;)
We all know it can happen but we think it won't happen to us. The big injury that stops us in our tracks. We all get those smaller injuries that set us back a little bit every once in a while. The injuries that are more annoying than anything else, they just kind of make working out less enjoyable but at least we cam still get in a good workout when they happen.
When the big one comes, at first you're not so sure what to think? Did I really just hurt myself that bad? Is this serious? How is this going to effect my training now and long term? It took me a little bit for it to kick in and for me to accept the fact that yup, that was more then just a little pull or strain and I'm going to have to take some time off training! And yup, this is going to effect my gains :(
So the big one happened to me last night during my Heavy Deadlift session and no I was not going for any PR's or even that crazy high of a weight for me. I have deadlifted 500 pounds with no hint of injury in the past. The weight on this day I had worked up to with lots of warm ups involved was 405 pounds for reps of 5+. I am very familiar with repping out 405 pounds. I'm pretty sure my 405 PR was 15 reps so we are not talking about anything I am not already accustomed to lifting. The only warning sign on this day was that the weight felt unusually heavy to me, why I don't know? I had already finished a set of 5 reps and was working on my second set of 5 when half way through I felt it. It was like a rip and a pop at the same time and it felt really gross. It even made my leg jerk a little like you would except if strands from a rope had let go but the rope had not completely torn in half. The memory of it happening is the worst part, not the pain, I can deal with that part!
I immediately dropped the weight and knew this workout was over. I was kind of in shock and disbelief at what just happened to me. How could this have happened on a weight I had lifted so many times in the past with no problems at all? What was this going to mean now for my current training and future training? Will it effect my upcoming Physique Contest in July? So many thoughts going through my head...
I am now seriously reevaluating what my workout goals are and how I am going to train in the gym moving forward. What good is lifting heavy ass weight when in a split second you can literally set yourself back months with an injury. I am not a power lifter, I am more into body sculpting so perhaps I need to rethink how I lift and how I train because I do not want this to happen to me again.
So what if I don't have a 4 plate squat, or 5 plate deadlift or 3 plate bench press! It would have been nice but I would rather have my health and be able to train at the end of the day! So be it, I will heal up and I will carry on and I will still compete because that's who I am.