3/22 – Muscle List
Wow, the step changes! DAILY! My legs are seriously filling out like crazy! My right quad right now is feeling it!!! Goodness, both my quads are!! Shoot! I feel like I’m missing parts, I better start from the top!
Trunk / Core – activated! Left side tight, right side engaged!
(rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, obliques)
Spinal Stabilizers – activated! Also tight!
(erector spinae, multifidus, QL)
Glutes – engaging more than ever! Right more than left!
(maximus, medius, minimus)
Hip Flexors -jumpy, need to chill!
(psoas, iliacus, rectus femoris)
Hip Stabilizers (Lateral + Rotators) – honestly these guys need more love!
(glute med/min, deep rotators)
Quads – on Fire!! Engaging like crazy!
Hamstrings – stabilizing and working hard!
Adductors (Inner Thigh) -I need to use my magic circle more!!!
Calves – feeling em! Engagement and activation is on the rise!
(gastrocnemius + soleus)
Anterior Lower Leg – I feel this area waking up!
(tibialis anterior)
Lateral Lower Leg – this area is waking up too! No sure what’s all up here!?
(peroneals)
Foot Intrinsics – less and less tingly daily! My feet are feeling so much and I’m trying to make sure I’m pushing into my feet with each stance!
(arch + toe stabilizers)
Daily Run-Through List
• Core
• Spine
• Glutes
• Hip Flexors
• Hip Stabilizers
• Quads
• Hamstrings
• Adductors
• Calves
• Tibialis Anterior
• Peroneals
• Feet
“Glutes hold me, quads catch me” – or at least that’s what I’m trying to do!
Why is neural training so fatiguing? Why does it wear me out quicker than muscle training?
THEY ACCEPTED OUR OFFER!! Big day wow!
3/23 – Greatest Mysteries in The World
wow! Are my legs and body really responding! This is amazing!
Daily Run-Through
• Core – active and ready
• Spine – active and ready
• Glutes – both firing but left a little less on the inside
• Hip Flexors – always tight!
• Hip Stabilizers – need to work them!
• Quads – feeling them squeeze like crazy!
• Hamstrings – feeling their tightness!
• Adductors – need to work them!
• Calves – feeling them wake up!
• Tibialis Anterior – need to work them, feeling em wake up!
• Peroneals – need to wake up!
• Feet – I can feel so much down there! Less tingly forsure!
It’s crazy because my left abdominal area is tight, but kicking my leg in extension?!
After PT:
1. Crocodile breathing (downshift nervous system)
2. Sphinx → low cobra (rebuild posture)
3. Quad stretch (reduce tightness dominance)
4. Glute sets (lock in activation)
5. Optional child’s pose (reset)
One of the greatest mysteries in the world is the human body, and what it’s capable of. It’s truly amazing. Every day I’m just in shock what a little bit of mindset and effort is able to muster up with. It’s insane.
“Are you ready for this?” – Laura says as she fires off some oldie but some goodies of some pictures of me, the family, and pictures of me and the brothers! Goodness! What a great surprise to see from her!
3/24 – Morning Deep Thoughts
Man oh man, who came up with the idea of tracking each day, in a calendar year? Why is it that each of us is able to learn so many things, for the first time, over and over again? I guess, it’s interesting how as humans, we are all living our own experiences, yet at the same time, there have been billions of folks who have existed before us, just trying to live life. Honestly I wonder with the 8 billion people on the planet today, is that more than or close to more than who have existed throughout history? Interesting questions, if I’m being honest.
My mind when I first wake up races. He’s able to think about so many ideas, topics, you name it. It’s so interesting. I want to explore this more, but since I’m so busy, this might have to do for now.
Trying to get a decent nights sleep is never easy. My body really is such an interesting creature. I have no idea what happened to me, and why certain parts of my body react the way they do. BUT! It’s getting stronger every day.
Got up in the crutches for the first time yesterday! Boy was that hard! That was very difficult! I got a lot of work to do! Also my glutes have a long way to go until they can hold me up properly! I was actually making small steps, momentarily, while in the crutches!
It’s so weird, I don’t know if it’s neurally fatiguing or muscle fatiguing. It’s so hard. But I try to slow down, catch my breath, and let my body move. It’s wild. He’s doing it!
Then when I got home I did some Yoga stretches and breathing exercises while in prone, and different positions on the floor! That really helped as well!
My legs are filling out, but my hip flexors are so overactive this morning! The electrolytes I had last night really helped for some better sleep, and my legs aren’t all sweaty, but boy is it hard to tame these hip flexors. I just wonder what I gotta do?
I’m gonna need to get up for the day, it’s wild how quickly time moves. A lot happened this weekend, and so much progress is being made on all fronts!!
I just had an interesting thought, “what if our brain and body is holding onto this “fear” or protection response? As in, my quads and glutes are having a hard time engaging because during the accident, my brain was trying to tell my body to “roll” or collapse or something, that required my quads and glutes to shut off? And I wonder if that’s also partially what PT and all my work I’m doing, is trying to get rid of that default state, and help my brain trust my body again?”
Moore’s Law
The computers in our pockets, have more computing power, than NASA has when it sent two men to the moon in 1969. (This was stated in 2014)
Thinking about the mind and how little we know about it, thrills me beyond belief. I guess it’s this fact that also keeps me motivated and working on my own body? Ive learned so much about myself and how our brain and body interact, that because our minds are so powerful, the possibilities of my recovery seem endless. It’s very surreal.
“The galaxy is home to more than 100 billion stars – maybe as many as 400 billion. Regardless of the precise count, those inconceivable numbers pale in comparison to the trillions (roughly estimated as 100 trillion) of synaptic connections between brain cells, or neurons. Synapses are the spaces over which neurons send and receive electrical and chemical signals. The brain’s magical ability to learn, and to recall information already learned, depends on synapses.”
This is a fact from The Stanford Report, from Stanford University, from Aug 2025, that’s about 6 months ago. That’s not that long ago, it’s kinda wild. This fact just makes me think about all the wild and interesting connections we are all able to make, within our own minds, and bodies! Trying to work on and fix my body has turned into one of the most interesting projects, or “things” I think I ever could have happened upon. It’s like, the weirdest thing to have ever written or ever have thought, if I’m being honest.
I didn’t think that I would have ever thought such a thing, taking a moment in my car when I get home, before I have to pull the wheelchair over my body, assemble it, and make my way into it and upstairs. It’s honestly, well, wild. Our mind has to be one of the most interesting “things” in the universe, and I’m really happy to have the chance to work on my body, for as worse as it is, situations are more worse. My mind, on the other hand, has been sharper than I sometimes could ever have imagined, and it seems as though I am able to just learn more and more, as time progresses.
I can’t spend any more time exploring this topic right now because my body feels like it’s going to explode. My bladder feels so distended I can hardly breathe or move. It’s at times like this what I would really give to have all my body back. Ugh I have to go so bad and I have alot to do before I can go. So that’s it. Here we go.
3/25 – Where My Tension is Held
Dear left hip flexors please let go
and ease. Why are you so tight?
Why so much hold?
Did something happen in fight or flight?
that made you cling for life?
What must I do, for you
To help you realize you’re safe?
I want your help, I do!
But in standing, strong and tall!
I feel you grip and squeeze and yank
As if you’re trying to protect
But we’re safe now
No harm or threat
I don’t know what happened
Or how you must
Have taken over
To pull and thrust
My body into a safer place
Away
From the threat
That you knew with great haste
I feel you wriggle
pull and tense
Partial breath and stop
Only to feel
My body wince
Tighten
And pull in
To try to collapse
But my rods are tight
To hold me up
They are fighting this response
Ever constant
Internal
Put met with the same response
You wriggling and shaking
From seemingly nothing to do
You can let go
Ease
Yield
And help My body find extension
Because with extension
I’ll move ever more free
My legs holding me up
Strong
Secured
Falling beneath you and me
For we are one
And altogether we make me whole
so why am I holding
Onto such pain trauma and fear
Inside my left hip flexor?
Is it the position I was in?
Laying on
My right side
For too long?
Were you trying to tell me
To move
To move on?
I’m on my back
supine
Breathing deep
Into my left side
That are on my left
Lower abdomen
Is still feeling tight
Jumpy almost
With no respite
I don’t know what he’s trying to teach
But with time and patience
I hope that he sees
That I’m safe
Not trying to hold
All the pain and tightness
I’m trying to stand
Freer than before
With strength
And confidence
All parts are needed
None have a small role
When it comes to standing tall
Straighter than ever before
On my back he’s relaxed
And slowly easing out
So much to learn
So much to feel
Every day let’s work
On getting closer
To allowing my legs
The chance to feel
The chance to hold
Me up in extension
With me happily ever toiled
3/26/26 – How’s Each Day?
So to let my hips melt into the bed while I engage my glutes and quads is surprisingly difficult to do! Pair all this with my breath, and we got a whole new problem on our hands! It’s really interesting, taking this time in the morning to do my body scans, contract / relax, and allow my body to soften while also remaining engaged is more difficult than it sounds!
I can feel my low back all fired up, my glutes are quiet, and my quads and fired up. It’s really interesting because my hip flexors are always trying to hang on during this time! At least I can take deep and full inhales and exhales and my hip flexor isn’t spamming! That’s a win! When I exhale, I feel a small bouncy tingle, and a quiet soften at the hips, but there’s still background tension there. It’s tough!
I just switched it up a bit. I went like this:
- core engaged
- Low back / glutes engaged
- Squeeze pelvic floor
- Quads engaged
- Breath in deeply
- Exhale — let hips soften
- Repeat
This is tough! This is not an easy on to do! It’s also wild how my feet feel during this time as well!
I’ve had some long past couple of days, yesterday I only got in the standing frame, but I did get in it for almost 3hrs spread throughout the day. That almost just feels like maintenance at this point. I was absolutely beat yesterday, working until 9:20pm is tough! My body didn’t get worked so much as my mind did!
It’s always a wonder, how each day is going to go. I kinda like it that way. Never truly knowing, and for that I get a bit excited! Which is cool!
To get my hip extensors and flexors talking better tho, that’s really what I want and NEED to do… more on this, I’m just trying to find the balance with the seated chair time?
This was a HUGE DAY for my glutes! It felt like they really kicked in today during my exercises, it’s honestly great when my body decides to kick in!
I’m shocked at how much bodily awareness my legs are having today! Lots of full sensations!
3/27/26 – A Certain Weight
I’m always curious, as to how the heck all this is possible sometimes. I really am. Our bodies are incredible things. Seriously.
My body right now is a bit more uncomfortable than usual because I think I got some decent rest last night, so I better get up for the day!
Everything is feeling fuller and fuller, with a certain weight to it that I haven’t quite felt before? Always hard to explain. But! I better get up!
Convert tonite! We’re going to see Wednesday!
3/28/26- Keeping Track of The Days
It’s so weird how time passes. Also seemingly weird how I have a hard time keeping track of days? Or time in general? It’s never been my strong suit, but I feel like I’m getting better at it?
I took Callie to a concert last night! That was a blast! I was completely exhausted tho, I was kinda getting a cold, and my nose was so stuffy and body was fatigued! Goodness!
I need my hips to relax! I guess the need is “I need to move them around” if I’m being honest!
Always so much to do, and today will be a good day of catch up and movement!
Did a good walk today after getting much needed rest! My legs are feeling great and I need some much needed rest! I’m gonna call it for the day!
The Astronaut on Earth 
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