Nilo's Back Surgery Survival Guide

Apologize and other stuff

2012-01-08T21:16:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry for misleading you, I had every intention of holding my "pain free sports" clinic back when I posted last (September) however some personal things arose and I was delayed. I do hope to hold this clinic soon but as of this posting I have no date set. Some other musing I want to share with you. As a personal trainer I am still surprised when people don't know the difference between carbs/fats/proteins. But that is not what THIS is about. It is about the poor advice I see athletes, young and old getting from trainers who should know better. The main problem I see is fear. Improving the application of force is not an easy thing but once it's taught is effects will be immediate. Once your movement patterns, joint mobility & stability are up to necessary standards, the ONLY true, safe and efficient way of increasing strength, power and rate of force production is through barbell squats, pulls, cleans, snatches and upper body jerks and push presses. Plyometics and medicine balls come AFTER one develops a strength base.

Pain Free Volleyball Clinic

2011-09-21T11:58:00.000-07:00

In the coming weeks I will conduct a clinic to discuss what easy exercises to use in order to play volleyball pain free. Some of my friends (and myself) are getting a little older and I'm noticing a few aches and pains my friends are having. If you have any questions email me and I hope to address them at the clinic. Until then keep foam rolling!

My way to encourage!

2011-08-01T21:35:00.000-07:00

Don't forget I had back surgery in 2007 and tore my quad tendon in 2009. I'm 50 years old and my reason for writing is to show you that you too can come back from injuries and surgeries with the right approach. Two weeks ago I cleaned 66kgs (145lbs) and snatched 50kgs (110lbs) plus front squated 70kgs (155lbs) for 3reps. Today I cleaned 68kgs (150lbs) after taking last week off entirely. Remember "Embrace the process"!

Embrace the process!

2011-07-11T11:03:00.000-07:00

This is what I've been saying lately regarding coming back from surgery of any kind. Embrace the process means to enjoy the little daily goals you set to get back to doing the things you love. To come back from back or knee or any surgery you must tackle what you have to do head on. Set daily goals and rejoice in meeting them. Discuss what your doing with friends and loved ones! Compare yourself to yourself a day, a week or one month ago. These tactics will give you peace in knowing that you are doing everything you CAN do to get better.

Been awhile (had a bad April)

2011-06-20T20:11:00.000-07:00

Got sick, got weak, got bummed but I got better! Gone Bulgarian ie: I only snatch, power snatch, clean, power clean, front squat, push press and jerk. Snatch and power snatch are going up every workout and that's means I will be jumping higher!

iRenew is a joke!

2011-02-14T08:56:00.000-08:00

I watch these commercials and it's very obvious to me that the "pre" test is a sham because they pull the person backwards or to the side which as they do it nobody can stay still. Watch for yourself!

Updates

2011-01-04T21:42:00.000-08:00

Perseverance is what I'm trying to get across in this blog. So more of my story. My workouts are going great. I'm still in a hypertrophy phase and next week I'm switching from back squats to front squats to prepare me for cleans. In the last few weeks I've gone from 215x6x3 to 220x6x3 with 210x8x3 in between (remember only one minute rest between sets). RDL's have gone from 175x8x3 to 175x10x3 and yesterday 185x6x3. Deadlifts are up to195x8x3 and as usual we won't talk about what I press :(

Ok something about me!

2010-12-19T21:14:00.000-08:00

MY training is going fine. Three weeks ago I squated 210 x 6 x 3 with a minute rest in between the 3 sets. Two weeks ago I squated 205 x 8 x 3 with a minute rest. Unloaded last week because I played in a Polar bear 4 man Vb tournament yesterday. Had fun, knee was fine, could move good just wasn't really aggressive jumping. We got 3rd out of 6 teams. Stay tuned!

A little jumping to help with your reaction time

2010-12-05T16:11:00.000-08:00

An easy exercise to do to help with your reaction time (quickness) is a simple Hop Hop Hop Land exercise. Take a hip width stance. Be relaxed in your ankles, knees and hips. Stay neutral in pelvis/low back. Now jump just high enough so your whole foot leaves the ground 3 times, make sure you land with little or no sound at all. After the third "hop" land softy in a half squat. Repeat 5 to 10 times. You may use an arm swing if you like. This is a good exercise to reintroduce you to jumping if you've had to take time off due to an injury.

Another back friendly skiing exercise

2010-11-14T20:15:00.000-08:00

Here is a great exercise to practise your good spinal hygiene. Try single leg Romanian Deadlifts. First stand with your feet together. Next reach for a stable object like the back of a chair or anything about hip to waist high. The way you reach is to take one foot off of the ground while you flex at your hip and reach with the opposite hand. The foot/leg your not standing on swings gently backward staying in a straight line with the hand your reaching with. Try one set and 8 reps at first and you can work up to 3 or 4 set of 20 without any added weight. You should feel this in the hip(glute) of the leg your standing on. Good luck!

Movements (exercises) to help your skiing

2010-11-08T09:14:00.000-08:00

Hopefully you have started stretching or Foam Rolling and now it's time to choose some movements that will help your skiing without bothering your back. The first movement I would try would be a low step up. Start with a step between "3 to "6 inches high. Either have your hands behind your head (hardest) on your hips or free to use for balance. Next facing the step, place one foot on the step with the foot pointing straight ahead. Putting a little more weight on the heel, try to drive the foot through the step as you lift the other foot off of the ground placing this foot next to the one on the step. To step back down reverse this movement trying not to fall down but rather lowering yourself down slowly. Try to work up to 4 sets of 20 reps with no weight to start and keep your rest time as little as possible. Stay tuned for more training tips!

Now a word from our sponsor!

2010-11-05T09:26:00.000-07:00

Attention skiers NOW is the time to start training for the upcoming ski season! Those of you with back issues remember the first thing you lose when you quit training is flexibility. For a healthy low back that means hip flexibility and low back stability. Say tuned for more insights.

It's been too long part 2 or some numbers

2010-10-26T11:22:00.000-07:00

I'm unloading this week but last week my back squat was 190lbs x 10)3, Deadlift off of 3" blocks 165 x 10)3, none of which was that hard.

It's been too long...

2010-10-25T15:14:00.000-07:00

Well all is well with the back and the knee is getting better. Played indoors Saturday night and Sunday at the beach (San Onofre). Last week of September or first week of October I started a basic Hypertrophy phase that I will cycle until about the second week in January. What I hope to gain is primary tissue integrity. I'm still doing my AT for my back and knee before I lift. Please let me know if I can answer any questions you may have about low back rehab or training. Talk to you soon!

Phase II

2010-08-23T18:43:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday and Thursday of last week I did some light squat snatches and squat cleans. They felt great! Also I'm up to a 20" box for box jumps. Everyday I see a little more of my knee cap, so I'm happy.

Back has been fine but.......

2010-06-26T14:48:00.000-07:00

Sometime in early May or late April when everything was going great I did three exercises I had not done together (run, jump rope, and box jump[on and off]) and my knee blew up pretty good. This set me back about two months or so. My squats and the height of the box for jumps AND step downs had been increasing almost daily but the swelling took that all away. Now the day before my birthday things are again looking up. With Dr. Barney and Dr. Ken performing A.R.T. on my knee the past 4 to 5 weeks and me concentrating on perfect form in my workouts things are feeling much better.

Slight setback

2010-04-01T15:18:00.000-07:00

I trained last week the day after playing volleyball(Sunday vb, Monday lift). Had a good workout. On Wednesday I squat cleaned, it was some work but ok. Either Wednesday nite or some time Thursday I had some back spasms. Haven't had those in a while. Friday did a lite workout mostly in the sagittal plane. But when I played vb on Sunday some more spasms. Took the week off and saw Dr B. Working on flexibility and core, feeling better, Looking forward to next week.

How's it going!

2010-03-23T12:32:00.000-07:00

Yeah it's spring! I love spring for one reason is that summer follows. I'm training and still doing some rehab on my own. 20 to 40 reps each leg of eccentric step downs divided over 3-5 sets of 8-10 reps. My back squat is as of this post 175x10)3. Not much but no pain and I'm going to be patient. I'm power snatching 40kg for sets of 3-5 reps and squat cleans of 50kg for 3-5 reps(this is my front squat workout killing two birds with one stone. OH squats for 30kg 5-8 reps and some snatch balances with the same weight. My knee has some tenderness but not at the patella or quad tendon. I'm also able to jump rope and i'm doing some box jumps, not real high but each couple of weeks a little higher.

Update

2010-01-08T10:03:00.000-08:00

It's friday and I will workout today. To catch up on Sept. 30th I had orthoscopic surgery to cut through some of the scar tissue that was inhibiting my ROM. I was immediately able to flex my knee to 140 degrees. Since then I've had the usual set backs (petella tendonitis and lots of swelling). But after having it drained twice my PT and myself feel it's time to go on my own. Wish me Gods blessing and good luck. Thank you.

How it happened

2009-08-17T11:33:00.000-07:00

I can understand how some might feel I'm either lame, stupid or both. But there is a perfectly good reason this happened. Up until my back surgery I had not done a decent Hypertrophy phase in at least 3 years. This is what lead to an advanced stage of tendonitis. I had no continuous knee pain but I should have remembered that Hypertrophy phases are where tendons get stronger.

It's been a long time!

2009-08-17T11:18:00.000-07:00

And for good reason, on March 25th while trying to get some depth in a barbell lunge I completely torn my quad (rt) tendon. I had surgery on April 17th and started rehab on May 28th. Because I was in a straight leg brace for 9 weeks, I'm having a hell of a time getting my ROM back. I at 111 degrees as of August 13th. Whether on my own or with PT I am going to get 130 plus degrees.

Wow I have to Thank God, My girlfriend

2009-02-16T19:43:00.000-08:00

Donna Mc. , my physical therapist Donna Cespon, my Chiropractor Dr. Chris Barney plus two Personal Trainer friends of mine Kenny Neita and Ryan Campbell because without their help and support I don't think I would have made it this far and had this kind of response to therapy and training I'm enjoying now.Because of a short lived change in schedule on Saturday, the 14th I squat snatched and squat cleaned for the first time in my life and had a ball! Not real heavy(105 lbs, 135 lbs) but never the less FUN! I've been symptom free now since 6,14,2007. Thank you my friends, I could never repay you.

A New Year

2009-01-03T21:52:00.000-08:00

I've bounced around a little on this blog, but the main reason I'm writing is so other people don't make the same mistakes I made. If you've had back surgery listen to the experts and/or ask questions until you're satisfied. What you might not know is that there are many ways of training to get the same results. Don't let anyone tell you there is only ONE way to train. You must find one that not only helps you meet your goals but also agrees with your personality.

Friday Dec.5 2008

2008-12-06T11:29:00.000-08:00

WOD (workout of the day) One (1)minute of deadlifts @ 225lbs (NOT fast) 1 minute squated overhead press @20lbs (because of flexibility had to go this lite) 1 minute row for calories on rowing ergometer, 2 minutes rest repeat 5 times. My numbers were 8/17/11, 10/16/10, 9/15/11, 8/16/12, 9/13/15. The deadlift numbers I'm proud of because, one they show my strength and stamina is improving and two, they show that for now if I continue to take my time I will improve steadily towards my goals.

Lately

2008-12-03T15:07:00.000-08:00

12-1 57.5Kg push press (I hate patience) 12-3 The worlds slowest "Fran". Fran is a crossfit workout; 21-15-9 reps of 42.5kg thrusters (full front squat with a push press) and pullups for time. I used a sundial LOL.

What's Happening

2008-11-25T16:52:00.000-08:00

Been Crossfitting for about 5 or 6 weeks (still the slowest in all of the classes) but I like the classes because I don't have to worry about program design and my cardio is improving I'm getting leaner and I'm jumping higher. Last week I did 3x3 of 230lb deadlifts and the week or two before I managed a couple sets of 60 kilo clean & jerks. Also some 24" box jumps. Overall I'm stoked!

Disclaimer

2008-11-25T16:41:00.000-08:00

There are those who say I need a disclaimer. Well..... don't do anything until someone who should know better says you can do this or don't do that! I'm sorry, I just think people can and should think for themselves. There, that is my Disclaimer.

Hope my girlfriend or Chiropractor doesn't read this!

2008-10-13T13:59:00.000-07:00

Some numbers from today 1rm test Back squat- 247lbs, deadlift-252. I could have done more weight but I was doing this in a crossfit class and I didn't want to hold the class up plus I was just being cautious.

My new goals

2008-10-08T17:07:00.000-07:00

It is now 16 months since my back surgery. In the coming months I will be Crossfitting for awhile to try something new. But I have some very real goals. A 315lb Back squat, a 90kilo squat clean, 60kilo snatch or power snatch and a 100kilo front squat. I might think about improving my pressing power with a 80 or 90kilo jerk. This will take some time. I imagine about 24 months barring any setbacks(injuries). Wish me luck (or God bless) your choice.

What to do now

2008-10-08T16:53:00.000-07:00

If you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of being in bad back pain or knowing you need surgery the first thing you need to do is get answers. What I mean by this is get answers that satisfy you 100% with NO DOUBTS ! There are health care professionals out there that can answer all of your questions, you just have to do some digging around but you will find your answers. Or contact me and I will help you get the advice you need.

A little more about myself

2008-09-24T14:53:00.000-07:00

I'm only including this stuff so you will get an idea as to why some of this matters. I'm 47 years old. I love volleyball but was never as good as my friends. I achieved an "A" outdoor rating, all my friends were AAA or pro. I love weight training but being 6'3" it's hard to get very strong. I love the Olympic lifts but I was never very fast. Just a little about me.

What I'm doing now

2008-09-24T14:17:00.000-07:00

My injury did illuminate an issue that I might have swept under the rug. Although Dr Chris Barney had told me repeatedly that my two ankle dislocations (one at 18 years old #2 at 33) are what probably lead to my many minor low back problems. The lack of a decent range of motion in my left ankle caused my left to act "long". What this means is that instead of my left hip acting like a rotating joint it acted like a "hinge" joint. I had poor adduction and internal rotation at my left hip. When I would squat or pull something heavy off of the floor (deadlift, cleanpull, snatch) my left hip would ride higher then my right. The cure for this in the past was a wedge in my right shoe. However since my surgery and subsequent physical therapy and anatomical therapy, I'm back to doing what I love to do and doing it pain free.

How did it happen

2008-09-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

As you will discover, most injuries that do not involve someone or something else are usually because the victim is poorly trained or in my case overtrained. The term "overtrained" refers to someone who has worked out too long, too frequently or both. In my case I had been training the Olympic lifts and squating three days a week nonstop for about eight months before I noticed anything other then fatigue. Well that anything other was what should have told me I needed some time off. There is a term in training called "periodization". It means to vary training volume, intensity and frequency. It also means taking a week off in my case every ten to twelve weeks. Dr Stuart McGill has a great illustration of this phenomenon in his book "Low Back Disorders" on page 13 figure 1.2. This illustrates the "overtrained" injury sequence perfectly. Thats how mine happened.

Why I'm Blogging

2008-09-22T12:35:00.000-07:00

I've been a personal trainer for 25 years in Orange County CA, and I have seen soooo many people give up after an injury. So I thought why not keep a blog to show people how far someone can return from a devastating injury. At one time I could Back Squat 405lbs and deadlift 365lbs. I could also Clean 90 kilos and Power Snatch 60k. The Olympic lifts came when I was in my early 40's so although there not that heavy, they show what my goals will be in terms of what I want to be able to do again.

Personal Trainer gets spinal surgery

2008-09-17T16:23:00.001-07:00

Say it ain't so. After 30 years of trying to turn my marathoner body into an anaerobic stud, I herniated l5s1 and almost lost use of my left leg. A MRI showed a 11-12mm rupture at l5s1. Dr Robert Jackson performed a mircodiscetomy on June 14th 2007, after 6 weeks of no BLT (bending, lifting or twisting) I started rehab and started playing volleyball again. More to come later