A HEART ATTACK AND GENETIC DISORDER CAN’T STOP DR. DARREN FROM REACHING HIS PERSONAL BEST

Darren, affectionately known as “Dr. D,” has been lifting on and off since he was 16-years-old. 

“Growing up, we skipped leg day,” Dr. D said. “A lot.”

As a man in his 40s, Dr. D realized he wasn’t exactly going to have a six pack, so he needed a new goal to keep him motivated to work out.  

“I came across Starting Strength,” Dr. D said. “Mark Rippetoe’s linear progression program. The entire theory behind it made perfect sense - perform the big multi-joint exercises like squat, overhead press alternated with bench press, and the deadlift. Each and every workout adding weight to the bar, while emphasizing proper technique.”

Dr. D’s goal was – and still is – to get stronger and not worry about the reflection in the mirror.

“Incidentally a by-product of getting stronger is looking better anyway,” he added. 

The goal of the program, however, is the increase in strength, and the results are consistent when the program is executed properly. Dr. D showed steady improvements over the first few months. 

“With physical strength came mental strength,” he said. “I never had enjoyed being in the gym more in my entire life.”

But having Familial Hypercholesterolemia would finally catch up with Dr. D. 

“The genetic disorder made it difficult for my body to process cholesterol, and despite being on ‘statin’ medications for years and having a decent diet, my coronary arteries had narrowed,” Dr. D said. “And I guess it was only a matter of time before something bad was going to happen.”

One night in January, he woke up in the middle of the night with chest pain, hand pain, and a feeling of doom that he could not shake. Being an emergency physician, he knew exactly what was happening to him. 

“Luckily I had enough sense not to blow it off, I called the ambulance and was taken to the hospital where I had trained years before,” he said. 

After a few tests, it was determined that he was having a heart attack and that he would need a cardiac catheterization to treat it.  

“The procedure itself was uneventful,” said Dr. D. “As I was in the ICU the night that I had my coronary stent placed, all I could think about was, ‘When could I get back to training?’” 

He was so fearful of deconditioning that while in his room, with the curtain closed so as to hide from the nurse’s watchful eye, he stood by his bed and went through the motions of squatting.  Just a few reps and sets of only his body weight, but it made Dr. D feel that everything was going to be alright and life would go on. 

After being discharged and adjusting mentally more than anything to the fact that he had heart disease and needed to be on medications, Dr. D was back in the gym exactly one week from that day. 

“I continued with my program,” he said. “Albeit starting over with an empty bar, and progressively added more and more weight to the bar as time went by. I hit my personal record squat one year to the day of my heart attack!”

Since then, Dr. D has continued to hit new PRs in all of the lifts. All the while knowing that it was the initial training that accounted for the ease of his recovery from the heart attack – both physical and mental.  

“Mark Rippetoe is known for saying, ‘Strong people are harder to kill than weak people,’” said Dr. D. “I believe there is a lot of truth to that. I found strength through powerlifting.”

As a physician, Dr. D has seen how patients’ level of functioning can be deleteriously affected by both acute and chronic illness. And some of the illnesses are a direct result of poor conditioning.   

“APEMAN resonates with me because it stands for the many forms of strength that I believe are necessary to have a productive and successful life,” said Dr. D. “STRONG IN THE STORM was my first shirt. To me it’s important to gain strength in order to be prepared to bear the weight of life’s challenges, whether they be physical, emotional, situational, etc. 

“And my wife and daughter lovingly both think that I look like the logo!