overcoming injury

[aramis]

First of all - Hello Warriors!

May I join your training grounds for some time? I realized my training fits here way more than with Rangers since I gave up on running.

 

 

Not the best way to start a new year with an injury, but shit happens and this time it happened to me.

On Nov. 28th I botched a turkish get-up attempt with 40kg kettlebell, dropping it  on my left index finger. Luckily bones were mostly intact, but I spent almost three weeks wearing a splint due to soft tissue damage. 

Right now I regained about 30% of finger mobility, and I guess about 10% gripping strength.

 

Yesterday I finally decided (after a month of involuntary break) it's time to get back to throwing the iron around. I follow "Simple&Sinister" program doing it three times a week (instead of daily - I know, I'm a sissy ).

Before injury I was about to start progressing from 32kg kettlebell to 40kg. This is my long term goal - to perform proper S&S routine on my 40th b-day in May, with 40kg, weighting 80kg (giving me 50% BW load). I like even numbers  

 

Accepting I'm forced to do two-handed swings as my left hand can't stand even 16kg  swing, I started swinging 32kg. So far, so good. But then I got on the ground and prepared for get-ups. The backslide is real  

I managed (barely) one set of 32kg get-ups and needed to go down to 24kg to finish the routine. I hope regaining strength will be faster, but this sets me back quite far behind in my long term plan. 

 

Goals for this challenge are:

- rehab the finger with exercises my doctor gave me (basically - flexing and extending it repeatedly to the point of pain) - at least 5min a day, besides using it as "normal" as I can

- get back to 32kg kettlebell for get-ups by the end of the round, by consistent training sessions

- correct the form of get-up - which was probably the reason of botching that heavy attempt

 

Have a wonderful Challenge you all!

[h3r0]

Welcome to the hallowed halls of the warriors. Move one of the battle axes aside and join us. 😁

 

Sorry to hear about the injury. Dropping a KB on your hand sounds nasty. Hopping the rehab and strength work goes well. 

 

[KB Girl]

Aw man I wanted to joke that this is why we do not do get-ups.. but ehh.. yea sorry man, that sucks. And you're not a sissy at all, that's some serious weight you're playing with! 

 

8 hours ago, aramis said:

This is my long term goal - to perform proper S&S routine on my 40th b-day in May, with 40kg, weighting 80kg (giving me 50% BW load). I like even numbers  

This is a badass goal. I hope your recovery goes smoothly enough to still be able to make this  

[Harriet]

Welcome! Oh wow, a 32kg bell is impressive. Setbacks in strength training are sooo disappointing, but I hope you recover quickly and get back on track for the very exciting 40kg bell.

[Elastigirl]

I don't care what Pavel says, you are not a sissy.😉 Did you decide to  only do the workout 3 times a week because of time or just so you could lift heavier?  The every day plan seems good to build consistency, but I wonder if to really build up in weight you need more recovery time?

[Scaly Freak]

Of course you're welcome to join us! Come one, come all, to the Warrior Guild's Hall  

[aramis]

Thank you all for the warm welcome, I hope time spent here will be fun! 

On 12/29/2020 at 4:33 PM, KB Girl said:

I wanted to joke that this is why we do not do get-ups

Jokes aside - is there something wrong with get-ups? I like this move - feels so... raw. Makes me feel strong on some primal level. 

 

22 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

do the workout 3 times a week because of time or just so you could lift heavier?

Mainly out of habit, and partially to cut my wife's joking/whining about daily workouts (I used to strength train 3x and on off days either run 5K or do other stuff like handstands or OCR prep).  But life gets in the way and I needed to cut some workouts off to find time for other life stuff.

I don't feel much pressure on lifting heavier and heavier - just the nice even nerdy numbers on my long term goal  To be fair, even if I couldn't go beyond 32kg it would be great result. Not many people around me would be able to do half of it  

 

And speaking of weights - today I managed to do 4 out of 10 getups with 32kg (on Monday there was only 2)  I probably could squeeze two more, but decided not to push myself too much. 

[Harriet]

1 hour ago, aramis said:

And speaking of weights - today I managed to do 4 out of 10 getups with 32kg (on Monday there was only 2)  I probably could squeeze two more, but decided not to push myself too much. 

 

Not bad at all, given the weight!

[fearless 2.0]

sorry to hear about your injury! ❤️ and glad to see you here! Am prepared for a lot of awesome to come out of this challenge!  

[Scaly Freak]

2 hours ago, aramis said:

Jokes aside - is there something wrong with get-ups? I like this move - feels so... raw. Makes me feel strong on some primal level. 

 

Absolutely. the exact same kind of wrong there is with burpees.  

[aramis]

41 minutes ago, Scaly Freak said:

same kind of wrong

Hmm... this means there's something very wrong with me...

...

because...

...

Spoiler

I like burpees too  

 

[Scaly Freak]

16 minutes ago, aramis said:

Hmm... this means there's something very wrong with me...

...

because...

...

  Reveal hidden contents

I like burpees too  

 

 

We may have to rethink your position in the Warriors now...  

[KB Girl]

5 hours ago, aramis said:

Jokes aside - is there something wrong with get-ups? I like this move - feels so... raw. Makes me feel strong on some primal level. 

 

Nah, nothing wrong with them, I just dislike them.. and.. I guess I feel there are more efficient ways to strength train- but really even if I'm right that doesn't matter at all because in the end the most efficient thing to do is the one that you enjoy, so if you like them, more power to you. You could superset them with burpees x) 

[aramis]

On 12/30/2020 at 10:16 PM, KB Girl said:

the most efficient thing to do is the one that you enjoy

👍

 

I managed to get back to MWF routine. For now I'm doing two-handed swings (because injury), but this doesn't stop me from grinding up weight. Today I managed 2 sets of 20 swings with 40kg followed by 3 sets of 20 swings with 32kg. And then get-ups  6 x 32kg, 4x24kg (alternating sides). 

On a side note:

Finger acts funny. I can bend it somewhere halfway, but then I hit a hard stop. Not the pain though, rather the feeling my tendons are too short to allow more movement.  Just like wearing way too tight jacket and trying to hunch your back - the fabric just doesn't allow. 

[Elastigirl]

34 minutes ago, aramis said:

👍

 

I managed to get back to MWF routine. For now I'm doing two-handed swings (because injury), but this doesn't stop me from grinding up weight. Today I managed 2 sets of 20 swings with 40kg followed by 3 sets of 20 swings with 32kg. And then get-ups  6 x 32kg, 4x24kg (alternating sides). 

On a side note:

Finger acts funny. I can bend it somewhere halfway, but then I hit a hard stop. Not the pain though, rather the feeling my tendons are too short to allow more movement.  Just like wearing way too tight jacket and trying to hunch your back - the fabric just doesn't allow. 

You went to a doctor, correct? It seems like you might have tendon damage. That was also the way my finger acted when I broke it

[aramis]

I was at ER when I crushed it more than a month ago. No bone damage on X-ray. I had two visits since and the doc seeing I can move the tip of the finger (not by much, but still) says tendons should be okay. I guess it's result of three weeks in a splint. Next visit will be Jan. 15th. If there won't be noticeable improvement I will ask for additional tests, maybe an ultrasound or something to check the tendons. But I hope It will be okay - maybe it needs time and exercising...

[Elastigirl]

3 minutes ago, aramis said:

I was at ER when I crushed it more than a month ago. No bone damage on X-ray. I had two visits since and the doc seeing I can move the tip of the finger (not by much, but still) says tendons should be okay. I guess it's result of three weeks in a splint. Next visit will be Jan. 15th. If there won't be noticeable improvement I will ask for additional tests, maybe an ultrasound or something to check the tendons. But I hope It will be okay - maybe it needs time and exercising...

Yeah, then it's most likely from being in a splint.

[Scaly Freak]

22 minutes ago, aramis said:

I was at ER when I crushed it more than a month ago. No bone damage on X-ray. I had two visits since and the doc seeing I can move the tip of the finger (not by much, but still) says tendons should be okay. I guess it's result of three weeks in a splint. Next visit will be Jan. 15th. If there won't be noticeable improvement I will ask for additional tests, maybe an ultrasound or something to check the tendons.

 

While no one like hearing this: 2-3 months is a very short amount of time to heal and recover from having one's finger crushed by a kettlebell. Tendons and muscles both will stiffen and lose some of their strength as well as their flexibility from being in a splint for several weeks.  A complete lack of improvement would obviously be cause for concern, but slow improvement could merely be the body getting a slow start on the healing.

 

Mandatory disclaimer: I'm not a medical professional. Double-check everything you find on the internet with your doctor.

[Harriet]

2 hours ago, aramis said:

 

Finger acts funny. I can bend it somewhere halfway, but then I hit a hard stop. Not the pain though, rather the feeling my tendons are too short to allow more movement.  Just like wearing way too tight jacket and trying to hunch your back - the fabric just doesn't allow. 

 

Hmmm. Here's hoping it gets back to normal quickly. For the sake of kettlebells. And shoelaces. And opening things.

[aramis]

So, yeah. Considering swings, I think I reached my current limit. After 3 sets of 20 two handed with 40kg and 2 sets of 20 with 32kg my ass and hamstrings hurt as hell. But that's good - I know I leave my comfort zone.

Get-ups were bit harder than last time - most probably due to fatigue. This showed even more where I lack proper form. The worst part is going from lying back to elbow. I can't roll my body properly and instinctively try to balance myself  by raising opposite leg. Which isn't working at all with weights over 30kg, obviously. Need to do some research...

[aramis]

My get-ups are back at 32kg level!

[Harriet]

12 hours ago, aramis said:

My get-ups are back at 32kg level!

 

Excellent! Does that mean the finger is coming along, or just that you can do it despite the finger?

[aramis]

Despite the finger. I can only bend it maybe half way. Extension isn't full either. But holding a kettle like this

doesn't require much finger grip, so my other fingers are enough for stabilization. 

[Elastigirl]

On 1/6/2021 at 11:09 AM, aramis said:

So, yeah. Considering swings, I think I reached my current limit. After 3 sets of 20 two handed with 40kg and 2 sets of 20 with 32kg my ass and hamstrings hurt as hell. But that's good - I know I leave my comfort zone.

Get-ups were bit harder than last time - most probably due to fatigue. This showed even more where I lack proper form. The worst part is going from lying back to elbow. I can't roll my body properly and instinctively try to balance myself  by raising opposite leg. Which isn't working at all with weights over 30kg, obviously. Need to do some research...

What I did was practice just that part (with a lower weight) at the beginning of each workout as part of my warm up.  I did find some good videos on it. I think they were Strongfirst videos

[aramis]

Yeah, I suppose that should work. But first I need to find EXACTLY what I do wrong, and then address the issue. Right now I'm gazing at about a millionth youtube video and I think I'm getting dumber each new one... 

 

But today's session done with same weights as Friday  I think from now on I will add load/reduce rest in week's interval. This way worked for me before, so it should work now. 

On a side note - one handed swings with 16kg are still too heavy for left hand - will stick to two-handed ones for some more time.