Sometimes we all have to make decisions we donâ??t likeâ?¦ For me that was listening to that inner voice that the athlete/ego in me wants to ignore, but the coach in me knows is rightâ?¦
Four and a half months ago, I had aâ?¦ letâ??s say, an â??uniqueâ?? landing when tandem skydiving for the first time. I was trying new things outside of the gym, and it was very fun up until the moment I bounced off the ground.
At first, I thought I had just bruised my tailbone, but by the second week after the accident, I could barely move. I couldnâ??t do air squats, push ups, pull-ups, everything was painful. I got an x-ray to confirm it wasnâ??t broken, and the verdict was a sprained pelvis.
So, I took time off, and got a ton of treatment from more than one health care professional. I started training again conservatively mid-July, starting over again with my previous warm-up weights. Things were going well enough I decided to enter my first powerlifiting competition this fall. I wasnâ??t going to try to go for PRâ??s, I was going in it more for the experience (or so I told myself).
Then a couple weeks ago, while training at another gym out of town, I felt my lumbar round at the bottom of a beltless back squat. I immediately got the bar off my back, and was thinking my erectors had just seized to protect my spine. I took a few days off lifting, did some mobility, and was hoping that some rest would be enough. Again, saw my physio and chiropractor, both who concluded it stemmed back to that original injury.
So, as much as it pains me to say it, itâ??s time to slow down. Time to take some time to build myself up again, respect that injury, respect the recovery. Slowing down in CrossFit is a hard thing to do, especially when it seems like everyone else is progressing, but I couldnâ??t ignore it anymore and I was at risk of hurting myself further.
I have a great network of family and friends who supported me during this decision, and of course, I realize itâ??s not the end of the world. Itâ??s just very frustrating when all you want to do is train and do a little competing. But I know that if I want to be taken seriously as a coach, I have to be a good example, and stop trying to push through everything.
This will be a great time for me to focus on what I can do- gymnastics, mobility, yoga, conditioning, quality sleep and nutrition, walk my dog. I also have the amazing opportunity to help my good friend hopefully qualify for powerlifting Nationals, since I wonâ??t be doing the whole competition myself.
I have no doubt that if I hadnâ??t done all of that strength training and CrossFit I would have broken my tailbone last May. For that Iâ??m extremely grateful, as I know it could have been way worse. So, even though itâ??s a hard pill to swallow, I know I will be better for it in the long run if I listen to my body, and respect the process.
Hereâ??s hoping Iâ??m about to get a whole lot better at pull-ups!