I wretched my posterior labrum 3 years ago exercising with free weights. This in and of itself is enough for me to implore fellow dads to stop slinging weights like we used to in our 20′s. This causes very painful bicep tendinitis in my left shoulder. My most recent bout with it kept me off of any kind of upper body workout for 3 weeks. This is agonizing as there are just so many legs and core exercises a dude can do before having to buy a pair of Old Navy Yoga Butt Pants.

My doctor gave me a shot of cortisone in the shoulder joint. It was so delightful that my left leg started kicking up and down during the procedure. I asked him if if the needle was splitting every soft tissue in the joint itself during the insertion. Once the feeling of being hit in the shoulder with a sledgehammer wore off after a couple of days, I noticed moderate relief from the pain, but nothing to make me want to drop and give you 30.

So, I did a simple superfood trick instead. Blueberries and spinach are loaded with all kinds of good stuff with scientific names for anti-inflammitories. As always, Google it for yourself. I grabbed a handful of fresh baby spinach, a handful of frozen blueberries, a banana, and a cup of water and threw it in a blender. I then proceeded to slam it down. The whole process took 10 minutes and I just got 4 servings of fruits and vegetables.

By the 3rd day of drinking this stupidly simple superfood shake, I noticed a SIGNIFICANT difference in my shoulder. The tendinitis was completely gone. It was gone so much to the point that I have been able to do light upper body exercises without any issue (taking it slow).

Before I lead you to believe this was a food miracle, let’s get a few things straight. I do have steroids floating in my shoulder and I have rested it for a few weeks. So, there is not any science that proves one thing over another. I would suggest that a combination of everything with the superfood shake as the final “oomph” got me over this hump. At the very least, this is a 10 minute exercise to give you a heaping dose of superfood goodness.

Can I borrow your yoga butt pants?

I always find it funny how workout infomercials show the before and after pictures of people who have been through their program. At the bottom of those shots, there is always an asterisk that says “Results Not Typical”. That is because most of the people in those pictures were paid by the infomercial company, went on some lemongrass and water diet, and had some super-fit trainer named Holden or something to help them through the program. In addition, everyone sticks out their white pot bellies, unstylish mullet hair dos, and horribly out of style shorts for those “before” shots. The after always includes shaved excess hair, tans, makeup, and the latest Nike apparel.

Having “worked out” consistently for 15 years, I was at a standstill this winter. At 35, it had become so boring to me. In addition, my shoulder has some weird tear that doctors can’t seem to diagnose. This knocked me out of all the typical guy weight training of “3 sets of chest, shoulders and tri’s” and all the other “body builder” stuff we do. It was awesome for our twenties when we were trying to score chicks. All we do is tear connective tissue at gym in our 30′s, trying to pick up our wives.

A coworker told me about P90x. I had never heard of it before (unlike most of America). I don’t have cable and don’t watch infomercials, especially workout ones AND especially ones from that advertise “home” programs. Please, who actually works out by themself in their living room after sleeping in and with booger finger kids running around? I went to the website and bought the DVDs on my friend’s recommendation. I ignored all the before and after pictures as those are silly, like mullets.

Below are my “Before and After” pictures. I never thought I’d EVER take these pictures. It seems both vain and silly to do this. However, the P90x online community is surprisingly supportive of each other. Since I purchased a licensed and legal copy (yes, think about that for a second), I was given access to a personal online trainer. She pushed me to do the pictures and I did. So, here they are:

I will publish a few articles on how to get typical results from P90x for someone in their 30′s with kids and a busy life. It is all doable.

Yes, I did shave my chest. As for the tan, I mowed the grass all summer without a shirt. It is a redneck tan. This had more to do with the fact that I was sick of my wife and in-laws making fun of my white pasty body.

To be continued…