Training Athletes through Illness and Injury: Case 2012 American Open Winner Vanessa McCoy

Vanessa McCoy won the 63 kilo division of the 2012 American Open but less than a year ago was
severely ill and unable to use one of her arms in training. For a long time Vanessa knew that something
wasn’t right with her body but didn’t know what. She was an extremely gifted athlete but hadn’t
survived the training programs she had been in very well. She had come to NMU from Colorado Springs
and things seemed better when she had won the 2011 Senior Nationals. Not too long afterwards she
started having pain and numbness from one of her arms through her trapezius and neck. She was
unable to sleep at night and also had flu like symptoms. She had some tests done but not a diagnosis.
One evening she fainted and ended up hospitalized. Originally it was thought that she fainted from the
pain in her arm but it was later found that she had both thoracic outlet syndrome and Crohn’s disease.
Thoracic outlet syndrome is an extra thoracic rib that cuts off blood supply to areas of the arm, neck,
and trapezius. It is typically symptomless in the general population but tends to manifest more
symptoms in overhead athletes such as volleyball players and weightlifters. Correction of thoracic outlet
syndrome can even require invasive surgery to remove the extra rib and even one of the muscles from
the neck. Crohn’s disease is an auto-immune disease that causes inflammation of the gut along with flu
like symptoms such as fever, low energy, poor nutrient absorption, and poor recovery from physical
activity. Attacks are brought about by too much stress and when she has a spell she basically has to lie in
bed all day to recover.

Vanessa is very determined and when I took over her training I had to figure out how to first train her
without the use of her upper body because we had to let those thoracic tissues atrophy and create more
space for her compressed arterial tissue. Next, I had to create a system that allowed her to continue to
get stronger without bringing on the symptoms of her illness. I cut her training down to 3 or 4 longer
training sessions a week to allow a day of rest between each one. I also had worked with other athletes
that had been unable to use their upper bodies due to shoulder surgery and I used my knowledge of
strength training for track & field and gymnastics to cover all the training necessary to increase her
strength, power, and work capacity without the use of the barbell. The training includes a large volume
of jumps, hip work and hamstring work, and various sled pulls. Vanessa also learned to better manage
her conditions through medication, nutrition, supplementation, and regular massage from a
professional or myself. As symptoms improved from her thoracic outlet I was able to slowly implement
barbell training with the main focus on light weights and technique. Even now we have to keep the
barbell work to a minimum because too much will bring about symptoms from both conditions but she
tolerates the other work much better. Future plans for Vanessa include University and American
records. I also use variations of this system of training whenever an athlete has a more serious injury to
the back or upper body and is unable to use the barbell for an extended period.

A typical week of training during the early recovery of her illness:

Day1

Weighted Squat Jumps onto Box 4x5

Depth Jumps over Hurdle + Long Jump 4x5
Walking Leg Lifts with ankle weights 4x30metres
Shoulders Elevated 1 Leg barbell hip lift 5x10
Weighted 1 leg Back Extension 5x10 each leg
Forward Sled drags 5x40m

Day 2

Pistol Squat+Jump onto Box+Pistol Squat 4(4+4+4)

Lateral Drop Jump onto box 4x4 each way
1 Leg Bridge + Leg Curl 5x10
1 isometric Hyper 4x20seconds
3x40meters Alternate Leg Bounding
A-Skips 4x30m with sled
Backward sled Drags 4x40m

Day 3

Weighted Alternating Split Squat Jumps 4(5+5)

Drop Jump Combinations 4x4
Seated Hamstring Curls 5x10
Weighted Reverse Plank 4x20 seconds
8x10 single leg small hurdles jumps
Carioca with sled 4x30m
Lateral Sled Drags 5x40m meters

Day 4

Jumps Circuit 4x10 each

Lunge jumps

Star Jumps

180-360 Degrees

Speed Skater

Dynamic Step-Ups

Single Leg Butt Kick

Tuck Jumps

Butt Kicks
 Lateral Squat Jumps

Straddle Jumps

Typical Week for the present training:

Day 1
Dead
Hang 75 0.0% 3 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Snatch 3
45 50
Sn-HT 75 60.0% 2 66.7% 1 0.0% 0.0%
2 2
53 57
Sn-MT 75 70.7% 1 76.0% 2 0.0% 0.0%
2 2
60
Sn-BK 75 80.0% 3 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2
65 70
SHP-BK 75 86.7% 3 93.3% 3 0.0% 0.0%
5 3

BS 130 0.0% 5 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%

5

Back Extension 6x12, Forward Sled Drags 4x20m

Day2
55 60
C&J-HT 95 57.9% 1 63.2% 2 0.0% 0.0%
2 2
65
C&J MT 95 68.4% 2 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2
70 75
C&J BK 95 73.7% 1 78.9% 1 0.0% 0.0%
2 2
78
C&J 95 82.1% 2 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2
80 85
CP-BK 95 84.2% 3 89.5% 2 0.0% 0.0%
5 3

Step Ups- 1x8, 2x5, 2x3, Backward Sled Drags 4x20m

Day3
63 66 69 72
SN 75 84.0% 1 88.0% 1 92.0% 1 96.0% 1
1 1 1 1
82 86 89 92
C&J 95 86.3% 1 90.5% 1 93.7% 1 96.8% 1
1 1 1 1

FS 115 0.0% 5 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%

5

Walking lunges 1x6, 1x5, 2x3 Back Extensions 6x12, Forward Sled Push 4x20m
Day4
PS 65 76.9% 50 3 80.0% 52 2 0.0% 0.0%
 2 2
65 68
PC+J 85 76.5% 3 80.0% 2 0.0% 0.0%
2 2

Reverse Walking Lunges 1x6, 1x5, 2x3, Lateral Sled Drags 4x20m

As a coach I have always tried to focus on training the individual for their specific situation. I have always
believed a one size fits all program can leave some gifted athletes such as Vanessa behind. Although this
is far from a typical training protocol it can be used as a viable alternative when an athlete has to refrain
from barbell training periodically due to injury.