Starting Over...

I lifted weights today. 

It is the first time I've lifted, outside of PT exercises, since like September? October? A long time. 

I barely lifted. I would have mocked myself for even calling the amount of weight I lifted, lifting last year. Do you even lift, bro? Well no...not really.

Using 10 pound weights for everything right now. Very light. But something. And I need to do it this way. And I need to go really slowly as I build back up. I need to pay close attention to how my elbow feels not only while I'm lifting but for the rest of the day and the next as well. 

So far so good.

There was one thing I had to modify, and one I had to drop completely. Though to be fair the one I dropped was because of my toe. I thought maybe I'd be able to do split leg squats since the weight was going to be so light, but even body weight on that toe is never going to work, so I dropped it. 

The one I modified I was supposed to hold a weight on my shoulder, right hand holding on right shoulder, while I raised the right leg, and I cannot keep my arm bent like that for any length of time. I'm guessing the tendon doesn't work like that anymore, or at least not yet. There is a pretty good ridge of scar tissue in there from the tear repair and right now I don't have full range of motion without discomfort. And I'm not sure I ever will. But I modified it and worked it out. 

It was a banner day. 

Now, here is the funny part to me. 

The workout app I use tracks your stats. It knows what you did the last time you did that exercise, for instance. But they pushed an update at some point that resets your stat records after 6 months. So for every single exercise I did I got a Congratulations! Highest 1 rep weight in the past 6 months!

Every. Single. Exercise.

Yay! The shoulder presses that you could do 40 pounds on you did 10! Good for you! Oh, good for you!

It made me laugh. 

Even me, who loves a gold star SO much, thought it was a little silly. 

But maybe not. Maybe it's great. Things happen and you have to start over. And it's nice to get recognition that you are better today than you have been in the past 6 months, even if you aren't where you were. 

And of course, that is going to be the difficult part now (assuming my arm holds up and feels fine tomorrow), not pushing too fast and too hard to get back there. I mean, I will get back there. I know I will. On most everything at least. There might be things I can never do again without modification, but I am pretty sure I'll be able to tackle most everything. I just need to keep reminding myself that I am stronger today than I have been at any other point in the past 6 months. 

I have to remember in December before I had the procedure done lifting 10 pounds was out of the question. I couldn't even put a plate in the cupboard. And right after having the procedure done, and for a few weeks after, I couldn't do ANYTHING with that arm including straightening it. I remember the day I could straighten it without it shaking from the effort and what a big deal that was.

So yeah, I lifted 10 pounds today. Shoulder presses, chest presses, weighted squats, upright rows, deadlifts, I did a plethora (small p) of things today, all with weights. And I broke a bunch of my own 6 month records doing it. 

Go me!