Former workout freak

I confess to having been a workout freak. When younger, I was in ballet, tap, modern jazz, and gymnastics. Later I returned to ballet for strength. I stayed off toe to protect my feet.

 A co-worker witnessed a shootout in Detroit while working (our job was never, ever boring) and signed up for self-defense classes. I tagged along for the exercise. I added beginning, then advanced judo. Then I was teaching. This was so much fun I added aikido and kendo classes. At that point I was doing martial arts at least 12 hours a week, plus practice time. To supplement the training, I lifted weights and ran. I also tried different karate styles, kickboxing, and weapons at times over the years.

I loved it. The workout was tremendous and no shoes were needed. I ignored the repeated injuries to my back, feet, hands and hips. My bodyfat was below 10% and I was way below 100 lbs.

Eventually the injuries slowed me down. I switched to aerobics and weight machines. I had to do power step. I had to do it 3-6 times a week.  Spending 3 hours at a time at the gym was not unusual. Injuries piled up. Knees, ankles, back, neck, feet.

The foot pain stopped me. After extreme pain and more than one misdiagnosis, I went through an EMG test, MRI, special shoes, shoe inserts, 4 cortisone shots, several Rx, PT, home exercises, and much denial. Eventually I got another misdiagnosis that led to surgery. I woke up hearing the doctor say, "I never saw anything like that before!" I had 3 nerves growing through the muscles. It was congenital, and all my years of pounding and damage finally crushed them to the point of leaving dents in the nerves.

I never quite got back to heavy workouts again. I miss it. I walk, I use light weights.  I harbor a strong fear of repeat pain. I now feel I have to do more than walk. So I am going to get back into serious weights. Wish me luck!