Back in 2008, while sweating generously in a gym without air conditioning in the northernmost reaches of Australia, and also near the bottom of a 3-plate squat, this muscle in my left inner thigh went “pop”.
Let me tell you, if you never had a muscle go plink during a heavy set of squats, count yourself lucky.
A lesser soul would blame the barbell and “lifting too heavy”. My good fortune that I’m not an idiot on social media.
Fact is, I’d felt a twinge in that area several sets earlier and went “lol I’m gonna keep going heavier anyway”. Like they say in the computing world, the problem exists between the barbell and the floor.
Oh, don’t worry about me. I’d set the rails in the rack, so that minus a little embarrassment it was an easy and not too loud ditch. I nursed the spot back to health and within a few weeks it could take weight again.
Fast forward to two weeks ago.
These last couple of months I’ve been doing a high-frequency bodybuilding style workout which encourages a little exercise variety. On that day I was doing a “Bulgarian single-leg squat”. That’s the one where you get in a lunge position and then bring the back foot up on to a box or bench.
With a pair of 20 kilo dumbbells in hand, I did my 3 sets of 12 reps. On the left side, I felt what I thought was simple fatigue in the inner thigh and groin regions. Single-leg work activates all those piss-ant muscles that the big two-leg moves don’t, so I didn’t think much about it.
Until I get to the last set and figure I’m going to bully my way through it when, on the next to last rep, I feel that familiar “POP” all over again.
Dang.
I forget all about this injury for fifteen years and here it is dropping by like an old friend that ran off with your life savings and your wife. At least it didn’t happen under a squat at a decent multiple of body weight.
What’s this got to do with you? The other day I sent out a message talking about how I’m updating Squat Every Day for the 10th anniversary with a webinar that I’m hosting in July.
This story of my screw-ups gives you a taste of some of the topics we’ll cover.
There’s three or four just in this story:
– Why I’m still prejudiced in favor of high frequency after all these years and even when I get hurt
– Why I’m not even bothered that I can’t squat heavy, even though that would have destroyed my self-esteem and sent me on a drinking binge in older times
– Dealing with all these “uninvited guests” that come back to visit as you get older
– How I keep on training legs even with one side blown out like a tire on a spike strip and I don’t even care
Spots are only for the good souls already on my email list.
If you’re interested in such things you’d best be on it too. Click the link:
Matt Perryman