Hardcore or Dumbass?
By
Matt Rhodes
For those of you who read my log, you know I’ve been struggling with a
nagging groin/hip injury. For those of you who don’t, you’re missing out. I’m a
pretty funny guy. I probably have the best sense of humor ever! No joke.
In January of 2007, I started doing a lot of raw squatting with my
competition stance. Of course, I never warmed up properly or stretched after. I
just got up at 8:00 a.m., got in my truck, drove an hour to the gym, and got
under the bar and started squatting. Brilliant, right?
With all the raw squatting each week, my groin started to hurt. It always
felt like it was strained and very tight. I could never seem to get it loosened
up, but by Wednesday or Thursday it would feel better. On Friday, I’d jack it up
benching, and then Saturday morning I’d squat and go through the same ritual the
following week.
What I noticed is that after a few extra sets with the bar my groin would
seem to loosen up and feel a little better. I just figured that if I did extra
warm-up sets with the bar, my problem would be solved. Of course, the pain
persisted, and my groin got much worse. The pain and tightness moved from the
groin into the hip flexor. Basic, every day tasks like turning to walk in a
different direction became exercises in pain tolerance. I couldn’t even bend
down to tie my shoe. I had to move my leg around in order to get down to the
laces. But, if I wanted to squat 1000 lbs, I had to deal with it. Hardcore,
right?
In November of 2007, I squatted 930 lbs and stood up with 1000 lbs. I
squatted 915 lbs and 955 lbs twice in my training leading up to that contest. I
hit 655 lbs with a belt on a “deload” week. I was super strong, but my hip and
groin were falling apart. This is where the slope became very steep and
slippery.
Since then, my lifting and especially my squatting has become frustrating and
non-productive. Right now, I honestly don’t think I can squat 315 lbs. What
happened?
The answer is very simple. I swept my problems under the rug and hoped they’d
go away. Here I am two years later squatting 5 X 5 at 135 lbs wondering and not
even caring if I’ll ever squat again. Why? Some will disagree with this next
statement, but I couldn’t care less. Two years ago—maybe even two months ago—my
situation would’ve bothered me. Now, I just don’t care. It’s just not worth it.
I’m in pain all the time. Lifting isn’t fun anymore. I hurt all week just to try
and pick something up? When I bench, my hip feels like it’s going to pop out of
the socket. For what?
I love powerlifting. It has meant so much to me for a number of reasons. But
it has taken its toll on my body. Will I compete again? Maybe. If I feel good
and healthy and mentally ready to attack training like it needs to be done.
Right now, I'm trying to get myself healthy and feeling good so I can do every
day things without pain.
I’ve been rambling on about the plight of Matt Rhodes. Now that I have all of
you feeling sorry for me, here’s what I’m trying to explain—go see a doctor!
Stop pushing through pain that persists. Of course we have pains everyday as
lifters. There’s always something that bothers us whether it be sore muscles or
joints or just feeling like a bag of smashed assholes. This is normal. What
isn’t normal is feeling a pain for weeks at a time and trying to justify it in
your head as “hardcore” or “I need to push through this.”
Lately, I’ve been trying to answer a lot more questions. As I check the
“rehab” section, I keep seeing the same questions over and over—“My ... hurts.
What should I do to fix it?” Or “My ... has been bothering me for ...
weeks/months. Do you have any suggestions?” The list goes on and on, and you
know who you are.
Go see a doctor! You aren’t tough or hardcore. You’re stupid! We all
love lifting weights. If you want to have any longevity in this sport or in
weightlifting at all, you need to take a step back and look at your situation.
Two years ago, if I had taken one or two months off from squatting, rehabbed my
leg properly, and then started to rebuild my strength again, I might have some
big squat numbers to my name. As it stands, I have 930 lbs and a bunch of
bombouts because I couldn’t hit depth because my hip and groin don’t move that
way anymore. On top of that, my life is affected every day by my negligence
toward my body, the same body that I expect to perform at a high level so I can
squat 1000 lbs.
As I sit here at the computer, my hip and groin are bothering me. It isn’t
anything really bad, but when I stand up, it takes me a second to straighten up.
Then, I walk with a slight limp, and I’m not even a gangster! I don’t even know
what “the hood” means, but I’ll be walking like a straight up “G” all because I
wasn’t smart enough to take a step back, assess my injury, address it, and move
forward in an effective manner to heal it.
If you have a nagging injury that you can’t seem to get rid of and ice,
stretching, and a proper warm up doesn’t work, go see a doctor. If nothing you
throw at it seems to make it better, go see a doctor. You might have to stop
doing something for a while in order to heal it. Instead of crying that you
can’t squat for two months, you should look at it as an opportunity to address
some other “weaknesses” or areas that may be lagging behind. If you can’t squat
for two months and your back has been an area that you feel needs some work, you
can now devote a whole day to back training. Then, once you’re ready to squat
again, your back is as strong as ever. Now that your lower body is healed, your
squat starts to take off like never before.
There’s always a silver lining. Sometimes you have to dig for it. Just don’t
let an injury go untreated for too long. If you love lifting weights like I do,
these untreated injuries might mean the end of that weightlifting career, and we
don’t want that.
Matt Rhodes is a tremendous resource for our readers by bringing that
hard-to-find mix of both real world coaching and athletic experience. Not only
did Matt play football at the University of Arizona (1996–1998), but he also
worked as a strength coach at the University of Richmond and was an intern at
the University of Pittsburgh for the accomplished Buddy Morris. Matt now lives
in Greenwich, Connecticut and works as a personal trainer. While he entered the
sport of powerlifting in 2001 at 220 lbs (6’ 4”), he now tips the scale at over
300 solid lbs and has squatted 880, benched 550, and deadlifted 750—earning the
Best Lifter designation in the 308-lb weight class at the APF Imperium in May
2006. Although the path has not been particularly easy for Matt because of
Marfans syndrome, his resolve is strong and he has the will to be a winning
athlete.
Elite Fitness Systems strives to be a recognized leader in the strength
training industry by providing the highest quality strength training products
and services while providing the highest level of customer service in the
industry. For the best training equipment, information, and accessories, visit
us at www.EliteFTS.com.
