In my last blog post (Attacking Hurdles) I wrote about the benefits a healthy lifestyle has on a law enforcement career. I also touched on the fact that I have avoided severe injury and felt that my level of fitness had contributed to that. Well since that article I have experienced a major injury. Any fitness enthusiast, especially a bodybuilder, at some point has feared experiencing this type of injury.
On June 16th, 2013, which happened to be Father’s Day, I decided to do some cross training with a group of friends. As part of the training we would be completing tire flips. I had flipped tires in the past so this did not concern me. It had been quite some time since I flipped a tire so I decided to do practice flips before we got started. As I picked the tire from the ground I stopped at waist level. It was right at the point where I was going to transition to the flip portion when I felt a pop in my right arm. It felt like a rubber band snapping followed by a quivering sensation up my upper right arm. I knew immediately that I tore my right biceps. I dropped the tire and looked at everyone in shock. I was immediately thinking about how much this moment impacted my life. I was 12 weeks out from my last competitive season of bodybuilding and I had worked so hard to obtain my current build. The thought of a bicep that would never look the same was painful. I immediately went to the Emergency Room and had an MRI done. It confirmed what I already knew, a distal rupture of my biceps tendon. Meaning I tore the tendon from the bone where it inserts into the elbow.
Over the next few days I read everything I could about this injury. From these articles I realized I would not be training upper body for the next 3-4 months and that muscle atrophy would be taking place. After the initial shock wore off I knew I had to refocus my thought process towards recovery.
Two days later I was in a sling doing a leg workout. I resumed eating healthy, supplementing with Core Nutritionals’ products to help prevent muscle loss. Ten days after the injury I had a successful surgery to reattach the ruptured tendon. The recovery had officially started! I was back in the gym three days later. I began training legs every other day and doing cardio on my off training days. I had to keep busy, be smart and keep positive. I could no longer think about all the negatives.
Each day brought new challenges. I am right handed so all the normal tasks (eating, brushing my teeth, showering etc.) took a lot longer. I accepted everything as a challenge and looked to defeat each and every one of them daily.
It has been six weeks since my surgery and full recovery is said to be six months. I have made it a goal of mine to overcome this injury and to be end up better than before. This injury can happen to anyone at any time. But staying positive, eating healthy, and supplementing properly will only help you get back up to speed as fast as physically possible. There will always be obstacles and hurdles in life. Don’t let them set you back for good. There is “No rest for the wicked!”
