SgtTuff13’s Blog

Well here we go, I remembered to bring my camera to work and download some pics. They are not the greatest but you get the point. You can also see I am not the greatest looking, pain pills and the stuff from the surgery, I feel like a tweaker. So without further ado, my photos……

There you go, not the prettiest I’ve ever been but surely not the worst. This starts the new journey for me. After all is done and I am cleared, I will have no excuses to hide behind. I plan on breaking out and surpassing where I had been. This will take time and with the support of my family, friends and all you here, I will succeed.

I want to thank everyone for your prayers, thoughts and advice since this happened, it truly means alot to me. This is part of the reason why I am glad I signed up on bodyspace. So once again thank you for everything, you all are world class.

So For now thats it, I will keep you informed, be safe and have a great weekend…Steve

Well it’s been two weeks since I had surgery to repair my shoulder and things are finally starting to settle down. The surgery was labeled a success so far, although time will tell if it took and if I will be pain free. As of right now I am far from pain-free, given the fact that in order for me to return to work and push papers I have to be medication free….let me tell ya it sucks for sure, but what can ya do, got bills to pay. Now on the home front things are not as good as they could be, can’t sleep, can’t really eat, and I am on edge alot of the times. Luckily for me though my wife has been a pure angel through it all, or at least she puts on a good facade, either way I could not have done this without her.

So here is my time line to recovery, six weeks in an imobilizer, another two weeks in a sling, then its rubber band training for strength and flexibility. Should be able to resume normal activities in 4 to 6 months.

The surgery so you know was to repair what is called a SLAP tear. A specific type of labral tear is called a SLAP tear; this stands for Superior Labrum from Anterior to Posterior. The SLAP tear occurs at the point where the tendon of the biceps muscle inserts on the labrum. Common reasons for a SLAP tear include:

• Fall onto an outstretched hand
• Repetitive overhead actions (throwing)
• Lifting a heavy object

My labrum was torn in thre seperate locations and was repaired in the following way…A SLAP repair is performed arthroscopically using sutures to reattach the torn labrum back to the bone. The steps of a SLAP repair are:

• 1. The SLAP tear is identified and excess tissue is removed. 
• 2. A small hole is drilled into the bone where the labrum has torn off (the SLAP tear). 
• 3. An anchor is placed into this hole; attached to the anchor is a strong suture. 
• 4. The suture is used to tie the torn labrum snuggly against the bone.

So as you can see its not too much fun, but will be well worth it in the end. I will post some pics and what not tomorrow if I remember them. So until then we will see ya later…

For the past three and half years I have been plagued by a less than perfect right shoulder. You see it all started back in 2000 when I had the first surgery to repair a torn labrum and had a Thermal Capsulorrhaphy, (arthroscopic technique that uses heat to "shrink" and tighten the tissues to treat several types of shoulder instabilities). As it turns out this surgery was a complete waist of time since it did not work at all. I still had the same pain and discomfort from before the surgery.

So time went on and more and more money was paid out to rehab and strengthen my shoulder. This also did not help out, my shoulder got stronger but the underlying issue was still there nagging at me. That resulted in numerous cortizone shots and not much else.

Then as fait would have it I decided that enough was enough, I wwent back to the original surgeon and all but demanded that my shoulder be fixed. That is when he referred me to another specialist and I was given a date for my next surgery. As it would turn out, Karma had different plans for me. I informed my command of the situation and was told thaty I would have to put my surgery on hold due to the fact that we had warfare training within a month. So against my better judgement I cancelled my surgery and stayed….Now this is where Karma comes in. Karma somehow took me off the list for training and I sat my ass at home for nothing. No surgery, no training, just a sore bum shoulder.

Three years later, I along with the assistance of my wife , put my shoulder back in the hands of the proffessionals. Yesterday, I was in Indianapolis and saw "THE" shoulder guy for our region. Without even talking to me he looked at my x-rays and MRI and stated "your into weightlifting arem’t you". With amazement and curiosity I replied "yes, how did you know." With a amused look he just said"I can tell". So throught he course of my appointment we deceded to give the surgery a go and I now have I set for next Thursday. Aint nobody gonna taslk me out of this one, let me tell ya.

So we drove home and I got ready for my last game of the year. I told my team the news and they all were very supportive in their own ways. Last night marked a new begging for me and an outlook of whats to come. I had the game of my life, went 6-7, including thre doubles and a monster home run over the centerfield fence. Fielding was just as good and my partner to my left assisted me in throws. All in all it was a great night. 

So this is it, the weightbelt is put away, my lucky hat is now in the wash ( I dont wash it until the end of the year), and my ball gear is stored away until next spring. Its almost sad, but its neccesary. The field of dreams is now on hold and that all good with me. I can’t wait to see what its like to play or even relax with no pain. Hell I can’t even remember the last time I was "pain free". What I do know is that this journey I am embarking on willl be long and tiresome, even painful at times I’m sure, but in the end it will be worth it.

So for now I am gonna close and get back to work. Thanks for the support while I was gone and I guarentee I will be back bigger and better han before. Stay TUFF and keep pushing….Steve aka Sgt TUFF

So as you can see by the Headline, I gort some issues with some people. But before I dive into the world of gripes lets recap the weekend.

First, Monday I woke up later than normal and began the day already behind. I was technically two meals behind schedule and it kinda pissed me off. But I guess my body needed the extra rest, so what can you do. Anyways, I got my meals in and decided to hit the yard and get it complete before I headed off to the gym. After sweating my you know whats off and spending two and half hours out there I was complete and ready for a shower.

After my much needed shower I got some more food and liquids in me and relaxed a little bit before I head off to the gym. So after I little bit of a nap on the couch I got up took my supplements and went to the gym for a nice ole leg work out. I must say that it felt good to be back at it since I have not trained legs at all this ball season. Weights are down as expected but all in all it rocked.

So after the workout and food routine, I once again showered and git ready for my sons tournament game. The game was good for the first two innings, then it all went down hill. Stevie my son played solid, he was three for three with 2 RBI’s and 1 run. They ended up losing 13-3, but they all held up there heads and were a true diplomats to the game.

Yesterday was business as usual. I got up out of bed around 0600 and got my first meal in me and started to do housework. Yes, ladies thats right I do house work, (Dishes, laundry, dusting, etc). I must say that it’s actually pretty relaxing. Anyways, after I completed my chores for the day, I headed off to the gym to hit the chest.

This were I aint your mommy comes in…..

First, the workout was pretty good, the weights are down due to my shoulder acting up, but it produced a great pump and I adjusted fire to adapt. Now to the mommy part; as I walked in to the free weight are I noticed a container of chalk and empry bottles laying on one of the benches. I gave no extra thought since the guy in the squat rack was obviously using it. But as I am sitting there doing my incline DB press and flyes, this guy decides to stand right in front of me and do his DB shrugs. Normally this would not bother me, however where we were positioned, he may as well been sitting in my lap. Not Cool, but I adapted and pressed on. Then as I start to get up and grabbed a differenet weight, I all but tripped over the weights he layed out on the floor. Looking around he was no where to be found. Come to find out he had left the building, leaving not only the weights everywhere, but also leaving the chalk and bottles all over the place. It was quite the mess. I assisted the employee in cleaning up his mess and discussing how raw it was to leave it for others.

To make matters worse it was discovered that the guy was a local law enforcement officer….wow wonder how his car looks. Anyways, the whole point to this is simply, you make a mess clean it up. We all have to share the gym and each others space, just do whta is right and all is good. Hell my kids even know about gym ettiquette, if you get it out put it away, you dirty it up, clean it up, trash goes in the can and benches get wiped down. Now if kids can figure it out then why in the hell do adults have a problem doing it.

For those of you who do the right thing kudos to you, keep up the good work. but if you are one of those who I was talking about, get your head out your ass and do the right thing. There it is its simply, easy and proper.

Well I need to get back to work, so until next time, stay tuff…..

BBQ, fireworks, family and fun, what a better time of the year is than today. A day were we celebrate one of the greatest rights in the world, Freedom. A day were the dark sky of night is alive and vibrant with color and sound. A night were kids from all over sit on their blankets and gaze in awe of the sight displayed before them. A day were most of the general population get off work and enjoy the time with their family or friends. I remember as a kid sitting there waiting for the sky to darken, eager with anticipation for the explosion of fireworks to light up the sky. We would sit there unable to stay calm, gulping down soda pop, eating hot dogs and chips, throwing around the baseball  or the old worn down pig skin. Times were good, hell they were the best, and now as a father I see the same passion and eagerness in my kids eyes. To be completely honest with you I am still the same way as I was as a kid, God I love it. Only exception is now I don’t get yelled at by my parents for blowing stuff up, my wife maybe, but thats a different story.

So as you all set out for your adventures tonight, think back and remember what it meant to you as a kid and what it means to you now. Think about how we as a nation pull together and celebrate the Independence that we gained 232 years ago, how we are coming upon the 7 year annivesary of Sept. 11th, and how our brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, are still fighting for what we belive in. After all as they say, "We Are The Home Of Free Because Of The Brave". Keep all of them and their families in your thoughts and prayers and remember the sacrifices they are making.

In closing have a great Fourth and an even better weekend, and remeber just like bodybuilding, our freedom is built on blood sweat and tears. To our troops overseas God Speed, be safe and we will see you all when you return. Most importantly take time out of your day and look back and just remember……

Here it is my Monday at work or as it is your Wednesday, and I cant believe my three day weekend is over. It all started Friday night when once again Karma and good ole Mother Nature rained on my parade, all games were cancelled due to inclement weather. I am really starting to hate Indiana, but be that as it may it’s still home. Saturday was great though. After my shift ended I went to my son’s baseball game and watched him pitch 5 solid innings, only allowing three runs and striking out seven. He ended the day 2-4 with 4 RBI’s, including a two run double. I am so proud of my lil man. After the game we found out that with that win they are now league champs…HOOAH, and to make things even better, Stevie was selected to the All-Stars…Double HOOAH.

Sunday was also a great day, it involved blueberry pancakes for breakfast, some guitar hero in the afternoon, and ending at my parents house for my daughter Nevada’s Birthday Party. It was truly a great day, we played a version of stickball in the backyard after dinner, and had some cheesecake tarts for dessert. We then retired back to our house and got some much needed rest.

Monday Was a typical day. I got up early went to the gym and had an awesome chest workout. I was sore and pumped and ready to refill my tank with some food. I got home, made the kids and myself some breakfast and relaxed a little before we ventured out. After a stimulating time at the library, we decided to go over to my sister-in-laws house to partake in some pool activities. It turned out to be one hell of a good time, plus no sunburns. Chicken on the grill later and we were ready for some more Guitar Hero in the evening.

Tuesday, my most hated day arrived, the day I had to take my kids back to their mother. Our weekend of fun had finally came to a close. It always breaks my heart letting them go, but I know that we will be together again soon. It will be another ten days until we will be back together, but I will see them at the baseball tournaments.

Depressed and not so motivated I dragggd my ass to the gym and took out my frustration on the weights. The workout was great, my arms were pumped and I had a new outlook on the days earlier events. No matter what life throws at you, you have to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and press on. I could have sat at my house and became a couch potato for the rest of the day, but I knew that it would not get me anywhere. Instead I went to the gym, threw some weight and had a great time doing it.

In short, life goes on. I will continue dreaeding Tuesdays, I will have awesome times with my kids, and I will have the support of my family. So thats my weekend in a nut shell, we will see what this week has in store…..laters

Here it is Wednesday, well Monday for me, so its back to the gym after I leave this place we will call work. Once again I had an amazing weekend with my kids, wish I had them more but thats how it goes I guess. We did some swimming, played a little war with Nerf guns, and of course what would the weekend be without Playstation time….And yeah both my 7 and 9 year old beat me at SlugFest, maybe with some assistance from myself. So needless to say the gym was not going to happen, especially since my gym does not allow little ones, damn insurance companies.

So today we are back at and going to hit the chest and do some abs…(God I hate abs). But what can you do, just keep on keepin on , right. Tomorrow will be arms and Friday will be Shoulders. Unfortunately, unless I can squeeze it in that will be it for the week. My best friend is getting married Saturday, so my day is pretty well booked. Then you have Fathers Day on Sunday, plus I get my kids then also. So you can see we are trying to hit it when we can. If only there were more hours in the day, or hell even better if I was rich, I could sit at home and go to the gym whenever I wanted. But in the real world it’s not that easy.

Oh well, back to work I go. Hit you all up later. If I don’t remember later, Happy Fathersa Day to all you Dads out there

Well last night marked my return to the ball field and what a dissappointment it was. First lets look at the weather we had to contend with. Now if you are from Indiana you know the weather last night sucked ass. There were tornado warnings, severe thunderstorms, and some preety amazing lightning displays. Yet as it was, the manager of our league deemed it safe for us to play, so against better judgement we did. We were in the field first and even though it felt tight I was pretty comfortablwe on with my hamstring. I still roamed the outfield like a lion looking for some chow, however nothing came my way except for some hellacious rain.

Three outs later and another inning down my hamstring felt not so good. I was able to run, but not as fast as I should, so I elected to come out of the game and be a DH. This turned out to be even more of a pain. I led off the second inning with a solo homerun to centerfield. That was the last hit I got for the remainder of the battle. I use battle lightly though, because we eere battling to get outs, and they were attascking the scoreboard with ease. We lost both games and lost BAD…..but I made it home in time to shower and get some rack time before reporting to work today.

So as it turns out my leg is still a pain in the ass. I dropped my Wendsday night league to afford my recovery time. So once again time will tell. I feel good today, good enough that after my shift its off to the gym to work my shoulders. Next week will be what it will be, and I will be ther ready to wage battle on the fielsd yet agian.

Oh and by the way whoever coined the phrase "Pain is just fear leaving the body" should be shot. Just my opinion, but pain is pain and fear is fear.

" All pain is either severe or slight, if slight, it is easily endured; if severe, it will without doubt be brief." Marcus Tulius Cicero (106-43 BC) Writer, politician and great roman orator

After riding the pine and my wife riding my ass, I am finally able to return to the field of dreams. My hamstring is on the tail end of the healing proccess and the therapy and rehab have helped in my recovery. Friday ,marks my return and I cannot wait. Like many others I hate sitting there watching the team play, but it had to be done. I am able to run full speed now with little to no pain. Of course, I do still feel that tightness, but I am able to loosen it up with some good ole deep stretches and staying hydrated.

Even though I am able to get back out there I still feel like I am less than 100%, that being said, I am not going to push myself to hard….well I am going to try not too anyways. I know that hamstring injuries take time and that once you had one you are prone to more. So here is my plan to resist more injuries:

1) I am going to spend more time stretching before and after my games.

2) I am going to hit the gym with more purpose, not going balls out and going heavy all the time.

3) I am going to watch my diet more closely (been pretty bad since coming home)

4) Lastly, I am going to listen to my wifes advice and not be so STUBBORN.

So there you go four fail safe ways to stay injury free. Time will tell how it works out, but I will keep you posted for sure.

Here’s a riddle for you all: What do you get when you mix cold weather, hard/fast running, and lose footing? A painful hamstring injury……Just my luck. Last Friday was the night that it happened and against better judgement, I finished playing both games. Now we play double headers and we were only in the middle of the first game when it popped, so you can see I am not that smart. I remained in the outfield, hobbling and barely able to do anything closley resembling running. I was able limp out a triple that I took deep to left field though, not without its equally deep pain. So here I sit limping not lifting. Feeling the pain but not the pain I want. Popping pills, but not the supplements….and just so you know, pain pills are not worth a damn, I might as well smash my face into the wall.

So I am out of commission for at least two weeks, although in reality it will be closer to a month. No ball, no gym, hell I cant even walk my dog. Life sucks….but I will get over it and move on as always. Time will tell. Take care and stay Tuff