Finally, it was time to talk about the plan. Stu really emphasized the fact that my back has very substantial damage and that if he hadn’t seen other lifters and athletes come back from such serious injuries, he would have just told me to hang it up. He then talked about letting the fractures heal and “callus,” and how not loading my back with squats for three months will really help do this. He also said that things could change; however, right now I don’t have too much left in my body. How good I can be, and how well I can return, will depend on how my body responds to the rehab and corrective work.

Phase One:

As I’ve already discussed, this involves no loading of the spine and only performing pristine movements 24 hours per day. This means squatting, lunging, or basically doing a one-legged good morning or a stiff-leg deadlift for any kind of movement downward. No more bending at the waist the way I do thousands of times each day.

We then went over the direct core movements that will tighten my pelvis. For example, I get some pain when I walk, and of course this happens when I lift too. My loose (loose, not tight) pelvis is causing more stress to be placed on my back when I have any micro-movements. Stu illustrated this by having me walk with him while he squeezed my hips in two different places. This immediately helped (although temporarily) tighten my back, hips, and pelvis, and I felt much more support while I was moving.

 

This part was not open to debate, and he only had to say it once. The exercises for Phase One are to be done every day, but I have to make it clear that these are the exercises he prescribed to me. These isn’t for everyone. A great exercise for me may be a horrible one for your condition.

  • Birddog
  • Plank roll
  • McGill curl-up, or Stir the Pot
  • Asymmetric carries, i.e., one-arm suitcase holds and bottoms-up kettlebell carries
  • I can also start doing pull-ups and push-ups, but I have yet to start

Stu also gave me some other customized things to do. The plan by the end of Phase One is to desensitize the areas and have no more pain. The goal is to do this for at least six weeks.

Phase Two:

Now that the pain is under control, we add in more movements that will build on my progress from Phase One.

  • Lifter’s wedge (practicing great deadlift form) on four-inch blocks: Slow and controlled, not explosive. I will be working my hook grip like crazy over the next few months, and I will transition into doing this for the sake of my back and the shearing that deadlifting with an over/under grip creates.
  • No more dive-bombing deadlifts for me. It’s locked, loaded, and then tight. I’ve lost some of the most simple cues for tightness over the last couple of years. I stopped locking in my back a long time ago, and it has turned into a vicious cycle of pain and weakness in my deadlift. By doing the hook grip and locking my back in properly, I’ll be putting my back into a much safer and stronger position. This is what I have to do in order to regain some of the things I have lost.
  • Goblet Squat: It is essential that I focus on working side-to-side in the bottom and opening up while keeping my spine in the correct position. Once again, slow and controlled for now with no explosive movements.

Phase Three:

Once three months have passed, feel pain-free with the day-to-day things, feel my body getting stronger and in better shape, and have given sufficient time for my back to heal the fractures and callus, it will be time to have “the talk.” Stu told me this: “You need to decide whether you really like being pain-free or whether you want to go back on the platform and lift again.”

I told him that as of now, and if my wife is okay with it, I’m coming back to lift if I can reasonably expect to get my deadlift back. He said, “Okay, let’s see how your body responds. I have a feeling you’ll be pain free, but DO NOT test it. Stay with the program.” He kept referring to the “Y chromosome,” and not being a knucklehead (paraphrased).

Stu really hammered home the idea that once I start a strength training block that I can’t drift away from the things that I’ll have perfected, and that I can’t afford to be sloppy at any time during the strength training phase. As we know, strength will come back very quickly, but I have to be patient. All movements will be slow and controlled, not explosive, with a focus on staying tight. The strength and speed will come, but before I begin rebuilding power, I really need to do all the little things correctly.

However, I know there’s a chance that I’ll go through all of this and still not be able to return to the point of strength that I’m setting as a benchmark for coming back. That chance exists because my back is truly messed up and injured—I’m a realist. With that said, I’m very headstrong and mentally tough, so I’ll be back. I have an awesome group of people who assist and advise me including Team Samson, Dave Tate, my wife, and Dr. McGill. How long will I continue to lift? I don’t know, but I don’t believe that I am done.

I have hours of video footage that I’ll be editing and uploading over the next couple of weeks, so you can see firsthand what we did, as well as the entire process we went through (all of which I have covered in this write-up). I don’t think many other people will have access to the kind of information and footage we were able to get, and I want to share it and let others benefit from this information—letting others see what the world’s best back specialist has to say concerning very common issues in powerlifting, both regarding one's health and technique.

 

 

I’d now like to thank my wife for being such a trooper and providing me with such amazing support. She took this trip with me after only having two weeks notice, leaving her extremely busy real estate business (Jacksonville Real Estate Professionals) here in Florida to travel across the country and beyond just to see Dr. McGill. She also left once more to take another trip associated with lifting. Stu caught on to this quickly and asked, “You guys are a team I take it?” That’s the kind of wife she is, and this is also why I try to keep as normal of a life as possible while engaging in all this craziness. You’ve got to take care of what you have, treat people right, and show that you’re more than just a powerlifter.

I also want to thank Dr. Stuart McGill. This man was more than gracious. He was very helpful and presented some extremely innovative ideas designed, first and foremost, to help me not hurt anymore and, secondly, to get my strength back. I believe the delays I found while wanting immediate surgery were stopped for a better purpose. If I were to tell you how all of this worked out, as well as all of the details, you probably wouldn’t believe me. So, let's just say that God is good.

Meeting Dr. McGill and spending the day with him was life changing. I don’t toss those words around lightly. To be the best back specialist in the world and to still be such a pleasure to sit and talk to (while having such a level of caring for others) is just so rare. He’s not only one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met, but he is also one of the most down to earth and fun guys I’ve met, too. This man’s passion for the back, and for helping others, was clearly evident. If you ever get the opportunity, he’s the guy to see.