Exercises and Drills that Helped me Avoid Hip Replacement Surgery

Posted on February 27, 2023 by flybrand1976

I’m pain free with improved mobility after a physician told me “you’ll have to get a full artificial hip” in November 2019. With a long scout excursion planned to Philmont this summer I’ve been extending the different exercises I do to maintain and improve mobility. Of course, it all starts with regular abdominal / core work outs. These three videos and another two from Taro Iwamoto are here.

Exercise #1: Standing Hip Opener

It was also good to do this standing, but bent over at the hips with hands on a bench or bar to ensure that your body doesn’t rotate while performing the exercise. I started with the tight side (for me, the left side), did 5 reps, then to the other side x5 = 1 set. 2.5 sets per day, twice a day.

Exercise #2: Weighted Kettlebell Hip Opener

This really helped with strength. I did it on a tumbling mat. In some ways, he does the exercise as an extremely scaled down version of the Ben Patrick of ATG (Knees over toes guy) split squat. You’re already on the ground performing the smallest amount of movement to push the boundary of your range of motion. I can do a split squat with my right hip – the ‘good’ one – but the weighted KB hip opener on the left has really served as a very basic version of a split squat for the left side, where my range of motion is limited.

Exercise #3: Hip CARs

This was my first exposure to Tom Morrison and his Controlled Articulated Rotations (aka “CARs”), and it’s been very helpful. The first time lead to cramping almost right away, even with very limited range of motion. I’ve now been playing with modifications of this from a quadriped position, and also starting with my back on a bench.

What’s next?

Could a hip replacement be needed in the future? Maybe, but I hope not. I’ve gone from chronic pain, limited range of motion and limited endurance for walking / standing back to a regular, pain free life. It has not been easy, however in many ways the work that I’ve done is similar to what would be required to recover from such a surgery.

End.

Answered questions:

  • How can I avoid hip surgery?
  • Do I need an artificial hip?
  • What physical therapy reduces the need for hip surgery?
  • How do I reduce hip pain?
  • Can exercise replace hip surgery?
  • What exercises reduce hip pain?
  • Is an artificial hip the only way to reduce pain? Can hip pain go away without surgery?
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Goldratt’s Rules of Flow: Chapter 14 – “T Minus Preparation”

Posted on February 27, 2023 by flybrand1976

[If you haven’t read the original version of The Goal – it’s a better book. Here’s a chapter-by-chapter video summary, and a <60 second summary too.]

Pages 81 – 86

Marc and Abbie roll out the ‘full-kit’ concept to their team. Marc shows Abbie his ‘WIP Board’ and learns that when he caught Abbie on the Saturday evening, her blind date had gone poorly. Abbie and Marc seem lonely, and the ‘will-they-won’t-they’ tension in the writing feels like the constant tension between Alex and Julie Rogo. I wonder if there will be a “You bastard!” misunderstanding scene like there was in Chapter 24 of The Goal.

Best Writing, Quotes

“Yeah,” Abbie smiles, “that was a good save when you asked everyone to use their phones.” – Page 81

“From now on, we will open the gate and start working on the next project only if it has a full-kit.” Marc to Noah, Page 82

“The WIP board has five columns and a row for each of the project managers.” Page 83

“I’ll incorporate my tasks from the projects that I’m managing, plus the tasks for the other projects that need my assistance.” Abbie to Marc, Page 84

The ‘Engineering WIP Board’ from Page 84.
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Goldratt’s Rules of Flow: Chapter 13 – “Full-kit”

Posted on February 26, 2023 by flybrand1976

[If you haven’t read the original version of The Goal – it’s a better book. Here’s a chapter-by-chapter video summary, and a <60 second summary too.]

Pages 71 – 80

Professor Silver introduces the concept of “full-kit” or thorough preparation via a written checklist and how to use a stage-gate type process to ensure full-kit before beginning a project. After the class Marc calls Abbie in excitement to let her know he’s got a solution for their woes, and is disappointed to find she is going out on a date.

Best Writing, Quotes

“He can’t work on his top priority because he is missing some final requirements.” Abbie describes the source of Noah’s mutiny in an email to Marc on Page 71

“You’re thinking about having mandatory ‘no interruptions’ hours during the day.” Kiara tells her classmates on Page 72.

“You need a full-kit.” Page 73

“‘Full-kit’ means that before we start a task or a project, we first verify we have everything we need to complete it.” Professor Richard Silver to the class, Page 73

“You can get all the items on the list ready and as soon as you start to work, you have to stop because you didn’t get the materials needed to take care of the screws and nails in the walls.” Prof. Silver on ‘Full-Kit’ Page 74

“The full-kit is a checklist that contains all the elements that are necessary to complete a task or a project.” Prof. Silver on Page 75

“With too many open projects, and the option to always move to another one, we are bound to forget to follow up and ensure we get whatever was missing.” Marc to his classmates on Page 75

Rick says, “In every project there is uncertainty, so we know we can’t always predict everything that we may need. But, to maximize the chances that the project won’t suffer from delays, the experts are the ones who should be in charge of full-kitting. This is a much better use of their time than firefighting emergencies caused by missing things.” – Page 76

Goldratt’s Rules of Flow, Page 76

“The next resource in line will not be permitted to start working on that task or project before we verify it has a full-kit.” – Page 77

“Describe the process of opening the gate; the process of verifying the full-kit and confirming the next task can start.” Page 78

“No worries, enjoy your date.” Marc to Abbie, who he appears to really want to ask out – Page 79.

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Goldratt’s Rules of Flow: Chapter 12 – “Dynamics of Theories and Trends”

Posted on February 25, 2023 by flybrand1976

[If you haven’t read the original version of The Goal – it’s a better book. Here’s a chapter-by-chapter video summary, and a <60 second summary too.]

Pages 67 – 70

On a Friday evening a few weeks later, Abbie tells Marc that some of the team is idle and unhappy about it. Marc goes on a blind date with Tina. In some ways, the writing about Marc is as unsatisfying as the description of Julie in The Goal.

Best Writing, Quotes

“They have nothing to work on, and more people are considering joining them.” Abbie to Marc on a Friday evening letting him know people are upset – Page 67

“Not gorgeous but definitely cool, he concludes.” Marc out on a blind date, Page 68.

“Some trends become part of the norm so they are not considered trends anymore,” she says, “and some trends shouldn’t have been born in the first place.” Tina to Marc on their blind date, Page 69.

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Goldratt’s Rules of Flow: Chapter 11 – “The Misconception About Starting Early”

Posted on February 24, 2023 by flybrand1976

[If you haven’t read the original version of The Goal – it’s a better book. Here’s a chapter-by-chapter video summary, and a <60 second summary too.]

Pages 61 – 66

Isaac, Marc’s father, hears from a customer that the company’s approach to projects is changing. He meets with Isaac to learn more, and respects his son’s decision to make a bold change. Efrat Goldratt-Ashlag uses a similar writing technique as her father did with Alex Rogo in Chapter 7 of The Goal – the primary character’s ability to retreat is removed, forcing them to try approaches that would otherwise be seen as reckless. Just as Rogo follows Jonah in The Goal to make big changes that are contrary to popular opinion, Marc follows Professor Richard Silver’s guidance on changing their approach to projects because otherwise the business will fail.

Best Writing, Quotes

“His people contacted Wilson with a requested change and heard they are currently not working on the project.” Page 61

“We assumed that the sooner we start working on it the great the chance we’ll get it done in time.” Page 62

“Starting early with each project does not increase its chances of being completed on time.” Page 62

“But changes of this magnitude take considerable time to figure out and many of them don’t bring the desired results.” Page 63

“This is a bold move, son,” Isaac says, and continues in a stern voice, “don’t mess up.” Page 63

“Either you’re late on the dates that you commit to, or you finish three projects in one week?!” Sam to Marc, upset with early project completions – Page 64

“The multitasking in engineering is not only a killer of time for them, it’s also a killer of capacity for the departments down the line.” – Page 65

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Goldratt’s Rules of Flow: Chapter 10 – “The Multitasking Game”

Posted on February 23, 2023 by flybrand1976

[If you haven’t read the original version of The Goal – it’s a better book. Here’s a chapter-by-chapter video summary, and a <60 second summary too.]

Pages 55 – 60

After deciding to move forward in Chapter 9, Marc and Abbie take their idea to the engineering project team – where they meet with some expected resistance. Nonetheless, they persevere.

These observations are very similar to ones made in Chapter 28 of The Goal. The playing of the game is also very similar to what Alex Rogo does with his son’s scout troop in Chapter 14, between Chapters 13 and 15, which encapsulate Herbie’s famous scout hike.

Best Quotes, Writing

“We are going to find the needed time within the hours you already put in.” Page 55

“What if you should multitask less?” Marc to Noah, Page 56

“When multitasking, the same projects took the same people a lot more time.” Page 57

“If we reduce the multitasking, we’ll likely have fewer quality issues.” Marc, Page 58

“But no matter what, I won’t ask you or anyone else to stop what they are doing if they are in the middle of a task.” Page 59

“Work on your number one priority until you’re done with it and only then move on to priority number two and so on.  In any case, no one works on the projects that are frozen.” Marc, Page 59

“They are expected to give it a try, but no one really believes it will work.” Page 60

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Goldratt’s Rules of Flow: Chapter 9 – “Will it work?”

Posted on February 22, 2023 by flybrand1976

[If you haven’t read the original version of The Goal – it’s a better book. Here’s a chapter-by-chapter video summary, and a <60 second summary too.]

Pages 47 – 55

Marc visits with Abbie about cutting the WIP – freezing projects – in order to increase their throughput. Abbie observes that if they want to cut execution time in half, they should probably cut the WIP in half too. These observations are very similar to ones made in Chapter 28 of The Goal.

Best Quotes, Writing

“After the class on Saturday morning Marc kept thinking about the idea of controlling WIP.  He can’t find any flaws in the logic. The question is, will it work?” Page 47

“So that means that if we want to improve our performance, we need to do something very differen than what we are currently doing.” Marc to Abbie, Page 48

“For example, if A gets stuck in the middle of a project, and B stops what they are doing and helps A out so both of them can quickly move on, the overall flow of projects benefits so that’s good multitasking.” Marc to Abbie, Page 49

“We can’t really judge if our multitasking is good or bad.” Abbie to Marc, Page 50

“To rectify it, we should start controlling the WIP.” Marc, page 50

“We got it done in three months, which means it’s possible.  I’d like to get to a point in which we finish every project in three months.” Marc, Page 51

“I think that means that we need to cut the number of projects we work on in parallel, also in half.” Marc to Abbie, Page 51

“Let’s give it three months.” Page 52 – Marc to Abbie – anyone will agree to something in the short term.

“Marc can smell her subtle perfume.” Page 53

“I want to roll it out tomorrow.  Will you help me figure out how to explain it to others?” Marc to Abbie, page 53. 

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Goldratt’s Rules of Flow: Chapters 1 – 8; First Quarter Summary

Posted on February 21, 2023 by flybrand1976

[If you haven’t read the original version of The Goal – it’s a better book. Here’s a chapter-by-chapter video summary, and a <60 second summary too.]

[Click here for a 60 second video summary of the first 8 chapters of Goldratt’s rules of flow.]

The original The Goal was divided into 40 chapters, which made it easy to do a summary of the book by quarters. Rules of Flow is 171 pages with 27 chapters, and at the close of Chapter 8, we’re at page 46.

The Plot

Marc Wilson, age 32, runs the engineering team for his father, Isaac at the business he created Wilson Advanced Solutions. In the first chapter they loose their biggest customer, Doolen, because their projects are too late, which leads Isaac to say he’s thinking of selling the business. Marc enrolls in an executive MBA program, where his Professor Richard Silver teaches a class on rules of flow. Marc visits his older sister, Sam, who runs the production team at a location in the South and has a successful family – Marc is single and lonely. In class Marc learns about triage and the harmful effects of multitasking.

The Writing and Editing

There are many incomplete sentences, awkward indentation and other publishing / editing errors. Looking to the characters from the original The Goal – Marc is a childless Alex Rogo; Richard Silver is Jonah.

What’s The Goal of this Book?

It appears targeted at executive MBA programs with an emphasis on program management for IT.

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Goldratt’s Rules of Flow: Chapter 8 – “Bad Multitasking”

Posted on February 20, 2023 by flybrand1976

[If you haven’t read the original version of The Goal – it’s a better book. Here’s a chapter-by-chapter video summary, and a <60 second summary too.]

[Click here for a 60 second video summary of the first 8 chapters of Goldratt’s rules of flow.]

In Marc’s MBA class, Professor Rick helps the students understand the negative impact of multi-tasking, how it causes delays on projects, and ways to unfreeze their flow of execution.

Good Writing, Quotes

“Reviewing your homework,” he [Rick] opens up, “there is a consensus that multitasking is a necessary evil.” – Page 39

“Rick turns to the whiteboard and starts drawing.” He illustrates three projects done in sequence in two ways; one project-by-project, the other where the projects are chopped up – Page 40

Rick wants to make sure everyone got the point. “The major factor that impacts the lead time is the number of projects we multitask between. The more projects in the mix the longer the lead time.” Rick is effectively highlighting the change-over times between projects, as well as their interdependence on resources – Page 41

“It often happens that when we come back to a project we haven’t worked on for a while, instead of digging into what was done before, we opt to start over.” Rick on Page 42

“This is why I refer to multitasking as the biggest killer of time.” Rick, Page 42

“You bring a new one in only after you have completed one of the projects that you already started.” Rick, Page 43

“Some companies start by freezing twenty to thirty percent of their projects.” Rick, Page 44. Ice, thawing and flow…

“What’s important is to control WIP on an ongoing basis. To see to it that the flow of projects going through your system is fast and efficient.” Rick, Page 45 – the second sentence is not a complete sentence

“To improve the flow, we need to control the work in process we deal with at any given time.” – Page 46

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Goldratt’s Rules of Flow: Chapter 7 – “Removing the Nice-to-Haves”

Posted on February 19, 2023 by flybrand1976

[If you haven’t read the original version of The Goal – it’s a better book. Here’s a chapter-by-chapter video summary, and a <60 second summary too.]

[Click here for a 60 second video summary of the first 8 chapters of Goldratt’s rules of flow.]

Marc visits his sister, Sam, who runs their production site in the South. She’s not worried about their father selling and has a great family life.

Good Writing, Quotes

“He loves his nephew and nice and it has been months since he saw them last, at Sam’s fortieth birthday party.” Page 33

Throughout this chapter, Goldratt plays with themes from Christensen’s How Will You Measure Your Life?

“They got on a conference call with the customer, who sounded surprised by this inquiry so early in the process.” Page 34 – implementing triage is already showing an impact

“He wonders if she is single.” Marc is lonely – Page 35

“If I don’t like working for whoever buys the company, I’ll go work for someone else.” Sam to her brother, Marc – she’s not worried about Isaac selling, Page 36

“He has no idea how she ended up with a great husband and two wonderful kids.” Page 37

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