06/01/2025
Story time with Derek...
This is a really good one, but it will probably be a long one. Before I ever knew about Applied Kinesiology, I was training for bodybuilding, hoping to enter my first bodybuilding competition soon. I had a few minor (or at least what I thought were minor) issues with my performance that could have been better.
One problem I had was that my left arm would lock out before my right arm on the bench press and incline press. I had done some powerlifting meets previous to this, and it was always a problem for me, because you have to lock out both arms simultaneously, or you will get red-lighted (your lift will be disqualified). I always had to really watch myself on this to make sure I didn't get a lift disqualified in a meet. At the time, I had no idea why this was happening. I thought that I simply had a much stronger left tricep than the right one, and I even did a few extra reps on occasion for my left tricep, trying to even this out. But it never evened out (at least not from that) - more on this later.
Another issue I had was that my legs were weak. Now, like many guys when they start lifting, they only train their upper body, because that's what is the most fun and easiest to train, and squats and leg presses can be BRUTAL and GRUELING. Most people don't look forward to it. To be honest, most gym members won't even do heavy squats or leg presses. That's why most of them have bird legs. Like most people, I started working legs later than upper body, but once I started, I really worked them hard. Still, they didn't respond as well as I would have liked - at least not yet. I thank Matt Stewart for taking me through my first killer leg workout when I joined Hickory's Gold's Gym back in 1987. He about killed me in that first workout, and I puked my guts out and thought I was gonna die, but I survived, and it made me 100x tougher than I ever thought I could be. Thanks Matt.
One more issue that I had, that at the time I didn't know was even causing me a problem was that I had pretty bad scoliosis (lateral curvature of the spine). I was told that I had it in elementary school, but since it really didn't seem to be giving me any problems, no treatment was recommended. My doctor just said to "watch and see if it improves or causes a problem." Well, it never caused any severe problems with daily living, and I didn't know it yet, but it was really interfering with my strength. I just didn't know it because I had been dealing with it for all of my life.
Well, fast forward a few years, and I was hoping to get ready to compete. I just didn't feel I was quite there yet. One day I was playing basketball, and I turned my ankle really badly. My friend's mom (where I was playing) thought that I had broken it. It was very swollen, and it looked BAD. I went to an orthopedic doctor the next day, and thank God, it wasn't broken.
He took me off leg workouts for a month, and told me to only do squats on a Smith machine for a month after that. I also couldn't work my calves because of the ankle injury. 2 months later, I thought I was better. Then, right after I started doing barbell squats again, I got hurt AGAIN. This time, it was my lower back. I went to the gym and asked Chester (the gym owner) what I should do about it. He gave me the business card of a local chiropractor, and told me that he would "fix me right up."
I went to him, and after about 6 weeks of treatment, not only was my lower back better, but my weak, lopsided lockout on my bench press was fixed too!!! Seriously, I had always had the problem of my left arm trying to lock out before my right, but after 6 weeks of chiro, suddenly, my arms just naturally locked out simultaneously!!! Wow. I also got another really nice surprise. Remember how I said that my legs were weak, and that they had always lagged behind my upper body development? Well, that went away as well. My workout weight that I used on the leg press went up by TWO HUNDRED POUNDS almost overnight!!! Seriously. And my squats went up by about 50 pounds!!! My bench press also went up by around 40 pounds. Almost overnight. And, of course I started gaining more muscle mass!!!
A couple of my training partners thought that I might be "hitting the juice," but I wasn't. It was just that having my back fixed had improved the nerve signals to my limbs, and because of this, I could lift A LOT more weight!!!
At that point, I had never heard of Applied Kinesiology, because at that time, nobody near me was doing it. Later, when I learned Applied Kinesiology to help me overcome other, much more serious health issues (Addison's Disease, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, Chronic Fatigue, etc.), I finally figured out that it could be used in much the same way as the chiropractic adjustments, to improve strength, power, speed, and all other aspects of athletic performance.
When I tested it out, I was right! I was able to shave 0.35 seconds off my 40 yard dash, add 3.5" to my vertical leap, and add 8 inches to my standing broad jump INSTANTLY!!!
If people knew what the info in my book could do for their athletic performance, I wouldn't be able to keep copies in stock. For real. This could make the difference between sitting on the bench and being a starter. It could make the difference between winning or losing the state championship; the difference between going to college on a sports scholarship or having to take out student loans to pay for college, and hang up your cleats and never play again. It could quite possibly be the difference between playing pro football or taking a regular job. THIS BOOK CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE!
Check it out here:
JUST RELEASED - Unlock the secrets to peak athletic performance with Turn on the Power: How to Use Applied Kinesiology to Improve Athletic Performance, 3rd Edition. Plus, discover critical insights on foods to avoid in order to prevent muscle weakness, improve performance, and reduce injury risk.
