The long story behind HealthyButter
I have an advantage - I love sports and have always been active.
Of course, since I was “active”, and ate reasonably “healthy”, and my annual doctor check-ups didn’t show any abnormalities - I thought I was in pretty good shape. Most people would have agreed.
Then, between ages 47-50, my body failed me.
Physical ailments:
Chronic Lower Back Pain - I picked something up off the floor and felt my back tweak. But instead of healing over the next few days - like normal, this one never healed.
Dislocated Shoulder - I hit a tennis serve and my arm felt like it was laying on the court next to me.
Torn Rotator Cuff - MRI shows I have micro tears in 2 different tendons. Surgery was not required, but lots and lots of physical therapy was.
Elbow Pain - No rhyme or reason here. My elbow just hurt and sometimes couldn’t lift anything heavy, or even carry my coffee cup on a long walk without switching hands.
Hamstrings and Hips so tight I could barely touch my knees - touching my toes was out of the question.
Fitness to fix Physical Ailments
I had been using a kettlebell as part of my workout routine for awhile, but I had some challenges with it.
I sort of felt like it made my back feel better, but it hurt my elbow so badly that I could barely finish a set.
Prior to having elbow pain, I had thought kettlebells offered a good full-body workout. I always felt great after using them. But…
I got so fatigued so quickly when using a kettlebell that it didn’t make any sense. I couldn’t imagine ever being able to do a full workout with it (thinking that a full workout was the standard 60-minute workout.)
I wanted to figure out how if it was possible to make kettlebell the center point of my workouts, so I started researching this topic. I read every article and watched every video I could find. And then I found this:
Is 10 minutes of kettlebell enough to be in good shape? by Mark Wildman
Not only was his answer Yes, but he spoke in a way that made a lot of sense. I quickly started watching more of his videos, and found a golden nugget soon after. He demonstrates how to do a certain movement, and makes an off-handed comment about “don’t turn your hand this way - if you do you’ll end up with elbow pain…” Holy crap - he just identified and diagnosed my bad elbow, and showed how to fix it, all in a 5-second clip!
I changed my technique, and the results were amazing.
Both elbow and back started feeling better immediately after correcting to the proper form. With each passing week I was able to do more with my elbow, which allowed my back to feel better and better. My back pain was gone within a few weeks, and my elbow was back to 100% not long after. Holy Shit - I suddenly felt better than I had in several years!
The switch to Functional-Fitness was on…
Today I’m nearing completion of my 3rd full year on this journey. I wish I hadn’t had to go through what I went through, but I’m happy to be standing here - on the other side, feeling great, and looking forward to the next several decades.
I’m trying to share information on this site that others find useful. What exercises do I do? How many? How frequently? How much plant-based eating is required? How much equipment do I need? Etc, etc. I spent a lot of time and energy working through all this; hopefully I can help make your journey easier.
- Chris Butterworth