Started Training, First Injury

Last weekend was simultaneously great, and disconcerting.

I started out very well, I had fantastic Italian food Friday night. I had an excellent Brunch Saturday Morning. At noon, I took the train over to Brooklyn to check out Crossfit Virtuosity, a crossfit club owned by the Founder of Crossfit NYC, Keith Wittenstein. As far as a methodology to instill General Physical Preparedness (GPP), Crossfit is tough to beat. Currently, however, coming off of a several year hiatus from serious training, my first goal is to rebuild much of the strength I lost from atrophy. I had good success with Rippetoe‘s Starting Strength. So I’m going to start with that as my foundation. Actually, stepping back, the last 6 months of rehab and PT has really been my foundation, but SS will help me rebuild all the other prime movers (quads, lower back, etc.).

The saturday class at CFV was the introduction, there, Keith and Joe went over the fundementals of crossfit and GPP, it was a rehash for me, but I didn’t mind. We went over good form for the Medicine Ball Squat and the Burpee. Joe and Keith corrected me several times. Finally we finished with a 21,15,9 Med. Ball Squat/ Burpee for time workout. Having not done anything like that in some time, it was a surprising ass kicker.

Afterwords, I got some one on one time with Joe and explained my main reason for going which was to set up some individual instruction to re-learn good form for the main olympic lifts that comprise starting strength. Goal number one for my exercise program is to avoid injury. (Foreshadowing, I got injured on Sunday!)

Afterwards, I came home, ate bacon and relaxed.

Sunday, I had an incredible brunch with some friends. Duck Confit Risotto sealed the deal, I need to make Duck Confit… ASAP.

In the afternoon, I made a big mistake. A few weeks earlier, I raised the poundage of my Z7 by approximately 5 pounds. I’d drawn it on multiple occasions in sets of five without any problems or pain. Without really thinking, I drew it 10 consecutive times. I didn’t feel any pain (aside from minute residual soreness from the burpees and squats the day before). For dinner, I made a delicious meal out of veal liver, rendered bacon fat and onions:
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That evening I went to bed at a reasonable hour. I woke up at 4am in searing pain. I must have seriously inflamed the tendons in my drawing shoulder (not the shoulder I broke back in 2006 or 2009 thankfully). I took some ibuprofen, fish oil, and put ice on it and went back to sleep. It was still pretty bad, so at work, I used a recirculating ice-water jacket to take down the swelling. It feels better somewhat now. If the pain persists I’ll get it checked out but it feels almost exactly like the last time I got tendonitis, which I successfully self-treated with ice, rest, and fish oil.

I’m displeased with the situation. Normally, the human body has a nice and immediate feedback mechanism called “Pain” to tell you to stop doing whatever you are doing that the body doesn’t like. Normally, this “Pain” mechanism prevents you from suffering any lasting injury unless you do something in a ballistic or traumatic fashion (like this guy). What was disconcerting about my this injury, is that while I was drawing the bow, it didn’t hurt. Then I wake up 12 hours later in serious pain. That’s not good. The only rational explanation I can think of was that my shoulders and rotator cuff were already maxed out following the vigorous workout the day before, and the bow just “put them over the edge.” At least I hope that was the case. It would be a serous bummer to hit a PR in standing press only to find out the next day that I tore a ligament.

Anyway, a good reminder to go safe and slow, especially coming off a long hiatus.

TheNouveauJäger