I’m both excited and scared. This Friday, I will see my doctor for my six-week post-op appointment and will find out if I can take the binder off and if I can start my exercise program back up. I’m excited because I really want to get back to it and start preparing myself physically for Warrant Officer Basic Course (WOBC) this fall. I also found that I need exercise to help keep me calm and even-keeled. But, I’m also scared, because I know that I have a tendency to push too hard; to make myself workout harder than I probably should. I’m scared I’ll injure myself, or that I’ll somehow tear something inside where the surgery was.

The biggest quality of life improvement will be getting to finally take the binder off. I know it was necessary, and I also know that I’ll probably still wear it from time to time (I’m buying one for running, in fact), but it’s annoyingly uncomfortable. My skin is incessantly itchy, regardless of the amount of lotion I put on it.

I am not as afraid of showers anymore. For the longest time, I had an illogical fear of taking showers because I worried that the incision line would open up. I know this wasn’t a possibility after the first week (if at all, frankly), but I still had that irrational fear for quite a while. That’s finally gone, which is good.

As for my exercise plan, I will focus on running for time first; 30 minutes. I will not push for great distances or anything; just 30 minutes. Once I hit a good, solid pace in 30 minutes, then I’ll work on increasing the distance during that 30 minutes. Once I get to about 3.5 miles, I’ll work on getting the time down for that distance. That’s what I did when I first started running, and I was able to make some amazing progress back then. This time, I’m not quite starting from zero, although I am starting with post-operative healing to take into consideration.

I’m also going to re-start my weightlifting, but again, I’m going to start at the bare bar. It’s going to feel dumb and awkward, but I need to focus more on form than anything. I need to make sure, for the sake of my core muscles, that I’m doing everything perfect to keep from injuring myself. I should be able to be at a decent level of weightlifting by October, in time for WOBC.

The schedule I’ll be using will be as follows:

• Weightlifting (StrongLifts 5×5) followed by 30 minute run
• Mountain biking for 45 minutes
• Weightlifting (StrongLifts 5×5) followed by 30 minute run
• Mountain biking for 45 minutes
• Weightlifting (StrongLifts 5×5) followed by 30 minute run
• Light physical activity
• Rest day

The mountain biking allows me to have some cardio without too much exertion. I don’t push myself too hard on the mountain bike, and since it’s a bike, I can coast, go slow, etc, but it still keeps me moving.

So, this is hopefully the last week without exercise and in the binder. I can’t believe I’m “That guy” who complains about not being able to exercise, but I feel myself getting weaker and it bothers me. I need the meditative quality of exercise; it’s a time of the day that belongs only to me, and there’s something really powerful about that. Oh, and it’s good for me, too.