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My DDPY Story

I began doing DDPYoga in November 2018. It is helping me get my life back.

I played college football. After my playing days were over, I spent years coaching football. As many of you know, my areas of expertise are a result of my playing and coaching collegiate offensive and defensive line.

Linemen have bad knees. They also have bad backs. An offensive lineman is a roughly 300-pound man who must squat into a very unnatural stance that is very hard on their knees 60 to 100 times each practice. They must move 300-pound defenders who are trying to move them around as well. Even with perfect technique, years of wear and tear on their backs and knees leave long term damage.

After my playing and coaching days, I ate what I wanted. I put on weight and ballooned up to almost 320-pounds. My blood pressure was very high. I could not walk up a flight of stairs without getting winded. I had to change. I had a wife, four children, and two stepchildren depending on me. My dad had died of a heart attack. I realized I didn’t do something, I would too.

I began trying different workout programs. You name the program, I have tried it. They all ended the same way. I would start. I would start to eat healthily. But at a certain point, the workouts became more intense with increased impact on my back and knees. My knees and back could not take it.

With the increased impact, my knees and back would take longer to recover. They would take longer than an average person’s knees and back to recover. I would get discouraged and quit. I concluded that these exercise programs were designed for healthy people, not damaged people like me. I needed something different.

In January of 2018, I began studying Kung Fu. I figured I could control the impact on my knees and back. Kung Fu was also the first activity I was able to get two of my sons to do with me. I was doing just fine until the inevitable happened. I advanced from beginner to intermediate.

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During my intermediate test, I injured my left calf, left knee, and lower back. I was able to power through the test but I knew the point had come.

I was in a hotel room in Columbus, Ohio on a Sunday night in early November when I burst into tears. I knew I would have to quit Kung Fu and the newfound relationship with my sons that came with it. I prayed that I could find a program that worked and some friends to help me along the way.

Sometimes prayers are answered. By the end of the month, I was introduced to DDPY and I found some new friends who have encouraged me along the way.

Three months into DDPY, my knees and back are pain-free. Yes, they still hurt after workouts. But the workout itself serves to strengthen them. I was able to use DDPY to rehabilitate my knees and back to the point where I could continue Kung Fu.

I have taken the pictures to track my progress. I have taken measurements of my arms, legs, stomach etc. I currently sit at number 2,254 of 40,451 on the leader board. But I am still climbing! Since I started DDPY in late November, I have lost 20-pounds. That is a total of 50-pounds since January of 2018. My goal is to lose another 50 before the end of 2019.

Every day I get more flexible, I eat better (thanks to some help from my friends) and the athlete I thought I had lost forever is starting to re-emerge. It is just a beginning, but I know I will get my life back with DDPY.

I can attest from personal experience that, for NFL Alumni, DDPY is the perfect remedy to the years of physical damage that comes with playing football. Now is the time to own it!