Scott B. Wilson - Email sent on July 31, 2008
Hey Raquel,
Just wanted to give you an update on my progress. Kenny (Dr.
Sheppard) took another
x-ray of my back and the bend has decreased from 23 to 11 degrees. I
was hoping for zero degrees, but he thought this was fantastic. He
expects that the best I can probably expect is single digits, but
I’d be happy to prove him wrong.
In review, since I’ve been using your program, the curve in my back has reduced from 23 to 11 degrees, I’ve stopped taking vicodin and cyclobenzaprine, I’m often free-free through a whole day of sitting, and I’m back to surfing many times a week. I can’t thank you enough!
I’m now using 50 lb dumbbells when doing the side flexion and dead lift, 20 to 15 reps for three sets. The only other change I’ve made is to the decline pushup, where I’m putting my feet on the ball rather than the table to avoid aggravating the arthritis in my toes.
Peace,
Scott
Mario Scipione -
Email was
sent on September 22, 2004
Here is the update from the
physical therapist: She asked me lots of questions
and put me through a very similar series of tests that you did, and
the orthopedic surgeon did for flexibility. She went along with the
doctor's view that I have some arthritis in the AC joint. Same
place you have been focusing on for months.
She also agreed with you about my lack of mobility in my upper cervical spine. She felt around my neck and base of the skull and said "oh my" when she grabbed onto some of the muscles in there.
I said you were already onto this
(very politely). I explained the types of stretches and exercises
we have been doing, that focus on the shoulder and spine. She was
happy about all of that. I explained how you watch my posture,
alignment and focus on shoulder positioning during all exercise.
She said we are doing all the right things.
She pointed out
that the exercise is so I don't lose strength, it won't repair the
degeneration in the joint (I knew that). She gave me a couple
of simple exercises to do, to help loosen the upper spine up.
She asked if you did any hands-on work. Once I figured out what she meant, I said, not regularly. You and I work on stretches and exercise, not as much on massage (which is what you kept telling me to go get done). She said I need to work on posture, it might help some of my nerve irritation in my arm too. So, she is focusing on hands-on stuff for a couple of weeks. It was lots of manipulation of the muscles and some of the spine in my neck area. This is to improve mobility (sound familiar) and improve posture too.
So, bottom line, you nailed all this stuff. You get an "A".
Tim Rohner
Raquel has
been training me for a couple years. I
started with her because of lower back pain from too much deskwork
and too many airplane rides. I hate sit-ups, and don't do them.
But my stomach and back muscles are now so strong from core
training; you'd think I do hundreds of sit-ups a day. Today, I feel like I’m 20 something. I combine Raquel’s weight training with a few other things like golf, yoga, basketball, and surfing. All of these activities have shown visible improvements. What I like most about Raquel is her attention to detail. She really watches your form, which is crucial in core training. Bad form will cause injury - good form will prevent injury in weight training and in other activities.
Another kudos for Raquel is her creativity - I can't remember doing the same workout more than a couple times. She’s always coming up with new exercises that build on previous exercises, push your limits, and prevent boredom. On top of all this, Raquel is fun! She’s always easy going.
I would strongly recommend her and her approach to anyone, from couch potatoes to professional athletes. And this is not a paid endorsement, I wrote it because I believe in her. And know anyone will benefit from her program.
Randy Delue - Email was sent on September 29, 2004
Hi Raquel, first of all,
thank you for your time, your energy and your expertise. I
thoroughly enjoyed every minute of my time with you, okay maybe not
every minute, but most all of it was great. It seems strange,
but the evaluation you did with me, is what I would expect my doctor
to do as a physical exam. How else can a doctor expect to be
able to prescribe anything if he/she doesn’t really know my body?
So I guess you are now my doctor.
I will head to the store today to purchase all of the things we discussed. I am very eager to clean out my system and get my anatomy back in alignment.
As always thank you for your assistance. I am grateful to you.