tegid’s BodyBlog

I have to say, I’ve come across some astonishingly inspiring characters through bb.com. They are the sort of people who are a little quiet about their achievements - it takes a little time to get to know them but when you learn their whole story, it leaves you lost in wonder.

I used MSN to chat with a guy from bb.com last night. He actually lives near my old home in Wales. (Last weekend Wales won the 6 nations rugby tournament. Rugby is the national sport so the whole of Wales - I know it’s not very large - celebrated). I chatted to this guy about that, initially.. As the talk progressed, I learned that he had created his own home gym and that he encouraged younger people to come and use it. He explained that it helped them build esteem in a place where there was little else to keep them occupied. I thought that this was excellent. I’m convinced that this will work - based on my own observations while working with kids that had emotional and behaviural difficulties at a special school and taking them to a gym once a week.

In the UK, the insurance companies won’t allow people under the age of 16 to use gyms - hence nobody will let them do strength and conditioning. That is something I can identify with, seeing as I am banned from many UK gyms these days because their insurance doesn’t cover epilepsy. Now I know that there will be arguments galore over both these situations. However, I’ll leave that for another time.

The guy trusted me enough to explain why he and his wife set upon this quest to ‘rescue’ people by encouraging them to use the gym and try bodybuilding. Obviously I don’t want to betray any confidence placed in me by divulging unnecessary details but it was a story that profoundly inspired to the point where I wanted to share it. Mainly because this man is another person that has a malformation in his brain - which like mine is on the left side.  Just like me, nobody realized the reason for the difficulties he faced. He ended up in prison. What a tragic waste.

We recognize the frustration that each other faces when it comes to everyday tasks that need not be difficult - society makes dangerous assumptions about us and sentences us to something far worse than incarceration.

However.. We both discovered bodybuilding as a very successful way of self-management. He has achieved far greater gains than I ever have and I am delighted for him (20" arms, huge chest, 34" waist). It shows that he has the capability of being good - really good. And THAT is what is important about bodybuilding. It allows people to ‘own’ their own hope - their own goals. And if things don’t work out exactly as planned, there are still ways to improve things… and you control your own destiny.

He has an utterly inspiring story. Like me, he can’t rely on some of the more pharmaceutical solutions to improving his physique - it’d jeopardize medical/mental equilibria. He’s done it entirely through graft, determination and spirit..  What a star.

I have to say, I’ve come across some astonishingly inspiring characters through bb.com. They are the sort of people who are a little quiet about their achievements - it takes a little time to get to know them but when you learn their whole story, it leaves you lost in wonder.

I used MSN to chat with somebody from bb.com last night. They actually live near my old home in Wales. Last weekend Wales won the 6 nations rugby festival. Rugby is the national sport so the whole of Wales (I know it’s not very large!) celebrated - so I chatted to this guy about that, initially.. As the talk progressed, I learned that he had created his own home gym and that he encouraged younger people to come and use it. He explained that it helped them with esteem in a place where there was little else to keep them occupied. I thought that this was excellent - based on my own observations while working with kids that had emotional and behaviural difficulties at a special school.

In the UK, the insurance companies won’t allow people under the age of 16 to use gyms - hence nobody will let them do strength and conditioning. That is something I can identify with, seeing as I am not allowed into gyms because their insurance doesn’t cover epilepsy. Now I know that there will be arguments galore over both these situations. However, I’ll leave that for another time.

The guy trusted me enough to explain why he and his wife set upon this quest to ‘rescue’ people by encouraging them to use the gym and try bodybuilding. Obviously I don’t want to betray any confidence placed in me by divulging unnecessary details but it was a story that left me awe-struck. Mainly because this man is another person that has a malformation in his brain - on the left side - like me.  Just like me, nobody realized the reason for the difficulties he faced. What a tragic waste.

He went to prison. I went to University. We recognize the frustration that each other faces when it comes to everyday tasks that need not be difficult - society makes dangerous assumptions about us and sentences us to something far worse than incarceration.

However.. We both discovered bodybuilding as a very successful way of self-management. He has achieved far greater gains than I ever have and I am delighted for him - it shows that he has the capability of being good - really good. And THAT is what is important about bodybuilding. It allows people to ‘own’ their own hope - their own goals. And if things don’t work out exactly as planned, there are still ways to improve things… and you control your own destiny.

He has an utterly inspiring story. Like me, he can’t rely on some of the more pharmaceutical solutions to improving his physique - it’d jeopardize medical/mental equilibria. He’s done it entirely through graft, determination and spirit..  What a star.

Today the guys at the gym found the footage of me having a seizure in the gym. The gym has those security cameras that record 24hr a day. After Monday’s adventures, I realized that the cameras had probably caught my performance and this meant that for the first time I could get to see what it actually looked like.

I wasn’t that surprised by the images - I knew that I fell to the floor and shook but it was really interesting to see how people around me reacted during the seizure (and if they use bb.com - guys I’m sorry if it startled you but I really don’t get much warning of these things). I’m 6′3" so I blocked the gangway going through the gym for a while, as nobody wanted to deadlift me and carry me out of there…

The most surprising thing was HOW I fell to the floor - my upper body just plummets, which means my legs are literally swept off the floor and into the air with the momentum. THAT did surprise me. I am glad that the flooring in the gym is padded and not carpeted - hence a soft landing and no carpet burns. I didn’t even break my glasses this time.

The other good thing was that there were loads of first-aid qualified people there (including an ex-paramedic) who all knew what to do, so I was clearly in the safest place possible. I was particularly impressed with the people who just got on with their workouts while I was being treated by staff. Once the right staff had been summoned, they didn’t flap, didn’t fuss or run around, they just got on with things and that’s exactly what those of us with epilepsy would ask for.

So well done, everyone at the Workshop Gym, Guildford!