To make up for your missed adjustment on Friday, you can come in this afternoon and Saturday 3/30 between 9:30am – 10:15am.  He will stay as long as he has a steady stream of people coming in for adjustments.

This article from Maximized Living has great timing given what my father-in-law has been through with his back these last few weeks, well really years, but specifically seeing the problems with these last two weeks.  I urge you to take a stand for your spine… daily spinal hygiene is necessry!

Once thought to be an effect of the aging process, degenerative disc disease (DDD) continues to be diagnosed earlier in life. Most commonly, DDD results from a combination of poor lifestyle habits.

The painful effects of DDD can be lessened and eliminated through a multifactorial approach that increases the strength of core muscles and stabilizes the spine.

By understanding how DDD develops, a comprehensive plan can be implemented to combat, prevent and even reverse this painful condition in patients of all ages.

What is Degenerative Disc Disease?

In a nutshell, spinal discs serve three purposes: hold the spine together, allow for movement and absorb impact. If these discs become over-strained, they can bulge and rupture (herniate). ¹

Even without herniating, though, simply stressing the spinal discs limits mobility and can suppress the immune system’s ability to fight the development of disease. The slightest misalignment of the spinal bones puts pressure on the spinal cord, which is responsible for communicating between the brain and tissues of the body (organs, muscles, ligaments, etc.). The resulting pressure can damage the function of any system or organ in the body, as well as cause tremendous pain.

This can make even the simplest everyday tasks difficult to perform.

DDD commonly develops when muscle tissue weakens and fails to provide the spine with the support needed to protect the spinal cord.

Desk jobs are another area of concern. Years (or decades) of slouching and hunching in front of a computercan lead to neglected, weakened muscle tissue meant to support the spine. If these muscles go unused for too long, the vertebrae can shift out of place and strain the spinal discs and nerves—kick-starting the development of DDD.

The most damaging effect of DDD is that it often presents no symptoms until the condition has become particularly severe.²Â Fortunately, DDD can often be overcome through a smart, multifaceted care plan.

Important, yet Misunderstood

The body’s “core” consists of the muscles of the lower back and abdominals. Whether playing hockey or carrying groceries, these muscles stabilize the body—making them a vital part of even the simplest daily activity.³

What many people do not realize, though, is that a strong core supports healthy spinal movement and alignment.

Strong abs and low back muscles work together to maintain the spine’s proper alignment. This is essential because, when the spine’s structure is compromised, the spinal cord struggles to communicate effectively with the organs and systems of the body.

Though a six-pack may be a nice bonus, it takes a backseat to spinal integrity in terms of functionality.

Think of a strong core like a cast for a broken arm. Once the bone is reset, a hard cast is set around the arm bone to ensure it remains in its proper position. This allows the arm to heal quickly and properly.

Without the cast, even a broken bone that is reset could not heal properly, simply due to the stresses of driving, typing and tending to children. Over time, this would result in a painful structural deficiency that may even limit mobility.

Similarly, a specific chiropractic adjustment improves the positioning of the vertebrae, but supplementary core exercises and good posture are needed to keep the spine in alignment.

When out of alignment (or subluxated), the spinal bones aggravate the surrounding nerves and tissue. This can disrupt basic organ function.

If this type of subluxation occurs, a number of symptoms may arise:

• Low back pain
• Sciatica
• Neck pain
• Tingling sensations
• Numbness
• Difficulty walking, gripping, etc.

Many of these common signs are often overlooked as typical signs of aging. However, the most damaging symptom of all is actually the lack of symptoms.

Why?

Symptoms raise a red flag to signal dysfunction within the body. Conditions like DDD, though, can develop silently for years without producing any symptoms. Proactively evaluating the spine is the single most effective way to prevent the gradual worsening of DDD.

Take Action Today

While a strong core is helpful, it is not the antidote to DDD. If you’re looking to prevent or overcome DDD, then start working these three healthy habits into your daily life:

• Seek Specific Spinal Correction.  Have your spine analyzed as soon as possible. Depending on your age, weight and lifestyle habits, your spinal discs may already be under a lot of pressure. Spinal correction can relieve this pressure and shift the spine into its proper position.
• Think Outside the Crunch. Crunches are outdated and easy to perform improperly. At best, they help only your abs; at worst, they strain your discs. Instead of crunching, do full sit-ups or try basic planks, side planks and working with a stability ball. Remember: A new exercise program must be approached with caution. Always work at your own pace.
• Bookend Stretching. Whether you’ve just crawled out of bed or you are about to hit the hay, take five to 10 minutes to stretch. Stretching improves flexibility, blood flow and loosens tight, aching muscles. Remember: Stretching should not be painful.⁴

Each of our doctors is certified to evaluate your spine and deliver the 5 Essentials of Maximized Living, a comprehensive system designed to improve all aspects of your health and fight the development of disease.

Sources:

1 http://www.spineuniverse.com/conditions/degenerative-disc/degenerative-disc-disease-animation
2 http://www.spineuniverse.com/wellness/exercise/aging-exercise-what-you-need-know-stay-fit
3 http://mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org/ncal/Images/Spine%20Lumbar%20Back%20Stabilization%20and%20Core%20Strengthening_tcm28-181048.pdf
4 http://www.spineuniverse.com/wellness/exercise/aging-exercise-choose-safe-activities
5 http://www.princeton.edu/uhs/pdfs/Lumbar.pdf — Used as background only

Why did I become a chiropractor?  Because I looked through the lens of life via the chiropractic health model, and found it to be good.  I was in the insurance and investment world in Charlotte, NC when I made the decision (not bashing that world by the way).

I had come out of Buffalo with about three years experience on the sales side of the business.  When I moved to Charlotte, it was right after a two and a half week honeymoon.  Laura had a job as an OT at a hospital, and I was unemployed.  Well, I am an entrepreneur, and because of that I haven’t been unemployed since I started my first business detailing cars at 16 years old.  I find it hard to imagine how those doctors would let me pick p their Porsches and Mercedes, brand new Acura NSX the month it came out, back to my house so that I could clean them.  I must have looked really trustworthy .. fortunately I was when it came to their belongings.  But I digress…

So I was in Charlotte, but working my Buffalo clientele from a home office, when I got a job with GE Capital as a manager of a the sales force of a Life of Virginia insurance office they had just taken over.  24 years old, loving the freedom of my schedule as I golfed three times a week, every week.  I was good at my job because my wife worked a lot, so I could do the same.  Knocking on doors was easy for me, and I always was confident that I had something good to offer.  I quickly became comfortable as the funny Northerner in a Southern world.  

But when my back “went out” and floored me for three days (literally, I could not get up), something had to change.  By the third day, I had gotten really good at crawling slowly from the kitchen to the living room where I laid on the dogs bed (softest thing we had for a floor), and watched TV, hoping something would change.  Over the next few days as I improved, it struck me that I actually had insurance from the incredible company  of GE (I had never used it up to now, but had heard the employees with families rave about the quality of our insurance).  So I went to a chiropractor, and that was it.  Before I felt any change in my body, I had a complete change in my heart and my mind.  

After starting college in the medical world in a pre-med pathway, coming out of the home of a pharmacist, and largely being educated by the model of health that governs this world.  I turned my back on it completely for this beautiful model of health, based on vitality and healing from the inside out.  I was raised in a Godly home, and though I wasn’t pursuing God in my life, He was in my underlying script of what is right and true.  It all fit.

 So fast forward a couple years.  I am in school at Life University, uprooted Laura from our newly started life in Charlotte to hop down to Atlanta.  I found myself looking for health, I wanted it more and more, and began to see it as a means of honoring God through my commitment to health.  At times, I most definitely went too far with how I looked at it, making it more of a personal thing, and an ego trip, than a commitment for wise reasons.  But that change only comes with maturity.  

I worked out harder, went and got my personal training certification and started training others.  I connected with a few nutritional companies, as well as other health focused companies, hunting for more knowledge with a deeper appreciation of what long term health would mean to my family, and the families of those who I had a chance to lead.  

Fast forward another handful of years, and now I am in practice, and have gone through the growth and development of several other offices, I have seen many other doctors come and go, and I have witnessed the difference in philosophical focus.  And at this time I have come to realize that more important than knowledge, and understanding of science or nutrition, more than anything else that I might have thought important, was philosophy, or what I simply began to refer to as the lens.

Andy Stanley (pastor of Northpoint Community Church) often uses the lens terminology to describe looking at something.  And I began to apply this philosophical belief to how I looked at everything.  

God has a plan.  One for everything, including health.  If one were to apply his lens to every decision that impacted health, they would simply become healthier.

It is this VERY SIMPLE idea, that found success for our office with so many people. And it is why my answers are sometimes to simple for many of your tastes.  “Dr. Eric, what should I do when…” and of course my response, “maintain your spine, eat right, rest and heal”.

Let me give just a little detail here, and then let you take this into your day.  

1. Your brain is the most incredible creation on the planet, this is not argued by many, outside of the word creation.  It controls all aspects of the human body, also not argued.  Thus, ensuring that your spine works well is paramount to health.  The only thing that ever changes with this truth, is your commitment to it because life gets busy, and PREVENTION begins to fade in importance.  This is a God lens… else you could tell me why God protected the brain and spinal cord more than anything else, and it not be most important?
2. Gifts from God come with no strings attached.  Medication from man comes with MANY strings attached.  If medication is a gift from God, then why does it carry such incredible risk?  Side effects that cause disease and death?  Are there times when it is favorable to use a med?  Of course, but then, have you known as many people as I have known who have died because of that choice?  Ask their families if their meds were a gift from God.  So IN ABSOLUTELY NO CASE is a drug a gift from God, unless there is NO CHANCE that the drug will hurt you.  His gift is a path to live drug free in the first place.  Again, don’t mis-read.  Will I use a drug in my life?  Yes.  But I will understand that His gifts, His good and perfect gifts come without strings.  If there is a string attached, then it is more from man than Him, and I would pray that he spare me the side effects.
3. The body was built to accomplish great things physically.  The Bible gives great testimony to these great physical accomplishments.  Is the Bible not a blueprint for living?  Therefore, are you to be idle or to be active?  Looking through that lens of health do you not see an absolute need for physical activity?  We could then argue the type, and I would tell you there are more examples of active intense physical living through war and work, than there are of slow moving activity.  Get active and get intense.
4. Last one.  Stress.  Duh.  Of course you should have no stress.  But whenever I say it everyone laughs.  Chuckles it off.  Sorry, you need to fix that.  So Christ was kidding during the sermon on the mount.  You think 2k years later he is saying, “Oh, just kidding, I only said that for first century laid back farmers, not you fast paced 2k’rs.  Go ahead and be stressed, you can’t help it anyways”?  I don’t think so.  The lens says you are destroying your health, and the lens says that you are to be stress free.

I really think getting adjusted is the greatest piece of this lens, because of two things.  First, 99% of our population is destroying their posture every single day.  Second, because all other areas of the body are controlled by your nervous system, your posture is killing you.  

You cannot feel the value of corrective chiropractic, you cannot see it.  It is a silent improvement.  

Be well, be blessed, find the lens.  – Dr. E

Man, it never hurts to be reminded.  So today, be reminded! – Dr. E

The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food

By Dr. Mercola

I believe many of our country’s chronic health problems would simply disappear if greater attention was paid to the root problem — the food you eat.

Americans’ reliance on processed foods is a major factor that drives the rampant disease increases in the US, such as diabetes. According to a new report from the American Diabetes Association,¹Â an estimated 22.3 million people were living with type 1 or type 2 diabetes in 2012, up from 17.5 million in 2007.

But why do Americans buy so much processed food and junky snacks? Well, first of all, junk foods are heavily promoted by the US government via agricultural subsidies for crops like corn and soy.

Add to that misleading yet highly effective marketing, and — the focus of this article — the addictive nature of junk food, which is a science in and of itself.

In order to protect your health, I advise spending 90 percent of your food budget on whole foods, and only 10 percent on processed foods. Most Americans currently do the opposite, and this will undoubtedly have an effect on your health, especially in the long term.

The Food Industry’s Role in America’s Health Crisis

In the featured New York Times article,²Â investigative reporter Michael Moss writes about the extraordinary science behind taste and junk food addiction, and how multinational food companies struggle to maintain their “stomach shares” in the face of mounting evidence that their foods are driving the health crisis.

In it, he mentions a 1999 meeting between 11 CEO’s in charge of America’s largest food companies, including Kraft, Nabisco, General Mills, Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, and Mars. He writes:

“James Behnke, a 55-year-old executive at Pillsbury… was anxious but also hopeful about the plan that he and a few other food-company executives had devised to engage the C.E.O.’s on America’s growing weight problem. ‘We were very concerned, and rightfully so, that obesity was becoming a major issue… [T]here was a lot of pressure on food companies.’

…[Behnke] was engaged in conversation with a group of food-science experts who were painting an increasingly grim picture of the public’s ability to cope with the industry’s formulations — from the body’s fragile controls on overeating to the hidden power of some processed foods to make people feel hungrier still. It was time, he and a handful of others felt, to warn the C.E.O.’s that their companies may have gone too far in creating and marketing products that posed the greatest health concerns.”

The Parallels Between Cigarettes and Junk Food

On that day in 1999, Michael Mudd, vice president of Kraft, did “the unthinkable” during his speech — he drew a connection between processed foods and cigarettes. We no longer condone cigarette ads for teens, having clearly established the health hazards associated with smoking, despite decades-long denials from the industry.

Yet we now blindly accept the same kind of misleading tactics being applied to junk food, even though the health ramificationsrival, if not surpass, those of smoking. Mudd presented a plan to address the obesity problem, which would help defuse the criticism building against the food industry.

In my view, the criticism was, and still is, justifiable. As just one example, General Mills created Yoplait that same year (1999), which “transformed traditional unsweetened breakfast yogurt into a veritable dessert,” to use Moss’ own words. In fact, Yoplait yoghurt contained 100 percent more sugar per serving than the company’s Lucky Charms cereal! Yet everyone recognized yoghurt as a wholesome food, and sales of Yoplait soared.

Mudd proposed employing scientists “to gain a deeper understanding of what was driving Americans to overeat.” Once they knew that, products could then be reformulated; salt, sugar and fat use could be reined in, and advertising could be repositioned. The 1999 meeting didn’t go well. It effectively ended when Stephen Sanger, head of General Mills, allegedly stated he would not jeopardize the sanctity of the recipes that had made his products so successful in order to appease the critics.

Fast-forward a decade and we now have novel biotech flavor companies like Senomyx, which specializes in helping companies do what Mudd proposed — finding new flavors to reduce sugar and salt content in processed foods.

These “flavor enhancers” are created using secret, patented processes, and they do not need to be listed on the food label. The lack of labeling requirements is particularly troublesome and will most likely become an issue in the future. As of now, they simply fall under the generic category of artificial and/or natural flavors. What this means is that the product will appear to be much “healthier” than it might otherwise be, were a flavor enhancer not used. The question is, are chemical flavor enhancers safe? Or are food companies simply exchanging one harmful substance for another? That remains to be seen.

 

– There is more to read – go here to see it all: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/03/21/addictive-junk-food.aspx

 

I like passing along valuable news to you when I find it. This one is odd, shocking, weird, and valuable all at once. Take a look at what might be in your organic foods.
Dr E

(NaturalNews) When we relish a delicious organic apple or pear, we usually don’t suspect we are also ingesting a mouthful of antibiotics. As shocking as this may seem, it’s yet another dirty little secret of the certified organic industry in the U.S. Used to control a tree born bacterial infection, antibiotics are sprayed on susceptible varieties of trees — leaving residues on fruit to be consumed far and wide. And inflaming concern over antibiotic overuse in the process.

An unfortunate truth

Generally, antibiotics are shunned by organic aficionados and natural health advocates alike. The dangers of antibiotic resistant superbugs and devastation of beneficial bacteria in the body are enough reason to seek alternatives. But consumers who eat organic apples or pears may be inadvertently ingesting tetracycline and streptomycin — two antibiotics used to combat common infections of the lung, middle ear and urinary tract as well as more life threatening diseases like tuberculosis, plague and cholera. Unfortunately, when antibiotics are overused they eventually become ineffective, leaving us high and dry for when the medicine is truly needed. Antibiotics also ravage the intestinal tract, destroying the good bacteria that help to keep us disease free. All in all, consuming antibiotics haphazardly in food is not ideal.

As reported by the Organic Consumers Association, apples and pears produced organically can be sprayed with antibiotics to minimize crop loss associated with fire blight — a bacterium that kills the shoots of apple, pear and select ornamental trees. Concerned about the overuse of these sprays , the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) informed growers the practice would be forbidden after 2014. Due to pressure from the organic apple and pear industry, the date might be pushed back to 2016. And this isn’t the first time the prohibition has been delayed. Originally, tetracycline was set to be banned from organic production in 2012, but in response to a survey of organic apple and pear producers in Washington state, the date was postponed. Evidently, 80 percent of growers said “…if they could not use tetracycline to control fire blight, they would be forced to reduce their acreage or exit the organic apple and pear production industry,” according to Sustainable Food News. However, the real question is whether or not antibiotics are absolutely necessary to control the disease. Experts say no.

Natural solutions to the rescue

Ken Johnson, an authority of botany and plant pathology at Oregon State University, has extensively researched alternatives to antibiotics in controlling fire blight. After testing and study, a protocol of copper spray, lime sulfur and fish oil (when sprayed at key growth periods) is just as effective as antibiotics in controlling the bacteria. Home gardeners have found white vinegar spray useful against the blight as well.

As consumers, we can protect ourselves by always choosing breeds that are naturally resistant to fire blight. The Orient, Summercrisp and Kieffer pear varieties are most impervious. Steer clear of Bartlett. The safest apples include: Jonafree, Melrose, Northwestern Greening, Nova EasyGro, Prima, Priscilla, Quinte, RedFree, Sir Prize and Winesap.

It is best to avoid: Beacon, Braeburn, Cortland, Fuji, Gala, Gingergold, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Honeygold, Idared, Jonathan, Lodi, Monroe, Mutsu (Crispin), Paulared, Pink Lady, Rome Beauty, Wayne, Wealthy, Yellow Transparent and Zesta.

An organic apple a day keeps the doctor away remains good advice. Yet, until antibiotic sprays cease to be used, make sure to choose wisely.

The NOSB is accepting comments regarding the proposed extension until April 8, 2013. To sign the petition for antibiotic free apples and pears, click here.

Sources for this article include:

http://salsa3.salsalabs.com

http://www.sustainablefoodnews.com/printstory.php?news_id=14436

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/antibiotics/FL00075

http://www.weekendgardener.net/plant-diseases/fire-blight-040704.htm

http://www.beyondpesticides.org

http://homeguides.sfgate.com

http://www.vegetablegardener.com

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/yeager52.html

http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/1992/4-29-1992/fruit.html

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/039551_organic_apples_antibiotics_truth.html#ixzz2O3BV3OWC

Two Daily Sprout messages this week, and within these two will be powerful life change if you choose to put them into practice. One is a physical change, that will come from a commitment to short burst exercise. The other is a much deeper change that comes from being a NON-CONFORMIST.

Yeah, sounds Rebel Like doesn’t it? Well, you’ll see what I mean on Wednesday. Oh, and don’t forget, we will have Author and Speaker, Dr. Josh Axe in on Wednesday at 11:00am. $10 pre registration and $20 at the door… and we are giving you a bunch of tastings of the Beyond Organic foods. If you miss this, you can come to CrossFit Silos, at 12635 Crabapple Road, Alpharetta GA 30004 – right next door to Sip Wine Bar.

So today, is all about exercise. Exercise that you can do in your home, at work, on the side of the road if needed. There is no reason to not do this, except you simply don’t care enough. So for most of you, welcome to the rest of your life.

The word of the day is, TABATA. Many of you have heard of it, some have done it because of my Workout Of The Week programming, others have done it in a CrossFit gym, or even some other location. The key is the duration of work to rest. This is what makes Tabata special. You see, it is a time oriented workout, with 20 seconds of work, followed by 10 seconds of rest, for 4 minutes.

Variations increase the total work from 4 to 8, to 12 to 16 minutes, adding more intervals, but NEVER altering the work/rest ratio. And having done many variations on the work/rest ratio, I would advise that you stick with this one, unless you have some excellent knowledge on Exercise Physiology that makes you want to experiment.

So, 20 seconds of work is not a lot, but then, neither is 10 seconds of rest. Usually by the time you get half way through Tabata, you cannot believe you are only half way through. 2 minutes seems like an eternity ago, and an eternity away. So what do you do in this 4 minutes of hell? Well, almost anything.

I recommend you stick with pretty basic movements, as it will help you to stay focused on moving, and not resting. *** DISCLAIMER – if you do this, you will be really, really sore the first time, so if you don’t like being really sore, then hold yourself back some****

So let’s try squats, push-ups, sit-ups, standing jumps, broad jumps, burpees, jumping lunges (jumping into a lunge position then out and back into the alternating leg lunge position), and if you have them with confidence: pull-ups, jumping rope, or double under jump ropes. After a few weeks of experimenting, I would have you pursue running as well, but its good to get a feel for this first, as running never allows a full rest in 10 seconds (it takes about 5 seconds to come down from a hard run to walking, thus you never stop moving).

So now you have the work/rest ratio, and you have the movements, so lets put it all together. We’ll use squats. You might want to get a Tabata Timer for your phone if you have a smart phone or for your tablet. They come in every app store, and simply require a search for tabata. If you don’t use a tabata timer, then use a clock online, or a stop watch (better if you can see it easily). http://www.online-stopwatch.com/ provides a decent sized countdown timer.

Your goal – is going to be to do as many reps as possible in each round. You must keep track of every round every time you do this. And you should keep the record for review (this will help your psyche later). So if you are doing squats, at the moment you start the clock, you start squatting. Full depth (as full as you can go), followed by full upright. At 20 seconds, stop and rest until 30 seconds, then go again. Stop at 50 seconds, then start at 1 minute. Time is crucial to get a good comparison from lap to lap, as well as against future attempts.

Your score is determined by the round with the least number of the exercise. To give you a sense of how intense/urgent you should be. I can do 23 squats in 20 seconds, and keep that pace going for awhile.

Other than that, just stay in it. 3 times a week is perfect, and you don’t want to skip because of soreness… that will simply get better in time!

Be Well, Be Blessed, and Be FIT! – Dr. E

I just signed up for the 2013 CrossFit Games OPEN. What is it? An online based competition with 70,000 participants last year, I would guess closer to 150,000 this year. Meaning my chances of getting anywhere keep getting slimmer and slimmer. But it is worth the attempt.

Getting anywhere? The OPEN is a qualifier for the regionals, which then get you qualified for the CrossFit Games, seeking the Fittest on Earth each year. As a 40 year old, i fall into the first division of Masters Competitors, which would be cool to get to, but I actually have too many issues with my shoulder injuries to get there. But I am hoping to fix these issues this year.

With some very personalized and specific work on my shoulder flexibility, led by the team of instructors at EMBER Yoga, I plan on fixing some issues that I have had for years. Is it possible? Maybe not, but I know the pursuit will only improve me along the way. And that is what I choose to write about tonight, the pursuit of excellence, physical youth, and potential.

This is why I choose to do this, because there is great value in the health that comes from a competitive pursuit. How many of you have randomly signed up for a 5 or 10k, to find some guy in his 70’s or 80’s beat you? It happened to me a couple years ago. I ran along with my brother who is not in the same shape as me, so it wasn’t my best pace, but it was a pretty good pace, and after during the awards some guy in his 80’s wins the division of 65+. He ran the 5k in about 21 minutes. At the time my best 5k was a 20:30, he was right behind my best. WOW.

Where are you? And what holds you? Running 5k’s would never hold my attention. I have converted so many runners to CrossFitters for the same reason. Interest. But the point isn’t to come do CrossFit, the point is to pursue health with a passion, and realize that fitness is part of that. I tell you, working out, its pretty boring. I did it with great commitment and conviction for the greater part of my life. First, to be better at hockey, then… to be better at teaching the value of health, and finally, to be better at the sport of fitness (CrossFit) and now in the last six years, to be better at adventure racing too.

Could you come up with one goal for your fitness on the spot. Right now, a goal that matters? Don’t just spout out “run a marathon” unless you have really considered it. I have never run a marathon on a course. But I have run more than two marathons continuously in the woods on an adventure. I carried that 40# pack 30 miles in 12 hours this past November on the Appalachian Trail. That was cool, and awful.

But what about you? Does that interest you? “I want to take a nice hike” doesn’t count as fitness. It could, but without a time demand, or distance, it really means little. Quantification of your goals is crucial to lifetime success in fitness. After running the Garage Games 1, a HUGE CrossFit event that we have built up over the last 4 years. with nearly 900 competitors from all over the country and Canada. It was the largest competitor base in any CrossFit event ever. And it was awesome.

The thing that made it awesome, was simply a room full of people (7 basketball courts large of a room), who all share this on common ground. Fitness goals. Some were beginners, with little fitness at all, and minimal skill or strength. Some were ridiculously fit, like women knocking out 15 pull-ups in a row in the middle of a very intense workout, and they would keep coming back to those pull-ups and do 15 straight without stop. But no matter where they were with their fitness, they have a goal.

I have been educating on goals for longer than the 7 years I have been educating on CrossFit. Goals should be ever present, as without them, you linger, and the longer you linger, the more stale your fitness becomes. I want nothing but the best for you and your family. PERIOD. So take this advice that comes from experience, you need a fitness goal, and you need to update it regularly, from now until you die.

If you want to go further and do more, you can reach out to me, or my gym managers. But like I said, you don’t need to do what I do, but you definitely need to do something.

Be well and be blessed – Dr. E

As always, Dr. Levi and our interns will be here to adjust you!