The Comeback: My First Week “In the Gym”

It’s been a week since I started what I’ve been calling “The Comeback”. It’s been seven weeks since open-heart surgery to repair my bicuspid aortic valve. It’s been seven weeks of a brutal recovery. It’s been seven weeks of waiting on the cardiac rehab department to get back to me (which I still haven’t started).

So after all of this waiting, and gradually starting to feel better, I finally decided that if they’ve told me that I can walk briskly as long as my heart rate doesn’t spike too high, then I can start training my lower body at the same pace and intensity. It’s not the way I used to train, not even close, but it’s something and it’s with intention, patience, and a focus on moving forward. I’ll get there.

Days 1–4: Humility and Hard Lessons

The first few days were a bit humbling. Movements that used to be nothing more than warm-ups now felt like entire workouts. Squats and lunges left my legs burning and so so so sore the next 4 days. More than anything, the mental hurdle hit hardest; accepting that I wasn’t the same, that I couldn’t just pick up where I left off, and that progress meant starting over from the very bottom. But it was awesome to have Zach help me with my lunges! I also realize that I don’t want to push too hard too fast and end up setting myself back.

I can’t help but think about what it will feel like when I finally get back under a barbell, when I can push and pull weight with my upper body again, but for now, I’m staying away from all of that. I’m not even going to try a push-up or pull-up yet. My sternum still needs time to heal (it’s still really sore), and I’m not willing to risk slowing my healing. I have a chest x-ray this week, and I can’t wait to see how everything looks. Maybe then I’ll have the reassurance I need that what I feel on the outside matches what’s happening on the inside.

Days 5–7: Stairs, Step-Ups, and Momentum

After the first four days of “The Comeback” I was feeling pretty proud of myself. Things seemed to be moving in the right direction. I was doing my lunges and squats, I did 25 minutes on the bike, and I was still doing 3-4 km walks. It really felt like I was progressing fast.  That is until school started and I walked a set of stairs at my kids’ school and it absolutely gassed me. I got to the top and had to give my head a hard shake. That moment was an eye-opener. It showed me how much conditioning I had lost and how far I still had to go. Instead of letting that discourage me, I used it as fuel. On days six and seven, I started adding 12″ step-ups into my workouts in the gym. Short rounds with short sets of rest. It actually felt pretty good!

That experience with the stairs was pretty eye opening, but it gave me something new to focus on.

Family and Faith: The Fuel Behind the Fight

When I think about why I’m doing this, it always comes back to my family. I want to be able to run with my kids again, to wrestle with them on the floor, to carry them when they’re tired. To hold my new born baby girl when she arrives in November. I want to be strong enough to support Vic, especially with our baby girl on the way. They are my motivation every single day, the reason I show up even when I’m sore, tired, or afraid.

And through it all, I lean on my faith. I know I wouldn’t have made it this far on my own. God has carried me through the darkest days and given me strength when I had none. The comeback isn’t just physical, it’s spiritual too. Each small step forward is a reminder that His plan for me isn’t finished yet.

Looking Ahead

The first week of The Comeback wasn’t pretty, but it was progress. Every rep, every step, every sore muscle (man my glutes were SO sore, haha) is proof that I’m not done. Some days I still wake up stiff and sore, but each day gets a little bit better. Each day feels a little more like I’m moving toward the person I want to be again.

I can’t wait to train fully again. I can’t wait to test myself in ways I haven’t been able to in months. But I also know that patience is the only way forward. For now, it’s lower body, controlled movements, and letting time do its work. This isn’t about snapping back overnight. It’s about putting in the work, day by day, and building something new.

This is only the beginning.