Thoughts and Injuries

Last Thursday I decided to try for a PR at cleans, going for 205. I had done 195 a little while ago and I felt, especially with how good I felt doing a 185 lb. clean and jerk with good form a week prior, that I had a good chance at 205. Well, unfortunately I was wrong. Double unfortunately I got hurt. I tried for one at 205, couldn't get it and then decided to try for 195. I got that one, but with very poor form and I tweaked my back nice and good. The wierd thing (and the not-so-good thing) is that the pain started out in my back and has since moved to my left leg. It has gotten better, but it really feels like a pinched nerve or something like that. It's different than my usual low back soreness. The frustrating thing is that, in general, my workouts lately have been really good and now I have to take time off. I hope to get back to it, at least with upper body stuff, Thursday or Friday. We'll see how it goes.

Anyway, this got me to thinking a little bit. I have been looking at some things on imbalances and compensation lately as I was trying trying to get a handle on my back stuff and I read a lot about people with shoulder problems and elbow problems along with the usual low-back problems. I have been lucky enough to have never had much of an issue with anything but my low back (except a minor left knee soreness from time to time) and I was thinking why that might be. I came to the conclusion that I have always done a good amount of unilateral (one-arm) upper training, but hardly any unilateral (one-leg) training. In other words I have always done dumbell military presses, dumbell bench presses, one arm rows, etc along with barbell work, but before a year ago I have rarely, if ever, done single leg squats, one leg deadlifts, lunges, etc. I think that this has allowed my lower body imbalances and compensations to continue while my upper body has been forced to correct itself. I think what I need to do once I start up again is really focus on unilateral lower body movements. I also just purchased Gray Cook's "An Athletic Body In Balance" book which is a book that focuses on helping people overcome their imbalances and compensations. Hopefully this will help not only me, but anyone else that I hope to train in the future.



I find this whole thing really amazing as I learn things and think about things. The thing about the human body is that it all makes perfect sense. Everything. The trick is going through all of the logical steps to find the answers.

Mitchell Rothbardt
www.mitchrothbardttraining.com
(coming soon)