Returning from grievous wounds, Malakir will rise again

[Malakir]

Hello!

 

 I'm not sure how I stumbled across this community, but I'm glad I did - it seems like the perfect amalgam of some of my favorite things! I'm looking forward to playing alongside all of you and leveling up in real life as well as in this game.  

 

 Quick backstory - 32 year old male, married, and father of a 5 year old.  I was an athlete all through school and into college. Baseball, soccer, rugby, martial arts, and weight lifting. Junior year of college I was hit by a drunk driver on my way home one night. I herniated two discs and severely tore my latissimus  on my right side. A few procedures, graduation, my first real job, and marriage later - I had slumped into a decidedly NON athletic way of life and gained a bucket of fat while losing a bucket of muscle. (buckets are certified units of measurement in my hometown). After a career change, a 700 mile move, a house purchase and remodel, and the birth of my son I decided it was time to  change all that! ....so I did. I dropped a bucket of weight (see?) and put on a good deal of muscle again. Everything was grand! Then my back started hurting. I thought maybe I had reinjured one of the old car wreck wounds. Nope. A couple dozen tests/scans and three specialists later the culprit was found. A tumor on my spine. Hurray!  I was immediately put on light duty work and no exercising beyond walking. I lost some muscle mass, and picked up a couple donut boxes worth of flub again. BUT luckily, I had an amazing neurosurgeon and support group and the tumor came out cleanly with no signs of cancer, just a benign clump of gross. A couple months of healing and slow therapy later I was cleared for normal activity! I've been given full license to exercise however I see fit, as long as I am not in pain I get a free pass!

 

 That was a month ago. I've already started training again (circuit training 5-6 days a week alternating cardio/abs with strength training) and started to clean up my nutrition again. I'm slowly regaining my strength and endurance, and really really determined this time, for pretty obvious reasons. I'm looking forward to getting my back stronger than ever and then start back into some heavier weight lifting and more strenuous cardio (crossfit/obstacle or adventure races/assaulting the enemy's keep...errr  ). My main goal is functional fitness. I'm not fat or skinny (5'11" 178lbs) and I don't care to win any bodybuilding or fitness competitions. This is purely about my health and quality of life. I'm trying to set a good example for my son, be able to be athletic and active long into my old age, and if my wife gets that look in her eye whenever I take my shirt off I won't mind that either!

 

I cannot wait to participate here and hope to join the Rangers. I could definitely use some accountability so friends that will kick me in the arse when I need it are MORE than welcome. I'll do the same for you!

 

Thanks!

 

-MAL

[Noname123]

Welcome And grats on getting back on the horse so many times despite accidents that caused severe injuries, that's an accomplishment in and of itself! You'll find tons of people here with the same type of family/sedentary job background that will have lots of advice on both cardio/endurance training and strength building advice. The current challenge is ending in about 11 days so that gives you some time to start thinking about building out your first challenge if you're interested- in the meantime if you want to start recording your workouts and making some NF buddies check out the BattleLogs! 

 

Also, are you happy with your home circuit and the motivation behind that? Do you have any events you're thinking about doing (5ks, mud runs, yoga events)? If so you should check out the regional meet up section, it's full of people in the area who are doing events together with NF groups!

 

Good luck on your goals and I'm sure I'll see you in the Rangers threads soon  

[Malakir]

Thanks!

 

So far I am pleased with my home circuit. December 2013 I converted my home office to a home gym with the specific equipment I needed/wanted to do the type of training I like to do. Living in Florida also gives me near year around access to the outdoors for multiple types of training. The only thing I'm currently lacking is a squat rack in order to go heavy, but until I build strength and stability in my spine I won't be doing that again for a little while anyway. That's one goal for the fall/winter of 2015 - build my rack/workout space in my garage for heavy lifting.

 

I don't currently have any events I want to compete or participate in, but I have friends who do want me to run some Spartan races with them. If I can get back to form by fall I will likely do that! 5k's never interested me that much as I find running in and of itself pretty boring. I do enjoy mountain biking though, and wouldn't mind getting back to challenging my friends' times on Strava. I also enjoy backwater kayaking, surfing, and paddleboarding so I would love to get in some more time on the water during workouts starting this spring.

 

I hope to find some accountabilibuddies (is that what they are called? lol) just to keep myself a little more motivated and to chat if nothing else!

 

I appreciate your reply, and hope to see you in the Ranger's area soon as well!

 

-MAL