Dr. Ben Colmery has been a long-time member at TITLE Boxing Club of Ann Arbor. He checks in nearly every day for class. Recently, we noticed Ben had not been in the club for a while; a short while, but enough to miss him. Ben shared his story with us. These are Ben’s words…
Several years ago, a good friend invited me to attend a TITLE Boxing Club class and I immediately joined the Club. I had participated in various types of physical exercise including long distance running, biking, weightlifting and aerobic dance. I even became anaerobic instructor for Vic Tanneys. All my previous efforts had a dark side with wear and tear on my body. Boxing, however, has not aggravated my previous injuries and I have not gained new ones. I get a great workout and have fun doing it!
My mate wrote “I’d Rather Be Boxing” on my chest to add a little levity to the OR. I guess the staff had a good laugh.
Of course, no one ever thinks something will happen to them. “Denial” is not a river in Egypt.
During a routine medical check one of my tests became significantly elevated. A repeat test a month later confirmed the problem and a biopsy defined the issue. The best treatment option was surgery.
Several weeks later I was admitted to St Joseph Hospital for surgery. Not exactly what I had in mind to have several weeks off from work, but it had to be done. My mate wrote “I’d Rather Be Boxing” on my chest to add a little levity to the OR. I guess the staff had a good laugh.
Four hours later I arrived in my hospital room returning from planet Mars. I actually felt pretty good and had a decent night’s sleep. The next day I was instructed to walk around the floor to get the juices flowing. No problem. My physical fitness paid off and I tooled around the floor many times. I was sent home the same day – a little over twenty-four hours post-op!
A huge benefit of boxing is core strength. I was told that incontinence would be a problem. Not for me. All the years of boxing paid off and it has not happened. The exercises recommend by the physical therapist to help with incontinence are pretty much what we do in every class.
The Unintended Benefit.