Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 6C
June 29, 2016
Kommentary
Every day
is leg day
BY AT,EX KINSELLA
alexjkinsella@gmail. com
There is a tendency among gym-goers
to ask those with the results they want,
“What supplements are you taking?” The
implication is “I want to perform or look
like you, but I don’t want to work hard
for it”; and then they are also implying—
though they might not mean it—that
those people found their results in powder
form. The emo
tionally charged
ad campaigns by
the supplement
companies have
too many people
thinking that
supplements are
comparable to
real food. And the
hype extends
to workout
routines
and pro
grams. Last
Monday,
there were
four different lines on the Muscle and
Fitness home page (without scrolling
far) promoting some kind of “abs” pro
gram. Some people somewhere must be
convinced that abdominal definition is a
benchmark for athleticism or sportiness,
or that abs are the most important part of
a good, muscular physique.
The harm here is that our abs-centric
fitness culture leads people to compart
mentalize fitness and make it into some
kind of side-show spectacle. They think
of muscles without thinking of the whole
body; they think of nine-week programs
instead of lifestyle changes; they don’t
progress in their performance; and they
work out according to piecemealed, pseu
do-bodybuilding, for-the-average-person
ideals that make them believe on some
level that they don’t actually belong in a
gym.
A few months ago, I saw a mother
and her daughter (whatever relation), a
prospective Mercer athlete, being given
a tour of the Drake Field House. The
mother questioned the man giving the
tour, asking him whether or not the
weight room had equipment for girls, and
whether or not the girls would use the
same weight as the guys. She said that
as her daughter “bulks up easily...I don’t
want her getting too big”.
As eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie
Coleman articulated: “Everybody wanna
be a bodybuilder, but don’t nobody wanna
lift no heavy-ass weights”. And although
it’s likely you don’t want to be a body
builder (it’s safe to assume the girl being
given the tour didn’t), the sentiment
applies to everyone participating in the
fitness tradition: You are not above your
fitness nor separate from it. All of the
botched prescriptions in popular culture
originate from best practices. Forget the
gym entirely if you want, and in any case
stay away from those Life Fitness or
Cybex whatever-raises with the selector-
ized weight stacks. Sprint, jump, and pick
up heavy objects. Ladies, you aren’t ‘ton
ing’; you’re building muscle and burning
fat.
Kai Greene, Mr. Olympia contender and
multi-time Arnold Classic winner, aptly
says that people often go into a gym with
no sense of focus, too concerned about the
equipment or “machines” they’ll be using
to pay their bodies due attention.
A sense of bodily efficacy is largely what
determines your success during workouts.
Your sense of control and power deter
mines the integrity of every repetition,
every stretch, and every contraction. Your
job is to apply yourself to the movements
you perform and to the equipment you
use, and to not let those things be applied
on you. Letting equipment and what
ever you think is the ‘correct technique’
intimidate your body into suboptimal
movement patterns and into giving sub-
optimal effort is a bullet train to medioc
rity. Your body is one unit. When you do
a left biceps curl, you should imagine that
the effort you apply has to originate from
your core (which is not just your ‘abs’,
but everything, front, back, and sides,
from the bottom of your ribcage to the
tops of your thighs), travel into your feet,
then into that area of your arm. Your
body should be rigid. If someone brushes
up against you while walking by, you
shouldn’t move—not because you antici
pated it, but because you rooted yourself
beforehand. Every movement, no matter
how trivial, is ultimately an application
of the entire body. And your legs, as it
turns out, move your body through physi
cal space. If your eyes are the window to
your soul, then your legs are the trunk
foundations for every physical tendency
of your body (paraplegics, don’t take this
personally). They are the kingpin append
ages. So when someone comes into the
gym saying that- they’re about- to do their
weekly “leg day” workout-, it’s no wonder
they find progress so difficult-.
Alex Kinsella, a student at Mercer, is the
summer intern for the Reporter.
^Reporter
Yes it IS brain surgery
Rare procedure ends tremors for Forsyth businessman
BY RICHARD DUMAS
forsyth@mymcr. net
When someone tries to
say something is hard, he
often compares it- to brain
surgery. However, not-
many people actually get-
to experience what- it’s like
to undergo brain surgery.
Forsyth’s Dick Holden is
one of those unlucky few,
but- he’s one of the lucky
patients who came away
from his experience better
than ever.
Holden, 71, underwent-
a deep brain stimula
tion (DBS) procedure
last- November to stop
persistent- genetically-
caused tremors of his right-
hand. The tremors were
preventing Holden, who
owns a tire repair busi
ness, Anytime, Anywhere,
24-Hour Truck Repair,
from being able to do his
job well. Holden, who had
experienced the tremors
for the past- 15 years, was
also taking significant-
daily amounts of the beta
blocker Propranolol and
the anticonvulsant- medi
cation Primidone. Holden
said eventually the drugs
were having no effect-
because he had maxed out-
the appropriate dosages.
A golf lover, Holden had
started having to use his
six-iron to putt because he
could no longer hold his
putter steady enough to
make a quality stroke. He
also often couldn’t- read his
own writing when he woke
up late at- night- to answer
service calls and had to jot-
down information.
Holden, along with his
wife Patsy and daughter
Julie Presley, began to
seek alternative treat
ments that- would allow
him to get- back to using
screw drivers, wrenches
and other tools necessary
to his job. After consulting
with his Macon neurolo
gist-, Holden met- with Dr.
Cole Giller at- the Georgia
Regents Medical Center in
Augusta. Giller is a well-
known neurosurgeon who
specializes in operating on
tremors like those Holden
endured. Once Giller and
movement- disorder spe
cialist- Dr. Julie Kurek
ran tests on Holden, they
determined he was a natu
ral fit- for the DBS surgery.
Over the course of three
separate visits beginning
on Nov. 18, 2015, Holden
endured the procedure,
which involved Giller drill
ing a quarter-size hole into
the left- side of his brain
and installing a neurostim
ulator, often referred to
as brain pacemaker, that-
sends electrical impulses
through implanted elec
trodes. Several weeks
later, Kurek hooked up the
internal computer and ran
the wires up and connected
it- to the probes. Then they
adjusted the voltage on
each of the four probes
exactly to Holden’s speci
fications. At- one point-, the
doctors increased the volt
age too high, and it- caused
Holden’s tongue to lock up
and his arm to feel electri
cal shocks.
“It- scared me,” Holden
said. “I thought I was hav
ing a stroke. But- they saw
it- and they immediately
bumped it- down. . . They
kept- working and fine-tun
ing on each one to figure
out- which ones produced
the best- result-.”
Amazingly, Holden was
awake for all parts of the
estimated month-long pro
cess, including the drilling
into the brain. He said
dental surgery pales in
comparison to being awake
during brain surgery.
“That- wasn’t- too thrill
ing,” Holden recounted. “It
was like when you’re in a
dentist chair, and they’ve
got- you Novicained up.
And they’re drilling, and
you’re feeling that- grating
and stuff like that. And it’s
uncomfortable. It’s a hellu
va lot- more uncomfortable
when they’re drilling a
quarter-size hold in your
head. Because you can feel
the pressure.”
However, almost- instan
taneously Holden felt-
the improvement- in his
tremor symptoms. Holden
showed the Reporter last-
week the dramatic differ
ence between his before
and after symptoms.
During his interview he
turned off his computer
device implanted just-
above his heart- on the left
side of his chest- that- con
trols his brain impulses.
Immediately, Holden’s
right- hand began shaking
again. Moments later, he
turned his computer back
on, and all of a sudden the
shaking ceased. Holden
said doctors are still work
ing to determine whether
the device’s batteries hold
up longer if patients turn
it off regularly, such as
when they are sleeping, or
if it- is best- to leave it- on
all the time. He said the
estimated length of time
the battery will stay oper
able is two to five years.
Then, he said his doctors
will have to go back in and
replace the battery.
After completing the
procedure in December,
Holden said he was able to
return full-time to work in
January. After not- doing
much heavy lifting the
first- quarter of the year,
he said he is back working
“full bore.”
Holden said the only
other alternative to his
procedure would have been
laser surgery in which
doctors burn the nerves
inside the brain that- aren’t-
performing correctly. He
said the reason he opted
against- the laser proce
dure, which is safer than
DBS, is because there’s no
ongoing adjustment poten
tial as in DBS.
“It- et-her works or it-
doesn’t,” Holden said. “You
get- what- you get- But- with
this, they can go in and
tweak it. They can fine
tune it.”
Holden said although
he suffers from the same
type of tremors in his
left- hand as well, Giller
would not- operate on both
sides at- once. Since he’s
right-handed, he said he’s
opted not- to undergo the
procedure on his left- hand,
which he still manages
with reduced amounts of
the same medications.
Holden said the DBS sur
gery is not- for everyone.
He said doctors won’t-
perform it- on patients
whose quality-of-life
or ability to do their
jobs aren’t- impacted
in a significant- way
by their tremors.
He also pointed out-
the immense cost- of
the procedure, say
ing his DBS surgery
cost- $160,000 out-of-
pocket-. Fortunately,
Holden said his
Medicare
and
Dick Holden
Medicare supplement-
through United States
Automobile Association
(USAA) allowed him to
pay just $10 total.
However, Holden said
he has already offered to
give a patient- testimonial
of the success of his DBS
procedure at- future medi
cal symposiums, and he
even suggested a friend
go through the procedure,
although the friend has
thus far turned him down.
“All I can do is tell them
my experience,” Holden
said. “That- doesn’t- say
that- everyone’s is going
to turn out that way. And
I try to emphasize that-
to everybody. But-1 can
just- tell you that- it’s like
a whole new life it’s given
back to me.”
Holden said he wasn’t-
worried before the sur
gery because he’s already
endured four near-death
experiences in his life, and
he knew God was looking
after him. In addition to
being wounded by a rock
et-propelled grenade while
serving in the U.S. Army
during Vietnam, Holden
also had a truck fall on
him in 1982, survived a
dangerous wreck later that-
same year and also suf
fered a major back injury
due to a work fall in 2014.
“You can’t go through
those type experiences and
not- have the faith that-
there’s somebody or some
thing that’s up there look
ing over you,” Holden said.
“The old saying is there
are no atheists in a foxhole
when the shells start- com
ing in. . . I have very, very
strong faith, and I felt- like
He was looking over me,
and I wasn’t- worried. I
knew if anything happened
that- everything was taken
care of.
Holden said around the
time he was headed in
for his surgery, he was
inspired by a Bill Gaither
interview with late coun
try singer Joey Feek, who
was dying of terminal
cancer at- the time. Holden
said, “She said, ‘When you
believe, when you have the
faith, if you stay, you win.
If you go, you win.’ I don’t
know where that- expres
sion came from, but- when I
heard it-, it- hit- home.”
Join Summer
Walk-a-
Monroe County
Extension Service
is presenting a
Summer Walk-a-
Weigh program
on Fridays during
June 17 through
July 22 from 10-11
a.m. at- the Monroe
County Recreation
Department- gym.
Walk-a-Weigh is
for anyone who
would like to lose
weight- permanent
ly. It- focuses on
changing life style
through healthy
menus and exer
cise. It- can also
help deal with
(and prevent) dia
betes, cardiovascu
lar disease, osteo
porosis and other
chronic diseases.
The RetfDept-.
gym offers a cool,
safe place t-o walk
on Fridays at- the
same time as get
ting good tips for
healthy meals and
encouragement-
from others. For
more information,
call 478-994-7014
or email dlynch@
uga.edu.
It’sTime
If you have not had
your air ducts cleaned
in the last 5 years, it’s
time.
Cleaning your air ducts re
moves accumulated dust,
dander, allergens, and odor
causing fungi from your air
ducts.
Each pipe is cleaned and
then fogged with an organo-
silane product that helps pre
vent mold in the dark, damp
air duct environment.
Breathe Easier
Call 478-742-1411
Duraclean
‘‘Nobody Does It Better’’
478-742-1411
www. duracleanup. com