Why My Hairdresser Has Done 100 Sit-Ups Daily For Over 40 Years

Hairdressers come in all shapes and sizes. Mine is a 60-year-old award winner I've been visiting for over 30 years.

"Oh yes, I had a big problem with my back in my early apprenticeship days," said my hairdresser as he skillfully snipped at my locks.

We were talking about job related injuries, and I had been wondering if bending over all day had affected his award-winning 40 year career.

That he had a problem was no surprise. But what did surprise me was his cure.

"I had a lot of trouble with my lower back," he explained. "The doctors recommended a spinal operation that would put me in plaster for 6 months!"

He's a very determined fellow, and wasn't going to have that happen. So he did some independent research, got some second opinions - and discovered the cure.

Sit-ups.

Waving his scissors dangerously close to my ears, he explained that most people's back problems come from having weak stomach muscles.

"It's not the spine that is at fault - its the supporting muscles in the front that support it," he said, pulling the hairdryer out.

So from that moment on he started doing 100 sit-ups a day. And was cured in weeks.

All because his muscles strengthened his back. He has been doing them ever since. Every day, religiously.

I started thinking how similar that was to selecting lottery numbers.

It is easy to get fixated on a set of numbers that you think is the winning answer, only to find that they are no use at all. And the real answer is someplace else.

Many players get enthusiastic on numbers that are sometimes (and wrongly) called hot and cold... numbers that are either popular or haven't appeared for a while.