I know injuries are shit, but wanted you to know that what you shared of your experience and your recovery across these various BBM channels did help me through a recent situation of my own.
Two weeks ago today, 3 weeks before my first ski trip in 20 years, I tore my right hamstring on my last rep of deadlift warm ups (525, hoping to get up to somewhere around 550 for the last single @8) . After a day of feeling sorry for myself I reviewed some of your recent material and got to work. On Friday, which was the 8th session I’d done since the injury, I deadlifted 405 X 6 x 4 without any issue or sign of the injury. With me out skiing all next week, it probably isn’t worth me getting back tor regular training today so will probably spend a week just doing something to tide me over, but if it wasn’t for the trip that’s exactly what I’d be doing today. This just two weeks after struggling to take my socks off when I got home.
What pulling from what you documented of your experience provided me was the idea that I could probably do more than I otherwise would have done to rehab it. More volume and more exercises on the actual rehab. The use of tools like tempo to mitigate risk (3 second eccentrics with a 1 second pause when squatting). But just as much it was the mindset of seeing what else I could get out of the rest of my training during this period - this is not idea, but what I can work on to improve while the injury was recovering.
Thanks for taking the time for documenting your journey. It does help.
That’s really cool to read, Limie. I prefer the outlook that we can play an active role in our recovery rather than just being a passenger along for the ride. Now, maybe we can both stay off the sidelines for a while lol.
This post made me smile. Ironically, I tore a hamstring/adductor squatting about a week before you did at your meet Jordan. Your documentation/discussion of your recovery kept me motivated to keep training and not feel sorry for myself. In the past I would of just gave up lifting entirely because I had an all or nothing mentality. But this time I used what I learned from you and Barbell Medicine and found that I could still squat light and with a tempo and that I could deadlift and bench almost completely normally. That kept me going for the months I was recovering and I’m so happy that I didn’t just give up and cause myself more problems in the long run. Now I’m squatting completely normally and it feels great. Wishing you both speedy recoveries with your injuries!