BreakAway Sport

WHAT DOES NOT KILL YOU HURTS LIKE A #@$%&^*!

Jeff Teach is extraordinary athlete.  He was a college two-time All American and a 4 time Big-Ten Champion in the shot put. After college, Jeff trained at the Olympic training center in Colorado (1995-96) for weightlifting until a shoulder injury took him out of competition right before the Olympic trials. He was #2 in the country in his weight class.

After leaving Colorado, Jeff became a strength and conditioning coach for George Mason University and went on to establish BREAKAWAY Fitness and BREAKAWAY Sport, facilities that offer individual and group training for everyone from those looking to become more fit to elite level athletes.

In nearly 20 years since his Olympic training, Jeff has continued to push himself and compete in many different activities.  He has completed several century bike rides/races and mountain biking–some for fun and others for glory.  In 2006, Jeff ran the Marine Corps Marathon in 3:04 at 200+ lbs, which qualified him for the Boston Marathon–which he completed in 3:14 with a 60 mph head wind.  As a trainer, Jeff sets the bar high by keeping up with a daily regimen of strength and conditioning that men half his age might struggle to keep up with.

A lifter at heart, Jeff decided to compete in a local weightlifting competition in March 2013. He took first in both categories (clean and jerk, snatch) for his weight class, but after his third lift on snatch, he knew something was wrong.  A doctor confirmed this: Jeff had torn his labrum and rotator cuff/supraspinatus (which one could possibly have been from 1996) and would require surgery, which he had in July 2013. The doctors pieced together the labrum with 5 tacks and sewed the supraspinatus back to the bone with 2 tacks. Since then, Jeff has been working hard to regain his strength, range of motion, and mojo–all of which have required time and patience.  This blog is about Jeff’s continuing road to recovery and about things he’s learned along the way that might help other athletes who have suffered injuries.