markinla@mac.com
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RE: Way Over 35, But Maybe I Have Found A Home In This Forum
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Tuesday, February 08, 2005 6:01 PM
( #6 )
Finding a home in these forums?? Yeah, me too! BTW: Your pics look fantastic! And you’re not the only guy here over 35. Way over 35…like 35 is a distant memory for me… (grin)
How I Turned into a Jock at 53, and other tales…
I spent my life being (deep down inside) afraid of the gym, of looking foolish, feeling 'unmanly', etc. Guys with 20" arms scared the hell out of me. I was never a jock as a kid and avoided anything physical all my life. In my 30's I couldn't find the time. In the 40's I was truly too busy and too afraid of failing. I'd been a fat kid who never got chosen for any team sports and by high school I'd managed to talk my doc into giving me a permanent excuse from PE. Later on in life, I eschewed the physical for any number of stated reasons - all of them total bull****, of course. Oh, I'd resort to full body lipo, or a tummy tuck if needed - and I did a couple of times! - but never even thought about working out until...
One day at the office, I tripped over a carpet strip between a hallway and an examine room. I fell. I managed to get up, and found the next day that I could not stand. Literally I couldn't stand up! After a month of MRI's / X-Rays / CT Scans, etc., they found I had crush fractures of THREE vertebrea in my back. I underwent surgery to fix the fractures and the docs noticed that my bones were like hard cheese. Not good. I had osteoporosis and it was quite far along. I also had two ruptured disks.
The ortho surgeons didn't know if I would ever walk again. I spent 12 weeks in a wheel chair. My partner had to help me with bathing, toilet useage, etc. I was terribly injured, both physically and psychologically. The only thing that kept me from suicide was my anger - and there was a hell of a lot of it! Of course I was then on morphine 24/7. Maybe that's why I couldn't get up the energy to end it.
After weeks of physio therapy (five days a week - 2 times a day) my physiotherapist sent me to a trainer. A young body builder with several degrees in exercise physiology and anatomy. His name is Mike. He was a total jock. Great shape, 20" arms, built like a sherman tank. And he didn't scare me. In fact, he sometimes had to hold me up while I worked with two and three pound weights - because it hurt too badly to use anything heavier. I think back to that picture of him holding me so I wouldn't fall, the young body builder and the middle aged cripple... Well, a few things have changed!
That was a year ago. Today, I work out 4 times a week (with a trainer - yes, still Mike) and I'm amazed to see that this body of mine actually built up muscles. I suddenly have arms, pecs, and a tush I never dreamed of - and my body fat percentage as of a couple of days ago is under 11%. It was over 30% when we started. I'm currently doing my curls with 35lb dumbells and benching more than I weigh... and I currently weigh about 185lbs. I do cardio (and still hate it!) three or four days a week for 20-30 minutes. I even found out there's a body builder class for guys over 50 (and damn it, I am past 50 by a few years.) I'm thinking of trying competition next year!
This accident changed my life. And changed it for the better.
Now you want the rest of the whole truth? My internist was so frightened about the horrible shape I was in, that he put me on reasonable doses of steroids to help hasten the process of muscle building. Nothing outrageous. Just a little Deca Durabolin and a lot of testosterone injected weekly. Both are legal and medically appropriate for me. Frankly, it did (and still does) help. But the real credit belongs to my friend and trainer - Mike. This guy was the reason I went and kept going. He literally had to hold me up when I couldn't stand very well early on. But it's paid off beyond my wildest dreams.
I never thought this would be possible for me. I thought my only hope was keeping it tacked together with surgery over the years. At least the surgery would do (so I reasoned) enough that I looked decent in clothes.
I really thought that my life was over sitting in that wheelchair. But I was wrong... a young man named Mike proved that to me. How do you thank someone who not only saved your life but also gave you a whole new perspective on living? I don't know. Somehow the checks I have written him seem totally inadequate. I think maybe I should adopt this guy! I never had a son, and he’s what I would have hoped my son would have grown into. Yes, the feelings are that deep.
Oh, I've changed my diet, my schedule, my job, and myself. The changes were not easy. But they were worth the effort. I thought I was just working out my body - but the truth is that you're changing every aspect of your life, self-image, self-esteem, who you are, how you think, and more etceteras than you can imagine. Change (for must of us humans) is NEVER easy. For me, it took the fear of being in a wheelchair the rest of my life to even get me into a gym. Just don't give into discouragement. Not now... and not ever.
The ONLY regret (and it's a small one) I have is that I didn't realize I could do this sooner. I could have saved a lot of grief, pain, and more, had I done so.
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