My life long involvement in
physical fitness has been, to say the least, an adventure. Having an
ectomorph body type has always made it hard on me to be involved in the
physical activities that I longed to participate in. In grade school I
could not play football for my size and stature were just too small. In
high school I wrestled in the 98 lb. class and weighed 96 lbs. soaking
wet. After high school the bodybuilding bug bit me, and I was hooked.
Having an ectomorph type physique, I could not have picked a harder
sport to compete in. After two fruitless years of following the
mainstream bodybuilding routines, I developed a bodybuilding system for
myself that slowly but surely added muscle mass and strength to my frail
physique. Three years later I competed in my first bodybuilding
contest, the Mr. Toledo, and won.
Then Tragedy Struck:
Many people now took notice of how
I totally changed my physique, and I was soon thereafter writing up
training and nutrition programs for people. In 1986, I competed in the
Great Lakes Bodybuilding Championships and placed third in my class. It
was obvious to me that the steroids in bodybuilding were going to make
it even harder on a natural athlete like myself, but I decided I would
keep training hard and be the best I could be.
Then one year later
tragedy struck. While working at a steel company, 10,000
lbs. of steel came crashing down on my right lower leg. The tibia and
fibula were totally broken in half with some of the bone missing, every
bone in the foot was broken and most of the frontal muscle and skin
tissue were torn off the leg.
Dan Przyojski - Before & After
Because a doctor in the emergency
room that I arrived at knew of my physical conditioning, he convinced
them not to amputate my lower leg right then; they would wait until I
came out of the coma. The doctors informed me we had about a 20% chance
of saving the leg--at that, amputation was in their opinion the path to
take. When decision time came, I decided I wanted to do everything
possible to save my leg. Over the next two years, I had 11 major
operations and numerous minor operations to save my leg, knowing at any
time the doctors would have to amputate if progress stopped or my life
was threatened. Several times they wanted to amputate, but I said no
and saving my leg won out. I was lucky I trained with heavy weights for
four years, as that type of lifting thickened my bones and made it
possible to use my bones for the bone grafts.
The hospital rehabilitation
program I was put on to strengthen and recondition my leg was not for
me. I knew if I was going to reach my goal of competiting again, I
would have to be much more aggressive, persistent and inventive in my
approach to training. Against the doctors wishes I quit the hospital
rehab and started my own rehabilitation. Slow, steady, and progressive
was my approach, always inventing new exercises and moves to accommodate
my limited ankle movement in my right lower leg.
My driving force for saving my leg
was to compete again. I did not care if I won the contest. I just
wanted to turn the tragedy into triumph by walking on stage again. In
May of 2001 I did just that. I entered and won the NGA Masters Mr.
Michigan Bodybuilding Contest. I realized my goal of 14 years earlier.
I became an NFPT certified trainer
in 1994. I opened Power Health Personal Training in 1999 and started
training people full time. I started my website,
www.powerhealthproducts.com in May of 2000, and I now can reach
people around the country for training consultations. I can be reached
at 734-847-6345.
As hard and as difficult
as my challenges have been through life, I know that without having
been challenged physically and emotionally as I have been, I could
not fully understand and relate to the physical as well as
psychological needs of my clients. My motto is “Have A Power Health
Day” and thank God we live in a country that allows it.
Power Health Always,
Dan Przyojski
To learn more about Dan, check out his
personal website at
