7 weeks ago, today, (as I write this, anyway) I ruptured my achilles tendon in the first event of my first ever Strongman contest. I had almost finished walking the 320kg yoke the required 15 meters when ***BANG!!!*** My lower leg instantly went numb and my foot went dead and floppy!
Less than 24 hours later the amazing team at Melbourne's Alfred Hospital were stitching the tendon back together. It hadnt torn off the bone - somehow it snapped in the middle! The surgeon made a point of visiting to tell me the 2 ends of the tendon were over 6cm apart when he went in. He had to keep slicing up my leg to find the top end! Somehow my pathetic little calves generated some real pulling force!
Everybody I spoke with - including my less-than-conservative friends - told me the same story: an achilles rupture is a LONG recovery! I was told to think 12-18 months! This was not like my bicep tear mostly because you don't need to jump up and down on your biceps.
I was to be on crutches for 12 weeks before rehab began. The first 6 weeks would be in a cast. Then I'd move to a moon boot for 6 more weeks. Then I'd walk off crutches. I joked at the time that walking was the same as squatting 3 plates so in 12 weeks I was going to squat 3 plates. I was joking... but I wasn't. The video below shows I managed to prove walking is indeed like squatting 3 plates and I got there 6 weeks early!
Squatting - 6 weeks post Achilles Reattachment Surgery from Damon Hayhow on Vimeo.
Once the injury was done, there was nothing to do but get on with life. So the day I was released from hospital I got home, cooked up my food and was immediately back on my regular diet. The next day I was in the gym.
In terms of training, all exercises that involved standing were obviously out. Well, sort of. I discovered I could do barbell presses and curls kneeling and within 2 weeks I was back to 100kg on the kneeling press and 83kg on the kneeling curls! The looks of incredulous disbelief from other trainers were priceless!
I even found leg training was less limited than I expected. I could do single leg curls and extensions with limited compromise. So I hit them hard, twice per week, working up to reps on 124kg on single leg extensions and 56kg on the single leg curl; and that was on the leg in the cast! The only issue was keeping the calf relaxed on the curl.
My weighted chin-ups were unaffected, working up to an additional 60kg hanging off me. But virtually all other back exercises were compromised. I couldnt hold myself in the seat for heavy pulldowns. I couldnt brace with my legs to do any rows or back extension. So it was all light, squeezy rubbish.
When the cast came off a different doctor assessed me and said I COULD walk in the boot... but my leg would have lost the strength to hold me up. I just laughed. Even if I hadn't trained at all for 6 weeks I would still be able to squat over 220kg. For the rest of my life - with or without training - I will forever be much stronger than any average person and most athletes. Thats one of the lifetime benefits of proper strength training!
Because I had been training I was even more confident that my 124kg-extending leg had the strength to hold me up! I just didnt trust I should put 90kg through the slowly healing tendon? I had heard so many stories and warnings about re-rupturing an achilles that on my first attempts to put weight on the foot, I chickened out! I was just too scared. And the foot was still very swollen, bruised and painful.
But a few hours out of the cast and my foot had visibly reduced in redness and swelling. And a few hours after that I was indeed walking around the gym, in the boot with no crutches... carrying 20kg plates even! The very first exercise I did the night the cast came off was cable row. And I was delighted to find I was able to work up to the entire 140kg stack for a strict set of 10 (well, the first few were strict)!
Next day - without the boot - I was very carefully and gingerly walking around home! By walking I mean I could use the straightened left leg like a crutch. I certainly couldn't step off the toes or even get my foot to 90degrees. The ankle was VERY tight and even light stretching felt extremely unpleasant!
The third day after the cast had come off was leg training day. After leg curls I experimented with Stiff Leg Deadlifts. I stayed light, doing 15-rep sets and managed to work slowly up to 150kg at which point my grip exhausted first. I always keep my weight through my heels so I didnt even have to worry about putting weight through the toes or the tendon.
So I decided to try squats. Clearly walking the bar out of the rack was out of the question. So I succumbed to doing squats on the smith machine. I HATE smith squats! They are a terrible exercise that encourage terrible squatting habits. Anybody who says they squat on the smith machine to alleviate pressure on their back or knees is simply admitting they have no idea how to squat properly! Free barbell squats are the only way to squat!
Unfortunately there was no practical or safe way to do a free barbell squat. And on the Smith machine I was able to set up with a very wide stance and a slightly forward foot position that prevented any flexion at the ankle - which would risk the achilles - while keeping my weight entirely in my heels.
One 20kg plate per side was so pathetically light there was nothing I could do to even pretend I was working my legs. How anyone does smith squats with 1 plate is beyond me? Its actually harder to control or feel than having a heavy weight! So I went to 2 plates and it was still too light and easy. But most importantly there was absolutely no stress at all through my left achilles and no sense of wanting to lean into the toes!
So I smiled and went to 3 plates. Despite my fatigued back (from the stiff leg deadlifts), it was genuinely easy and felt light! By this point the gym was about to close so I quickly put 3 1/2 plates on for a few reps and called it a night.
160kg Bent Over Rows, 6 weeks Post Surgery from Damon Hayhow on Vimeo.
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