Butt Busting

I was happy to make contact with top collegiate sprinter Johnny B. He has had surgeries for athletic pubalgia and has rehabbed himself. He's been a great source of info and advice.

One thing JB recommended emphatically was busting the glute. Bulgarian squats he recommends highly, saying it was the one exercise most helpful in getting him to run again. He recommended 85lbs ... doing 4 x 8, or something. I've been doing 40 lbs. 3 x 25. It is a butt buster and almost immediately makes my abs feel better... normal, and I don't know why, but it does. Combined this with the Swiss Ball Core-X exercises, and after a workout I can run slowly with good sprint form on my toes with no pain. Its only when I do a sloppy loose jog without warming up, I feel a little pain.

UPDATE:

JB advises against high rep Bulgarian squats. The fatigue could result in loss of form and knee stress. I will take his advice. 8 reps more weight, good form.

Still hope to be back on the track by Halloween. I may be running stairs even sooner. Stairs don't bother me.

Just starting to bring my weight back down from a post season high of 154.
146.6 this morning.

Slowly getting better

I've been doing the Core-X Rehab system for a week now. It's specifically designed for rehab for Athletic Pubalgia. It is quite different from any exercise regime I've done because it involves a lot of thinking and a unique resistance band aparatus connected from the lower thigh to opposing wrist . Paramount is maintaining a 'neutral spine' and tightening the inner core (everything ... the abs, kegel, sphincter) while doing the exercises. Some of the foundation exercises are as simple as turning the torso and progress to marching and running in place. Other exercises use the Swiss Ball which I have ordered. It's deceivingly difficult and fatiguing. See video.

I do feel a difference. I can run in place with no pain but jogging while landing on the heel still hurts a little. Running on the toes is less pain, particularly when tightening the ab. I'm still at least 4 weeks away from any meaningful running or sprinting. It still hurts to simply hold a bent knee hanging ab lift, but I can do full lunges without pain.

In addition, I'm doing stair stepper aerobic machine - every other or 3rd day. I feel very out of shape and weigh about 150 lbs... but I intend to change that soon. I'm hoping to do a big hike on Sun will be having an MRI Monday to rule out any other possible injuries. My next Drs. appointment will be a week from Mon.

Return to the pursuit of fitness

Sunday, I started on Mike Boyle's regime of rehabbing the abdominals. In 4 weeks there has been zero improvement in my injury. If I wasn't an athlete, this injury would not be an issue. It doesn't hurt when doing anything in normal daily life, although I do feel it when standing on one leg to put my pants on, or making a sudden reaction movement. I know it hasn't improved because of the way it feels when I try to run a few steps. The pain is never severe, just nagging. It's definitely coming from the inguinal ligament /canal area.

The rehab workout involves lots of glute, psoas, abductor, and some adductor work. Mostly repeated isometric holds and single and double leg squats. Today, I did 20 min on the aerobic machine at the gym (a Stairmaster-type machine). After two days of rehab, the affected area goes from feeling good during the workout to just slightly sore afterward. I always start each workout with by warming my body in the hot tub and doing static hip and groin stretches.

I've been learning many anatomical terms and doing quite a bit of research. It's a very complex injury and it's hard to know how much is too much. Since a month of rest has done nothing to improve my condition, a proactive approach seems necessary. One source says,

"Take the time to rehab proactively. The tendency is to just rest and maybe cross train a bit until the pain goes away. The athlete and support team erroneously assumes that the issue is healed because the pain is gone, and beings to train hard again, leading to a recurrence. Instead of just resting and haphazardly cross training, an athlete needs to address tissue quality, length, and function of the tissues above and below the injury site at first."

That is what Boyle's regime seems to do.

It looks like my Core-x rehab order was received and I should be getting it within a week.

It feels good to finally get some cardio in. I plan to do cardio at least every other day. I have developed band of fat around my middle - per normal for most humans - and have settled in at around 150 lbs. Was 149.2 after workout today. Hope to get my weight back below 145. I just feel so much better at that weight. I never had shoulder pain doing pushups and upper body when I was lighter - but now it's starting to return. Fat just ages a person. Makes me feel old. This past month has proven to me how being sedentary and 'food sport' eating habits are addictive ... the more you eat, the more you want to; the more "ass time" ... the harder it is to get off your ass. It's making that initial change that is the hardest. That change, I made today. Now I need to maintain it.

USA 4x100 FAIL ... again. Jamaica - WR

Why does this seem to happen a lot to the USA?

4x100m relay World Finals.

Jamaica sets another world record... even without Asafa Powell.

37.04

Doc Patton collided with Britain’s anchor, Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, as he came in to make the final change to Walter Dix. Patton flipped on the track and left Dix wondering WTF???!!!

Dix would have never caught Bolt, who ran a blistering leg, but the US was deprived of a Silver.

.

Hail to the USA women 4x100 - they did it right:

GOLD!!

Video

The highlight of the meet was the mens 200m Final

Usain Bolt -19.40 - fourth fastest 200m in history

Walter Dix - 19.70 - his season's best (.01 off his PR)

Christophe Lemaitre - 19.80 - France national record (2nd fastest ever by a caucasian)

Video

Rehab the ab

'Rehab the ab' is what Dr. Hoadley essentially said. Hoadley claims a specialization in this area. After an exam, he did not feel my case was serious. I did forget to ask him a few questions. Specifically, I wanted to ask if there is a possibility of pain due to soft tissue damage beneath the muscle dome in the lower ab. I also forgot to mention that the pain seems far greater during split leg activity, like laying on my back doing a running (bicycling) motion with my legs. Dr. Hoadley gave me a prescription for physical therapy and a sheet of his protocol that would take someone with advanced sports rehab to decipher. It has elements of cardio, range of movement/flexibility, and strength. He also suggested an additional 4-6 weeks off from running.

During the exam Dr. Hoadley applied pressure to the connecting points of the muscles at the pelvis and none were exceptionally painful. There is some pain on the left side and just above the pubis, but some of the pain seems deeper. Like near my bladder or something. Some sports hernia sufferers complain of spermatic cord pain. I wonder if that is what I'm feeling? It's weird. Sometimes just a sudden quick movement like reacting to the phone ringing will cause more pain than doing a sit up. I also feel a little pain from the bottom of my pelvis as well (under the testes).

I'll get another chance to ask questions when I see Dr. Rummo, a sports medicine guy at Vanderbilt on Thurs. He's team physician for the local NHL team, the Nashville Predators. Hockey is a sport where they see a lot of sports hernias.

I'm pissed off at this Core-X company.... since I ordered the Core-X Rehab program last Monday, never got a confirmation email, sent an email requesting confirmation to their customer service, called 3 times and left messages with no response. It's probably one guy who is running the thing, has just gotten behind. Very unprofessional.

I did some resistance band work the other day and wow, my hip flexors are sore. I took quite a different approach. Different because: 1) I'm using lower resistance 2) slow controlled movements feeling the negative (instead of explosive), and 3) consciously keeping the abs tight throughout, 4) 20-30 reps instead of 45-60. It really makes the ab feel better. As J.B. said, I need to also start doing glute work, squats.

I also polished my wood floor in my foyer and have been able to create a very functional slide board... (a therapy that Mike Boyle recommended). Here is a vid of a slide board.

Well, today is the start of the holiday weekend and it's nearly 100º today. I'm a pig ...weigh 151 lbs. The more I eat, the more I want to eat. The less I exercise, the less I want to. I must start doing something. Perhaps Stairmaster? Biking? Elliptical? One thing I really must do is start a healthy regular diet and exercise, and also start practicing guitar... that's what I'm supposed to be doing with concerts coming up.

I'm looking forward to seeing the result of the 200m Final at the Worlds. In the semis - Bolt ran 20.31 without trying. Lemaitre ran 20.17 and tried like hell, his season best. Dix ran 20.37 and let up. Sorry to see Shawn Merrit beaten at the tape in the 400m final. It was close.

As a testament to how slow I am, the first 200m split in the men's 800m world final- 23.81 is way faster than I've run a 200m this year.

Off season slump, still not recovered

My abdominal pain persists when attempting to jog or do abdominal exercises. The symptoms seem to indicate a "sports hernia" - the medical term: athletic pubalgia. According to info I've read, the injury may result from an imbalance in strength between the core and lower leg muscles. It is not detectable as a lump or breach in the abdominal wall - like a traditional hernia. My physician cleared me of a hernia early in Aug. Since then, I continue to have pain, not severe or acute, just annoying.

Everything I've read about sports hernia seems to point to my symptoms:

• the pubis (pubic tubercle) being the main site of muscle/tendon disruption
• pain at the insertion of the conjoined tendon at the pubic tubercle with mild exercise
• pain is deep, not accute, and hard to pin-point the exact location
• pain migrates to different locations in the area

The pain is most obvious when doing a left lunge and seems to be not in the adductor, like a classic groin injury, but just above the pubic bone in the lower abdominal. It seems to be more on the left side.

I contacted and made an appointment with Dr. Jeff Hoadley, the regional expert in this injury. I'll be evaluated next week. His treatment protocol calls for 6 weeks of physical therapy and if that does work, possible surgery - which I am not too keen on. I recall the story of Bill Collins severely rupturing his hamstring, (so severe that a 'pop' was actually audible according to his book). Collins was told by 2 physicians he would never run again, in any fashion let alone sprint or race, and that he would need surgery to repair his tear. He refused surgery and rehabbed the injury himself in 2 years. He went on to set world masters sprint records after the devastating injury.

So, I need a plan for rehabbing this injury. I do miss running but I need to remember, I never started really training last year until January and had a decent first season. So, if I must delay training until Nov., so be it. There's a lot of info on rehab out there.

Whatever I do, cross training needs to begin soon as I am getting fat eating the 'forbidden foods' ... including desserts. I'm nearing 150 lbs and I have definitely added a small layer of fat on my middle.

UPDATE:

The surgical option to a sports hernia is not somewhere I want to go. As strength coach Mike Boyle put it:

Surgery should be the last resort. ... some therapists theorize that the forced lay-off and attention to rehab post-surgery rather than pre-surgery is what actually helps. If athletes were willing to take time off and listen to the trainers and therapists, innumerable surgeries could be avoided. I have seen at least three professional athletes who were scheduled for surgery avoid it by committing to a proper rehab program of exercises and soft tissue work.

This article on sports hernia prevention and rehab is the best and most complete I can find. It contains so many exercises I've never heard of. I need to get a slide board. With this info, I wonder why I am going to the Dr. since I'm pretty against surgery. I also got a response from a Nashville Dr. Rummo, who is the team physician for the Nashville Predators NHL team. He also has offered to evaluate me. I may see him for a second opinion.

Periodization plan for sprinter weight training

Here's a general weight training plan for sprinters I found. Here's another - even more specific. Both seem to be in this general plan:

Four Phases:

1. Muscular Endurance: 12 reps x 3-5 sets - 30 sec between sets

2. Hypertrophy: 6-12 reps x 3-5 sets - 60-90 sec between sets

3. Muscular Strength: 6 reps x 3-5 sets - 2-5 min between sets

4. Power: 3-4 reps (done explosively) x 3-6 sets - full recovery in between

Obviously, there is little info here, no time frame, no event specificity. This is just a shell of a plan, an introduction to the concept of periodization. Perhaps just a general plan of progression. I would think this is meant for 100m sprinters, with the goal toward power, rather than sprint endurance. I don't think it would be in my best interest to lift near maximum weight for 3 reps with my legs, especially in a leg curl or extension. Perhaps better for upper body, but maybe ok for seated squats.

I'm not particularly sold on lifting heavy as I think it puts undue stress on the joints.

Power does translate to speed. Case in point... Look at the physical build of Brit sprinter Pat Logan on the left in this photo - (from left to right: Logan, Michael Sullivan and Willie Gault in the M50 World 100m Final). Logan ran 11.62 100m and is a short guy (like me). He won the Bronze behind Gault, just edged out by .02 for Silver by Ken Eaton. Logan looks like a fireplug - powerful build, massive thighs. Obviously some weight training there.

Looking at earlier pics in the sequence, surprisingly, it looks like Sullivan beat Gault out of the blocks. (Sullivan looks pissed off for missing a medal in the group photo. I know the feeling).

I'm planning to do 3 days of weights during the fall. Right now, I'm doing daily upper body and swimming. Nothing heavy, but I am seeing results. Push ups, pull ups, dumbell flys and shoulder press, etc...

I tried a 1/2 mile jog today but the ab still hurts. I think I strained it a little leaping around on rocks during a weekend hike. It's not bad, it felt better after my jog than when I started.

Fasting today and tomorrow for my colonoscopy on Thurs. My weight tonight is down to 144. Should be down around 140 by the time I have the procedure.