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Happy to be lifting again, Andrea Torres talks about recovery from spine injury
"Victor Magtanggol" star Andrea Torres said she faced one of the most difficult setbacks of her life when she injured her spine two years ago due to powerlifting.
On Instagram, Andrea shared the story of her injury—and her recovery with the help of her physical therapist and current fitness coach Chloe Ellima.
In the post, she said she was then doing back-to-back squats, deadlifts and bench presses heavier than her body weight and even considered training alone to join competitions.
"I received so much compliments for my form,so much so that I was offered to compete," she said, adding that she "fell in love" with power lifting.
"Eventually, I was given the go signal to continue training alone. Everything was fine. I was even leveling up," she added.
Eventually, Andrea said, she forgot to "listen to" her body. Tired from work and a lack of sleep, she still didn't slow down—and injured her spine.
Just when she felt lost, with no control of her body, Andrea said, coach Chloe Ellima "came to the rescue" and helped her slowly build her strength back.
"She was so patient with me. I wasn’t able to get a lot of things done at first. She modified the exercises to make sure we wouldn’t put unnecessary strain on my back and when there was no more discomfort, we started adding new challenges. Little by little."
Andrea now feels empowered to be able to lift again, even though it is not yet as heavy as what she used to lift.
"It may not be as extreme as before but just holding a bar again is a big deal for me," she said on Instagram. "I think getting a Coach is very much like finding a soulmate..Someone who is as determined as you to achieve your goals (esp when you feel like you can’t do that last rep anymore)."
Chloe also shared her admiration for her friend in a post on Instagram.
— Jannielyn Ann Bigtas/BM, GMA News
