Bench Press 5-5-3-3-1-1-1
3 Rounds:
15 Bench Press @ 65% 1RM
3 Leg-less Rope Climb
This is a picture of Jen Reynaga's within 24 hours of the gnarly trampoline sprain. The reason I am showing you this picture is to give you an idea of the severity of this injury. The reason I am writing about this is to encourage you to suck it up and continue to train through and around your injuries. Too many of you stub a toe, hurt a wrist, or strain a muscle and you want to sit at home and rot until you feel better. It's time to stop using excuses, forget about your ego, and get your butt back in the gym.
Jen took about 1 week off as she was in lots of pain and on crutches. I got an email from Jen the next day after the injury asking me if there is anything else she could do, expressing concern for her potential loss of conditioning, and expressing her determination to be back in the box ASAP. She iced, elevated, compressed and took her motrin. In other words, she took care of her business diligently. Within a week's time, still swollen, wearing a brace and limping but not on crutches any more, Jen returned to her workouts. Is she crazy… maybe a little. Is she determined… HELL YES! Is she doing the right thing… absolutely.
Injuries can come from multitudes of different circumstances. Blunt trauma, overuse, bad form, muscle imbalance just to name a few. Regardless of the injury, you still have countless other body parts that need to move. You have a heart, lungs, and musculature that need to consume and process oxyagen for optimal health. The point here is that when you get injured, and we all do at some point, it's time to stop thinking about the things you cannot do, and start focusing on the things you can still do.
The following is an account of Jen's first week back in the gym after her week off:
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3/6 (At home on a Sunday)
"Purple Foot WOD"
3 Rounds For Time:
10 push ups
20 sit-ups
10 bulgarian squats (left foot only)
3 Rounds:
4 Rounds:
Row 200M
3 Rounds For Time:
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So as it turns out, you can do squats, deadlifts, pull ups, push ups, presses, rowing, sit ups, and all kinds of thinks with a sprained ankle. I would probably recommend a rest day, we all know Jen basically needs her arm twisted to take a rest day, but that is not the point here. The point is, instead of sitting around rotting and crying poor me, Jen pulled herself up by her own suspenders and got back in action. She had to modify, she had to limit her intensity, she had to shift her focus to maintenance vs improvement, she had to check her ego, and she had to do it all while in pain. In a matter of a couple months this injury will be nothing more than a faint memory and Jen will be back on the road to improving her fitness level instead of rebuilding it from scratch.
When you get hurt, you may need a few days of total rest depending on the severity of the injury. If you are injured badly enough, you are welcome to just come into the gym and stretch and pick our brains about how to care for your injury. We are here to help you make wise decisions and modifications to program in order to keep you moving. Take advantage of the environment we have set up. Stop feeling sorry for yourselves and sitting around rotting away, or worse yet plumping up from lack of activity. Be smart and keep yourself moving. Your injury will heal faster with smart active recovery vs. couch potato sorrow. Be like Jen. This girl has more motivation in her purple little toe than many of you have experienced in your whole lifetime, and I can assure you that nothing will stop her. Way to be girl!
