[quote]Alex Raymond wrote: @Blackhaggar: Seriously man, for my part, I was at the right place, at the right time!!! My ex knew coach Thibaudeau’s wife, she introduced me to him, I ask if he was willing to help me prepare for the Canadian Nationals, he accepted, then an opportunity opened up to come here, and there you go!!!
But you need to understand one thing, coming here is one thing, staying here is another!!! Our job is not to be a star here, not at all, but merely to put into image coach Thibaudeau’ training techniques. And having cameras around you all the time isn’t a piece of cake either!!! Those techniques are grueling guys, and training 2-3 times a day is tough, even for top athletes, but its worth it!!![/quote]
Thanks for the response thats really cool man it makes it a lot easier loveing what your doing every day, even if its difficult at times
Hey guys!!! Proof that even though I’ve been training all those years, Im still learning and I still make stupid mistakes, yeah yeah, just like anyone of you guys, Im not different!!!
Make a long story short, I injured myself this morning at the gym, doing activation work for my quads by squatting down and then exploding to trow a 25lbs medecine ball in the air as high as possible. Everything was going great, me, Daryl Gee and Kevin Nobert were going at it. As the sets went on, I got the feeling of the movement, and was able to trow the ball pretty high. We were laughing and joking, making bets on who would be able to touch the cealing with the ball first… After seeing my buddy Kevin trowing that damn ball to a record high, a squated down, ready to beat him, and then exploded into the movement.
As I launched the ball in the air, I felt like a “velcro” feeling in my right bicep, like something was tearing apart…verdict: partially torn bicep tendon!!!
It goes to show you, ego doesn’t have its place in a gym, EVER!!! Its bodyBUILDING, not bodyTEARING!!! I reminded myself of that today, the hard way…
But don’t worry guys, thanks to Biotest support and team of doctors, I’ll be back up and running in no time, I wont miss a beat!!!
@Blackhaggar: No problem man, Im happy to talk to you guys and share my journey here with you!!! Yes, at times its tough, but every job is…doing brain surgery, working in a shop, heck, I wouldn’t trade places with the plumber who has to come to our house to fix the toilets…yarkkkkk!!! lol!
Alex- I think hearing about a competitor dealing with injuries, or even training mistakes is just as informative as hearing about what’s going right. Hopefully everything will sort itself out quickly.
@The Mighty Stu: Thanks man, means a lot!!! As it turns out, tendon seems to be still attached, and only 10-15% of the muscle fibers in my right bicep are torn. I went thru an MRI this afternoon (that damn machine was so tight, I couldn’t fit in it!!! lol!), so we’ll know more tomorrow…
As I came back from the tests, I looked at the car clock and realized I still had time to make it for the p.m. workout…I had to push my buddies, couldn’t let Daryl and Kevin down, especially with Daryl being a week away from the Detroit show and 2 weeks away from the Olympia!!! Anyways, legs was on the menu, so no bicep involved there…
So I put my elbow support on and went to the office, where I had a more than decent workout, heck, a great workout!!!
Shit happens sometimes guys, it was a freak accident, no one’s fault really, it just happened! So there’s 2 options here; either you let the accident drag you down, you use it has an excuse, you pity yourself and you try to find who’s responsible for your misfortune OR, you get up, find ways to motivate yourself, you become an example even an inspiration for others, you work around your problem or even on other bodyparts that may be lagging and you come back even better, stronger and bigger then before!!!
I know what category I belong to…what about you guys???
[quote]Alex Raymond wrote:
you get up, find ways to motivate yourself, you become an example even an inspiration for others, you work around your problem and you come back even better[/quote]
Ideals that should become embedded in the foundation of every person who strives to be truly successful, in any and every facet of their life.
Good stuff Bro. I dealt with a few injuries during this past summer, and whenever I’d start getting bummed, I read about how Yates competed at his last Olympia with a detached triceps and no one even knew. Hardcore through and through big man.
Got up this morning, bicep still stiff and swollen a bit, but not too bad… So I put my elbow pad on, and came to gym with my boys, Kevin and Daryl, and coach Thibaudeau, thinking I could at least cheer my buddies up!
As it turns out, I was able to do many shoulder presses movements and a bit of chest, without hurting my right bicep, and I had an awesome pump!!! I felt relieve because having to do only legs and sled movements for a month, didn’t sound appealing to me!!! (even though I would’ve done it!!!)
I know its not news worthy of the 6 o’clock news show, but it surely made my day!!!
Got up this morning, bicep still stiff and swollen a bit, but not too bad… So I put my elbow pad on, and came to gym with my boys, Kevin and Daryl, and coach Thibaudeau, thinking I could at least cheer my buddies up!
As it turns out, I was able to do many shoulder presses movements and a bit of chest, without hurting my right bicep, and I had an awesome pump!!! I felt relieve because having to do only legs and sled movements for a month, didn’t sound appealing to me!!! (even though I would’ve done it!!!)
I know its not news worthy of the 6 o’clock news show, but it surely made my day!!![/quote]
Good job, one of the worst things about getting any kind of injury is the feeling that you will lose out on progress. I look forward to hearing how you manage this.
Shit happens sometimes guys, it was a freak accident, no one’s fault really, it just happened! So there’s 2 options here; either you let the accident drag you down, you use it has an excuse, you pity yourself and you try to find who’s responsible for your misfortune OR, you get up, find ways to motivate yourself, you become an example even an inspiration for others, you work around your problem or even on other bodyparts that may be lagging and you come back even better, stronger and bigger then before!!!
I know what category I belong to…what about you guys??? [/quote]
Awesome attitude man, definitely inspiring! All the best for a rapid recovery. By the way I am so jealous of the set up you guys have at Biotest!
[quote]Diluted56 wrote:
It would be so sweet if you guys hosted training camps, like for like 2- 4 weeks staying in the house and just eating and training for all that time. Biotest could rake in some cash that way! I would do anything to have the opportunity to be apart of that! Haha![/quote]
^^ This would be phenomenal and needs to happen!
Also, Alex, thanks for sharing your training experiences with us, looking forward to all of your updates, good luck with the bicep injury!
@all: Seriously guys, all of you are helping me tremendously getting thru this injury thing!!!
Today, coach Thibaudeau had a special lat workout for me and the guys…lat pull downs, machine pullover, straight arms pull downs on high pulley and pulling the sled. With every movements, we focused on pulling with our elbows instead of our hands and arms, which in the end, produced one of the best pump ever for my lats!!! I felt like I was walking with a 6 pack underneath my armpits, without hurting my right bicep (which is, by the way, starting to become covered in blue from the internal bruises…hahahah!!!).
Im telling you guys, that damn injury will turn out to be a blessing in disguise!!! Anyways, I feel fully energized and Im so grateful to have all that support coming from you guys and from Biotest medical staff, it’s so much easier that way to stay focus and on track with my goals!!!
Ok gotta run, 2nd workout is coming fast…stay focussed and keep pushing hard!!!
you do not use straps or other style flexolat?? http://www.flexsolate.com/images/workouts_Gym_Lats_P3_1.jpg
it’s cool if you can continue to drag you despite your biceps injury.
you still have a good mastery of the brain-muscle connection, to minimize the excessive involvement of the biceps to work back.
respect
@SWAT06: Yes, I do use straps sometimes, especially on heavy back or trap movements,but I try to use them as little as possible. Thx for your comment bud!!!
On the menu today…off day!!! That means tanning and swimming at the country club with my buddy Kevin, coach Thibaudeau and his wife, watching football on TV (Go Eagles and Steelers, both my favorite teams from AFC and NFC!!!), and cheat meal tonight!!!
I usually train 6 times a week, 2 times a day, so taking a day off and cheating on my diet a bit helps my recharge my batteries and feel fresh to begin the next week!!!
On the menu today…off day!!! That means tanning and swimming at the country club with my buddy Kevin, coach Thibaudeau and his wife, watching football on TV (Go Eagles and Steelers, both my favorite teams from AFC and NFC!!!), and cheat meal tonight!!!
I usually train 6 times a week, 2 times a day, so taking a day off and cheating on my diet a bit helps my recharge my batteries and feel fresh to begin the next week!!!
Have a good day guys!!![/quote]
I’d say this is much deserved, nothing better than taking an off day on Sunday, NFL+Cheat Meal = Bliss.
what was the cheat meal then?
may i ask you a question, Alex - do you think that in most cases, training smart and being mindful not to perform any exercises that cause even the slightest pain is alright when coming back from an injury (as opposed to just “rest”)? i dislocated my shoulder and havent trained in almost 6 weeks and you know how difficult that is psychologically. I think that in 2 weeks time I will be given the go ahead to stop wearing a sling and continue my physiotherapy.