“Are you hurt or are you injured?”

Hey John,

This is Rob Is– I’ve commented on your blog a few times. I’m somewhat of a newbie to lifting, but dove headfirst into “Starting Strength” last year and got Rip’s SS coaches seminar this last spring.

I heard you on Robb’s podcast and was sorry to hear that you hurt your knee again. Hope you are healing up OK. It was an awesome podcast though. 

It’s been awhile since you posted and just wanted to encourage you to write something up about your setback and how you are doing. I’m sure i’m not the only fan that misses your insightful and entertaining posts….

I’m 44 and trying to make gains this summer with a fucked up hamstring. I started ART a few weeks ago thanks to your post when you mentioned ART– never heard of it previously (and I’ve tried everything) and it’s awesome. Hopefully I’ll be able to hit an intensity day tomorrow for the first time in a month…

If I had a question, I would ask: “how can you tell if you are training through an injury or just aggravating it and making it last longer?”

Look forward to seeing your next post. Hope you are doing OK.

Rob

Rob,

Sorry I have not posted in a few weeks I have been under the gun with more than a few projects and tasks.

As you know I own and operate a running full time gym, CrossFit Balboa. Usually, I leave most of the day to day with my staff and am free to work on CrossFit Football, Paleo Brands, my blog and web design, but not anymore. My office manager, a former client with a MBA who was laid off last year, got a six-figure job and I could not match their offer. So I have been thrust back into managing the day to day operations for the gym. I am looking for an office manager who is willing to work long hours in a gym for decent pay. Computer, accounting and a sense of humor are a must. The perks include training and knowledge. Let me know if you know anyone.

In addition to running the gym, I handle most of the content for CrossFit Football. We are growing daily as the site gathers more and more traffic. We started in 2008 and have been steadily growing every month. We receive in excess of 3 million visitors a month in 250+ countries. Run about 25+ seminars a year on 4 difference continents. I have been working a site redesign for way too many months and I need to just launch it. I however want everything in my site. Design, connectivity, user friendly and aesthetically rad. I am a design guy so it has to be perfect.

As you mentioned, I have surgery about 6 weeks ago. The surgery went well and I have been working with a physical therapist in the OC named Kevyn Dean. He operates a company, DSC, which works with many of the top pro surfers in the world. I have most of my range of motion back and am looking forward to getting back to training. My life has been PT 4-5 times a week. I have never been a “training room” guy and dislike the idea of lying on a table with ice and stim on my knee. Hopefully, things progress and I am on path to recovery.

I wish I lived closer to Kstar as this thing would have been sorted out in a few days; that man is magic.

My favorite project is Paleo Brands, hands down. Paleo Brands in the food company I started with my good friends Joe Cappuccio and Robb Wolf. We have two new products in production. The beef sticks are insanely good with 3 oz giving about 40 grams of protein and the second is a surprise. This new product is a game changer for me.

On the supplement scene, I have been meeting with APS or All Pro Science about supplements for our power athlete crowd. NFL All-Pro Tony Gonzalez owns the company, and not only is he committed to making the best supplements on the market but I was best man at his wedding. I think we have the inside track in doing something really exciting and rolling out some products I can put the stamp on.

And if that was not enough I have been working with two of my coaches to help them get their projects off the ground.

If you did not know I have limited website site and logo design skills and have been working (thanks Joey) to create sites and logos for Strength Wraps and Skate Girl USA.

Strength Wraps were born at CrossFit Balboa where we are known to bang heavy weights. Kelly Urbani is the mastermind behind the Strength Wraps, a easy to use wrist support that is taking the CrossFit by hold. Check her out on Facebook or when we site launches, www.StrengthWraps.com.

Skate Girl USA is a site to support the efforts of Kacie Fischer. If you follow CrossFit Football we have been blowing Kacie up for her ProMax bar contest. She is trying to get votes to get a free trip to Hawaii. Take the time to vote for her. Kacie competes in Tower Racing, a sport that requires you to race up the stairs of tall buildings. And she is preparing to break the world record for most miles rollerbladed, as she wants to skate across America to raise money for various charities. She works with us at CrossFit Balboa and if I can get her trained up she might be on the certification team at some point. She was a 800 meter runner in college and as a lifetime PR of 150 kgs on the back squat.

And if you listen to the podcast you know I have a new family coming and that has taken what free time I have left.

I know this is a  long list of excuses and I hope they are acceptable. In case these do not suffice you can always say I am being diabolical and trying to slow the flow of valuable information to the world.

Now to the question at hand…I am not the best one to ask about injuries, but I will ask you this question.

Are you hurt or are you injured?

If you are injured you need to go the doctor, get an MRI or xray and take some time to lets things calm down. The doc will give you a script for some NAIDs  or pain killers, tell you to stay away from lifting weights or any training that might aggravate it. The doctor’s job is to manage pain not fix your injury. In layman’s terms, you cannot train or compete.

If you are hurt then you need to assess what is hurting, see if you need to make changes and keep moving forward. If you lift weights long enough you are not going to feel good. Actually, the more you lift the worse you will feel as your body will be beat up. This is a normal part of training. If someone tells you that they have been training for 10 years and has never had an ache, a pain or strain then their “training” consists of sitting on the elliptical machine exercising.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7sNkCFSLEc[/youtube]

Know the difference between training and exercise.

Exercise is about getting sweaty.

Training is about closing in on a goal.

If you click back on the site I have written a few posts on recovery . At this point you are going to need every trick in your bag o’ tricks to keep getting stronger.

I will leave with this thought: Is it harder for a weak man to get strong or a strong man to get strong?