Upper Body Struggle Bus

After open heart surgery, the cause for most physical restrictions (lifting, driving, etc) is not the heart, but the sternum. Since the surgeons essentially cut/ saw through your breast bone to get to your heart, it has to heal just like any other broken bone.

Just like if I had a broken leg or a broken arm, the muscles near my sternum atrophied after my heart surgery. I was left with a really defined collarbone (yay) and a seriously low amount of upper body strength (boo).

6 Things That Take a Surprising Amount of Upper Body Strength
or, The List of Reasons Why Maya Rides the Upper Body Struggle Bus: 

1. Push ups, even modified ones
I'm not sure this one's that surprising. I think what's surprising is how much grunting and facial gestures go into this particular endeavor when I attempt to do 10 push ups in a row.

2. Opening doors.
Sometimes I reach the midpoint of my opening door action and...nothing happens because I'm literally just standing there awkwardly with a half-open door. I guess my muscles just decide to take a vacation at that particular moment in time.

3. Opening jars. 
Give me a sealed jar, any jar, and then try to watch me open it. It's kind of funny, and very pathetic.

4. Putting upset children in shopping carts. 
My best friend's daughter head-butted me in the sternum when I tried (and obviously failed) to put her squirming body back in the shopping cart seat.

5. Monkey bars. 
One day when I was at the park, I decided it would be a good idea to relive my childhood glory days and try to swing from the monkey bars. NOPE. #ouch

6. Walking a dog.
While I was holding her leash, our dog ran in the opposite direction when I wasn't looking and basically yanked my arm out of my socket. It felt like she was taking the right side of my sternum on a full out sprint walk while the left side of my sternum was going down the street in the other direction.