Updates, PT, and Training

I realized I hadn't updated in awhile, so I thought I'd get something posted so people can know where we are with things.

First off, let's talk prosthetics.  My last appointment with the prosthetist was last Monday.  Rachel was in town on spring break, so she went with us to the appointment.  Right now we're looking at another two weeks minimum before I get a prosthetic, and this is assuming we don't have any other setbacks.

The prosthetist wants me to get to a minimum level of fitness before he gives me a prosthetic, so that I'll be able to make use of it.  To give you an idea of where I'm at, I just did a few laps around the family room (around 60ft of walking) and it took me two and a half minutes.  Last week I did 145 feet at PT for a personal record, my furthest before that was only around 80 feet.  The prosthetist wants me to do 160 feet without being completely winded.

As long as I can hit the goal the prosthetist set, he'll cast for a prosthetic when I go in next Monday.  My beard is getting pretty long, and I've got a few more weeks to grow it out, but I'm about ready to trim it down.

In other news, I've had several wounds on my left leg that we've had to dress ever since I left the hospital.  The largest of these has finally closed, and I only have a couple small spots left on the end of my leg.

As for PT and training, I've been going to the physical therapist twice a week, usually on Tuesday and Thursday.  We work solely on my lower body and "core" (I'm not a fan of that word, haha) during these sessions.  My upper body training and extra lower body training is done on my own at the YMCA, and we try to go there twice a week, as well.

Right now my strength is an abysmally low level.  The heaviest bench press I've done is 95 for 5 reps, though I probably have more than that in me right now.  As far as lower body, I can't lift my own weight (or really any weight) with my calf, and I'm not able to leg press anywhere near even 100 pounds.  I have come a long way, as my calf was so far gone at one point that I couldn't even point my toes with the help of gravity, much less without.

Anytime I mention how much I miss doing heavy deadlifts or squats, people inevitably reply that I'll "get it back eventually.  I don't know if I'll ever be squatting over 400 pounds again, but I'm going to do everything I can to get there if I can.  While I'm not able to directly participate in my favorite sport, Strongman, I am currently handling the training for my best friend, Daniel.  Daniel went with me to Beast of the Bluegrass last year to compete in his first Strongman competition, and he loves it almost as much as I do (maybe as much, but I can't really speak for him).  I'm doing everything I can think of to get him as strong as possible for the Refuge Barbell Strongman Classic in August.

In addition to writing my own training program and Daniel's, I'm looking into getting a personal training certification so that I can train more people over the summer and when I get back to Oxford.  I love everything there is about weight training, powerlifting, and strongman, and I hope to be able to share that love with others through personal training.