...but before I tell you exactly what happened, let me describe just a little bit more of my fitness journey. Bear with me, it won't take long and everything else will make more sense.
I had started fitness training (mostly weights) from the influence of a friend of mine whom I would later start dating. I found that it very positively affected my fighting in the Society for Creative Anachronism. I later took up Brazilian jiu jitsu, competing in 50 matches, and then full-contact medieval armored combat, going to world championship competition with the USA team for three years.
Here is possibly the most epic match of my competitive grappling career:
With each of these new challenges I found myself experiencing more means by which to gain strength and endurance and reached new levels of fitness. At my peak I was doing some form of training or fighting five or six days a week. My weight ranged from just under 180 lbs to a bit above 190 lbs depending on what I was training for.
In addition to the SCA armored combat and the BJJ, the training I did included weightlifting, running, Crossfit, kickboxing, Insanity videos. and various bodyweight exercise drills.
Then I tore the ACL in my right knee:
I still trained, but I was unable to fight, and when I got my knee surgically repaired, I was unable to train in certain ways until I was fully healed.
Then I tore my rotator cuff (sadly, no video of this exists). This again limited my training, as there were things I just could not do with my shoulder after that.
Then other "life stuff" got in the way and my weight ballooned to over 200 lbs. I took pictures of myself. I can "suck it in" with the best of 'em, but when I released my belly, I honestly looked like the fat guy with skinny arms.
When I decided to get back to training, I started the Insanity videos again. This time, however, I could actually feel the fat on my torso jiggling up and down when doing any routine that involved having my hands on the floor. It was disconcerting. But progress was being made. I would wear my steel gauntlets and padded gambeson while doing Insanity videos, getting a little extra resistance and sweat in my workout...and then my room got hit with the "Order to Repair/Vacate Order"....and that brings us up to date.
So, after the yoga, and looking at my bathroom scale not making the number go down below 205, I started up with the Insanity again.
I determined that my muscles were not as strong as my cardio. They would get too sore and tired to continue before I would get too out of breath to continue. I felt the jiggling of the fat in my chest and my stomach when doing running and jumping things, and again I felt the fat around my torso bounce up and down as I did "floor sprints" and other hands-on-floor exercises.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? WAIT UNTIL THE NEXT POST AND FIND OUT!
so I started gong to the gym. First it was twice a week, doing 15 minutes on the eliptical and a full-body circuit on the weights. After a few weeks I switched to a 2-day split, pulling exercises and pushing exercises. Then I added a day for legs. I was feeling stronger, my body mass was shifting from fat to muscle, and I was adding weight and resistance to my exercises.
Then one day I found myself having to run three blocks to catch a bus. In combat boots. Pulling a small suitcase.
When I got to the bus there was a great cheer from all the passengers (no there wasn't, but I like to think there was). But I was out of breath, like I had been fighting in armor for a minute or so. In the course of the run my legs got tired lifting up those heavy boots. I realized what it was: I am still out of shape.
I went into the gym his week and decided to do functional movements; the warm-up exercises that we would do in Brazilian jiu jitsu class, for instance. They kicked my ass. These were things that wee never "easy," but in time, I was able to do. Now it's a drag to do more than one or two reps.
All those months of "healing" did my conditioning no favors. We got a lot of work to do.
The good news is that I discovered that yes, I can run again. The knee is no longer the problem. Now I an run every day if I want to. And I think I shall.
It's official. I am in the worst shape of my life.
For those of you who have been following this blog (wait, that's not you? You're not the guy? Oh well, I know he's out there somewhere...) you may be wonding where I have been. for those who have not see tnis blog of mine before (I expect that woud probably include you. Yeah, and you too.) you are probably wondering what this blog is and why I decided to post here now.
This blog was started when I began producing my first feature the film I now call "Redemption: find Out What You're Worth." It was a Rocky/Karate Kid - type sports-redemption story set in a world of submission grappling. After the film was completed I kept this blog alive chronicling my adventures in the grappling world, mostly training and competing (my competition record: 3 wins, 46 losses, 2 draws).
Since then, my martial arts and filmaking endeavors have migrated to full-contact medieval armored combat in armor with blunt steel weapons. I have been chronicling that in my regular "Captain Zorikh" blog at http://zorikh.blogspot.com/. But now I fel an urge to return to this blog.
The term "redemption," to my mind, means finding the value of yourself. If you find the value is too low, you have the opportunity to do something about it. Through work, effort, and dedication you can increase your worth, thus truly earning a worthwhile redemption.
In late september of 2013 I tore my right ACL at a tournament in Ontario fighting a Ukrainian-Canadian. You can see the action here:
Still I fought in the International Medieval Combat Federation world championships in Belmonte, Spain in the spring of 2014, leading tha All-on-All team in the "Kill the King" scenario. In late October of that year I had the surgery to repair the ACL. since then I have been recovering and therapizing my knee. But I have not been working out, fighting, or training. In short, I have been sitting and eating a lot (and writing and editing videos, but that's for my other blog).
Then I went to the Pennsic War this year (the largest medieval event in the Western Hemisphere). I used to fighti in battles like this...
By recommendation of the doctor and the therapist, I did not fight in the battles this year, but instead marshaled (that's those guys in the black tabbards with the crossed yellow swords. They are there to keep everyone safe and make sure folks are following the rules).
I wasn't ready. I couldn't handle the heat, and after marshaling a battle in the morning, I was exhausted and sleepy the rest of the day. This is not too surprising. I have not seen the underside of 200 lbs since the surgery, my waist is now over 35 inches, and I have not been outside an air-conditioned room for an extended period of time since last summer.
I knew I wasn;t at my best, but I took pictures of myself to post as "before" pictures. They are so disgusting that I am not even ging to post them until I have decent "during" and "after" pictures.
What really disgusts me is that I was doing "Insanity" workouts before the surgery, in addition to all the fighting and training that I had been doing, so I must have been in pretty good shape back then.
So I got myself a gym membership and I am going to sue it. Hopefully I will make enough money soon to re-join a martial arts school, get back on the grappling mats. And I know I will be putting armor on again in about a month.
So hold on tight, it's going to be a wild ride until I look like this 2011 picture again:
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