I started out and I felt like so insignificant when compared to the other people who were lifting double of what I was lifting. I was only lifting 35kg at the time and seeing everyone there just motivated me even more. I knew that I wanted to be bigger and I knew that I wanted to be stronger as well, and the only way to do that would be to carry on and give everything I have in every session. After a couple of months, I reached 50kg, then 80kg and finally 120kg but that was when disaster struck. I jolted up the bar to start the lift and I felt something give way. I fell to the floor and I saw the bar with the weights attached roll away before me. I couldn't believe it, I was in so much pain but I couldn't quite pinpoint where the pain was coming from, and before I knew it I was being carried away in an ambulance.
I woke up in the emergency unit and I could see that my knee was completely bandaged up. I must have passed out from the pain but in all honesty, I could barely remember anything. The doctor came up to me and he told me that I might not be able to lift again. I felt my whole world crashing around me and I was speechless. My knee was completely gone and it would take months of physical therapy in order to make it possible for me to walk properly again.
After I came to terms with what had happened, I decided that this simply wasn't an option. I've spent my entire life not being good enough and this wasn't going to be one of those moments. I started to take physical therapy lessons and like I did in the gym, I pushed myself harder than I had ever done before. I was walking in a matter of months and a few years later, I found myself looking around the old gym again. It had changed quite a lot since I last went and they had plenty of new equipment as well.
I fastened my knee brace around my leg and I started on the cardio machine. I thought that this would help me to condition myself before I started on the weights again and it really did boost my confidence. Of course I couldn't run as fast or for as long as I could do before and my dreams of becoming a football player had long gone, but that didn't stop me.
After a couple of months on the cardio machine, I went onto the weights and I started off lifting 30kg. I felt the strain on my knee already and this was a real blow to my confidence, but I carried on anyway because I'm not one to give up. I slowly went from 30kg to 40kg and then to 50kg and after a year of trying hard, I found that I was approaching the weight that completely annihilated my knee. The 120kg weight.
I tightened up my knee brace for extra stability and I started to lift. I felt the strain on my knee but I pushed forwards anyway and I carried on doing what I have always done. As I lifted it up to my chest, I knew I could go all the way and that was when I held it above my head. I felt such a boost of confidence from within me and I just knew how proud I was of what I had done. I put the weight down and that was quite possibly one of the proudest moments of my life. I felt so thrilled that I went for the next weight up, 130kg and I mastered it.
Now, I'm lifting almost double that and my condition is coming on nicely. Even though I will never be the same shape that I once was, I can safely say that I have accomplished more than I have ever done before and I want everyone to know that even though you may experience setbacks, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel and that if you have the motivation and dedication, you can do just about anything.
I've got a home gym of my very own now and I can't wait to invest in some bigger weights for my collection. I'm so proud of how far I have come.