Back from being out of commission...

[g-man]

Had a hydrocelectomy last Wednesday: retained fluid around one of the 'boys', didn't resolve by itself in the 6-9 months they said it would, so had to go the surgical route. I have a follow-up in another 3 weeks, and am on orders to not lift anything over 10lbs. I'm skirting that somewhat, but won't be hitting the weights full-bore until I get clearance. Keeping up with the new puppy (separate post about that later) has been an adventure.

Managed two unscheduled ER follow-ups on Thurs and Sat, since S&H decided to share whatever viral thing he had, and I spiked a fever, then got better, then spiked a higher fever accompanied with a nasty wracking cough. No pneumonia, and the blood cultures turned out negative, so after 2 bags of fluids (on Sat), they released me. Felt weird when the doc said: "If you were any older, I'd just admit you...". Zero complications with surgical recovery, which is quite the blessing. Finally able to sleep through the night by Sunday, but today is still a pretty slow-roll.

Being completely useless from Friday night pretty much straight through Sunday reminded me why I'm glad to have built a decent strength base, and simultaneously has me kicking myself for letting my conditioning lapse as badly as it has. The spare ruck is already pulled out of my gear box stack, and I need to get after that pretty hard once the doc clears me. Extra capacity as a reserve in sporting times and all that.

[blackeagle603]

Yeah, that lean mass can be the difference during a health crisis. Doc's are starting to talk about it as the 5th vital sign. It's a significant predictor of survival rates during illness or injury recovery.

I've always been a hard gainer etco morph type. My legs and butt would get thick but upper body would just get hard but not gain.

Since August I've been giving the X3 bar a go (rubber bands, progressive resistance). It seemed a bit spendy but I was looking to change things up a bit. Money well spent I say now. I'm gaining muscle like never in my life. Have to wear a 46" sport coat/suit now instead of a 44". Noticeable gains.