Shoulder Replacement One Year Later

 As the title states:  It's 100%. I have full functionality and no pain.  No bone spurs cutting into my bicep, no clicking, nothing.  That being said, I am really careful with it.  I DO NOT press overhead anymore. For shoulders, I do shrugs or double kettlebell swings outside the knees with no more than 55 lbs.  I'm trying to preserve my right shoulder which is holding up really well. I can play golf. I can't shoot a basketball. Oh well.

The new job has me traveling a little bit. Been to Seattle and Las Vegas the past couple of months and heading to Phoenix in the 2nd week of January for sales kickoff. I'll say this, for such nice casinos, the Mandalay Bay and the old Mirage had awful gyms. And you can't run outside on the Strip anymore because the storefronts are so built up.  I did a LOT of walking, 20k + steps every day.  We had a group trip to the Sphere, and there were so many buses, we couldn't find ours.  Half the people were going to the Venetian to sing karaoke. Not this grizzled 55-year-old veteran. No interest in sitting through meetings with a bruised liver. Been there, done that. I decided to hoof it back to the Mandalay Bay. It took over an hour. Have to enter into the Bellagio to get to the other side as well as the Cosmopolitan.

The last night was fun, my wife went to a show, and I bailed on an optional group dinner. Threw two bets into the sportsbook drank beer, screamed at the TV screens and made lots of friends. Then went to the blackjack table and lost the 1st 8 hands in a row.  Good times.  

Was in Naples, Florida earlier this month where it proceeded to rain every single day. Finally got to St. Pete and it was sunny. My runs there were awful as usual.  1st mile great, 2nd mile ok, 3rd mile so humid I couldn't get any oxygen in.  I've been running a lot.  I did my 1st 5k in 20 years in late September. My cross-country star buddy who designed it said, "it's a brutal course."  My pal Phil, who is in our high school hall of fame for running came down from Albany, NY to run it with me.  At the 2.5-mile mark, I blistered him in the hills and had a 75-yard lead. He then flipped the switch, did what hall of famers do and blew past me. Beat me by 10 seconds.  27:05 to 27:15. Here we are with our old track and hoop coach.

My 3-4 lifting days are total body, 3 sets of 10-12 one exercise per body part. Don't get hurt. Then, I'll do 20-30 minutes on treadmill, Echo Bike or Stairmaster.  Other 3-4 days are 1 just walking and three 45 minutes of cardio. In good health in the low-mid 190's.  Lots of socializing have led to so so diet. Traveling, college reunions and socializing.  Not terrible but need to be cognizant.  My wife and I did a LOT of hiking at the Blue Hills Reservation near Boston.  Tons of trails and ski slopes to climb. After we go for a refreshment or two at the Trillium Brewery a 1/2 mile down the road in Canton. Our dog loves the hikes, hates the brewery because we leave her in the car in shade.  

What's next? Just keeping on keeping on. It's been a great year and I'm thankful for it. Much better than a year ago that's for sure.  Happy Thanksgiving. 

Left Shoulder Replacement 8 months later, FULLY HEALED

In reality it was fully healed around the 6-month mark. I stopped doing my physical therapy exercises at that point. The shoulder is 100% as good as it can be. It gets stiff once in a while, especially jostling it while running. And I can't shoot a basketball lefty anymore which was my strong hand. My form however righthanded is butter. I can play golf!  I hit balls in the middle of May and then went down to Naples. Broke 90 first time out with the new shoulder.  I couldn't do that with the old shoulder!  Then the third time out, did it again in Connecticut! I'm an out of state golfer.  Was supposed to play 36 this weekend, alas it's going to pour tomorrow. 

All I have a scar from the top of my shoulder to my pec. The bride thinks it looks bad ass.  Right shoulder has been good. My goal is to not try and mess that up too soon, though the flexibility is gone.  I can't throw a baseball 30 feet anymore and played 3rd base on the big diamond. These days, that throw is about a par 3.

Workouts are the same.  Total body, one exercise each body part, 3 sets of 8-12.  Mixing up the different plated hammer strength machines.  I can do safety bar squats, and double 55 front squats.  Holding the bells in the rack was a huge victory. I tried to press an 18 lb. bell on the left side.  No bueno. I can't extend fully.  Tried doing a double clean and jerk with 25 lb. bells, just out of curiosity, nope. For shoulder exercises, I do shrugs and double swings.  That's it.  Still do two hand swings every week. I use the wheelbarrow sled now instead of the prowler. 

As I said before, the Echo Bike has been the biggest game changer for my fitness. My heartrate runs between 47 - 51. In March, I found this blog with 30 Brutal Assault Bike Workouts. I was doing them 2-3 times a week, they get progressively harder. I have been stuck at number 19 for a while.  I try it once a week. The good news is I was able to do 12 miles at over 200 watts average which for me is cooking, and I'm able to run 5 miles at a clip outdoors.  My foot has held up well. I'm convinced one session on the elliptical machine screwed it up.  Never again. 

Diet has been meh.  Didn't drink for 8 weeks, lost 18 lb. gained 5lb. back. Went to a college reunion with my buddies in Springfield, MA at the MGM Casino. Made it to 11 PM and my buddy decided enough was enough and bought me a glass of 14-year-old Oban scotch.  Leaped and did a somersault off that wagon. Yes sir.  Then proceeded to lose $200 at the video poker and blackjack table. Was so bored trying to get things going, I doubled on a 9 vs. an 8 and split sevens for shits and giggles.  Hadn't been in a casino in 2 years since I was at the Mirage (RIP) and on a cruise ship to Bermuda.  I won on the ship and told the bride not to let me go back in there. 

Went to the doctor for a physical in April. I was so proud of myself until I saw my cholesterol level,  277!  Doctor told me it's from INTERMITTENT FASTING.  Told me to knock it off. Gladly.  My HDL (good) was 78 and I'm off blood pressure medication.  I eat too many eggs and have too much salt. 

In other big news, I have an old job back. The PT placement business was a disaster. What could go wrong did.  I left the placement industry 10 years ago because I started hating candidates.  They have gotten MUCH WORSE.  Over analyzing everything, too many questions, too many demands, unrealistic expectations.  The worst industry in the world to work in is physical therapy. Going in debt to get a Doctorate in PT just to make $85 K. Clinic owners' margins are razor thin and they can't pay fees or people. Lesson learned.  Good thing my stock portfolio is kicking butt and taking names.  Fantastic 5. 

What I love about my new/old job is it's a new company and all the trash got taken out. There's only 3 people left that I used to work with. Maybe 4.  Jumped right back in like Carl Yastrzemski going back to left field for the 1975 World Series.  God, I'm dating myself.  I just used 2 spaces after the period as well. Here's Captain Carl vs. the Reds that October. Red Sox won that World Series 3 games to 4. LOL

Very pleased with my Celtics winning their 18th championship.  The Lakers may have 17, but 5 were in Minneapolis. And does the bubble count with that poser/fraud Lebron James?  He's such a passive aggressive clown that the Lakers will never win with him again.

Words and phrases that have been driving me crazy.  "Vibe," The "vibe" of the MGM was really cool. Using "super" as a modifier. Whatever happened to the word "really." As in Hi, I'm Brian and I'm SUPER EXCITED to share this blog with you.  New one from my job, "robust data."  What does that even mean? And finally, the word "journey."  Everything is a darn journey these days.  We had a mid-year presentation and the vapid CHRO used the word journey 8 times in the first 7 minutes. Throw in she started off with "I'm super excited" to begin the presentation.  I hung up after 10 minutes.  Wasn't making me any money. Voyage, trek, passage anyone?  I told my soon to be finance major senior in college to get a job in HR. Big bucks for dumb ducks.

I'm late to the party. Get Your Ya-Ya's Out by the Rolling Stones and Live at Leeds by The Who (extended version) have been my go-to music while doing cardio.  One would think that a 13 minute My Generation might be a tad self-indulgent?  NOPE.  And the Amazing Journey (title of song, from 1970, not used as a word) medley into Summertime Blues HNNNNGGGGGGG.  The Stones sound SO tight and Mick Taylor ripping the lead guitar on Live with Me is phenomenal. 

Pick your favorite conspiracy. Michelle Obama was born a man, or we landed on the Moon in 1969.  The former bares the question, who is more confused? Joe Biden at the debate or Michelle's gynecologist? The latter, "I can't get Wi-Fi in some parts of my house, how did they stream film and have a call from the Moon?"

15 Weeks Post Shoulder Replacement Surgery

Today, the Leap Year, was a triumphant day. For the first time since pre-surgery, I was able to do a total body weightlifting workout.  It felt GREAT.  I was nice and loose, and my shoulders felt fantastic. I have been going to the gym 6 days a week. Doing legs with machines and the Echo Bike or Stairmaster, Treadmill or Sled.  I received the clearance from my physical therapist to "try it and go light."  The only upper body stuff I've done were TRX rows, band chest presses, band curls and band triceps press downs. I've been doing my physical therapy exercises 5 days a week and it's been a surprisingly easy recovery.  The rotator cuff in the back of my shoulder is still weak, but I have 150 degrees of motion and no pain.  It does get stiff and there is a lot of work left to do.  

I had the surgery on November 17. Because they put a nerve blocker in my neck my pinky was numb for two days.  I thought I would have pierced pain post-surgery, but it was nothing more than an intense dull ache. I was in a sling for 2 weeks.  For the first 6 days, I took Tylenol and Advil regularly and 5 mg of oxycodone once a night for sleeping purposes.  I stopped all pain relievers after 6 days. Didn't want any junk in my body.

I met with the doctor after 2 weeks to get the staples out. They were itching, but the orthopedist was really happy and said, "see you in 6 months."  I took off the sling and started physical therapy.  I've been dedicated to it as well as the homework exercises which have gotten progressively harder.  It takes about 35 minutes to do all of them and when a new one is added it is a nice reminder of how far I still have to go.  The physical therapist asked me to put my arm behind my back and see how far I could reach up my back. I barely got above my waist. She had me do it again, put a towel in my left hand and draped the slack over my right shoulder, put the other end in my right hand in the front and said, "pull and hold."  That might have been the most painful think I've done in a LONG time. But now, I can reach to the middle of my back.  

Today's lousy rehab exercise is lie on your stomach face down. Clasp your hands behind your head. Squeeze your shoulder blades today and lift your elbows off the ground.  It's laughable how hard it is and how weak the rotator cuff still is.

The cardio end of my workouts has been going fantastic.  I can do 10 miles on the Echo Bike or 10 minutes of HIIT sprints. I can run for 20 minutes at a 9 minute/clip on the treadmill and having great Stairmaster workouts.  My resting heart rate is 46-53 and FINALLY, I've locked in my diet.  I did get fat after surgery.  Ballooned to almost 205 and that was my cue to do something.  Ate like a complete asshole, throw in some weekend drinking and I was the Michelin man. I am down almost 10 lb. to 195, with at least 10 probably15 lb. to go. I've been doing the Kettlebell Burn Extreme Diet and recovery methods. It's working. I fasted twice for over 40 hours no problem and am locked in on day 11. It is amazing how the metabolism slows down at spry age of 55. I've discovered the cheat code for the cold exposure.  My gym has a nice sauna that is over 175 degrees.  Sit in there for 15-20 minutes, then jump into the cold shower.  It makes it a treat after sweating out the toxins.  I'm also getting walks in 5 days a week in the afternoon and over 10,000 steps. The hardest part of the diet in the first week was the no carb days, but this week, it's been much easier.

But isn't this a kettlebell blog?  Ok here it is. I can do and have done goblet squats with a 24 kg and anywhere from 100-300 two-hand swings, multiple times.  That's it.  A couple of weeks ago, I was showing someone a snatch at the gym and did a 24 with my right hand for 2 reps.  It was a shock when I got to the top how heavy it felt.  I'm never pressing again, it's not worth it. I also was fooling around with my dog, on the floor and did a Turkish Getup with no weight off the floor.  Zero coordination, it took me 2 tries

Today's workout, Machine calf raises 3 x 10, Hammer Strength Seated Rows 5x10 with a 45 lb. plate on each side.  Machine chest press 40 lb. 3 x 10. Hammer Strength Shrugs 45 on each end 3 x 10. Goblet Squats 5 x 10. Deadlift 135 lb. 3 x 10, machine curls and triceps extensions 3 x 10 40 lb.  Nice and slow and easy.  

It's GREAT to be back.