Here’s to a Speedy Recovery

Wow!  I have finally reached the one year mark since my ATR surgery.  My recovery has been miraculous, to say the least.  I had my last appointment with the ortho last week and everything is fine.  He was a little perplexed at the (small) size of the calf on the ATR leg.  It does look kinda funny. 

Ever since I was on the crutches, in the boot, and subsequently in two shoes, I have worked out like a madman.  The ATR was the best thing that has ever happened to me.  It allowed me to refocus on my fitness and overall health.  Since the rupture, I have:

·         Reduced my body fat to 15.2%

       My ultimate goal is to get my body fat % to less than 10%

·         Reduced my weight from 220 lbs. to 185 lbs.

·         Lowered my LDL substantially

·         Increased my HDL substantially

·         Improved my triglycerides

·         Lowered my blood pressure to 110 over 80

I don’t want to sound melodramatic, but the ATR may have saved my life; or at least lengthened it substantially.  

I originally ruptured my AT playing tennis and said that I would never play again.  However, a lady in my subdivision asked me to play with her and I acquiesced.  She, by the way, ruptured her Achilles tendon four years ago playing tennis (her ATR calf is still one inch smaller than the non-ATR calf). The Achilles held up very well and I truly enjoyed myself. 

I was training for a sprint triathlon; however, the swimming portion was problematic for me.  Now that the pool in my subdivision is open, I can train more diligently and would like to participate in a sprint triathlon sometime between July 4 and Labor Day.

I lift weights daily (sometimes two and three times a day) at 5:00 am and can truly say that I am in the best shape of my life.  Working out has improved not only my fitness, but also my self esteem and stress level.  I work for a large Bank and the current economic environment has caused considerable stress in everyone’s lives.  The feeling I get from working out significantly reduces my stress level.

The AT gets tight sometimes, particularly after I run and perform squats or weighted toe raises.  I can finally do some one legged toe raises and squeeze at the top of the toe raise.  All in all, I have finished the ATR marathon in the best shape of my life. 

I wish a speedy recovery to new ATR victims.  Make sure you keep moving and do not become sedentary for very long.  I have found that getting mobile as soon as possible helped me.

I am so psyched that I can enjoy my summer this year. 

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 28th, 2009 at 1:06 pm filed under Uncategorized and. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.