11/29- Raw Bench/Accessory and some progress with my medical issues

I have been competitively powerlifting for over 20 years. Within that time I have competed raw, single ply and multi ply. I hold the highest all time total of 1930 at 148, the third highest total of 2045 at 165 and have broken over 35 world records, over 25 of which I still hold. Through the years in this sport I have learned a great deal from various training methods, met and formed long lasting friends, as well as learned the importance of balancing life, work, and training. Elitefts accepted me as a team member over ten years ago and I am currently the longest standing still competing powerlifter on the site. I appreciate Dave Tate and Elitefts for giving me the opportunity to learn from and teach others through the Q&A and my training log. In 2005 I opened Orlando Barbell – a 24 hour powerlifting friendly gym. As well as running Orlando Barbell I designed and sell the

Home GHR , the

The OBB Power Handles and the

Doorway Home Gym, wrote the

12 Weeks to a Bigger Bench EBook, and produced the

12Weeks to a Bigger Bench DVD. My latest contribution was writing the

M2 Method EBook, designed to be the quintessential Raw Powerlifting training manual for beginners to advanced lifters looking to get stronger and prevent injury while incorporating the powerlifts. A couple laps around the building for a warm up: 5 mins treadmill Prehab PVC rolled on: Lower back, shifted to right and left Upper back, shifted to right and left scapula w/hips up Armpits Hamstrings Glutes Adductors Fat Bar Decline- 135x5 185x5 205x5 225x5 External Shoulder Rotation w/tubing x15x2 Incline DB Presses- 60x10x3 Cybex Tricep Extensions- 90x10 100x10 110x10 Thank you to Tyler for training with me today and getting back on track after a busy semester of producing and editing for his UCF capstone film. Under the circumstances it's way more difficult to get motivated than it would usually be. I have a long way to go to get back to where I was. There were a couple steps in the right direction this week as far as my autoimmune issues are concerned. I finally spoke with a Functional Doctor over the phone and, although the alternative medicine isn’t covered by insurance and is going to be much more expensive than I had thought, I definitely need to incorporate it. My inflammation is still pretty severe and, although I’m not sure diet changes and supplements will be enough to combat it, they're still a necessary piece of the puzzle. The other step was that the GI doc was able to get my Blue Cross/Blue Shield Insurance (that only covers generic meds) to give prior authorization for the Entyvio infusion. Although I’m still not thrilled about receiving an IV med, Entyvio is one of the UC meds that’s recommended when others have failed. Now I just need to wait for them to call to schedule my first infusion. I’m sure I’m still going to have to pay something, at least towards my deductible, but at least they agreed to cover it to some extent. As I’ve mentioned before, my digestive issues are still in check, but the joint inflammation I’m having is so extreme that it’s difficult to even describe. Most days I can barely walk when I first get out of bed in the morning. I still can’t get over that after all of these years of heavy lifting I’m still free from serious injury. Instead my body decided to attack itself. It’s crazy. I keep falling. I’m ready to finally stand back up.