Since June is “Scoliosis Awareness Month”, I thought I would post something about it and try to help promote scoliosis. This is an interesting video blog and a lot of this stuff resonates with me.

I had my scoliosis surgery when I was real young. Had a nasty double curve and I had no choice but to get surgery on it which means replacing the spine with the Harrington Rod. I have scoliosis for life which is something that I have to live with. My scoliosis adventures would be a very long book but to keep it short and simple… the scoliosis surgery was brutal and long. At the end of the day, though, it was all worth it. Through high school, I couldn’t play sports because of it. I couldn’t play baseball, basketball, football, etc. None of that shit. That’s okay, though ’cause I had no interest in sports to begin with.

I did, however, always had an interest in bodybuilding. I finally got into bodybuilding like 10 years ago or a little over. When I first started talking about getting into bodybuilding, predictably… people started getting worried right away and started criticizing me about it. They’re like, “Bodybuilding is gonna ruin your curvature even more!” I’ve been doing bodybuilding and lifting weights for like 10 years or a little over. Believe it or not, it’s been that long already and I haven’t had anything happen to me.

People immediately assume that bodybuilding is dangerous for scoliosis but not at all. It’s perfectly safe ’cause there’s a lot of people out there in America with scoliosis that are into bodybuilding… yes, lifting heavy weights and all. People with scoliosis that are into bodybuilding do everything: bench pressing, dead lifting, barbell squats, etc. There are a lot of people with scoliosis that are in great bodybuilding shape.

I’ve gotten into yoga recently and that doesn’t do anything to make the curvature worsen either. I can do most yoga poses perfectly fine except that I can’t do back bending stuff ’cause the metal rod can’t bend which sucks but I’ll live with it.

I’m doing serious bodybuilding, lifting kind of heavy and all and I haven’t had anything happen to me yet. Bodybuilding with scoliosis is perfectly safe. To those that have it and if you want to lift weights then go for it. Nothing is stopping you.

Yeah, you’re going to get all kinds of jealous people calling you out about it. People saying stuff like, “You shouldn’t lift heavy weights ’cause it’ll destroy your back” and blah blah blah but don’t listen to the critics and doubters at all. I never did. I just go in the gym and do my thing. Don’t listen to anybody and do whatcha wanna do. Prove the doubters wrong that you can do this.

When I first started bodybuilding, I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. I made every mistake in the book so I did heavy research on bodybuilding so I can do everything right and take it more seriously. When I first started, I started out on machines for a long while… working all body parts in one day which is good for a beginner. Then a few years later I moved on to free weights like dumbbells and barbell stuff. I used to go to the gym like 3 times a week. Just workout whenever I feel like it. Sometimes 1 or 2 times a week and admittedly I did take a little break off bodybuilding a long time ago but no more of that shit.

I now take bodybuilding very seriously and want to stay committed. For over a month now, I’ve been going to the gym 4 times a week. Doing the 4 day split: Arm Day, Chest Day, Leg Day and Back Day. That’s how I do it. I’m going to stick with this routine for the rest of the Summer and Fall/Winter. Workout all year round. Do this on a full time basis. It’s time to move on up and take it to the next level.

It is possible to become the best shape of your life even with scoliosis. Yeah, I’m with this guy in the video above ’cause I too used to be afraid to take my shirt off ’cause of the scar on my back, but thanks to bodybuilding, I’m not afraid anymore. I’ve grown to love my scar on the back and grown to love my curvy body. Being shirtless with scoliosis in front of people may seem intimidating to some but you can’t deny the confidence and bravery. I’m no longer afraid to be shirtless in front of people anymore like I said which feels amazing.

Yeah, when I posted my shirtless pics publicly… I’ve got a mixture of positive feedback and some pretty nasty feedback. That’s okay with the nasty feedback ’cause they’re probably jealous losers who don’t even work out at all. The negative feedback makes me even more empowering and stronger. When you get people making fun of you still ’cause of the way your body is… no doubt they are a little jealous of your muscular physique so pay no mind to them.

I’ve been doing research on scoliosis lately and want to try interacting with other people online with scoliosis. It’s not a well known condition but it should be. Everyone should know about it and bring more awareness to it. I wish politicians would start talking about it. It may not seem like it but there’s a lot of people out there with scoliosis. It’s a big problem. I used to keep it quiet on this kind of thing but now I think it’s a good idea to start talking about scoliosis.

Kev

In the past, I used to avoid lifting weights for pecs and just did chest workouts just using body workouts alone like push-ups mostly. Push-ups are good for pecs yes and they do help, but if you want to get even more definition on the pecs lifting weights are the way to do it. I experimented with barbell bench pressing for a little while, but I love doing dumbbell presses the most, though. I’ve been sticking with dumbbell presses  on the floor for a little over a month now and I’m noticing some real results. I’ve also been doing dumbbell flies too ’cause it’s important to do both the pressing and the squeezing when doing dumbbells for the chest. It’s also important to do regular dumbbell presses and incline dumbbell presses. So I’ve been doing all three for a little over a month now: dumbbell presses on the floor, incline dumbbell bench press and dumbbell flies.

A lot lately, I’ve been noticing some results on my chest pecs. They’re starting to shape up a little bit. I’m noticing my pecs getting slightly bigger too and I am feeling it which is good. I’ve also been lifting heavier weights doing the dumbbell presses and that’s also been helping. For dumbbell flies you don’t need a lot of weight for that as I’ve been doing 25 lbs. on it but for the dumbbell presses, I’ve been doing anywhere from 40 lbs – 45 lbs. Another way that’s been helping my chest development is that yoga has been helping too ’cause yoga is also a full body workout.

I’m getting strict on nutrition again. I’ve been doing a lot of stretching exercises and yoga. I’ve also been doing plenty of cardio too. I’m doing my best to become the best shape of my life. I feel that I already am in great shape but still got a lot of work to do though. I’ve been going to the gym 4 times a week each week which is going good so far. I’m going to stick with that all year round, I think.

I’ll be going on vacation pretty soon later this summer. I’ll be going to Cape Cod; going to the ocean and stuff like that. Can’t wait to walk around the beach shirtless. A lot of people like to workout during the Spring/Summer so they can be beach ready. That’s nice but that’s not exactly what I do this for, though. Fitness is a lifestyle for me. I’m in it for life. I do want to look great for the beach, don’t get me wrong.

It’s good to finally notice some chest definition. I’ll post pics soon to prove it.

Kev