Gift of Injury: The Strength Athlete’s Guide to Recovering from Back Injury to Winning Again

by Stuart McGill; Brian Carroll

This book is about healing injuries in the athlete's back and then building resilience to compete once again. Anyone who trains will enhance their injury resilience and performance by employing these proven principles with athletes. In the highly competitive world of strength athletics, a back injury is seen by many as the ultimate career-ender. But, in truth, if handled properly, it is far from a death sentence. Follow the journey of international powerlifting champion Brian Carroll, who can attest to this firsthand. After a massive spinal compression injury, this remarkable athlete went from 1185 lb squats and 800 lb deadlifts to unending pain and disability. But, after a fortuitous meeting with leading back expert Professor Stuart McGill, he reset his training and life to fight back to the top of the winner's podium. In fact, in 2020, the final competition year of Brian's career, Brian was the first person, regardless of body weight, to break the 1300 lb squat barrier in powerlifting history with one thousand three hundred and six pounds! Even more importantly, Brian remains back pain and symptom-free, nearly 10 years later. Glean expertise from McGill and Carroll, both masters in their field, and learn how to orchestrate your triumphant comeback. Whether you are a former champion yourself who has fallen on hard times; or starting a new foray into the world of strength training who wants to avoid injury and maximize training, the wisdom found within these pages is sure to take your resilience and lifts to the next level. Over 200 full-color, rich illustrations demonstrate technique.

Genres: Fitness, Health, Nonfiction, Sports

159 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2018

Reviews

[Valentin Reis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book on injury prevention and recovery for weightlifting I have read. The advice somehow is similar to 'Back Mechanic' from the same author, only with more tips and tricks specific to PL. For instance, McGill discusses compatible activities, warmup routines, and progression back into a PL program. The material reads well without any previous exposition to the author's work.

[Ben Nimphie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding. Anyone interested in strength training and who wants to be able to train well into their fifties and beyond should read this book. There’s a lot of great stuff in here that I wish I would have known in my twenties.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A couple of disclaimers before I get into the bulk of my review:
1. I am not a strength athlete.
2. I have no desire to ever take up powerlifting.
3. I do have a chronically bad back.
4. My needs as a casual outdoor cyclist, Peloton app enthusiast, and wannabe yogi, are very different from the needs of someone who does the type of lifting presenting in this book.

Ultimately, I think I would have been better off reading McGill's book Back Mechanic (which I was unable to get from my library, and I was reluctant to shell out $35 for), because the focus of this book really is almost entirely on power lifting. No disrespect to Brian Carroll, but I kind of lost interest in his story after learning about how he got injured and then got connected to McGill; I just skimmed over the parts of the book focusing on his training plan and his return to powerlifting competitions.

That being said, there are still some worthwhile bits in here even for us weaklings. ;)

Cyclists need balance and a strong core, even if we do still need to maintain more flexibility in our hamstrings than power lifters. Also, do your warmups! (Which I'm totally guilty of skipping.) And walking is really good for you, which I think we all know, but tend to dismiss because it seems too easy and simple.

Then there is the information around the McGill Big Three (read a bit about them here: https://squatuniversity.com/2018/06/2...), which as it turns out I had already started doing two of them (side planks and bird dogs). I have definitely noticed that when I do these particular exercises regularly, my back feels better and, if done immediately before a ride, my rides feels stronger.

So, even though I'm only giving it 3 stars for ME and my level of athleticism, I can see where it would be much more useful if you lift.

[Alexander H***l · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is kind of a niche book but the routines, exercises, recommendations and overall content was great. I would recommend this book for anyone who has had an injury. To read the process of how someone with a crushed vertebrae and bulged discs, can come back even stronger was fascinating. Main take aways: move pain free to prevent irritating the injury first, vigorous walks while swinging the arms for at least 15 minutes helps with blood-flow and shoulder/back issues, rebuild core strength using the McGill Big 3 for stability, always move/l with proper form (even when not lifting and always brace when lifting.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good resource for those recovering from injury or who went to prevent them from occurring... Which is pretty much everyone. Strength or powerlifting coaches would be wise to have this on their bookshelf.

Stuart helped Brian recover from a severely cracked sacrum so the specifics around recovery is different than my case.

Takeaways: the big three core exercises. Proper form. The knowledge that I need coaching in order to correct some obvious issues and professional diagnosis to better understand limitations and prevent reinjury.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book for anyone who lifts. After getting a lifting related back injury I read two of Dr. McGill's other books to learn about how to rehab and strength my back. They are also good, but this one is much more practical for someone who doesn't need to know all the anatomy and physiology and just wants to get healthy and strong again. If you lift and want to protect your back this book is well worth your time.

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book for the strength athlete and, in my opinion, any athlete or workout warrior. I really loved the emphasis on proper spinal biomechanics. Even sitting down or reaching for something l, we should be mindful of proper spinal position. There’s a lot to learn from this book, it’s very educational.

[Chris Pound · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an incredibly insightful and inspiring tail of Brian’s journey through injury, recovery, and the comeback. Anyone that has dealt with or is dealing with a sports related injury, especially a back injury, would find this well worth the read. It’ll give you practical tips, insight and tools for your own path.

[Steven Schmidt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish this was more tailored towards normal people with 9-5 jobs that like to lift some weights (a group of which I am a part) and less tailored towards professional strength athletes. Still a good read.

[Daniel Glavey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book on the path to injury recovery. Great story and great information.

[Ali Berkok · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading for anyone into strength training (which should be everyone).

[Chris Baron · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing come back story and a book with real, applicable lifting technique guidance.