Personal Jesus

Today was an awesome day. And not just because it’s exactly 3 weeks post-op. And not just because my foot got its first bath. And not just because it’s Booger’s 4th birthday… but all of those are important and wonderful (side note: Happy Birthday little guy.. we will celebrate this weekend!).

It’s because today was my first day back lifting heavy weights! Obviously my activities as they relate to heavy lifting are limited. However, Dr. Stein cleared me yesterday to do anything except weight bearing on the right leg. Which basically means hips and up. And oh, did we make up for lost time.

I’ll back up here and give a little background on what I mean by “heavy lifting.” My gym is about 100 yards from my house, so I can walk there, which is the biggest reason why I chose it early last year. As a side note, I’ve been a huge fan of [solidcore] and have been going since it opened 14(ish) years ago. But the problem with resistance training like Pilates is that it only does so much. Yes, it tones and tightens and it’s wonderful at creating a nice strong core, but it has its limitations. And when I was trying to get stronger last year in order to run 100 milers, faster, I found that Pilates just didn’t do much for me there.

So I decided to try DC Strength. What I like about it is that it’s exactly 30 minutes or less, and it’s only 6 exercises that you do to complete failure. The gym itself is tiny, and there is no music or pulsing lights. It’s just you, your trainer, and a bunch of machines that have all been modified to support extremely heavy weight while protecting your muscles and joints. For me, this is absolute perfection. I can do just enough to get strong without turning into a beefed-up gym rat. And the gains I saw last year, mainly beating my PR at the 100 mile distance twice, were enough to convince me to keep at it. So this time around I’m going twice a week and using it to keep my hips, back, arms, shoulders, and thighs in shape.

Once I’m back to weight bearing, I’ll be able to work on squats and lunges. But the 30 minutes I spent simply working muscles that have gotten very used to the couch made me feel incredibly alive. I forgot how good it feels to move, to push, and to sweat.

Three weeks ago I couldn’t get off the couch without a production. Today I walked (well, iWalked) myself to the gym, lifted heavy things until my muscles gave out, and came home feeling more like myself than I have in a month. The foot still has its own timeline, but the rest of me is back in the gym. And per the good word above, my biceps and I are officially back in the Lord’s favor.