Injury And Coming Back From It.

• By vishwa on Inspiration, Training

• January 10, 2011

I should thank Ross for posting this video in his blog.  There are two reasons for me to post this video in my blog.  Primarily, since we are learning the Olympic lifts, I thought we would be supercharged to learn the lifts after viewing this inspiring video.  Secondly,  I just wanted to express my gratitude to the lifter, for he has defied all odds.  Surgeons who treated him had suggested that he could never lift heavy again.  But what took place is for you to witness in the video. He goes on to break his personal records.  He surpasses the weight which snapped his wrist and elbows.  What is amazing is that he was back into lifting weights right after two weeks after the injury, as you can see him squat with the safety squat bar.  On the same note, I have told my clients many times that laying off from training is always not a good thing to do, but a better approach would be to train around the injury. Exercising your muscles without injuring or aggravating the injured part is a sensible approach to handle the injury.

I have had several injuries to my shoulders.  Once I had bursitis in my right shoulder.  Simple things like opening the door and stretching the shoulders overhead caused severe pain.  But there were certain movements I could handle without aggravating the injury.  I could dead-lift, dumbbell press, chin-up ( not pull up but could not complete the range of motion), row, front squat, and perform a few other movements.  It almost took a year for the injury to heal, and since now my right shoulder doesn’t hurt anymore, I can afford to do all other movements.

Coming back to the video,  the surgeons had termed the injury to be devastating and Zach was told that he could never lift more than 100 lbs. Initially, because of his injury normal daily activities where treated as rehabilitative, and  after three months he gets into the training center and starts his official rehabilitation.  He then progresses gradually by performing simple things like stretching into a full push-up.  He slowly and steadily advances to overhead presses making very minute strides in the weights.  And, finally, goes on to to do what he loved doing the most:  The Olympic lifts.

A truly inspiring video indeed.  We can learn a great deal from this story.  Do watch the video and observe the way he progresses.  It could not have been very easy for him, as a man who could lift very heavy in Olympic lifts, this injury could have been truly desolating. For, performing daily activities turned out to be difficult to execute, but it is amazing to see him raise the bar.