So how does someone like me, who:

• Trained with probably the best strength and conditioning coach in AZ, if not the entire Southwest for > 5 years
• Holds an Masters degree in Sports Performance
• Has 3 major US fitness certifications (CSCS, USAW, USATF)
• Has been actively engaged in both weight training and mixed martial arts for 30+ years (amongst other crazy sports)

…end up getting soooo many sports-injury related surgeries??

1. Minor back surgery called a microdiscectomy
2. Major back surgery with an L4-L5 full fusion
3. Left shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum, separated biceps tendon and a torn rotator cuff

And now this week I have #4 to repair my right shoulder.  I tore my right shoulder up in early 2019 most likely from lifting a lot of heavy weight on a frequent basis but believe it or not, I don’t think that’s what did it. I remember one specific workout where my partner was doing high box jumps, I don’t know how high but two large Rogue foam boxes stacked on top of each other connected with Velcro, hell there might have been a third.  She was nailing it no problem.  While she wasn’t looking I figured I’d try a high one.  My plyo was, and still is, pretty damned good but height was never my thing.  Well, when I hit the top of the pad I guess I didn’t have the Velcro secured or something because instead of landing on the top pad it slipped away and I fell straight back feet high in the air. I hit the ground with the back of my right shoulder and it hurt like hell, like I knew I injured something. Within a few months I could barely bench 135, it was sad.

I got an MRI and surgical consultation which was “you really need to repair this” but I opted to rehab it myself mainly because I didn’t want to miss so much time away from the gym.  It took me 9 months to get back to where I was strength wise but I did it. Then maybe 6 months later I benched 315, 10 pounds higher than previous best then BAM so goodbye to the right shoulder.

So here’s what’s wrong with the right shoulder, if it sounds bad, well, that’s because it is!

• Torn supraspinatus
• Torn sub-scapular
• Torn rotator cuff
• Partially separated biceps tendon
• Torn labrum

It’s not a high risk surgery but it is a big one and carries a long painful recovery but at the other end of it I’ll be almost as good as new.  It helps that my surgeon is the Team Doctor for all of the AZ pro sports teams, Dr. Gary Waslewski.

I’m not blogging to just whine about pain and agony.  It sucks for sure but I wanted to share a few points about how I managed to get all of thes injuries despite my education and experience. 

Here’s the deal: I don’t care who you are, who your trainer is, how much experience you have or how well your program is designed… if you train hard enough for a long enough period of time, you’re going to sustain an injury.  If not, you’re not training hard enough. That said, there are lots of things you can do to minimize injury and I’ve blogged about a few of them before:

• Get a personal trainer!
• Eat to train.
• Design a solid program or partner with your trainer to design one.
• Focus on recovery as your top priority.
• Pat attention to fatigue, it’s a precursor to injury.
• Listen to your body, get a killer device like the Whoop to know when to train hard and when to focus on recovery.