Cog in the Wheel

Any athlete from amateur to professional can share a story of injury and rehabilitation.   Whether it is as simple as a pulled muscle or something more severe like a torn ACL, every athlete experiences setbacks in their journey.  My first major setback came this summer with strains in my pecs, traps, paraspinals, intercostals, and clavicle along with tendonitis in my bicep.  (All on the left…)  By the time I got to the doctor, he declared my entire shoulder area a “mess” and asked if I had ever thought about taking up competitive chess.  This visit to the doctor culminated in three weeks of physical therapy and (so far) twelve weeks of no activity.  How did this get so bad?  Well….that’s where the lessons come in. 

Pay attention to your body…ALWAYS and HONESTLY

This was probably the hardest lesson for me to learn.  These muscles didn’t strain themselves in one shot.  The very first time I set up for a barbell squat in January, I had discomfort in my shoulder area.  It was diagnosed as a shoulder flexibility issue and I worked through shoulder flexibility exercises to try and work through it.  Eventually though, I decided it was a mental issue and just pushed myself to ignore the discomfort.  I consistently told myself that it always felt better after the first couple of sets and it was just the muscles needing to warm up.  And, although it continued to bother me throughout the months, not once did I mention it to anyone, including my coach.  STUPID!  (There’s not really another word for that…)  Eventually, yes…I mentioned that I thought my squat form was having issues but I never thought that the squat could injure my shoulder area.  STUPID!  I spent months ignoring discomfort because it went away.  So, I assumed that meant it wasn’t really hurt and that it was all mental.  Had I paid attention to my body and been honest with myself that there was actual pain setting up and during the lift (and then been honest with my coach), probably I could have fixed this before required daily ice, a month of hopped up NSAIDs, and at least three months of no activity.  But, as imperative as it is to listen to yourself, it’s also vitally important to....

 Listen to Your Coach Too

My coach has accused me multiple multiple times of having what he calls Exercise ADD.  Basically, this comes from a desire to do anything and everything that sounds fun.  I like to push myself to try new things and to constantly be better at everything I do.  I know that I won’t excel at everything (lifting, running, cycling, swimming, you name it…) but I like to try everything and I want to train for everything all at the same time!  More than once, he has told me to stick to the training plan and stop going “off book.”  BUT….I have an attention span on training plans that lasts about four weeks.  So, after two months of the same training plan, I got bored….and looked for something fun to try.  I have chased after Fitocracy quests (hello tri quests and widowmakers) as well as achievements (I wanted those stupid first level lifting achievements even if I wasn’t really ready to hit them yet).  And, the dumbest thing?  I knew that he wouldn’t approve so I used the “easier to ask forgiveness” policy and didn’t ask.  The result of throwing myself into everything and not listening about overtraining?  Hello physical therapy.  Listening now.

All that said, I completely understand that injury is a part of life as an athlete.  But, for me, this is an injury that could have been easily avoided with some honesty and listening on my part.  In my enforced inactivity, I’ve had some time to think about my goals going forward.  I’m still aiming for that half in May 2013 and I shall be listening carefully from now on.  That’s a promise.