WOW: Disaster Response | Mark's Daily Apple

There's a lot of advice on-line about being prepared for a disaster- and at the very least I suggest everyone have a bug out bag ready with enough food and water to see you through two or three days- but when it comes to being physically prepared the advice is usually to try and keep reasonably fit. Which is all well and good but have you ever wondered how to test to see if your fitness levels are sufficient to cope during a disaster? Well, wonder no more. Over at Mark's Daily Apple the Workout of the Week is called Disaster Response and it will let you know if your current level of activity is sufficient...or whether you need to reconsider your fitness regime in order to develop more practical strength and stamina.

WOW: Disaster Response | Mark's Daily Apple

Have fun, it looks like a blast.

Convict Conditioning

Although my back injury prevents me from engaging in vigorous exercise I do try to keep abreast of what's going on in the world of strength and fitness training. I recently stumbled across a Dragon Door book called Convict Conditioning. Written by an ex-con it details the system he developed to become scary strong and fit inside the joint. Utilising nothing but bodyweight exercises, the book can trace its heritage back to old-school strongman The Mighty Atom.

What's refreshing about this book is that not only does the author explain the reasoning and history behind his system, he also lays out a foolproof guide of how to progress from absolute beginner to master athlete. I've read a lot of exercise books and while many offer explanations of certain techniques and some sample routines, few- if any- lay it out in such a clear, simple way as Convict Conditioning. Based around six main exercises, it takes you step-by-step through the program. Take press ups, for example. This section starts with standing, wall press ups for those with little conditioning, and then builds gradually- level by level- towards the peak movement: the one handed, handstand press up. It's as simple as that. Get the book, follow the routine- with clearly pictured and described guides to each of the exercises- and get strong. And the best part is that you don't need to buy any expensive or fancy equipment; or even go to the gym for that matter.

Quite simply this is one of the best exercise guides I've ever seen.

The New John Kerry

Obama seems to be making up for his incredible lack of experience by following the John Kerry school of politics- tell whatever audience you're talking to what they want to hear.

Obama, during a speech Wednesday to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-israel lobbying group, had called for Jerusalem to become the site of the U.S. embassy, a frequent pledge for U.S. presidential candidates.

But of course the so-called Palestinians objected to this and so Obama, man of principle that he is, quickly changed his mind.

Obama quickly backtracked today in an interview with CNN.

"Well, obviously, it's going to be up to the parties to negotiate a range of these issues. And Jerusalem will be part of those negotiations," Obama said when asked whether Palestinians had no future claim to the city.

In short, he either doesn't know what he's talking about or he's simply pandering to whichever potential voting block he happens to be addressing at the time. Hope! Change!

Progress Report

Lost a week of kettlebell training when my back pain flared up. Even so I've dropped a waist size. This week I'm not quite past the pain but if I time it right I can put in a little work here and there as the painkillers wear off. Did a day concentrating on lots of snatches interspersed with a few swings and cleans and then ended it up with five minutes of Turkish Get Ups. Great exercise. Yesterday I added in a windmill or two and then tried a few bent presses. When I got my KBs a few years ago I couldn't do them on one side because of my back. Now I can, even though the pain's gotten worse- doesn't make any sense to me. Either it's a sign that my slow but steady KB training is showing some unexpected benefits or it's a temporary glitch. Whatever it is, I'm liking the exercise.

Today I was feeling a bit tired and stiff-backed so I didn't do anything fancy- swings, a few snatches and some clean and jerks. I think I'll try some under the leg passes next session. It's been a while since I've done any of those.

Blame The Weather

Good grief- this feels like the longest break I've ever had from blogging. It all began with some mind-melting pain and then spiraled off into a school break for my girls, followed by a period of some very unfamiliar hot, sunny weather. Tapping away at the laptop has thus been confined to evenings when I've been doing a bit of research and writing a few different stories, trying to find one to run with.

All winter I've been blaming my increased back pain on the wet, cold weather- I guess that needs re-evaluating to some extend now; even with the unseasonably pleasant sunshine I've still been waking up feeling like an elephant trod on me. Having said that, when I take my usual meds and have a restful morning by the time lunch time rolls around I'm generally feeling human enough to move around the way regular people do. In fact, for a few hours each day as the temperatures top out I've been feeling pretty darn mobile. So much so that I've even taken up the kettlebell again.

The past winter my exercise has been confined to making the "bridge" (think an upright press-up position) for a minute at a time, some actual press ups and a few dips. Pretty pathetic really but it's kept me ticking over. Anyway, I grabbed my 16kg kettlebell and did a couple of days of swings- sets of 10 for each arm, walking around the house in between and mixing it up with a few dips and some very awful pull-ups. The swing is the number one exercise for beginners- builds you up all over and is fairly gentle.

So far, so easy. This past week I stepped it up a bit- a 100 swings per arm, sets of 10 each side and a shorter walk around in between. The next day I switched over to the snatch- first time out I did a few sets of swings and then about 50 snatches each arm, sets of 10 again. Day after that I was feeling a little tender (not sore exactly but I could tell I'd been working) in my front delts and lats so I concentrated on swings. Low and behold I was able to do 40 at a time, switching hands at the top of each set of 10 throws without pause. I did about four sets of forty before my back began to complain so I finished up with grinding out some military presses.

I've always sworn by the tremendous benefit of the swing but if you're feeling up to it, it looks like the snatch delivers much faster results. The day after the swings I went back to the snatch and did a hundred for each arm, sets of ten, a few seconds walk in between.

A week of not too tough training and I've noticed my waist getting narrower and muscle development all over my upper body and my thighs. And all without the awful aching I-can-barely-move soreness of weight lifting. Another weird thing is a kind of looseness in my lower back- after a KB session there's a definite tendency to walk with your belly forward as if your pelvis is freer. I seem to recall reading something about that in Pavel's excellent Enter The Kettlebell.

The good weather hasn't stopped my usual early evening appointment with excruciating pain but at least I'm getting a bit of relief from the usual all-day-long affair of the winter. If you're interested in the number one exercise tool in the known universe, pop on over to Pavel's page for more details. Fast results, improved cardio fitness, build muscle and real strength all in one compact package; what's not to like?

Spring has sprung

Apparently today is the first day of spring- you wouldn't know it from looking out the window here though. It's cold, wet and windy.

A couple of days ago, though, now that was a spring day. Blue skies, the shining sun, a comfortable temperature. And it proved to me that my back pain is more affected by the weather than I had suspected until now.

This winter has been pretty hard on me and, especially since Christmas, I've been in a fair bit of pain. On the one nice day we've had I woke up and wasn't in my usual stiff-sore state. The day passed and I was able to do some housework, play a bit more with the kids and even drive a few miles without feeling like an elephant had trodden on my spine. Mundane stuff to be sure but I was a heck of a lot more active than the past few months have allowed.

To be honest, I didn't really notice it until the evening - like clockwork at around 7 p.m. I'm usually in a pretty bad way. But not that day- in fact, I was able to make it through an entire evening without taking my pain meds. The first time in I don't know how long.

I suspect that last year's lousy, wet summer followed by the autumn/winter months that I can't stand is what has contributed to me being so bad at the moment. This year I'd better get at least a couple of months of decent hot, dry weather to give me a bit of a respite. I wouldn't mind the dreary pain of winter if I were able to have one or two months of heat and a chance to feel like a regular person- and grab my kettlebell for a few work-outs while I'm at it.

Global warming? Bring it on.

A Real Subject

Nanny Knows Best is a great blog- unfortunately it has the effect of making me become extremely pi annoyed, shall we say. Best taken in small doses if you don't want your head to explode at the sheer unthinking stupidity of the British government. There's an awful lot of material over there if you're looking for something to rant about.

Anyway, one story about schools having staff poke around in children's lunch-boxes to make sure that they were only eating govt. approved foodstuffs stood out.

Now it seems that dinner ladies could soon be used to monitor school lunchboxes, in order to ensure that children are eating healthy meals.

Under Nanny's "obesity strategy" (give me strength!), there are plans to force all schools to implement a "healthy lunchbox policy".

Good grief!

Seemingly parents may even be asked to sign a form agreeing to ban unhealthy foods from their children's lunches.

It seems to me that if schools are so worried about fat kids they might look to themselves first- and actually have PE classes make the little blighters actually do some exercise. Set a basic standard of fitness and then have the tender little blossoms have to pass the test to obtain a passing grade in the subject. It amazes me that so many complain about kids becoming more unhealthy and overweight but the simple solution of having them exercise to pass PE, rather than just having them turn up once a week to play football or hockey, for example, isn't even on the radar.

I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to calculate how far or fast the average schoolchild can run, how many push ups or pull ups they should be able to do and turn that into an end-of-year test. No doubt some will complain that this will discriminate against plump children or the like but it's no different than maths classes discriminating against the less intelligent. Smart kids will pass their written exams, fit kids will pass their PE exams.

You know, it might even make some of the less scholarly pupils feel good to get an "A" now and then too.

The Beast

Want to find some real life mutants? Look no further than the Beast Hall of Fame.

The Beast is a monster kettlebell, a behemoth that tips the scales at 48kg or 106lbs. To be a Beast Hall of Famer requires successfully completing three exercises.

First up is the press- starting off with the kettlebell held at shoulder level you have to press it straight up above you head. Next up is the pistol- with the Beast held in both hands in front of your body you do a one legged squat, getting right down low to the ground, and then stand up again. Finally, there's a pull up with the Beast hanging from your waist.

Thus far, only six men are members of this elite group. If you think you have the mutated genes required to join you can now buy your very own Beast kettlebell.

One Punch KO

This is from one of Pavel Tsatsouline's emails that I'm signed up to and is a sample of the kind of information available from a monthly pay newsletter he also offers-

“Throwing a shot (7.25kg or 16 lbs.) is especially effective [for strikers],” states accomplished Russian fighter and coach N. Vasiliev. “One must throw at least 10-12m (33-39 feet). Experience shows that reaching this standard predicts a knock-out punch with a high degree of reliability” The shot weighs as much as a human head and effectively “builds” the punch.”

If only I'd known this a few years ago! My brother used to serve with the Paras and some of the guys he knew in the Regiment were seriously into their weights. He'd asked once about what their goals were and more than one replied that they wanted to be strong enough to punch a guy out with one blow.

And all they had to do was practice throwing a shot put!

The 300 Workout

Texican Tattler links to an article on the fitness training undertaken by the actors in 300.

“To support fight preparation the training emphasized athleticism by combining compound movements, lifting, and throwing. Primitive tools – medicine balls, Kettlebells, rings – were used instead of machines. Each session was competitive, with a penalty-reward system tied to performance and results posted daily for all to see.”

Stands to reason that the 300 Spartans would use kettlebells. Primitive tools, I like that description. Sums the KB up perfectly- it's the AK-47 of the strength training world. Crude and 100% effective. Major kudos to director Zach Snyder too for partaking in the training-

Zack helped by charging the cannons himself, training with us 3-5 days a week. On those days cast and crew arrived in the gym at 8:30am to find Zack’s workout already posted on the whiteboard. Knowing he got up and had already earned his calories for the day spurred them to higher levels of effort. “Some of us wake up, others roll over ...”

And note too this telling statement-

"With fight choreography, you only have a certain amount of time for physical training because it sometimes doesn't mesh with the functional application. What Mark brought to the project was functional strength, not just sculpted biceps or ripped abs."

I used to do a lot of weight training- free weights and machines- and I saw much faster, better gains using kettlebells than I ever did with a bar bell. You don't need to worry about targeting individual muscles with a kettlebell- my biceps got a better work out (and got bigger) doing the KB routine than they ever did with preacher curls, cable curls or any other bicep specific gym workout.

In the end Vincent Regan shed 40 pounds in eight weeks, and took his deadlift from less than bodyweight (205) to more than double-bodyweight (355). He could pull 85% of 1RM blindfolded and recite Shakespeare in the midst of the toughest training session.

The basics work- if you want to develop functional strength like the 300 actors and stuntmen then grab a kettlebell (and maybe Enter The Kettlebell), or head on over to Dragon Door and check out Pavel's other work- Naked Warrior for body weight only exercises or Power to the People for old school weight lifting.

Finally here's the 300 workout, a final test for those involved in the training regime-

25x Pull-up +
50x Deadlift @ 135# +
50x Push-up +
50x Box Jump @ 24” box +
50x Floor Wiper @ 135# (one-count) +
50x KB Clean and Press @ 36# (KB must touch floor between reps) +
25x Pull-up
300 reps total

Human Endurance

Incredible.

Over the next 14 years, Karnazes challenged almost every known endurance running limit. He covered 350 miles without sleeping. (It took more than three days.) He ran the first and only marathon to the South Pole (finishing second), and a few months ago, at age 44, he completed 50 marathons in 50 consecutive days, one in each of the 50 states. (The last one was in New York City. After that, he decided to run home to San Francisco.) Karnazes' transformation from a tequila-sodden party animal into an international symbol of human achievement is as educational as it is inspirational.

Worth reading the whole thing- including how he eats pizza while running!

Ninja Training Camp

Got this video via the Maximuscle email newsletter- the most incredible display of human prowess I think I've ever scene. The feats these guys are capable of are just amazing. An awesome demonstration of pure talent and breathtaking fitness. They are Team Ryouko, an extreme martial arts performance team.

Watch and be amazed.

Sexual Discrimination

It seems that a certain police test- specifically the assault course part of it- has been deemed to be too difficult for female recruits to pass. The action taken? Well, you might think that they would overhaul the training program. Most of the women either couldn't get over the wall at all, or were so exhausted after scaling it that they couldn't complete the course. It sounds to me that fitter and stronger cadets were what was required. Police work after all can be physically demanding and surely requires some strength and stamina.

This being the PC 21st century it seems that such a change to training wasn't even considered- when female recruits complained about the wall a process was immediately set into action to change the test. It baffles me- it really does; can the decision makers not see that by lowering the requirements they might be putting women officers at risk when they are out on the street and faced by dangerous criminals?

The state review of the test led to a recent change in the wall. It now has two braces providing for foot leverage, making it easier to scale. A spokesman for the state administration said the wall is now a more realistic reflection of actual police work, because it is made more like a fence, something officers are more likely to encounter in their work settings.

Walls being so rare and all. I really am stumped- a wall is considered so difficult to climb by women only that it must be changed so that they can do it- instead of a real obstacle now, the women recruits are faced by the demanding challenge of traversing what's essentially a small ladder.

Boston police even endorsed the test after seeing 68 percent of their female recruits in a recent class pass.

I'm amazed- you make a test so easy that virtually anyone can pass and then pronounce it a success? Are these female police officers up to the same standard as the male ones- evidently not, if they don't possess the same strength that a fairly simple test required.

But, I hear you cry, scaling a wall in an obstacle course isn't easy- what was it, six, eight feet high? No, the wall that was exhausting women on the course so much that they couldn't continue was a mere five feet high; less I'm sure than the recruits themselves. If they aren't fit enough to run, jump, heave and roll over that, then I'm not really confident of their ability to perform their duties. But I guess something like that isn't as important as glossing over the inadequacies of a training program that doesn't prepare cadets to traverse an obstacle that's smaller than they are.

The Swing

About a week ago I picked up my 32kg kettlebell for the first time in months. Since then I've been training every other day, doing about 50 swings each time with this KB and then doing a few other exercises with my 16kg KB. Today, feeling stiff and sore from the autumnal weather, I hadn't planned on doing anything at all; but late in the afternoon I changed my mind.

The 50 swings winded me but I still felt pretty strong at the end of it so, still with the 32kg KB, I decided to try some cleans. A few sets of 5 followed- and I was surprised by how capable I felt; the 32kg is heavy. With this done I still felt strong so I attempted a clean and jerk- the KB went up no problem. Not wanting to push my luck I stuck with sets of just 1- swapping hands as I went. In the end I lost count of how many I was able to do- and I only stopped because time was pressing.

I finished off with a quick couple of sets of one handed swings- feeling my grip start to weaken towards the end of each one.

The moral of the story? Swings are the number one way to increase your strength with kettlebells. Stronger legs, back and arms from a single exercise that improves your performance in other exercises. Awesome.

I may not look it, but I certainly feel like this right now.

Enter The Kettlebell

I finally got a copy of Pavel's new training book Enter The Kettlebell. I haven't finished reading it yet but it's having a big impact on my training. Due to my last bout of back pain in the past few weeks I've been forced to start from scratch again. Luckily this time I seem to have kept most of my strength- but my endurance was hit hard. That's what I get for trying not to move at all for about a month I guess.

One of the biggest changes is relearning to do the clean. In Russian Kettlebell Challenge I learned to absorb the "thump" of the kettlebell coming to a rest at shoulder height with a slight dip of the knees. Well, things have changed- incorporating lessons learned from training sessions the new technique is now to keep the body braced for the impact. It seems like a simple little change but I'm still getting used to it a few weeks on. I find that when I get towards the end of a session and I'm tired that I'll slip back into the old, ingrained habit of the knee-dip. I'm hoping that there aren't more technique changes for me to discover later in the book!

Another big change in ETK is that there's a set routine to follow. One of the recommended sessions is the "man maker"; a series of swings interspaced by jogging for twelve minutes. I haven't done that yet; I avoid running like the plague, an effort to protect my back. I'm going to have to think about an alternative- perhaps set my bike up on the turbo trainer instead?

The other is a five minute set of Get Ups. Oh my! I've never done Get Ups before, it was just an exercise that didn't seem to appeal to me. How wrong I was. I spent one or two sessions practicing the movement; the exercise involves lying flat on your back with the kettlebell in one hand lifted up as if you've just pressed it. You then have to rise smoothly to a standing position, come back down, pass the KB to the other hand and repeat for five minutes. The first time I did the workout my shoulders burned with the effort. It's very hard indeed- and I've discovered that I love doing them, it's a tremendous work out.

Anyway, for the past few weeks I've been sticking to basics, interspacing sessions of Get Ups with those based on swings, cleans, the military press and just a few snatches. All of these using my light 16kg KB and keeping the reps up, trying to improve my stamina a bit. The result is that I've dropped 9lbs of weight in the space of three weeks- and that's with a pretty lousy diet, I've been eating out much more than usual lately. Conclusion- kettlebells work.

A few days ago I was supposed to be having a rest day but in the evening I was feeling restless so I decided to have a quick workout. Feeling like it would be short and sweet I grabbed my 32kg KB for the first time in months and proceeded to do some sets of swings. The first few felt clumsy but I soon got used to the extra weight and I ended up training for maybe fifteen minutes, ending up by doing a couple of sets of snatches with the 16kg KB. The heavy bell had me pretty much worn out so those snatches weren't easy. I was expecting to feel a little stiffness from that but it amazed me just how much impact it did have- my thighs felt like blocks of wood the next day and my obliques...well, let's just say that I haven't ever been quite so aware of them. And there's another advantage of KB training- no need to worry about crunches!

Kettlebell Training

Pavel has released a new kettlebell training book, titled Enter the Kettlebell. It's based on his experiences of the past five years of kettlebell training in the US and it serves to correct one of the main complaint of his titles so far- by producing a strict training program to follow. When I bought his Russian Kettlebell Challenge I expected it to contain a training guide, but all it really did was to introduce the exercises and offer advice on how to structure your own program. Many people were apparently unhappy with this- I must admit it was a bit daunting to not only learn to use this new tool and technique but also to have to put everything together myself.

For those of you unfamiliar with the kettlebell, or girya, this sums it up pretty well-

AK-47 of physical training hardware. Hunk of iron on a handle. Simple, sinister, brutal—and ferociously effective for developing explosive strength, dramatic power and never-say-die conditioning. The man’s man’s choice for the toughest, most demanding, highest-yield exercise tool on the planet. Guaranteed to forge a rugged, resilient, densely-muscled frame—built to withstand the hardest beating and dish it right back out, 24/7.

I can't disagree with that at all. Of all the varied training I've undertaken (competitive road cycling, running, swimming, weight training and even being trained by the PT instructors of the Royal Marines), nothing has been as simple and effective as the kettlebell. With just a handful of exercises, the KB works your entire body, producing real strength endurance.

At the moment I'm struggling to get back on my feet after a bad few weeks of back pain. It's hard just to stand upright right now, or even sit upright for that matter, and my muscles feel like they've turned to jelly- but I can't wait to start swinging that hunk of iron again. I'm also keen to get my hands on Pavel's new book- in addition to providing a foolproof training regime for girevik's of all experience levels, it also has some sections on dealing with back pain.

If you're looking to lose weight, build muscles or just gain some functional strength, the kettlebell seems to me to be the way to go- and Enter the Kettlebell would appear to be a great place to start. I'll hopefully add a review here when I get my copy.

Kettlebell Routine

My light kettlebell training continues. It's been about a week since I've even picked up my 32kg girya- I'm having way too much fun working out with the 16kg. I've stopped keeping track of the number of reps I do and am instead doing 30 minute sessions. I only do one handed swings, clean and jerk, military press and the snatch.

My aim has been to increase my endurance- and it seems to be working. In the space of a week my need for rest between exercises has rapidly decreased. I'm also aiming to do more of each exercise (switching between hands without pause) without stopping. Those numbers have also gone up.

I try to focus the emphasis in each workout on a different exercise but I'm basically going by feel rather than any definite plan- it's a joy to train like this.

The other benefit of these sessions is that I don't need to do any cardio work at all- this strength endurance training takes care of that. And that's the magic of the kettlebell; it does it all, in one small package.

Get Tarzan Strong

Edgar Rice Burroughs went to great lengths to impress upon the reader the phenomenal strength possessed by Tarzan of the Apes. This is but one example-

Though but ten years old he was fully as strong as the average man of thirty, and far more agile than the most practiced athlete ever becomes. And day by day his strength was increasing.

It certainly sounds impressive and if you ever wanted to gain that sort of level the closest you'll probably get is by mastering the following feat- the muscle up.

The muscle-up is pure climbing for Tarzan strength. Can you imagine the king of the jungle training with lat pulldowns and tricep pushdowns? No way, leave the "toning and shaping" for Jane.

It's called the "muscle up technique". Simply put it requires the individual to hang from a set of gymnasts rings and to do first a pull up and then immediately after a dip. The recommended level of fitness before attempting a single muscle up is to be able to do 15 pull ups and 15 dips.

At the link above there's more information on the specifics of the technique involved- a false grip pull up, transition and then the dip- and also a recommended three week training program. Note too the kettlebells scattered around the 1927 gym pictured with the article. Seems to me that we'd be better off with a few modern gyms that looked like that.

Kettlebell Set-Back

My kettlebell training has been going pretty well lately but all that came to a screeching halt at the weekend. As my training has progressed so has a set of calluses on each hand, an inevitable result of the "crush grip" used to control the girya as it swings around on its axis. Usually I have no problem with this- but that changed without warning. Halfway through a workout the pain flared up in my hands and when I looked each callus was surrounded by an angry red ring- and I couldn't grip the kettlebell tight enough to control it.

I took a couple of days off but it didn't help- the calluses remained as bothersome as ever and so I was forced to soak my hands and get to work with a pumice stone and then follow up with hand cream; so much for my "hard man" workout!

The pumice stone seems to have done the trick but after the break I decided to lay off the 32kg girya and go back to using the 16kg weight. I thought that perhaps with the heavier weight I was beginning to develop some bad habits in my form and that might be the cause of the calluses.

Using the 16kg weight is entirely different- with this light weight I've got much better control over it (I can squeeze the grip at the top of the snatch and prevent the girya from falling down onto my forearm) and the workout takes on a new shape- one I'd forgotten: high reps with no breaks in between. It's exhausting and because I've adapted to using the 32kg girya I don't feel quite so battered after a workout- I do end up with my muscles burning with effort but after a rest and a protein shake my body feels pretty normal, nowhere near as drained as I have been feeling following the heavy sessions.

It's a refreshing change to use the lighter weight - and it makes me realise that a set of kettlebells, rather than just one or two at the weight you want to focus on, is a much better investment. These recent sessions feel a little like a holiday they're so different from the grind of working the heavy girya.

Training Log

I had an awful workout on Monday- felt totally listless, struggled to reach reps that I'd normally achieve with little effort, just not pleasant at all. I'm putting it down to a few poor nights sleep in a row. I hadn't realised it had taken quite so much out of me.

Today I decided to ease back a little and so I stuck to doing the basic and essential kettlebell swing. Not wanting to overwork myself I just did a 100 repetitions, taking as little time between sets to rest, and only ending a set when I felt that my form was beginning to slip. It didn't take long but it broke out a sweat and left me breathless. An hour later I felt like I hadn' t trained at all- my muscles got it easy but my heart and lungs had to put in the effort.

Tomorrow I'll go back to doing swings, snatches, clean and jerks and a set or two of squats. I'm not able to do long reps with the 2-pood (32kg) KB yet but that's easily overcome; with lots and lots of short sets.

My initial aim when I began training was to strengthen my injured back and also to lose some of the weight that I've put on since that injury worsened a few years back.

Kettlebells are renowned for their ability to fix "glass backs"- mine isn't fixed exactly (and probably never will be because of the arthritis) but it is more stable than it was. One of the advatages of the girya is that your back is supposed to be straight virtually all the time- I don't have to bend it or twist it. My joints still tend to stick, there are lumps of knotted muscle here and there and I get quite nasty spasms now and then (over the weekend I couldn't turn my head to the right) but my back does feel a little more sturdy than it was. The slightest thing can set me off (getting up from a chair, staying too long in one position, etc) but I feel like my back is better able to absorb some of the shocks it's exposed to. And I am certainly fitter than I have been in a long time; if nothing else, that's a big relief. My main worry now is that I'll lose some of the gains I've made recently next time my back decides it wants to go through a bad patch and they can last anywhere from a week to a couple of months.

As for my weight loss- it isn't happening. My wife tells me I'm definitely getting slimmer (and I feel thinner) but my weight is remaining pretty much constant, within a few pounds of 14 stone- I'm hoping that means more muscle and less fat and not just that she's telling me what I want to hear!