ACL

Update on the injury front: partially torn ACL and PCL ligaments in my knee. Awesome. I’m going to be limited in my physical activity for quite a while. Luckily, a partial tear means I have most of the mobility of my knee but the ligament is weak so while I can’t run, I can use the elliptical or the bike. In terms of my workouts, the upper body isn’t a problem but I can’t do deadlifts, squats, or hamstring curls.

The most difficult part of this whole ordeal, fitness wise, is that I can’t twist or move certain ways so most forms of real cardio are out of the question. I had lost a lot of weight by running and this is going to sideline me from that. However, I’ll hopefully be able to keep up most of my general fitness by lifting and doing the machines I mentioned before. I’m hoping it heals up quickly as I want to get back to work and want to ensure I stay in shape. I’m also going to miss judo which is unfortunate. I still have more doctor visits ahead so if there are any more updates I’ll be sure to post them.

When I was in college after I stopped playing some sports competitively, I wasn’t concerned with staying in shape. I ballooned up to 240 lbs at my largest, given my weight had been around 195 during sports. My senior year of college was when I hit 240 and I saw I needed to change something whether it be my workouts, my diet, or both. At that time, at the end of my last semester, I decided on both but I kept things simple. I would eat healthy 75% of the time and would incorporate more cardio into my workouts.

In establishing a goal to pass a certain physical fitness test, I began running three times a week for no more than two miles. My run schedule looked like this: Monday – two-mile run, Wednesday – one-mile jog followed by four quarter-mile sprints, and Friday – 1.5 mile run for time. My primary goal wasn’t to lose weight, but to run 1.5 miles in a certain time. By focusing on that goal and not being concerned about my weight, I focused on the workouts and began to enjoy them because I was getting closer to my fitness goal. Had I focused on losing weight, I would’ve failed miserably. It’s much less taxing to focus on a fitness goal and have weight loss/health be a byproduct of that. I ended up dropping to 195 lbs. again and since my injury, I’ve gained a little weight but now I know much more about getting back to where I want to be. Plus, the 195 I was at at the beginning of college compared to the 195 I was recently looked like two different bodies. The former was thin with little muscle tone and the latter is more muscular and filled out. While I still have a ways to go in recovering from my injury and getting to where I want to be, I have fitness goals that will help me get there and I’m more knowledgeable in how to go about them.