1.23.15 It’s Got to Hurt If It’s To Heal

I got out of my car on my own on Friday and Dan met me at the door and pushed me inside.  He pushed me to the black mats where the chairs are located.  I stopped to see Mike working with a young athlete.  He was clinging 225.  I was impressed with his form and athletic ability.  Usually, I see a few people in wheelchairs working but today I only saw one wheelchair and occupant was nowhere to be seen.  They were working in the far end of the gym so I was surrounded by young athletes.  They were mostly football and soccer players.  They were bench pressing and working on the vertimax.  All of them were drenched in sweat and their faces were red with a look of determination on them.  Mike pushed me over to the blue table where the floor on the way was scattered with athletes with exercise balls.  He told me to tell them to move as we weaved our way through them but they were busy working and I didn’t want to mess with their mojo.  Mike sat me on the table and began loosening my legs.

I told him that I was sleeping better and that my left leg was “boing”-ing up but I didn’t explain it like that because it didn’t hurt so much.  I also was experiencing charley horses in my right foot.  I told him that my quads felt tight as he made his hand into a fist and pressed his knuckles onto my thighs and ran them up and down them and told me that sensation was returning to my legs.  I kind of winced a little and he asked if it hurt as if he was going to ease up but I told him to quote the wise words of The Never Ending Story, “It’s got to hurt if it’s to heal” so I just endured.  He had me lay on my back and he stretched my legs out and instead of laying on my stomach, he had me lay on either side and he stretched me out that way.  As he pulled my ankles so I could sit up at the edge of the table, I kind of furrowed my eyebrows because my legs (my quads especially) still felt tight and still hurt a little but his next client was waiting.

Anthony took me out to my car and I explained the 4 step process of how I was going to get in (there was no snow on the ground so would attempt this on my own).  He would just have to give me a shove if I wasn’t going to land on the driver’s seat upon turning.  I was able to do all 4 steps on my own and my legs bent by themselves as I did this.  I relaxed a little more on my way home and slept well.