HOW I AM REBUILDING AFTER INJURY

The last time I had sent out an email to you was 4 months and 10 days ago. Certainly not a consistent string of work but worth noting.

The reason for the time away was due to a spinal injury. One that stems from the early years of sports and impact on my body.

Specifically, I have Spondylolisthesis which is a spinal disorder in which a bone (vertebra) slips forward onto the bone below it. It may put pressure on a nerve, which could cause lower back pain or leg pain. Coupled with two herniations in the lower spine I have a nice region of imbalance that can cause daily pain.

Through the years I have always kept these injuries at bay with proper strength training and recovery principles. I have traveled the world learning from the absolute best coaches in these specific disciplines to ensure that I prevent further injury for myself and for my clients.

Flashback 2018

The one time that I had an episode like this was in 2018 when my wife and I were living at her parents house with our newborn child just before we moved into our current home. With a newborn, our living situation as well as building out a new home it is safe to say I let my focus on my physical health dissolve.

During that time I had a lot of self reflection which allowed me to dive deep into what I was doing on a daily basis that led to that situation. I realized my daily encounters with people, places and routines had led me directly into a crash course with life.

So I sat with my thoughts and I just dreamed of how my life would look in a perfect situation.

My Health

My Family

My Business

My Friends

My Commute

By taken inventory I was able to create a new life on my terms. One that I would have complete control of.

And so I went to work…

The Lead Up

Fast forward 5 years later, I have three kids, a new house built, expanded my in person business into another state, an online coaching business and I run my day the way I want to. Of course it took time to build but I dedicated every bit of my life to building this new reality for my family and myself.

But life likes to create strong humans by giving adversity to the ones that can handle it.

I am sure you have heard the stories of how people throw their backs out on the simplest tasks such as picking up a piece of paper.

Well in my case, in March of this year I was trying to put on my sock while standing…

then BANG…

An excruciating jolt of lightening that shot from my lower back into tomorrow’s ESPN’s top 10 Worst Fails. It put me on the floor on all four’s for the next 45 minutes.

As I posted up on the floor I couldn’t help to think about all the moments leading up to this point. How I let myself get to this point again.

But there was a realization.

It was my moment of clarity again to take inventory of my life and what is going on. You see, we all go through life without slowing down to appreciate the great moments in life.

With that we also do not slow down to evaluate what directions we are going in life. Whether that is personal goals, family, business, etc.

For me, this was life telling me to stop and evaluate. A chance to take my life to another level. This is how I perceive these moments in time.

“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it.”

Back to Present Day

After four months of physical therapy 2-3x/week with my back specialist, massive amounts of blood work done, new perspective on my business and finally transitioning back into the weight room I have began the next episode.

I wanted to share this story with you because I know we all have our own setbacks in life. Regardless of these tough moments, we have to keep our perspectives in check. See them as opportunities for growth. One of the best books I have read in regardless to this way of thinking is 'Mindset' written by Carol Dweck. (CLICK HERE)

I appreciate you hearing me out and learning a bit more about my story. I am excited for the new start to this newsletter for the future. This will be my main source of communication to you in which I hope to educate and inspire you on how I coach in my business as well as my personal experiences.

If you want a sneak peak of my current workout, check out this quick snippet of how much detail I go into for program design when coming back from injuries click below.

Stay Strong