Last weekend, Sairalyn and I went down to South Street Seaport to (finally) check out the BODIES exhibition. It only took just about everyone I know (friends and clients alike) seeing the exhibit and reporting back to me that

“…A guy like you would LOVE this exhibit! It’s totally the kind of thing you’d be into.”

which is not an untrue statement. Aside from snowboarding being the focus of our lives for the past four months, I’ve avoided the BODIES exhibit because I figured, hey, I got enough of that stuff when I was a student Teaching Assistant for Functional Human Anatomy Lab at Rutgers University (Reaching into the cadavers and pulling the small intestine out for freshmen to examine, in all its warm, slippery glory was one of the highlights of that experience). I figured that a static exhibit that one isn’t allowed to touch wouldn’t compare to the visceral experience that teaching those labs gave me.

Well, I was wrong. I loved the BODIES exhibition - it was great. Sairalyn was a tad creeped out at the beginning, but she got into it after desensitizing herself to the fact that we were examining the remains of once living, breathing human beings. She particularly enjoyed the circulatory system exhibit (also my favorite). After injecting the blood vessels with a silicone polymer, chemicals are used to melt away the other body tissues, leaving a perfect preservation of all the vesels to the last capillary. It’s really incredible to see the amount of detail and the sheer density of the capillary beds in both the venous and arterial specimens.

Two things of note:

1) Sairalyn noticed that most of the full-body specimens were male. There were only 2 female full-body sepcimens. I wonder why that is?

2) Most of the specimens were smokers - you could tell by the condition of the lungs (blackened and slightly shriveled). That’s too bad.

All in all, I’d say that it was an afternoon well spent.

BTW, there was a guy there that was getting even more into it than I was. He must have been an anatomist or something, because he was pointing out all the muscles - and I mean ALL of them. To a much more detailed degree than I was.

An explanation is in order:

When you look at a real human body, the muscles aren’t as clearly defined as they look in books and picture atlases of the body, save perhaps the arm. Particularly in the torso, the muscles intermesh together and it’s only by knowing, inside and out, all the muscles and their attachment points and anatomical function that you can discern which ones are which.

This guy was a champ - he knew every single one, even the small muscles of the hip (how anyone can discern inferior and superior gemellus in situ is beyond my understanding). My hat’s off to him.

First off, Happy Easter to those who celebrate it.

I had a nice little surprise on Good Friday when I discovered that I’d gotten a brief mention in a column written by one my clients, Susan Silver.

Let’s Get Physical.

How sweet of her. I had no idea she noticed the command to quack like a duck - I’ve got to practice slipping that one in unnoticed.

70 degrees, and my beloved snow fades into the Earth, along with my snowboarding hopes and dreams…

What would I do without my clients? I mean, how else could I possibly keep up to date on all the latest and greatest fitness trends (*cough cough no sleep cough)?

From today’s New York Times:

In This Workout, A Machine Does (Almost) All the Work.

I’ll give you a moment to think it over after having read it. Go on, take two. I’ll still be here.

…

The article mentions a product called the Power Plate. Manufactured by Power Plate USA, it comes in two models, one for home use, and one for gyms. A quick trip over to the Power Plate USA website shows that (unlike many other exercise gizmo manufacturers) these folks have done their homework.

An impressive study list.

As is the case with most things in exercise, vibrating platforms such as the Power Plate have been shown to provide significant fitness benefits to the user. However, the issues I raise here are:

• Are those benefits significant above and beyond what one can derive from traditional methods?

From the look of the studies, it appears that while the results one can derive are statistically significant, they do not exceed the benefits potentially derived from traditional strength training.

• Is the modality safer or less safe than traditional methods?

It is my opinion that standing on a violently vibrating platform while doing lunges and squats increases the injury factor considerably over doing said exercises on stable ground, but no studies have been conducted that would support my contention.

Incidentally, I’ve got to think that having a machine shake the shit out of your bones can’t be too good for you.

• Are there any other additional issues associated with the exercise modality?

There are two that I can think of right off of the top of my head - first, the machines cost a tad more than a barbell and a couple of hundred pounds worth of plates. Even if you were to spring for a shiny, new, antiseptic Eleiko competition barbell, complete with bumper plates, you would just about equal the cost of the cheaper unit. Second, I am told by users of the machine that it is extremely loud. That just about rules out use for anybody with neighbors in their building (effectively all of New York City).

I suppose if it doesn’t cost you anything and you’re otherwise healthy, it can’t hurt giving something like this a try. I think New York Sports Club might be doing something with these machines in the future, but who knows how that’ll work out.

Why people try this kind of stuff and avoid nice, safe, harmless sports like snowboarding and Brazilian Jiujitsu is beyond me.

Well, weather’s getting warmer, individuals with Seasonal Affective Disorder are coming out of their winter funks, and me?

I’m glad that my body can start healing up a bit. I’ve had enough of injuries already. I didn’t even achieve a 540 this season (my initial goal). Well, there’s always next season, where I can train harder, be better prepared, better rested.

Then again, the BJJ purple belts will probably be ripping me to shreds at that time.

Above: It’s moments like these that make temporary paralysis worth it. Box gap to 50-50.

There’s no other reason for a post of this nature - you guessed it, I hurt myself.

The particular offender this time? Snowboarding.

Step 1. Determine the nature of the injury. Identify the anatomical structures involved, the circumstances surrounding the incident. Interview the hurt individual, if possible, to determine what other complications may be anticipated.

During late spring riding, snow turns to slush. It gets heavy, hard to work with. Heavy, slushy snow requires a tremendous amount of metabolic work to plow through (it has been compared to skiing/riding through cement). But even more insidiously, in terrain parks and other heavily trafficked areas, the snow melts, due to the heat of the sun’s rays and the friction created by hundreds of skiers and snowboarders passing through the same lines. In a terrain parks, this causes a buildup of “goo” in a puddle right in front of a kicker, unavoidable if one intends to hit the kicker. Aside from looking messy, this goo has the tendency to kill every last bit of speed one possesses as one travels over it (since the goo sticks to the snowboard/ski, increasing friction, etc.) . Not too good if you need X amount of speed to, say, clear a jump.

And so it was with my injury - last kicker of the last run (always happens on the last run!). There was a giant goo puddle in front of the kicker, which robbed me of much of my speed. I spun a quick (for me) 360 hoping to make it, and my front edge clipped the tabletop, tweaking my back somehow (I think I was in spinal extension and majorly rotated). I was able to scrape the rest of my board around, avoiding a fall, but the damage had already been done. I rode down to the base in extreme pain, with my legs getting weaker and weaker by the moment. Once down, I barely got my bindings undone and immediately lay down.

I have hurt my back before (an “undiagnosed” disc issue at about the level of L5-S1) and this particular injury presented the same symptoms as the previous injury to the same spot. I had intense radiating pain from the level of L5-S1, some pain radiating into and around my right quad/adductor region, and general weakness in both legs.

Step 2. Manage pain: place subject in neutral anatomical position, or a position that minimizes pain . Begin to bring down swelling by adminstering anti-inflammatories or icing the injured area.

I lay down on one of the tables at the base area. My brother-in-law was kind enough to get an ibuprofen tablet out of the first aid kit in my backpack (be prepared, kiddies) and I took it immediately. I didn’t really feel like lying down in the slush, but I suppose in lieu of an ice pack, it would have worked just fine.

Step 3. Rest. R-I-C-E. Rest some more. Seek professional assistance - a doctor for diagnosis, PT for rehab.

I didn’t really do so well on this step:)

I did rest. I did allow Sairalyn and our friends to do things for me (sometimes) while I allowed my back to rest. I did take off one whole day of work.

I didn’t see a doctor. I’m really dumb; don’t follow my example. See a doctor, take days off, let friends and family do things for you. Rest your injuries.

More to follow…