I'm Spencer. I'm doing a 20 minute tai chi / qi gong inspired body weight workout every day until I heal my back injury naturally and lose 70 lbs. Wildcard Wellness is my personal journey to accomplish my goals without surgery or medication, and I'm documenting the whole thing publicly for accountability.
You can follow along my journey here:
In November 2024, I herniated the L5S1 disc in my lower back. It was awful. I was in debilitating back pain for about 14 months.
For the first 3 months I couldn't sleep more than 1 hour at a time at night. And then after that, there were days where I could barely get up and walk. It was a level of pain I'd never experienced before, and I wouldn't wish on my worst enemies. I honestly didn't know this level of pain existed.
Since I hadn't been able to exercise for such a long time, I had put on a lot of weight and was heavier than I'd ever been in my life - at 250 lbs.
I did all the PT stretches and exercises I was given - but nothing worked. Some days I was stretching for over an hour a day. But it didn't really help.
My progress was stalled out and I wasn't getting better. I was stiff all day, my back was constantly vulnerable, and I was in pain. Stretching would bring temporary relief, but then the pain would come right back.
And the worst part was I couldn't even chase my kids around anymore.
By December 2025, I was completely desperate. I was in so much pain, and I had no idea what to do. And I had no hope or pathway to figuring out what would work.
I wanted to figure out how to heal my back pain without surgery or medication.
I started seeing these funky looking tai chi / qi gong movements on Instagram from accounts like @mikerholland, @tulumtrainer, @taichi.aretues, and other various tai chi pages, and I wondered if they might help.
This workout is a modified version of ancient Tai Chi movements which I'd been seeing everywhere on social and is supposed to be life-changing. It's designed to release fascia, flush the lymphatic system, and reset the nervous system, and I thought that was exactly what my back needed to help it heal.
I did a bunch of research to find about 30 different movements that might work, but I was nervous that they might hurt my back. So finally after watching them for long enough I decided to give them a try.
I remember I was at my in-laws house for the holidays. And I started testing each of these movements out in front of their full length mirror. Certain movements either hurt my back, or were too difficult for my strength level, so I threw them out. But by the end I was left with about 17 moves that seemed to feel good.
The next day, I tried doing each of those 17 movements for 1 minute each to see how it would go. And it felt great actually! After the first day I noticed an improvement in my back pain. So I kept doing them each day.
After the first week my back pain was way down. And after about a month, my back pain was 0/10.
I couldn't believe it! It worked!
I was so stoked. After over a year of being in debilitating pain, all of a sudden I wasn't in pain anymore.
Obviously I still have a herniated disc, and I can feel the injury - I still have to be careful not to lift heavy things, or move in ways that push the herniation in my spinal cord (which irritates the nerve and lights up my sciatic nerve in my right leg). BUT day to day I wasn't really in pain anymore - which was a HUGE quality of life increase.
After doing this workout every day, I've been able to drop 22 lbs and am starting to build strength and get in better shape.
I've also seen some other unexpected benefits:
I've continued to do this routine every day since for over 229 days, and my back pain continues to be 0/10. It's amazing.
My goal is to go from 250 lbs down to 180 and have zero back pain so I can finally chase my kids around again like I used to and be the healthy active dad my family deserves.
I'm also eating clean to help support the weight loss - mostly meats, fruits, and veg. Essentially following the diet that's outlined in the book "Way of the Peaceful Warrior" by Dan Millman. Only real, whole foods - nothing processed.
Mark my words, I will do whatever it takes to make that happen.
Each day on social I share a video of me doing the workout. As well as progress updates to share what I'm learning and the progress I'm making along the way. I also make content about my diet & the food I'm eating, mobility flows I do for hip/core strength, additional bodyweight workouts I do to strengthen the muscles around my back, etc.
My goal is ultimately to do this for myself to accomplish my health goals, and I want to share what I'm learning, as well as building out resources that are helpful to other people who are in a similar situation so they can follow along and do the workout with me.
But I'm not a fitness guru. I'm not an expert. I'm not trying to be an influencer. I'm just a normal guy, with a normal job and a family, who is trying to improve his situation and transparently sharing the journey as I go. This whole thing is an experiment. I'm learning as I go, figuring out what works, and sharing what has worked for me.
And I hope it can help other people who are also struggling with back pain or other similar issues.
Your mileage may vary - everybody's bodies respond differently to different things. But for me, this daily routine has been an absolute game changer.
It's become like my daily medicine.
- Spencer
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