Bahama Mama

I will be on a cruise and enjoying my time away from the office!  Cross your fingers there is no bad weather as it is hurricane season......  See you on the 22nd!

Massage Blessing

When my client, who was lying on my massage table, said "What a blessing!", I just thought she was really enjoying her massage.  Then she went on to clarify her statement.  She said "I hate to say it but it is true.  It was such a blessing that my old therapist went out of business....otherwise I never would have found you!". 

I love my job!

Quote of the Day

It's crazy how you can go months or years without seeing or speaking to someone yet they still manage to drift into your thoughts almost daily.....or having starring roles in your dreams. ~KB

Putt Putt What?

I got a hole in one on this interesting hole.......

Kettlebell Injuries

Over the last few years, the workout world has been taken by storm with kettlebell (KB) training.  Some claim that KB training is an aerobic exercise, while others claim it builds muscular strength and conditions you.  A 2010 study published by the American Council on Exercise found strong scientific support for the high intensity KB routines producing aerobic benefits and burning approximately 400 calories--all in a 20-minute workout.  Clearly kettlebells can produce benefits but they are not without potential negative effects.

In my opinion, what is not made clear is KB training is a workout more appropriate for athletes who are not at the beginning of their fitness plans.  It is not my intention to come on here and say that KB is the devil and nobody in their right mind should ever try this training, but I would strongly encourage those interested in this training to start with a certified fitness trainer supervising their efforts as the risk of injury is high.  In fact one article I read suggested that 1 in 6 KB users will sustain injuries that can leave them unable to workout for one or more weeks, with the most common cause of injury resulting from improper lifting techniques.

Some of the common injures associated with KB training are:

• Hyperlordosis (over arching the back) during overhead lifts can pinch and compress the lower spine
• Impingement syndrome
• Rotator cuff injury
• Hyperextensions
• Dislocations
• Tearing of skin on hands
• Bruising and pain to forearms and wrists
• Knee pain 
• Back and shoulder strain

KB training requires strength and coordination.  The exercises involve multiple joints and many muscle groups working together so proper technique is extremely necessary in preventing injuries.  Kettlebellwall.com and complete-strengthtraining.com are a couple of the sites I found when researching KB training.  On those websites I found articles titled "Kettlebell Swings and Back Pain", "KB Without Spine Injury" and "Prevent Common Kettlebell Injuries".  Mind you these are sites that are promoting this fitness plan.



Complete-strengthtraining.com posted these tips to reduce the possibility of  injury:

• Warm up well before you start lifting.
• Weights should be challenging but not too heavy.  This is one of the biggest mistakes in KB training.  Weights that are too heavy can easily get out of your control and throw off the center of gravity.
• Start with a lower weight KB to learn and master the proper body mechanics.
• Be sure to have good posture and alignment.  No twisting or contorting the body to lift heavier weights.
• Slowly work up to heavier weights.
• If you lose control of the KB--get out of the way and let it fly.
• If you feel any sharp pains, stop immediately.

As with any exercise program you should consult with your physician to determine if this regime is appropriate for you.  It is also recommended that you select a personal trainer that has certification in this specific modality.

I wrote this to give you some facts about this controversial fitness routine.  I have had more than one client sustain injuries associated with their KB training, and while any exercise program can cause pain and injury I tend to not trust this method.  These are just my thoughts on KB training and opinions are like assholes, everybody has one and most people think theirs doesn't stink.

Victoria's Secret

Sometimes you get really comfortable with your clients and you share intimate things.  I have several clients that talk very freely with me and vice versa.  One such fellow was in my office recently and shared that his teenage son was more than elated when the Victoria's Secret Catalog arrived.....well, for the visual aids, if you will.  Neither he nor his wife were freaked out about the whole incident, in fact they took it in stride as good parents should--with humor.

I laughed with my client and shared my own version of sons and underwear models.  When I realized that my oldest son was enjoying the female form, it was because I discovered many weeks worth of the underwear ads from the Sunday newspaper shoved between his mattress and box springs.  Who knew all those Sears and Playtex ads were so sexy?  Big boring white bras and girdles on older women, really?  I guess when you are 13 years old and have a limited pool of underwear models, anything could be considered attractive.  At least that was what I hoped was the case--finding out that he was turned on by grannies and said granny panties was more than I could bear.

After I confiscated all the underwear ads, I shared my discovery with my husband and we had a chuckle.  We never broached this subject with our son and he never mentioned that his hidden stash had disappeared.  Several days later my Victoria's Secret Catalog arrived in the mail and my husband promptly placed it in my son's hands and said "This came for you today, enjoy." 

I assumed he had things well in hand....

TV and Massage

So I was doing an out-call and my client wanted to watch TV while I was massaging him.  Like all good men, he was masterful with the remote control.  My client first stopped on The Travel Channel which is a relatively safe choice.......usually.  But as luck would have it, the sites that the show was focusing on was for the best fertility rites.  That's right, people make voyages all over the world to get "help" with conception.  Sooooo, you wanna talk about some interesting art?  Every time I glanced at the television screen there was a 6 foot tall sculpture of a phallus, complete with the dangling bits, or some large breasted and round-bellied woman chiseled out of a boulder.  Several people were rubbing these sculptures in hopes that they would get pregnant.  I am pretty sure my cheeks were red a few times but I just kept rubbing and trying to stifle my laughter.

The next television selection was The Animal Planet.  Another fairly safe choice......usually.  But this particular episode focused on animal mating rituals.  I got to see monkey love, a snake ball aka orgy, and turtles doing it as only turtles can.  I saw a polar bear's girlie bits and  I saw a male elephant shoot a load of semen that could easily have turned a blue SUV into a white one.   Suffice it to say that I was more than enlightened by the end of that show.

Now I am no prude and at no time did I feel like my client was trying to be inappropriate, but I can honestly say this was one of the more colorful and hilariously uncomfortable massage sessions I have ever been part of.