Long post alert. Let's get a little introspective. 2017 has been a doozy of a year. On January 9, 2017 I had a full open hip surgery to correct FAI and a labrum tear. The surgery went very well and I'm left as a bionic man with 3 titanium pins holding my hip together. The recovery was lengthy and I spent a lot of time regaining strength in my left quad until May. When I finally felt better I made the decision of following a friend of mine to a new gym. Things were going very well and besides the obvious decrease in my metabolic conditioning, I found that most of my strength was still there. I really enjoyed working out in a new environment and meeting new people. However, in August my right knee buckled during a snatch at 85% of my 1RM - a lift I'd completed thousands of times without error. I decided to take it easy and rest the knee and see what would happen. I started to feel better and moved my training to mostly upper body with an emphasis on bench press, seated strict press, Arnold press and rowing. In September my knee buckled for a final time and I wasn't able to walk or straighten it at all. I went to the hospital and had an ACL reconstruction and meniscus repair in early October. My recovery has been alright except that I have only started physiotherapy as of today. This process has been less than ideal but it's taught me some extremely valuable lessons. 1. Things happen for a reason - I wouldn't be nearly as strong mentally and physically going forward if I didn't have these set backs. 2. If you want something you need to be willing to put forth the effort - ALL of the physiotherapy and strength I've gained since early October has rested solely on me puttingin the time and effort. I want to take these lessons and really apply them going forward in my training and in my life. I will squat over 300, I will deadlift over 500, I will become a better me overall. I'm excited to see where this journey takes me, and as always you should #fearthereturn #crossfit #tbt
