Summer of Sweat – Back to the Beginning

Kalev at Kalev Fitness Solution, 2014

I’ve recently teamed up with Gatorade for their Summer of Sweat in order to keep myself on track.  Setting goals is one thing, but pushing yourself and staying on track is another, and in order to be in my best shape yet and condition for another upcoming hockey season, I have to stay focused and #keepsweating.   First, I’ll take you back to the beginning and my fitness journey’s rocky start:

The day of his accident

In my early 20’s I was in what could have been a fatal motorcycle accident – I got off lucky, I only broke the two largest bones in my body, no problem ;).  My left leg had Femoral Neck and Spiral fractures, and in simple terms, my right femur was crushed.  Somehow, my upper body came out nearly unscathed.  My helmet had a few mere scratches on it – so no brain damage, that I know of.  I had surgery to put two Femoral pins in place as well as screw fixations into my hips.  However, surgery was only the beginning.

Kalev’s X-rays

I was limited to a wheelchair for three months – after being active and a sports enthusiast my entire life – those were the longest months of my life.  My rehabilitation started off slow – working on simple movements like internal and external rotations and leg extensions, then eventually using parallel bars to begin to walking.  The real work was once I was out of the chair.  Physiotherapy increased from once a week to two or three times a week.  I had to relearn how to stimulate and use my muscles – uncovering imbalances I had caused by working out and weight training with poor form prior to the accident.   Working with a Kinesiologist changed everything – I even learned I had terrible posture.  I would have never thought my posture needed correcting!

Kalev shortly after his accident in VGH

At about 8 months post accident, I was working out and exercising on my own again.  I had to change everything about my workout routine – I couldn’t play hockey yet and was limited for weight training so I took up running for the first time.  I remember being on the treadmill thinking to myself, “This sucks… I hate cardio”.  This intense learning about the human body and how it works led me to seek an education in Exercise Science and begin my career as a Personal Trainer.  After overcoming my own challenges and starting a new fitness journey, I wanted to be able to help others do the same.

15 years later, knowing what I know now, I definitely would have spent more time working with my Kinesiologist.  I’m pretty lucky though, I sometimes feel sore in my right leg after pushing myself too hard on the ice or not hydrating properly but it’s very minor considering the extent of my injuries.  I always drink a Gatorade during games to replace the electrolytes lost when sweating on the ice.  As a young guy in my early twenties, my poor diet didn’t aid in my recovery or overall health at all either.  Diet and nutrition play a big role in my fitness goals now – it goes hand in hand with exercise and accomplishing any fitness goals.  This is part of the reason why I’ve teamed up with Gatorade for the Summer of Sweat!  I’m determined to look and feel my best this year regardless of my setbacks, hectic schedule owning a business, or my age (not that I’m that old!).

Follow along for this part of my fitness journey on Facebook and Twitter and my Summer of Sweat #KeepSweating #SummerofSweat #WinfromWithin