This morning was my second to last rehab hydro session with CHG.

Was a great session and the supervising Physio was a great help.

I’ve gone from virtually being unable to walk (using crutches to get around) when I first started to comfortably walking now.

My Hydro rehab program was really hard to do to begin with, now every time we have to make it harder.

There are far too many people that know me as “oh yeah Pilko, that guy on crutches” and I’m slowly but surely turning that around.

I got a copy of a functional assessment I did in early June and out of a possible score of 80 I scored 9. The assessment makes your rate your ability as “Extreme difficulty or unable to perform activity,  quite a bit of difficulty, moderate difficulty, a little bit of difficulty or no difficulty” with a weighting of 0 to 4. At the time most of my answers weighted at 0 or 1 with only 2 “2s”

I’m yet to sit down and re-take it, but I’ve come along away in what is a month.

What really was cool today and it’s never lost on me is the reaction to people who know where I’ve come from it really is the “wow” factor.

As I said to someone today, I’m not running yet, but my injury basically crippled me and while I’ve still got a lot of hard work ahead, it’s so satisfying to know I’ve made solid progress.

While the CHG sessions have been good, I associate the place with post op rehab and I’m ready to move on. It’s also impacting on my work as I have to start late at work and make up time.

So now I’ve got my SA Aquatic membership I can continue my Hydro Program myself unassisted.

I’m having quite a lot of pain and fun when it comes to PT.

In true Pilko style I actually use 3 PTs.

Sean, Emma & Georgia.

Sean has been me with the start, Emma a previous group fitness instructor and Georgia a recent addition.

Each person is a dedicated, passionate person. I won’t tell you one is better than the other, I’ll simply say they have their own strengths and I pool on that.

One really interesting challenge is when I train with Emma it’s in my garage which is transformed into an exercise space for an hour a week.

This is a really unique opportunity as there are no distractions from anywhere else, it’s a very controlled environment and I get to pick the playlist.

Because I’m free to be myself and I’m not self conscious I’m free to explore my abilities in the comfort that the worst that can happen  is I get laughed at.

It’s also quite interesting as I don’t have a lot of equipment and it’s a intense focused session.

There is no where to run, no where to hide, it’s pedal to the medal from the get go.

I’ve never worked so hard, nor been so sore afterwards, the crazy thing is the more I hurt the more I want to push and do it all over again.

I remarked to Emma when I trained with her this past Saturday that last week when she told me she was on her way I smiled thinking it would be great to catch up with her.

This day was different, I had some idea of what was coming and I had to prepare myself for it.

When it comes down to it, really it’s all about yourself and your abilities. The trainer is a professional and knows how to motivate and push people safely.

I’ve pushed myself and been pushed well beyond my comfort zone, the difference is it’s in supported environment which is key. A trainer will look at what your doing and correct your technique. It’s often said “practice makes perfect” well if you practice the wrong thing many times you won’t get perfection! With the human body you only have to alter an exercise just a little to active an entirely different set of muscles.

As I’ve been recovering from surgery and related injures correct technique has been critical. It’s amazing how just a small change in the exercise can make a big difference.

This isn’t easy, it’s confronting, I’ve been pushed to the point of exhaustion and it’s having that support process in place to cope with both the adrenaline rush and the inevitable down time post work out.

So Saturday just gone I trained with Emma, today was with Sean and with Emma away this week Georgia gets to push me this coming Saturday.

Thankfully it’s an earlier Saturday session, so I’ll have longer to recover, I’m going to need it!