Break Time

Haven't posted here in awhile ... part of that being I just ran out of interesting things to say, and the other part being - I'm injured.

1 week ago I strained my lower back. Deadlifting. See I have this form issue sometimes when I go heavy, where I tend to pick my hips up too early during the lift, and it ends up putting alot of the weight on my lower back. My husband has grilled me on it when we train together, I have been trying not to do it... but I guess last week I wasn't thinking and pulled my hips up too early with 175 on the bar. Oops.

After that fateful lift I went to work and the pain was pretty unbearable. I was finding it hard to squat down (I have to squat down at least 4 times during every gait analysis, and I had 6 or 7 of them that day) so when I got out I headed straight home for some rest. Luckily I had 3 days off, which was originally planned for a family visit and a Christmas fun run with my brother for his first ever race, but it just wasn't gonna happen. I could hardly move.

I told my parents the news and my dad and I fought about it, out of nowhre he says something along the lines of "I've been wanting to get this off my chest for a year now, but running and lifting aren't safe and you'll hurt yourself" I was already very upset that I screwed up on my form and allowed this to happen in the first place, so that was just the straw that broke the camel's back (hehe!) I told him I will not stop, not ever. I wasn't hearing any of it and got off the phone with him. We made up a couple days later, I see where he's coming from because he was athletic when he was my age and has dealt with injuries himself. That's where my stubbornness comes from, and from his sister who has also continued to play sports despite injuries and naysayers. But the way I see it it's better to have lifted and lost, then not to have lifted at all... I see people every single day who aren't necessarily active and may just need walking shoes for work or every day errands, who have back pain, hip, knee, etc. Sitting around doing nothing is going to give you problems too. So why not do awesome things? It's worth the risk to me.

That being said, I don't think I did anything majorly bad. It's a strain. I am like 70% back to normal, I can get through a work day and do most everything normally at this point. There's still some pain, and my middle back is sore from having to compensate. My right lower back/hip is the worst, but I have historically had pain on that side so I am not surprised. I think with another week of rest I can get back into the gym. BUT - I'm calling it quits on heavy deads for awhile. I'm not stupid, I learned my lesson. I obviously have a serious form issue and I need to correct it for good before trying to go heavy again. So deadlifts will be lighter with an emphasis on perfect form. This is not a defeat - it's a lesson, and I will simply change how I do things.

Being out of the gym and not running for a week is driving me crazy. I can't sleep, I've gained weight, been eating like crap... Still, it doesn't stop customers at work from complimenting me, asking what sports I play because I "look athletic" I don't think I do, but thanks!

So - give it another week or 2, and I'll be back with a vengeance :)