Breaking New Ground for SuperBack!

For the past three years, I've been teaching a core/back care class at 5th Avenue Fitness. Feeling like I'd been creating too deep of a rut with my collection of exercises, I bought a new Triathlete/Cyclist Core Exercise DVD from Carmichael Training Systems, for inspiration. The first time I watched the DVD, it was while eating a bowl of cereal with my feet up on my desk at home. Not exactly what was intended by Chris Carmichael, but even still, I nearly broke a sweat watching it. The second time through the 45 minute workout, I found myself really busting myself hard to keep up and finally had to skip out on some of the reps. Bottom line... room to grow on this video. During the past two weeks, I've gotten good feedback from the class about the new stuff. My favorite part has been expanding the number of exercises in the dynamic warm-up. Preview this video.

New Article Posted in CBC Newsletter

Who cares who's Tweeting? I do. So do lots of other people. Since the Tour of California, I've been following a number of pro cyclists and cycling news organizations from around the world. Just yesterday morning I got a tweet from Lance Armstrong that he was watching live coverage of La Fléche Wallonne road race online at steephill.tv. I browsed right there and watched the last five minutes of the race, too. Seconds after the race, I got a tweet from Johan Bruyneel with the results of the race. Funny thing is, the race was in Belgium, Lance Armstrong was in Aspen, Colorado, and Johan Bruyneel was in Madrid, Spain. I was in Downtown, Oly. To tell you the truth, it made me feel cooler than I really am. :) My article was published in the Capital Bicycle Club April 2009 Newsletter and you can find it below:

On Becoming a Twittering/Tweeting Cyclist (or How to Tweet like Lance!)
By Dr. Andy Rosser, Downtown Olympia

Every morning I wake up to a new text message from Ivan Basso.  At 5:33am this morning, I received a text to let me know that he had taken an easy 2 hour ride on the bike today, had gotten a massage, and was now listening to his iPod.  Earlier than that, though, at 3:47 am, I got a text from George Hincapie to say that he was having coffee with Eric Zabel and they were talking about Eric's cool bike collection.  They are both living on European time so I leave my phone on silent at night.  During a typical day, I might get 20 or so messages like these from around the world from people that I "follow" through an online service called Twitter.  I'm afraid to say, this is one of those things that's caught my attention and is part of my daily routine now.

I'm not alone, though. That message from Mr. Basso went to me and 9,421 of his other "followers."  George Hincapie has 16,925 "followers."  I follow about 2 dozen or so cycling and other personalities, local and abroad.  I mainly got started on it during the Tour of California, since I couldn't park myself in front of a computer and I don't have a TV.  Using Twitter, I was able to open my phone and get up to the minute news from riders, team directors, team doctors, and many others 24 hours a day.  I admit, it's a bit overkill and some messages are better than others, but the stream of information is easy to manage and gives me a whole new perspective on the lives of some of my heros. 

Here are the basics of getting started with this microblogging tool:  First of all, you should know that all of the postings are short since they are limited to 140 characters.  That means you aren't going to end up with loads of long texts on your phone.  You might get a short message, a weblink, or a photolink.  If you are just wanting to dip your toes in first, you don't have to sign up for anything.  It's easy to just peek in.  For example, browse to www.twitter.com/lancearmstrong and you can read about how his surgery went, how his shoulder is healing, etc., posted by the man himself.  If you then want to become a "follower" of Lance, along with more than half a million other people...  sign up for your own personal account.  It's free. 

You can then choose to have postings ("tweets") sent to your phone.  (Make sure you have unlimited texting if you do this!  Otherwise, it could get ugly at the end of the month on your phone bill.)  Next, start searching around for people you want to follow.  Here are some of my favorites:  Lance Armstrong "lancearmstrong," Taylor Phinney "taylorphinney," Ivan Basso "ivanbasso," Johann Brunyeel "johanbrunyeel," Chris Carmichael "trainright," George Hincapie "ghincapie."  You can also follow groups and organizations if they are tweeting...  VeloNews "velonews" and Bicycling Magazine "bicyclingmag" are both active tweeters!  They use Twitter to let you know when they have new information on their website, when they have breaking news, or race results to post.

As you might guess, Twitter is not limited to cycling, though, and it can have some redeeming qualities as an information tool.  You can use it to get local news sent to your phone, weather updates, even hobby information! (Try "everydayolympia" and "wsdot" for some of these "useful" updates. What if you are in to scrapbooking when you aren’t pedaling? How about …”lovetoscrapbook” The possibilities are endless!)

I've been using my twitter account to send out near daily updates on everything from my recent rides, getting new tires, getting dropped from a group ride, crossing my fingers for good weather, getting a flat tires, etc.  You know... things people are REALLY(?) interested in hearing about.  Okay, maybe not everyone needs to know all that stuff, but I have to admit some of my tweets are more interesting than Lance's... I'm just sayin'.  Tweet you later!  To follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/andymanr  

WEB: www.rosserchiro.com
BLOG: www.rosserchiro.blogspot.com
TWITTER: www.twitter.com/andymanr

More Like Chris Horner Than I Thought

This morning I read a message that Chris Horner (@hornerakg) posted that read "Sitting at home with my friend 'The Stick' and watching B-ball on TV." For those of you who don't know who or what "The Stick" is, here's your chance... It's a very simple hand-held massage tool. I use it every day in my office and it's used by professional and amateur athletes around the world. It's popularity among elite athletes can probably be attributed to Jeff Spencer, a Doctor of Chiropractic, who brought it to Team Postal way back in the day. He was the team's chiropractor through all of Lance's wins and for Alberto Contador's win of the Tour de France. Dr. Spencer talks extensively about the health and performance benefits of using The Stick.

So... what's it is, and what does it do. It's like a rolling pin for your muscles. While it definitely isn't a replacement for the skilled hands of a massage therapist, it can help speed recovery by warming up muscles before exercise and carrying away metabolic waste after exercise. A very simple investment of your time can get you back on the bike or running with less muscle stiffness/soreness left over from previous exercise sessions. This can be very handy for those of us who find that we recover slowly or are at risk of over-training. Click for VIDEO.

Buy it from me, get it at a cycling or running shop, buy it online.

Cheers! Dr. Andy

Herbal Intervention... A New Reality TV Show!

This morning I got a good laugh from a story that a patient told me, though, I don't know that it's really all that "funny." Apparently she knows someone who was thrashed with stinging nettle plants by friends as a practical joke. Ouch! If you've ever brushed up against this plant wearing shorts, or, as I have done, tried weed-wacking it down, you know that it's got a burning sting that lingers. It may also form small welts and blisters on the skin. The upshot is that it has traditionally been a treatment for injured muscles and joints, eczema, arthritis, gout, anemia, urinary problems, hay fever, sprains and strains, tendonitis, and insect bites. Anyway, I thought about how this might be the start of a new reality TV show called "Herbal Intervention." Thus, the laugh. Otherwise... not funny. Poor fellow.

Here's more information from the University of Maryland Medical Center on Stinging Nettle, and it's possible benefits for the ailing:

Stinging Nettle LINK

Cheers, Andy

Volunteer Park Race Report

Saturday morning found me rolling out of bed at about 5am in an effort to make everything fall into place and be in Seattle in plenty of time for racing at 8:45am. That was all fine and I didn't even get lost since I was following teammates to the race from the highway. What I didn't count on was how long it would take to get registered and set up to actually warm up. After standing in line, etc. I only had about 5 minutes on the trainer. For this race I was hoping for at least 45 minutes to an hour. Bummer. I did get a chance to go around the course a few times, at least, though, which was a positive thing.

The group took off from the line and quickly strung out until riders were strung out all along the course. We were 100 stong in our group racing around a course that was less than a mile. I did my best to hang in and found myself speeding up slightly as I went through a few laps (4?), but that wasn't enough... The race official blew her whistle and pointed me off the course as the lead group was rapidly bolting up the hill behind me. As I was pulling off the course, the rider in front of me was also exiting, but got himself tangled in the safety tape and fell over. Then I passed another guy leaned forward and dry-heaving. I thought to myself... "Never a bad day to ride." Next year, I'll hang with the group a little longer. Until then, I think I have a little work to do. :)

It was great to see my teammates working hard and directing parts of the race. I was totally impressed with the women's team. One of them kept the pace at the front for several laps. Nice job up there. Hope you heard us yelling for you!

Andy

Last Minute Posting

Well, I guess this is what it's all about. I am out the door in a moment to head up to Seattle for a criterum bike race at Volunteer Park. A special treat today is being cheered on by my friend Ann, who is visiting from Virginia! Rock on!

The weather looks overcast or rainy today. Maybe my early race will be rainy. I'll be letting some air out of my tires, if it is.

Last night our team held a clinic for racing these short, intense races. It's a lot like cyclocross in terms of intensity, only if you fall, the surface is less forgiving. The speeds are faster, too. Thankfully it's only going to be about a 40 minute race.

http://www.supersquadra.com/VP.aspx

Hopefully after today, I'll be stronger for cyclocross...

Cheers, Andy

Ben Folds on Chiropractic

It took me a couple of listens through to realize that Ben Fold's song Dr. Yang contains a good dig on chiropractic! He also digs on acupuncture and fortune telling. Here are the lyrics:

Hey Dr. Jack. Bend me like a pretzel til I crack. Line my joints and bones. Beat me up and send me home.

Ben! Rock on, baby!

Tomorrow is cross training in the pool with Annie and then a good long night's sleep in anticipation of a LONG, LONG ride on Sunday in 60 degree weather (37 at the moment, btw.)

Cheers til later, Andy.