Leading up to a one-rep max
I hadn’t injured myself yet this year, and was feeling pretty invincible up until two weeks ago. That’s when I tried to deadlift twice my bodyweight – a big 2009 goal that frankly I thought was not even achievable. Weighing in at around 182, I knew I had to lift 365 pounds to make my goal, and my previous max lift had only been 320.
But two weeks ago I felt strong. I had been working the deadlift regularly, and so when it came time to re-test my max lift – I tried my previous 320 pounds and the bar came off the floor without too much anguish. So next I tried 335 – a big increase. To my surprise, I completed the lift. So I thought, why not just go for it and attempt the lofty 365? It seemed almost a ridiculous increase (and it was), as common sense would have dictated that I add 5 or 10 pounds, not another 30 to an already difficult lift. But I figured I had nothing to lose so I attempted it. It took a few seconds for yours truly to get the bar even a centimeter off the ground, but I pulled with everything I had and pushed my heels into the ground and somehow the bar lifted. It wasn’t pretty. I got the bar close to my knees and just refused to give up. With a bit of a holler I completed the lift, although I know I had a slight re-bend in my knees which would have made the lift not technically perfect. But I didn’t care – I had achieved a goal.
Something else happened during the lift. I strained a muscle in my right glute area, likely my piriformis. Immediately I dropped to the floor in pain. It took a few minutes to get ambulatory again, and I tried to stretch a bit by doing an air-squat, but it was too painful. Rats. I thought I had pulled a major muscle and was done for!
Having dealt with a few muscle strains before, I knew the standard formula for reducing swelling and inflammatory pain by applying the tried and true RICE therapy for 24 to 48 hours after the injury.
REST – it was clear to me that I needed to take some time off from working out.
ICE – works wonders, for up to 15-20 minutes at a time. I happened to have a compression-wrap gel pack made by Homedics under the Thera-P brand–a simple cold/hot gel pack combined with a nylon wrap with a mesh liner that is held closed by heavy velcro straps. I keep the gel packs in the freezer, so the wrap system was ready to go.
COMPRESSION is especially useful for joint injuries and sprains. My compression cold pack served a dual purpose here.
ELEVATION is the final therapeutic remedy. Using a pillow to raise my hips above the level of heat also helped to reduce the inflammation.
I also got some outside therapeutic help. I went to an athletic therapist, who did an initial diagnostic to see if everything was properly aligned before performing some Active Release Technique massage (ART). ART is a soft-tissue system/movement based massage that treats problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves. Acute conditions like sprains and strains can produce tough, dense scar tissue in the affected areas which binds and ties down muscles. ART addresses this, reduces scar tissue and increases movement.
I also had some acupuncture, some electrotherapy and magnetic therapy –the works.
Homework included some stretches for the hip flexors, quads, piriformis and a bit of strength work. Plus a few dates with my foam roller.
The foam roller allows anyone to do some deep tissue massage on their own. If you don’t own a foam roller and are involved in intense exercise or activity, I can highly recommend that you get one! They come in various sizes but they are generally six inches in diameter and three feet long. You simply use your own body weight and position the sore or tight muscle groups directly on top of it. The pressure from this causes a release in the muscle. It hurts like hell to use it, but it sure feels good once you’re done!
Anyhow, it didn’t take long for me to recover! Within one week of being injured, I completed at least one intense Crossfit workout, took an outdoor bootcamp and taught another one of my own, competed in a 5K mud and trail run, and now I’m ready for more! Proof positive that a little therapy goes a long way!
Tags: ART, deadlift, foam roller, RICE, sprains
ART, a medically patented technique used to treat soft tissue areas of the body, such as scar tissue, adhesions, nerve entrapments, myofasciitis, and other conditions involving the muscles, ligaments, tendons, and nerves. ART is effective for all types of injuries, ranging from chronic migraine headaches, back, neck, and shoulder pain, knee problems, plantar fasciitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, sciatica, etc… These conditions and many more can often be resolved quickly and permanently with ART.