Wow! Hard to believe, but I have completed six weeks of some good workouts at the gym. I feel like I have made some good progress based on how I have been tracking which machines I have increased the weights on. I will share my boring stats with you with the understanding that you promise not to think that the small increments I have achieved are unimportant. They are! And I promise that my enthusiasm to share my rebuilding efforts will reach encouragement level. And that no matter what your story of recovery is, I will be here to support you.
I am now six weeks into my gym workouts. I have had four sessions with my therapist. And my message therapy has stretched me in so many multiple ways that after these sessions I know what it is like to be a Jello man. All is good. And all seems to be going well. I am feeling more confident that I can become truly successful in my evolving goals, and to return to a better me, maybe with some exceptions. And to be clear, I was not in the best of shape before the event. However, what I have learned from my past experiences is that whenever I have been told what I can’t or shouldn’t do, I find a way to do it. That’s just me. And that attitude will spearhead my recovery and my new beginnings.
The first two weeks at the gym were a big step for me. This was the most I have ever committed to staying consistent in going to a gym. I sent up a schedule for me to go to the gym four times a week. My gym days were Monday and Tuesday in the afternoon, and Thursday and Friday in the morning. Over the next four weeks I would add in some Saturday mornings to do some additional cardio. I was starting to feel good with my efforts and my confidence was growing. I keep telling myself that I can do this.
So, here is where I am with my gym progress after six weeks of continuing effort. When I started my Phase II gym journey, I worked to develop a strength baseline that I was comfortable with on the various machines I would be using. I also worked to continue the schedule that I developed in the first two weeks allowing me enough time on the machines to be successful and to continue with my cardio which the doctors highly stressed was important to my physical health. This was also important since I have now returned to work with a three-quarter work schedule. I am still using my FMLA to make time for my gym visits which have now become so important to me for my recovery.
Now for the boring part of this writing. On the machines I have previously noted along with some added new machines during the past six weeks, I am proud to say that I have increased my beginning weight settings by 60% on the added machines, up to 75% on the machines I originally started on. In calculated body values over this time, I added approximately 1.5 pounds of lean body mass and lost approximately 1.5 pounds of body fat mass. An equal trade of muscle vs. fat. My man-belly is starting to disappear. For me, this is an achievement and confidence builder to keep going and to keep improving.
I recommend that when you start your gym journey, don’t be afraid to just go for it. Make sure to discuss your plans and your goals with your medical team. Their advice and guidance are very important. I know that on multiple occasions I have exceeded my heart rate limit and became worried about the potential impact of this. I was able to message my medical team and get the “thumbs up” and that additional encouragement to keep improving.
Also, during these six weeks I have meet with my therapist multiple times and have progressed through the initial “getting comfortable” period. While our conversations have gone in various directions and have delved into areas that I have not been willing to go, I would say I am happy with my choice of my therapist. Since we are in our early stages of what I am dealing with, I now know that I can get to that place where I need to get to in the future. And I didn’t say future as if it is near. To be honest with you, that future is not near. Only time will allow for me to grow in my explorations of my past, where I have been, what I have experienced, and maybe through this process, become the new me that I need to become.
So, in our sessions after our initial “getting comfortable” phase was completed, my therapist challenged me on various levels in an effort to take me to the explorations I needed to do in order to begin to understand where I might be at this time in my life. Honestly, these conversations were not comfortable and did challenge me in how I could possibly respond to the inquiries posed. At this point any revelations of my past were not on the table for discussion. I think I needed to do a deep dive into my past on my own.
My childhood memories, which I believe could be the basis of some questioning on what might be hiding in the shadowy depths of my long-forgotten memories, were not going to be conversation pieces early in my therapy sessions. Sometimes when leaving these early sessions, I would shiver in my thoughts and would wonder if I should keep going. My answer was always “Yes”. In one way or another I needed these challenges. But the one thing I did realize was that eventually I would crack the door open when my confidence recalling my past was comfortable. I knew I needed more time with my therapist before these explorations could be revealed.
So, after my first six weeks into my self-imposed Phase II recovery, I would like to recommend to you to enthusiastically embrace the challenge to become a better and healthier you, both physically and mentally. Only you can make that commitment. Yes, it can be hard at times, but you are the decision maker in your progress. And it can be scary at times when you feel those strange and familiar pains that will bring back your memories of the event that you are recovering from. The progress you make will set the stage for your next successes. I think that we all have some form of medical challenges that we need to accept and to build from.
Together, our shared stories are our strengths…