From ACL Surgery to Ironman: How to Build a Body Ready For Any Challenge

Most people think that just being "fit" is enough. I used to think that too - until I tore my ACL. After a year of rehab I learned that just being fit wasn't enough. I needed to be strong and build muscle to remove as many weaknesses as possible but i also needed to prove to myself mentally that my body wasn't fragile and it could do what i wanted it to do. This is where resilience comes in. It is so much more than just looking the part. You need to be able to perform without the handbrake on. Without constantly worrying what if... This is why I am building my body around one goal. To be adventure ready. Right now i'm training for an Ironman 70.3 and i want to share the principles that got me to this point.

1. BUILD STRONG FOUNDATIONS (NOT JUST STRENGTH) Typically we measure strength through the squat, bench press and deadlift. But this is just one facet of strength. Are we strong in ALL directions. It's not just HOW MUCH force we can produce but HOW QUICKLY.

   
   

   Do we adequate size, strength and endurance in the musculature around the joints to be able to share some of the load. Do we have the mobility required in the joints to safely do what you need to do? You might be able to squat 200kg, but can your ankles, knees and hips take thousands of steps running up and down hills before breaking down. We need to build strength that translates. 2. PRIORITIZE RECOVERY LIKE TRAINING

   
   

   Your body can only recover from so much work. Most injuries occur as a result of being overtrained and under recovered. Especially if you are like me, you love training and it is far from a chore - so you need to know when to take your foot off the gas. Eat enough and sleep enough. These are more important than any recovery tool you will every buy. 3. TRAIN FOR FUNCTION NOT LOOKS

   
   

   This is kind of misleading. All movement is functional to some degree. What I really mean by this is that we need to make sure that our training will will carry over to our sport(s) so that our body's are can handle the stress we are putting it through. For instance, if you are a trail runner. You have to be able to absorb large amounts of force, time after time running downhill. A programme that doesn't include some form of plyometrics could be leaving you exposed to injury. 4. BULLETPROOF AGAINST INJURY Again, this is kind of misleading as we can never truly bulletproof against injury. But we can definitely mitigate the risk. For example: managing training loads so we don't overtrain, ironing out any major imbalances, being strong enough to handle the demands of the sport, proper rest and recovery, proper fuelling etc.

   
   

   5. MINDSET = EVERYTHING If you are returning from an injury this is the best advice i can give you. Use it as a chance to learn and build a new baseline. Use it it as fuel to work harder than you have ever worked to come back better. If you love sport and training a major injury causes more than just a physical battle. It is mentally an extremely tough thing to go through. Your social life and stress outlets are taken away instantly. You have to fill that viod with something and use it as a chance to learn. Not all injures can be avoided. But i promise that i'll do my best to avoid another one. I certainly won't make the same mistakes i made before. These 5 things are the outline of how i returned from my injury and now training for an Ironman 70.3. If you want to follow the same path then download my FREE 5 Step Adventure Readiness Blueprint.

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