In Case You Lose a Toe...

Rulon Gardner, who performed the "Miracle on the Mat" in the 2000 Olympics gold medal match by giving Alexander Karelin of Russia his first loss in twelve years, is training to make a comeback in Greco-Roman wrestling for the 2012 Olympics.  In between the 2000 and 2004 Olympic games, Gardner had a series of injuries, one of which involved his big toe being amputated due to frostbite from a snowmobiling accident that almost took his life.  One toe may not seem like a big deal, but the big toe on each foot supports considerably more weight than the other toes, and so Gardner had to gradually relearn how to balance on that foot.  One training tool that he used in the meantime was what I refer to as a hand bike.  It is a machine where you sit down just as in a normal stationary bike, but the pedals are chest level.  It is used for cardio, so you simply pedal your hands like mad.

During college, I have had some unfortunate injuries myself, the latest being a torn intercostal (between the ribs) muscle that I'm still recovering from.  During my sophomore year I fractured my ankle in the fall and tore my MCL in the spring.  After both of those injuries I wasn't able to run, so I used Rulon's method and rode the hand bike.  I also did some swimming, as I mentioned in an earlier blog. 

The reality is, wrestling is a rough sport and injuries do happen from time to time.  I hate missing time from practice or matches, but I always try to keep up my training as much as possible when injured so that I can bounce right back when ready without my conditioning being negatively affected.  If you're hurt, you need to find exercises that you can do.  If it's your lower body, focus on your upper body, or vice versa.  Do some lighter impact exercise such as swimming or biking rather than running.  If you can't lift heavy weights or do strenuous strength training, stick with static movements such as a wall sit or plank instead of dynamic movements.  Or do light calisthenics.  If it's contact sports that you can't do, try some shadow wrestling.  And if all else fails, do some visualization, watch some technique videos, read up on wrestling, and be a student of the game.

Don't skip training,
Jeff