Interview with strongman Jiří Tkadlčík, who will advise you how to regenerate better!

Jiří Tkadlčík, the best Czech strongman of the u105 category, is struggling with injuries that have limited him in competitions this year. And today, through an interview with Jiri, we will learn about the circumstances of his injuries, but also Jiri will give us advice on what we should improve in our recovery to avoid possible injuries.

Hi Jirka, if I'm not mistaken, you finished this season by competing in Finland at the World Championship, where you took silver, right?

Hi, that's exactly right. The season was quite successful, or not much of course, but the main thing was the second place in Finland at that World Championship and I must say that was quite a struggle and nerves. In the end it was good, not for gold, but at least it was a silver medal.

Did you plan to compete in other races this year, or was this World Cup planned as your last race of the year?

As far as my plans for this year, I had planned to race another fortnight around the world in England at the Arnold Classic. Unfortunately, it didn't work out due to injury, so I had to end the season with that silver in Finland. After that, I didn't have any other races lined up, so it worked out about halfway.

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What injuries are you currently dealing with?

This season has been very unlucky for injuries, I've been in some sh*t all the time, so I've had more than enough. I've had a torn biceps, some inflammation in my forearms, shoulders. Then I also had this cyst on my hamstring, so I probably tore a tendon in my wrist. Well, I ended up more than grandiose with a prolapsed disc. I'm kind of recovering and healing from that now. I'm just trying to make the best of it so I can get on with the sport.

Do you know how you got these injuries?

Of course I know - after a battle, everyone's a general. I brought it on myself by overworking and not listening to my body for a long time, and of course that takes its toll. So I advise everyone not to do it to the extreme that I did. I have 170 races under my belt and since I was a big extremist in certain things, it took its toll.

When will you be able to get back on the scene again?

At the moment I really don't know. I hope to do some races next year. We'll see if there will be any in the spring, summer, or if there will be any at all, but we believe there definitely will be.

What advice would you give to practitioners who ask you how to avoid potential injuries?

I would tell them to listen to their bodies. It's important to be consistent in their recovery, to train to have the best technique possible. It's also good to have people (coaches, sparring partners,...) around them to help them with this as well. It's important to give back to the body because those performances cost something and that recovery is needed.

Do you think injuries are inherent to an athlete's professional career?

I think it does. When you do sports to the fullest (especially strongman sports), you're pretty much asking for it. I was pretty much immortal until I was about twenty-eight, but then it started to take its toll. Proper movement patterns and stretching are also important. However, if one has all these and other things set up well, and has a good physiotherapist around, injury need not come.

What tips would you recommend for better recovery?

I would recommend hardening, sufficient stretching, compensatory exercises and definitely sleep. These are basic things that you should not underestimate. Then supplementation in terms of vitamins and mineralsis also in order . Of course, a perfectly balanced diet is also a must. Just don't leave anything to chance and don't think that great performance is just about going to the gym four times and then giving up.

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Do you think it's worth going to physio?

It's very necessary for a top athlete. But now we are really considering "physio", not some massages, which are of course also good, but they can't remotely replace a good "physio". A good physiotherapist should also suggest compensatory exercises and advise you how to take care of the body so that you don't overload it in a one-sided way.

It is often said that there is no "physio as physio". What should we expect from them and how to tell the good ones from the less experienced ones?

It is true that nowadays the bag has been torn with "physio". Everyone else plays "physio", but not everyone can do it. So how to tell the good from the bad? It's definitely a good idea to listen to references from their clients.

Sometimes you can see photos of you swimming in cold water. Do you think that's good for recovery?

As far as cold in general, not just cold water, cryochamber and cryotherapy I highly recommend it. I think it's excellent and we can see really noticeable results - for example, when I climbed into a tub of cold water after a hard workout in the summer, the recovery was noticeably better.

If someone isn't struggling, how would you recommend they start? Is it advisable to run into cold water right away?

Well, enough has been written about that. Anyway, I'd start slowly, it's not everyone's cup of tea. It's definitely not a good idea to jump into the water right away. It's a lot about discipline, you need to get out of your comfort zone. In the beginning you can just dip your feet in and gradually increase - it's like training, you start light and gradually increase.

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Do you have any more sporting plans for the rest of this year?

I still have some sporting plans for the rest of this year, I will definitely keep moving. Even though I'm a bit limited in the heavy weights now, I'm still at least pushing hard on the bench and trying to catch up with Vlasta Kuzel (laughs). We're going to organize a camp in Sumava and I'm going to organize my deadlift seminar on October 31st, so we're still forging something.

And what do you have planned for next year?

I don't really know what's coming next year and I'm really curious about it myself.

Jirka, thank you very much for the interview, have a nice day!

Thank you very much too.