Mark Rippetoe
My old friend Tommy Suggs died this morning at the age of 85. "Supe" – (for "Super Suggs") as Starr called him for decades -- was a good man. He was very important to the iron game, one of the very best coaches in Olympic weightlifting back when we were good at it, and was just one helluva lot of fun too. He is survived by his loving wife Karen and far too many kids and grandkids. A toast tonight for Tommy Suggs!
Ryan DCNT
Rip, thanks for exposing us to Tommy. I'd have never known about him if it weren't for you. RIP Tommy!
3rdcoast_slope
Thank you for introducing him to us. His memory and wisdom lives on.
kpsmiley
Obituary link: John Thomas "Tommy" Suggs, Jr.
An excellent tribute to Supe.
NoStepOnSnek
Slipped on ice last night and bashed the back of my head against the door jamb. I saw stars and was disoriented for a few minutes and, after realizing I had a good sized laceration on the back of my noggin, went to the ER.
Got stapled up and asked for the CT scan, which came up clean. I have no nausea and no headache (except for pain at the laceration) and otherwise feel completely fine. In fact, I credit my training for not having any back, neck, or limb injury as a result of the fall.
Also, I’ve read Mark’s admonition in an old thread of “Have you had a cranial CT? If not, get one now. And do not ask some shithead on the internet about your closed-head injury ever again.” But, I’ve had the CT. The guy in that thread did not and had other symptoms.
The ER doctor said to take a week off because I have a “head” injury. But, if everything came up clean and I have no other symptoms, I’m wondering if I really have a “head injury” or just a laceration that happens to be on my head.
Knowing that doctors will tend to be overly cautious, I just don’t know if a clean CT is enough to take me out of the realm of legitimate medical advice, to which I should adhere, and back into the realm of listening to shitheads on the internet.
A week off sounds excessive, considering I haven’t missed a training day in two years. I want to just shift my schedule back one day to see how I feel today before getting under the bar again tomorrow. But, if I’m really in a “don’t be an asshole and listen to the doctor” situation, I’ll just suck it up. Dying under the bar with a brain bleed sounds less than productive for my training goals.
I don't think you have a "head injury" per se, but rather a cut on your head. Warm up carefully and see if anything unpleasant occurs.
Feeling ok today, not great. But that might have something to do with lack of sleep after a night in the ER.
My wife says I was disoriented for more like an hour, not just a few minutes, so I guess that’s more reason to take it slow. I’ll feel it out with the warmups tomorrow and try not to be a hero.
Matt James
I had what I thought was a mild concussion in 2016. Was a fair bit disoriented for most of the evening. Didn't think too much of it and went off on a week's vacation that involved hiking/running all over the Black Hills and generous quantities of good bourbon. By the time I got back I was in bad shape, and dealt with the after effects for months (headaches, memory loss). I got a CT when I got back from the trip and it was clear, for what it's worth.
A week off may be excessive assuming it's mild. But be careful. You may feel fine during your workout and feel like shit the next day. Obviously if that happens you need to rest until your symptoms are gone. If you're feeling off today, it may not be a bad idea to give yourself another day or two of rest before you train again.
Just my two cents. Don’t be a dumbass like me. A couple days off from training is a lot better than weeks or months of bullshit.
Yes, you can concuss without a bleed. Remember: warm up carefully and pay attention to what is going on.
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Gym Safety: Because Common Sense Isn’t That Common | Starting Strength Radio #284 –Mark Rippetoe
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