises and stretches for the entire body. The same in depth instruction is given to give you the tools and knowledge to be more effective in your exercise efforts.
Every "BODY" needs to do strength training, regardless if you are a man or women, young or old. Strength training maintains your lean body mass (muscle) which is the destination for your food. Whether you are trying to lose weight (fat), or just want to retard aging, strength training, properly performed is the single best thing that you could do. It retains and makes more muscle, improves your cardiovascular system with improved blood flow to all working muscles of your body and most importantly, it tells your body in very definite terms to retain muscle instead of getting rid of it. The loss of muscle is the weight loss most people experience because muscle requires calories and in a restricted calorie situation (dieting), your body gives up muscle and retains fat because fat is life sustaining, muscle isn't. Muscle only gives us the ability to move. Fat is stored energy and can get us through periods of starvation (dieting).
This could go on and on which we do in our books. This is just a sample of the necessary information all of us need for maintaining our body to its fullest capacity.
If we maintain our body on a regular basis, we then can embark on making our lives fuller and more rewarding. Ignore your body and the pursuit of happiness becomes a wreck on the side of the road of life.