Blog Update

Since it appears no one is following this very closely. I'm going to just post on my blog at Elite Fitness Systems. It can be found here:

http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/training-logs.asp?tid=61&__N=Bob Youngs

Recent post on my one year anniversary

http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/training-logs.asp?qid=120927&tid=61

Is anyone out there????

Hi All,
Quick question. Is anyone still following this blog? If not, I'll stop posting. If people are, I will update it once per week or so with how things are going. Please let me know.

Thanks,
Bob

Into the final weeks....

Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who came out for the Cheese For Charity Night at the Melting Pot. We all had a great time. We are into the last three weeks of the "Woman Of The Year" campaign. We are still looking for donations. No donation is too small or too big. To donate please go here:

http://pbf.mwoy.llsevent.org/mstanek

Thanks again,
Bob and Michele

Melting Pot Fundraiser

Hi everyone,
We just wanted to remind you all of the fundraiser dinner at the Melting Pot in Boca Raton this Wednesday. We are looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible. It's for a great cause and the LLS is really pitching in to make the event special.

See you there,
Bob and Michele

PS. I'm even going to shave my beard for it. Okay, so Michele is making me shave.

Happy Mother's Day

Hi Everyone!

It's Bob again. Michele has been really busy raising money for the LLS Woman of the Year campaign. So, I volunteered to take over the blog and add some updates from time to time. In completely random order, here is what is going on:

*Michele has gotten most of her auction items for the LLS Grand Finale.

*Next Wednesday we will be having the fund raiser dinner at the Melting Pot in Boca. I'll bring a bunch of "Lift Strong" wrist bands for anyone who wants them.

*My sister and brother-in-law had their baby girl on May 1st. Welcome to the world Lilla Jaye McGrath!

*My book is almost done. I'm waiting on Dave Tate to write one of the Forwards and Michele to write the Afterward. Alwyn Cosgrove also wrote a forward for the book and his was awesome.

*My monthly follow up with my Oncologist was this past Monday. She was very impressed with my physical transformation. She's been out for a couple of months as she had her first baby girl and hasn't seen me in a while. My blood work was also perfect.

*I'm doing good overall. I get stronger everyday. I'm spending most of my time getting back into shape and hanging around with the family.

Join us May 12th for our Fonduerasier at the Boca Melting Pot!

Family and Friends,

As most of you know I've been working hard at my Woman of the Year Campaign. I'm hoping that you can join us on May 12th at the Melting Pot in Boca Raton. Please see below.

Love and Thanks,
Michele

GOOD FOOD FOR A GREAT CAUSE

Dear friends of LLS,

In the month of May, come enjoy a special four course fondue at The Melting Pot of Boca Raton and 20% will be donated to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

The Four-Course LLS Fondue

Young Fonduer options available so bring the family!

PLEASE MENTION "FONDUE FOR LLS" WHEN MAKING YOUR RESERVATION



AND LADIES....


It's a Girl's Night Out for LLS!

Wednesday, May 12th


Includes....


Choice of any Cheese Fondue

Petite Combination Entree

Choice of any Chocolate Fondue


$6 theme drink specials

$5 Wine by the glass

Vendor reception

Raffle prizes

($4 per lady and 20% of all additional purchases will be donated)

$29 per lady

Meet The 2010 LLS Woman of the Year Michele Stanek

The Melting Pot of Boca Raton
5455 N. Federal Highway
(561) 997-7472

Thank you for not sharing and understanding that "Dip Certificates" or other discount offers or promotions cannot be accepted on event nights.


Reservations recommended

100 days of remission!

Family and Friends,

Last night I took Bob out to dinner to celebrate his first 100 days of being Leukemia-free! I think we were both very excited to get out of the house and enjoy. I wanted the waiter to sing happy anniversary for Bob, but he would have no part of it. LOL

Things are going well, Bob's oncologist is on maternity leave and I'm a little disappointed with her replacement. I asked Bob to ask to have the head doctor as his oncologist, but Bob isn't that kind of guy so he got stuck with the new doctor right out of college. He's okay it's not like they are doing anything major right now except for checking Bob's blood once a month, but the new doc managed to screw that up so far. Now it's not the new guy's fault that the blood machine at the office was broken, but he took Bob's blood and mailed it away for testing and never bothered to call Bob back with the results. Bob takes this as meaning "No news is good news". I on the other hand see it as someone dropping the ball and I'm going to call just to make sure everything is okay.

On the Woman of the Year front, I'd like to thank everyone that has donated so far through the website, and Dave and Traci Tate of elitefts.com for creating the Lift Strong line of apparel for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I'd also like to thank Alywn Cosgrove, who always seems to motivate Bob right when he needs it and to everyone else for their support. I have a few other fundraisers planned for the next month. I'm hoping to partner with the Melting Pot in Boca for a "Cheese for Charity" event, and then do a PartyLite Candle fundraiser as well. If anyone else has any ideas, please please let me know. I'm not much of an event planner and so far the only ideas my friends have come up with involve strippers and gambling. (Don't' ask - all I can say is the name of the events were supposed to be called "Strip away Leukemia" and "Don't Gamble with your life")

Finally, Bob and I are taking Christopher this weekend to go camping down in Ft. Lauderdale with my parents. We will be at TY Park off Sheridan and 95. It should be fun! I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Love and Thanks,
Michele

I am writing an e-book

So, I have had many people tell me I should write a book. I'm thinking about a couple of different ideas. I am hoping to get input on what you would be most likely to read. Here are the options:

Option 1: the book would have all of my previous Q&A posts, some new articles, all of my old articles, a small chemo rehab section, and comments from me on Michele's blog she kept during my treatment.

Option 2: just me making extensive comments on Michele's blog. A complete how was I feeling? What was I thinking? How did I feel?

Option 3: if Option 2 is popular I could later on do a Q&A posts, articles, and training book.

Please let me know your thoughts by either sending input into the Q&A to my attention or email me at bob@elitefts.com

Thanks,
Bob

Guest Blogger again

Hi everyone,
It's Bob again. Michele is still sick with the flu. She's feeling better, but she is still not 100%. She is a much better patient advocate than she is a patient. I had to put my foot down and make her lay down. She was mad, but understood.

So, you get me again. Things are good for me. Christopher had basketball practice last night. It was fun and the kids are getting better. I'm going to Goodwill today as I have a ton of clothes that are too big now. I've been dragging my feet about getting rid of them, but it is time.

I hope I don't steal Michele's thunder, but she is working on a great event as part of her "Woman of the Year" campaign. I won't let the details out, but it will be a big dinner in South Florida. She is looking at May as the time frame. She should have more details soon. But, please try and come out and join us. Michele is working on making this a real big event with and for the LLS. I'll also have "Lift Strong" bracelets for everyone who attends.

Happy Late April Fool's Day from Bob

Hi everyone! Today you get Bob instead of Michele. No, it's not an April Fool's joke. I think this is the first time I have written in the blog. Kind of weird considering it's been going for 10 months now. I hope I don't mess it up. I'm waiting for a call from my Oncologist for the results of my monthly blood work. For anyone who has not been through it, this is the most anxiety inducing thing post cancer. I'm healthy, feel 100% healthy, and I can feel myself getting better everyday. But, I still dread waiting for the results. So, today I am anxious.

Michele is sick. She has some kind of cold or flu. She caught it on a cruise she went on with her parents last week. I am taking her to the doctor in an hour or so. She has no voice at all. This is also why you get the guest blogger today.

Last week was Spring Break for Christopher. I had him Tuesday-Saturday. With Michele gone it was a lot for me. But, we made it through just fine. We had a lot of fun. He is really is growing up so fast. He is also very smart and he doesn't forget a thing. So, if I say we are going to do something, you better believe we are going to do it. I think the highlight for both of us was our shopping trip to Gander Mountain. We both got some new "toys". We had lunch at the restaurant there and Chris was great and very patient. He said they made the best hamburger he has ever had.

Oh, Happy belated Easter to everyone. We were pretty low key and just had lunch with Michele's family and my brother-in-law Tony's family. We went to Saito's. It's one of those cook in front of you Japanese places. The food was good and it was nice to see everyone.

That's about it. I would just like to say thank you to everyone for all of your support over the last 10 months. I couldn't even begin to put into words how much it meant to me. Thank you for taking this very rough journey with me. Your support made it a much easier ride.

I'll try and be a guest more often if Michele will let me and you guys like it.

Oh, I almost forgot. My very close friend Alwyn Cosgrove has reminded me that I am almost at 100 days of being cancer free. I think I am at 92 today. My results came back on January 4th. It is so weird as it feels like that was forever ago. We will be having a small celebration on day 100. I just need to figure out when that is ;-).

Make it a good one-Bob

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society - Woman of the Year Kickoff - Today!!

Family and Friends,

Today starts The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Woman of the Year Fundraising Kickoff which I am participating in. Please go to the website at :

http://pbf.mwoy.llsevent.org/mstanek

As many of you know, I have been given the opportunity of a lifetime to help the more than 912.000 Americans who are living with blood cancers. Each year The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Palm Beach Chapter launches its Man & Woman of the Year fundraising campaign. During this campaign from March 23 - June 3, our team goal is to raise $50,000 which will go directly to LLS in support of its long standing mission to find a cure for blood cancers and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

My decision to play a very active role in helping the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society raise funds for its research to cure these deadly forms of cancer was an intensely personal one for me.

I remember very clearly Father's Day 2009. That was the day I learned my fiancee, Bob Youngs was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. The exact same blood cancer that his mother had been diagnosed with a few years earlier.

That awful day was also the spark that got me involved in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society – which is the world’s leading private research organization dedicated to conquering these especially deadly forms of cancer.

Thankfully, on January 4th of this year, Bob was diagnosed as in full remission. Due to my execptional patient advocacy, Bob's oncologist nominated me as Woman of the Year for the Palm Beach Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society .

As part of this effort, I have committed to raise $50,000 from my closest friends, family members and relatives, as well as our business associates by June 3rd – which is a few weeks from now.

Like many of you, I have witnessed first hand the debilitating effects that leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma can have on those who suffer from these blood diseases and on the friends and family who care for and nurture their loved ones. In fact, leukemia still causes more deaths among children than any other cancer.

With your support of a tax-deductible donation, LLS can continue funding critical research in the fight against blood cancers as well as provide outstanding patient services.

I want to thank each and every one of my friends and family for their generous support of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s misson. LLS is the leading non-profit organization committed to finding a cure and giving life to those who have, are and will fight the tough challenges of blood cancers.

I am hoping I can count on you to help me keep my promise to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Many thanks for your support for patients battling blood cancers and their families. Be sure to visit my Web site often to check on my progress and please ask your friends to support my efforts. Join me and help advance the mission of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

For more information about LLS, please visit www.lls.org.



Love and Thanks,
Michele

Christopher is sick, Bob goes to doctor...

Family and Friends,

Christopher is sick today. Bob picked him up from school yesterday and he had a fever of 101. Bob and Chris are alike in the sense that neither one of them are ever cold. When Bob brought Chris over to the house and he wanted to be covered in 3 blankets I knew he was really bad. Apparently he threw up a few times during the night so Bob is over there taking care of him now. I just hope Bob doesn't catch what Chris has. That's the last thing he needs right now, especially since he's been making such progress in his recovery. He went to his pain management doctor today and the doc said everything is headed in the right direction. So things are looking up. Bob is very committed to his recovery and exercise. We get up first thing in the morning and do yoga, then we either go to the gym and do weights and cardio or he rides the recumbent bike here, and we do yoga in the afternoons. And he's living on muscle milk protein shakes for at least 2 of his meals. I'm not sure what remission dieting should be for leukemia patients but at least he's not eating junk food. He wants to lose a few pounds so it's less stress on his back.

As for me, I'm diligently looking for a job. I'm focused on that and getting ramped up for the upcoming Woman of the Year fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. If anyone is interested in buying a Lift Strong T-shirt, please go to this website and remember all proceeds go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

http://www.flexcart.com/members/elitefts/default.asp?cid=388

Love and Thanks,
Michele

We're back! Blog is up and running again!

Family and Friends,

After much contemplation and complaints from everyone who really enjoyed reading the day to day issues that Bob has been dealing with on his road to recovery from Leukemia, I have decided to start the blog up again.

Since I last wrote a few important things have happened:

1) Bob and I had our engagement party (See photo)

2) Bob is beginning to get his ducks in a row to start his job search down the road.

3) I was nominated and will begin actively campaigning for Woman of the Year with the Palm Beach Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. (Which I am very exicted about)

I will write more tommorow in depth, but I'm glad to be back!!

Love and Thanks,

Michele and Bob

Wed 1/13, Thurs 1/14, Fri 1/15 - By Bob

I haven't been good with my log this week. Things have been chaotic. Michele and I have our engagement party this weekend and we have a lot of family coming into town. So, I'll also post what I am going to do tomorrow as I'm sure I won't post again until Monday or Tuesday. Overall, I'm doing okay. I still get really tired. I spend most of my time laying down and reading, especially at night. But, my energy level and strength get better everyday.

Here's my workout first thing in the morning on all three days:

Cat/Camel: 1x10

Birdog: 1x10

Seated leg over glute stretch: 30 seconds each leg

On knee hip flexor stretch: 30 seconds each leg

Standing hamstring stretch: 30 seconds

All three days: Pushups: 2 sets

Squats: 2 sets

Crunches: 1x20 I did 8 reps Wed, 9 reps Thur, and 10 reps Fri.

I have also been getting my walks in. I probably won't walk at all tomorrow or over the weekend. With every thing going on I'm sure I'll be tired as it is. Plus, I'm sure Christopher will run my around tomorrow after school. He is already planning a soccer games with all of his uncles, aunts, and cousins. So, I don't think I'll need a seperate walk. I'll talk to y'all soon.

Thanks,
Bob

Bob's recovery - by Michele

Family and friends,

Things here are going pretty well. Bob and I are very excited for our upcoming engagement party happening this weekend. Hopefully it will warm up before Saturday since it's tropical themed. As for Bob, he's coming along slowly but surely. I've spoken to a lot of people and they are so happy that Bob is in remission and they think "Hey, he must be okay now- how come he's not back to work?" Unfortunately it's not that easy. Since Bob was in the coma and after 6 rounds of various chemotherapy his body is pretty much shot. You can read his workout blogs, they consist of a few situps and pushups, then he spends the rest of the day recovering. Many times, his workouts are playing with Christopher or walking the aisles at Walmart just to get out of the house. I don't know when Bob will be 100%, but it definately takes time. The fantastic news is that Bob is in good spirits and has a positive attitude. Christopher is a great motivator as well.

This week I have a conference call with the people from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for the upcoming Woman of the Year I'll be participating in, and at the end of the month Bob and I are going to a meet and greet. I am looking forward to helping give back to such a great cause so that they can be one step closer to a cure.

Love and Thanks,
Michele

1/6/2010 11:06:51 AM - Bob Youngs

1/6 Day 3 of my remission workout

Started off the morning with:
Cat/Camel: 1x10
Birdog: 1x10
Static seated leg over glute stretch: 30 seconds each leg
Static hip flexor stretch: 30 seconds each leg
Static standing hamstring stretch: 3 seconds

I decided to do some static stretching to change it up from yesterday. I'm glad I did. My hamstrings are TIGHT! I used to be able to touch my toes with no problem. I'm not even close right now. I need to really work on getting back the limited flexability I did have. I then went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. They ran out of biscuits. How can Cracker Barrel run out of biscuits??? I then went to the Super Walmart (Yes, it's better than the regular Walmart) to do my walking. I also needed to buy some cheap sweat pants as we have been having some really cold weather down here and none of my old clothes fit anymore. I walked for 25 minutes and got two pairs of sweat pants and one pair of Super Friends sleep pants (I'm still a kid at heart).When I got home I did:
Push Ups: 1x7
Squats:1x7
Crunches: 1x11

Now, I'm going to read my latest book "Kill Bin Laden" by Dalton Fury. It's very good for any of you military readers out there. Tonight I will do some foam rolling before family dinner. We have family dinner every week at my parents house on Wednesday. I am going to pick Chris up from school and then we'll do his homework together. Oh, very cool happening in my life tomorrow. My future sister-in-law works for Source One Distributors (http://www.buysourceone.com/) which is a military supply company. She told the owner about me and how my dad was a former Navy SEAL and he wanted to meet me. So, I am heading out there tomorrow afternoon to meet him. I'm really excited to see all the cool stuff they have. Also, my Dad and I are going to go shooting next week (My Christmas present to him). We found a place that has full auto M-4s. My Dad was part of the group that got the first AR-15s and he wants to see the new rifles. I told him I was all excited to fire the M-4 on full auto. He said, "You should only need to pull the trigger once son". Needless to say he is still a better shot than me.

Thanks,
Bob

1/4 celebration and 1/5 am stretching - by Bob

I picked up Christopher yesterday and we went to Dave and Buster's to celebrate. We met Michele there for lunch. Chris had a great time and I think we were all just happy to know I was going to live for a while. On the ride home Christopher said, "Dad, I knew the whole time you were going to be okay". That night Michele was going to make crab legs, but she had a real long day at work. So, we went to Walmart and picked some stuff up and then had take out. Yeah, we're crazy people when it comes to partying. Now, It's time for me to get my butt in gear. So, I woke up and started what will become a daily stretching routine. I'll probably add to it as my energy levels increase. But, this morning I did:

Cat/Camel: 1x10
Birdog: 1x10
AIS Bent leg hamstring: 1x10 each leg
AIS Straight leg hamstring: 1x10 each leg
AIS glute stretch: 1x10 each leg

For those not familiar with AIS stretching just google it. It seems to work best for me. Okay, I'm off to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. I'll do my push ups, squats, crunches, and walking tonight.

Thanks,
Bob

BOB'S LEUKEMIA IS IN REMISSION!!!

Family and Friends,

I just wanted to let you know that we received news from Bob's doctor this morning that his Leukemia is officially in full remission. Thank you to everyone for your kind thoughts and prayers during this ordeal, it has really meant a lot. He has a long road ahead wtih regard to rehabilitation and physical therapy, but it's all downhill. I can't think of a better way to start the new year!

Thank you again for keeping Bob in your thoughts and prayers- it has paid off!!

Love and thanks,

Michele

Update from 1/3 by Bob

Sorry for not posting in a while. Life has been crazy with my son on Christmas Break. Well, I was supposed to start my rehab program last week, but had to push it back to starting tomorrow. There were a couple of reasons:
1-My feet were killing me and I couldn't do pushups without being in tremendous pain. I spent most of the week walking, doing toe raises, self massage on my feet, and just plain moving my toes as much as possible. I had been having trouble with the middle three toes on both feet since I got out of the hospital. I had reduced feeling and they hurt. The pushups were brutal. After talking to Michele, I think the reason is how I was positioned in the bed. Keep in mind I was in a coma for three weeks and couldn't move for a couple of weeks after that. Well, my feet would end up just wedged in the end of the bed. Anyway, my feet are feeling much better.
2-I had my bone marrow biopsy on last Monday. My hip was killing me for the majority of the week. For those who don't know what a bone marrow biopsy is they basically stick a really big needle (16 gauge into your hip and then scrape around until they get enough marrow to perform a sample. It really sucks.
3-I have had my son almost everyday for the past two weeks. I wouldn't trade that time for anything in the world and we had a great time. He is very understanding that Dad needs to stop and rest. But, even with the help of Michele and my parents, Christopher still wore me out pretty good. But, we had an absolute blast. I think we both needed all that time together. It had to be real hard on him when I was in the hospital. Especially when I was in a coma. But, he was mature well beyond his six years. He seemed to know all along everything was going to be okay.

I get the results from my bone marrow biopsy tomorrow. I'm really nervous. Everything points to the results being I am in remission from my blood work. But, I am still scared as hell. Not sure I will be able to sleep tonight. I'll let you know the results tomorrow.

Thanks,
Bob

Monday Dec 28, the first day of training - by Bob

I had my final bone marrow biopsy this morning. It hurt like heck, but I am glad it's done. I get the results next Monday at 8:30. I spent the rest of today with Chris playing Wii Nerf and running around. We had a good day overall. We are going go to sleep over at Grandma and Pop's house tomorrow night. He is all excited.I did my first "workout" on my way back to being healthy again.I walked for 20 minutes at Walmart. I need to walk for 20, so I figured I would see if there were any post Christmas specials that caught my eye. I left with a machette, some underwear for me, and wife beaters for Chris. I'll try and get my 20 minute walk in everyday and I'll increase it 5 minutes per week over the next 4 weeks.Michele and I then did our lengthy strength training session of:Pushups: 1x5Body weight squats: 1x5I'll do this Monday thru Saturday and increase a rep each day. The next week the reps stay the same for the days but I add a set per week for four weeks. Thanks to Alwyn for sharing his rehab program with me. The pushups kicked my ass (as hard as that is for me to admit).

Thanks,
Bob

The Day Before the Day Before Christmas - by Bob

Wednesday 12/23
I went grocery shopping for the first time in 7 months last night. It probably seems pretty small to all of you, but it was a big step for me. I am starting to feel stronger everyday. Today, I actually did a bunch of work around the house getting ready for Christmas. I'm a little tired, but overall I'm good. I pick up Chris in 2 hours and then we are going to Blockbuster to pick up some DVDs. Tonight we are just going to hang around the house. Tomorrow we have: breakfast at Cracker Barrell, going to see Alvin and the Chipmonks the Squequel, going to Michele's parents house, going to church, going back to Michele's parents for dinner, and then to my parents house for desert. I'll try and get an update in, but it might not ne until after Christmas.I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a very Happy Holiday Season

Bob

Blogs by Bob and a funny photo for Christmas

Thought you might like to see a funny photo of Bob for once! This is what happens when you buy a six year old a NERF gun.

Here's Bob's logs from the past few days:

Monday 12/21

Spent the day with Christopher doing guy stuff. We wrestelled, shot at stuff, and ate well. Overall, I am feeling better. No real working out as I was spent after running around with a 6 year old for two days. I do have a funny story. I snuck out and went to General Practitioner today as I was long over due to my yearly physical. Mostly I just wanted to touch base and ensure he had received my records from my Oncologist so that we were ready to go next year. They wouldn't even schedule the appointment until they had received my records after I explained to the nurse what I had been through weeks ago. So, I know the Doc has my records. He is a great guy. But, he walks in and asks how has your health been? Are you f'ing kidding me??? I had to get you these records and he obviously didn't even look at them. I said great for someone who just went thru chemo and he might want to look thru my file. It ended up fine, but I was a bit upset at first.

Friday 12/18

Last night my freaking stomach was killing me. I don't know if it was chemo related or my stomach just hurt. I took some of my anti nausea meds and I felt a little better. I slept from 10 last night to 11:15 this morning. Michele was scared as I wasn't answering the phone and she was ready to send my dad over to check on me. But, I am okay and I was just really tired.I am going to pick up Christopher from school and gthen we'll workout together. Yesterday we did some push ups, sit ups, mountain climbers, racing, and wrestling. He kicked my butt on the mountain climbers which he does all the time in karate class. He is all excited as after the new year he is going to sign up for weapons class at his karate school. As if me getting punched and kicked wasn't enough. Not much planned for the weekend. But, I'll update the log on Saturday or Sunday.

Love and Thanks,

Michele & Bob

"Bob Youngs and the Restless" an article by Glenn Buechlein

“We should give as we would receive, cheerfully, quickly, and without hesitation; for there is no grace in a benefit that sticks to the fingers.” —Seneca

I became acquainted with Bob Youngs well over a decade ago when the internet and lifting forums were still in their infancy. Like many aspiring lifters, Bob served as my guide when I was somewhat lost in the dark, weightlifting wilderness. He was my Virgil. In the Divine Comedy, Virgil escorts Dante on his pilgrimage through hell and purgatory. Bob accompanied me on my trip into powerlifting’s dark side, everything Westside Barbell. I only had the pleasure of meeting Bob in person a few times, but he always served as a steady source of knowledge whenever I sought it. Whether it was in the flesh or by way of the computer, Bob reminded me of a big ole Teddy bear, soft spoken, reserved, and gentle. It seems as though a reassuring smile was constantly etched on his massive mug.

Beginning in the mid to late 1990s, I picked Bob’s brain on anything to do with Westside Barbell. I was restless for knowledge and relentless in its pursuit. The master I sought wasn’t easily accessed, so Bob acted as a gatekeeper. He allowed hundreds if not thousands of lifters to gain a glimpse behind the curtain to see the great Oz. What was once mysterious and opaque was no more. Bob entertained each and every one of my queries, graciously sharing information regarding innovative lifts, percentages, technique, and programming. Thanks to Bob I became well versed in max efforts movements, dynamic day, and GPP. I became like a missionary myself, spreading the word and philosophy of this new program I had discovered. Quiet education.

I always possessed an inner thirst to know how I stacked up against the best of the best, and Bob again served as my source. I bombarded him with weekly inquiries regarding how much the top guns at Westside Barbell were hoisting on various lifts. I anxiously awaited Bob’s email replies. I had the inside scoop on how much Kenny Patterson floor pressed, George Halbert’s close grip record, and Chuck’s training weights on speed day. This was like heaven because it provided me with goals or benchmarks to shoot for. Plus, I knew the information was accurate, not embellished. Quiet motivation.

I generally shared all my workouts and training weights with Bob as I prepared for an upcoming bench meet. He would offer insight, but he never told me exactly what to do. He allowed me to learn from my mistakes. Instinctively, he knew that I alone had to discover my own personal style. I consistently underestimated my ability, and Bob would prop me up where he knew I should be. I was afraid of failure and was trying to be too safe. Bob’s experience allowed him to suggest my opener and what I should ultimately shoot for in the meet. More often than not, he was right. Quiet inspiration.

“Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That’s why we call it the present.” —Babatunde Olatunji

This past summer I became reacquainted with Bob when I clicked on a blog detailing his diagnosis and ongoing struggle with leukemia. I awaited each update by his girlfriend in the same nervous fashion that I used to when awaiting Bob’s replies to my now seemingly insignificant questions about lifting. There was lots of pacing, fidgeting at my desk, and chomping at my fingernails.

This past summer I took a six-hour essay test so I could qualify and become a licensed school administrator. The scores wouldn’t be available for a month after the test. I spent a week obsessing and worrying about not passing and the embarrassment that would ensue. While I was sweating this relatively small life event that turned out be nothing, Bob was fighting for his life.
This past summer I dealt with an aching knee that caused me much discomfort, so much discomfort that I often had to spend time contemplating how to devise my workout around the pain. While I was worrying about a workout, Bob was fighting for his life.
This past summer I routinely took my four-year-old daughter to the park and then for some ice cream afterwards. Sometimes we worried about what park to go to because some didn’t have shade trees and we might get hot. While I worried about what park to go to with my little one, Bob was fighting for his life.

Bob continues to be my guide. He taught me many things this past summer. I now have an even deeper understanding of the struggles someone with cancer goes through. Education loud and clear. I now know that it’s easy to complain, but I remember just how good my life is and that I shouldn’t take it for granted. Motivation loud and clear. Lifters take pride in being hardcore. I now know what hardcore really is by reading about Bob’s daily challenges and how he takes them on with fortitude and perseverance. Inspiration loud and clear.

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”—Lennon

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Glenn “Apollo” Buechlein is a teacher in Indiana with a 700-lb plus bench press at 242 lbs. Best known as “Power B,” Glenn’s gym is in Washington, Indiana. His gym is perfect—steel, chalk, dogs, and pure mayhem.

(Reprinted with permission by www.elitefts.com) Elite Fitness Systems strives to be a recognized leader in the strength training industry by providing the highest quality strength training products and services while providing the highest level of customer service in the industry. For the best training equipment, information, and accessories, visit us at www.EliteFTS.com.

Pain Management Doctor's Visit

Family and Friends,

Bob was finally able to go to his old pain management doctor now that all the chemotherapy is over with. He will be switching from the dilaudid and fentanyl patches (which he was able to get off last month) and will be now taking Nucynta, Soma, Xodol and Lidocane patches. Bob has used this pain management doctor in the past and is very happy to make the switch so that he can eventually be able to get in shape soon.

Please continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers and happy holidays!

Love and Thanks,

Michele