Working out at Epic Fitness

I have been workingout at Epic Fitness and really enjoying the Mid Valley Crossfit classes. They are really tough but with the support of my wife and all the wonderful friends I have made at the gym, it has really paid off and been a lot of fun at the same time.

Back in '93 I was in a really bad motorcycle accident that seriously damaged my right shoulder. I went through a couple years of physical tharapy just to get very basic use of my arm back. After tharapy, I was able to write my name (some times) and hold a glass to drink and on good days carry a six-pack of soda.

From that point I was on my own to build up the muscle and mobility in my arm and it took a long time. Finally in '09 I reached the point where I could do most things including lifiting normal weights but I still had a lot of pain and that kept me from improving any further.

I decided it was time to look at going to a gym and taking some sort of class where I could try to get the rest of the way back to "normal" and have fewer days of pain. So I started looking and finally found Epic Fitness here in Salem and I started taking the Crossfit class in July of 2011.

This is a tough class but the thing I like about it is that it scales to fit the ability of each person. No matter what your level, damaged like I was or a top athlete, everyone can participate in the same class at the same time just by adjusting the weights or range of motion of each exercise. For example, I can jump and I like to perform my box jumps at 30" most of the time while others feel more comfortable at 20" and we all get the same return from the workout. We push as far as we are able to get the most of the workout without.

Even though I started going to the gym just to get my shoulder in shape, I have gotten all of me in better shape. Until January of 2012, I had to use a large rubber band stretched between the bar and my foot to help me do basic pullups. As of May '12 I am able to do them without any assistance and can even touch the bar to my chest.

My shoulder is a lot better! At first I only had a day here and there where I didn't hurt but that was an improvement because I was hurting every single day to some degree. Lately it has been more days without pain than with. And when I do have pain it is much lighter and doesn't last very long. I have only hurt my shouder at the gym once by accidentally pushing myself too hard but that was fairly early on.

I wouldn't say that anything I do at the gym is amazing when compared to most of the people that work out. I am not doing bad but I am not some gym stud either. My biggest issue is endurance. I have good power but it is short lived and I burn out pretty quick. But I'll keep working on that.

I have had plenty of days where parts of my body are in pain from the work out but that is muscle pain and it is part of the improvement process. Some times my legs or arms or back will feel like they are on fire for a day or two after a day of heavy lifting. But then when I go back and do that same lift again, I can do a little more with less effort.

So working out is a good deal of effort and it comes with its own kind of pain. But the pain is short lived and the effort is well wort it. And all the great people that keep me motivated at the gym are wonderful and I always look forward to seeing them. I think this has been a wonderful experience. Anything dealing with my shoulder being fully extended above my head is still a major challenge but I keep trying.

Here are some of my bests lifts:

Here are some of my other workout bests:

I hope to keep improving and updating these stats over time.