Could you save yourself?
fmccloud | December 13th, 2009 | BigGuy, Entertainment | 10 Comments »
Could you save yourself? I mean really if the situation called for it could you will yourself to survival. I recently asked myself that exact same question. I‘ll give you a little background first before I go right into the story. When I was 280 pounds I always wondered, if I had to pull myself up on a ledge or cliff, like they do in the movies, could I?
Well the answer to that question back then was HECK NO! If I was faced with life and death situation and the only way I could save myself was to do a pull-up, I would be dead. I might as well do a swan dive off the edge of the cliff because I sure couldn’t lift my big ole butt up.
Now when I first began losing weight I mainly concentrated on body-weight exercises (as should you if you still have a lot of weight to lose). One of my biggest challenges was to be able to do a pull-up. Well as I have lost the weight and have gotten stronger, I can now easily do a pull-up. In fact, on the days I do back exercises I routinely do pull-ups, 3 sets of 15 repetitions.
Pull-ups are one of the very best exercises and should definitely be in your routine whether you’re weight-training or doing body-weight exercises. If you can’t do a pull-up, do negatives. Negatives are when you start from the highest point of the pull-up and slowly lower your body. You can also use the assisted pull-up machine if you have access to one. Try to keep the weight low on the assisted machine because this forces YOU and not the machine to do the majority of the work.
Ok on to why I mentioned all this, I would first like to say I’m proud of myself because I sprained a ligament in my right knee and I still went to the gym 4 times this week. Now you might ask, how did you sprain a ligament in your knee? Well I wanted to know if I could save myself, so I decided to test myself.
I have a ledge that hangs from my home, it is not that high somewhere between 8 and 10 feet, I would guess. Well I decided I was going to take a running start, leap on the ledge and then pull myself up. This would be my attempt at replicating a scene from the movie Cliffhanger and determining if I could indeed save myself.
On the first attempt, I couldn’t grab the ledge and got laughed at by my son (who is 14 but not stronger than me!). Ok now it is on! I got to do it won’t let him think his old man is……..well old! Here goes the second attempt, I take a running start, get a good jump and I got it! I grabbed the ledge, ok now all I got to do is pull myself up, which if I add was the easy part. Now I’ll just let go and celebrate my victory. Well when I crashed to the ground I felt something go “POP!”
The pop was my right knee which I landed on with the majority of my weight. I tried to walk it off, I thought it would be ok, but I iced it any way before I went to bed. When I woke up I could barely walk, I drug myself to the daycare to pick-up my daughter.
I had decided that I wasn’t going to go to the gym, but my inner-warrior kept telling me “go, go, go…just do chest and triceps,” and that is just what I did. I drug myself to the gym didn’t do as much as I normally do, but I still got in about an hour.
The next day it felt a little better, but I still went to the doctor. When I told the doctor how I hurt myself he laughed, though I was crazy I suppose. He gave me some medication for pain and inflammation, but I haven’t taken it and it feels so much better now that I don’t think I will take it.
So while I know I could save myself, I also know I could hurt myself in the process too. Could you save yourself? If not start doing pull-ups today they will help you achieve the broader back and is and excellent addition to any workout regimen. Good luck with you fitness goals and journey!
This post really resonated with me. One of my “reasons why” in losing weight was so that I could be saved, if needed. I’d read an article about a U.K. woman who died because the EMTs weren’t able to get her out of her apartment. Definitely not something I wanted to have happen to me!
But after 100 pounds lost and two years of training, I still can’t do a pull-up.
Wow, it would suck if a person were to die because of his or her size. If you think about it though just being obese takes years off your life.
Wow, this was really powerful post. This was one of the reasons I got on track with my 150 lb weight loss – I really got frightened that I would end up at 350, or 400, or housebound. It was enough to get me moving (finally!)
Yeah, health is the key to survival.
This is a good post, good topic. It made me think of the Pet Sematary scene when the dad(who appeared fit) couldn’t catch his son in time to prevent the tragic accident. There are quite a few scenarios when true fitness can be tested. I always think of whether or not I can still sprint fast enough to the closest fence or vehicle to keep from getting mauled by a pissed off dog. It’s one of my favorite tests, I have to climb to the top of the fence and hang on keeping my legs elevated.
Pull ups have been one of my favorites since junior high school. I know that if I had to I could pull myself up with my 11 y.o daughter holding on to me. Can’t say the same about her older brothers though, good thing they can do pull-ups!
It was a really nice idea! Just wanna say thank you for the information you have fanned. Just continue publishing this kind of post. I will be your loyal reader. Thanks once more.
Yeah Aaron you hit the nail on the head! We got to at least be in good enough shape to at least save ourselves in life or death situations. I know if I had to I could save myself form falling off a cliff! Think I’ll see if my 40 time is fast enough to get me away from the neighborhood ptibull who is never in his own yard.
Hey Emeka, first off thank you for the complement! I will continue to try to post interesting topics that I think you will enjoy. Once again thanks for the support!
That’s one heck of a funny story Freddy! My “tests” have always revolved around fighting… as I gained weight, running was no longer an option so I figured I could go 1 minute with anyone (at least in my mind).
Boy jumping and catching the cliff is cool. I would not try that now.
Great work getting back the gym. Many a time I’ve had to work just hands because I could not kick for a while. And you know what? My hands got better when I could kick again.
It’s good for the younins to know we are human… but can still kick some butt.
John, I wont be trying to jump off a cliff anytime soon! Still hurting a little from the fall, but still going to the gym 3 times a week. Can’t wait until I feel better so I can work my legs:-)