It has been two months and eleven days since I injured my lower back at the end of a great deadlifting session. It has been an interesting journey, I tell ya! I’ve been seeing a chiropractor and have had a few massage therapy sessions and am feeling better.

I made an attempt to get back on the wagon last month, but it was short-lived. Mostly due to a bout of laziness and pissed-off-ed-ness due to the injury with a little bit of hectic work schedule, like 12+hr days hectic, thrown into the mix.

I did finish reading both books from Al Kavadlo, “, Pushing the Limits” and “Raising the Bar”, I highly recommend them. If you are looking to mix things up in your workouts or want to see just what kind of gains in strength and aesthetics you can make, get these books!

As I’ve said before, I started this journey with bodyweight exercises and made the departure last year from them to the iron because I wanted to learn how to do the “big four”, Bench, Squat, Deadlift and Overhead Press. I still have goals I want to hit with the iron and will revisit them again. I am still a little tight in my left leg, from my glute through my hamstring and into my calf, but I have noticed a lot of improvement. But I have goals to reach and I need to keep moving forward, so no more “resting”!

Speaking of goals, in just under three months I will be doing the Dirty Dash again! They changed locations and made the event happen earlier this year than the last two, so I’ve got to get steppin!

Through the time of the Dirty Dash, I will be pursuing bodyweight only routines, coupled with walking, jogging, occasional sprinting, and mountain biking.

Yesterday, I woke up at 0630 and walked the route that I have mentioned here before many times. I jogged up the two bridges. I definitely noticed that my “wind” has suffered greatly from not getting out and walking or working out hard at the gym. About one hundred yards from the bottom of the last bridge I had a really bad gag reflex and threw up an ounce or two of the pre-workout drink I had been nursing before and during the first mile of the walk. Before I go further, the pre-workout I am taking isn’t any of those stacked/jacked/powdered meth blends. I know one of the owners of a local supplement company and they have turned down deals from large distributors because they refuse to put in ingredients that are questionable. It has about the same amount of caffeine in it as about 3 strong cups of coffee or one cup of my father’s “rocket fuel” coffee he makes.

Anywho, I kept walking and got through it. I stopped at a local elementary school’s playground that is on my route and did.

1 x 10 Australian Pull Ups + 1 x 10 Pushups, rested about 30sec and did that again.

I finished my walk and later in the day I did about 6 good form dead hangs for 10sec each.

I completed my serving of humble pie this morning when I woke up and found myself sore all over.

This is good.

I’ve been here before: Square 1. I am stronger and in better shape than my previous visits to Square 1, but I am here.

The only way to go, is forward.

So keep moving forward, friends, set backs happen, get back up and keep moving forward!

Now, enjoy this motivational video and get going!