6 weeks ago I was in a lot of pain.
I injured myself at a competition (hip flexor) and suddenly after several months of hard training I had to take the foot off the pedal and watch all my gains slip away as I nursed my hip.
Suddenly weights that once felt easy, I was Failing. And workouts that were once invigorating were a slog. Long sessions of Frustration and pain. Trying to find workarounds that didn’t involve the hip left few options. The hip resulted in an overall tightness in every part of my body. My neck and knees started hurting and my wrist was now killing me.
I couldn’t lunge or air squat without pain.
I realized that I couldn’t try to ignore the injury and that if I wanted to maintain any progress I made prior I’d have to address the pain (and what was causing it).
I broke my ankle a few years ago (and my leg) before that when I was 21.
I think the prior injury coupled with cumulative 6 months of casts and braces of my entire leg seriously screwed up some of my movement patterns. I was compensating in areas because I didn’t have full range of motion in my ankle and hip. And your body being the adapting machine that it is, WILL find a way to get the task done.
Gray Cook, a world famous coach and physical therapist says, “Don’t add strength to dysfunction.”
Thats what was happening. Something wasn’t right but I stubbornly added strength to a faulty pattern and got hurt.
Then I got serious about mobility and maintainance.
20 minutes every day.
I was doubtful but also desperate and desperate is what I needed to be.
Over the course of a few weeks I felt not more “flexible” per sé. I felt like I was opening up.
I was like a damn bear trap.
Eddie recomended some deep tissue. I did that.
If you ever wonder why he can do so much volume, it’s because he spends a lot of time of maintained and recovery.
I started doing all the stuff I knew I “should” be doing but kept putting on the back-burner.
The PVC pipe and a mat is my new best friend.
Today I have ZERO pain. And strangely, little aches I wasn’t even paying attention to also went away.
And the ritual of daily mobility has had a really cool meditative effect as well.
So where am I getting at?
i’m not saying I’ll never have pain again or this is some magical cure-all.
But if you have any kind of injury and you haven’t tried daily mobility you need to.
If you have any aspiration of getting stronger and performing better in CrossFit and Olympic lifting, a whole world opens up to you when you can execute these positions (like the rack or overhead squat) properly you need to do mobility work. Good luck trying to snatch a lot without good thoracic mobility.
If you have a recurring issue, find the root cause. And exhaust the options.
If you think mobility can benefit you I encourage you to take part in a personal challenge.
Starting in february vow to do 20 minutes of mobility five times a week. First thing in the morning. Wake up twenty minutes early roll out of bed and do it.
We have joined up with ROMWOD to make it easy.
All you have to do is join ROMWOD.com for $13 and for the entire month follow the video on your phone and on Saturdays hit Mikes yoga class at 8:30.
You can do it at home or at the gym. Either way, do it and don’t let anything else get in the way.
If at the end of February you’re not tremendously happy you did it all you lose is $13.
Workout of the Day
A. Front Squat
5×3 with :3 pause in bottom
B. Dynamic Deadlift
2 reps every :20 for 5:00 @55% of 1 RM
C. Bent Over BB Row
4×8-10 reps
Competition
rest day