The Big Mistake You Might Be Making With Your Workouts
My Pain in the Butt
Let me tell you a little story about my biggest PAIN IN THE BUTT.
Then you know why it is so easy to fall in love with. The pumping music, flashing lights, instructors with the enthusiasm that I could only achieve with a quad shot of espresso…It’s a dance party on a bike with low lighting to hide my lack of smooth moves. Perfect.
Back when unlimited ClassPass was still a thing, I took spin classes at FlyWheel and Studio Three two to three times a week. I supplemented this with Pilates ProWorks, Studio Lagree, Sweat, and CrossTown Fitness. SoulCycle, I love you but ya know…funds.
I was feeling good and probably in the best shape of my life…then the dreaded hand breaking incident happened.
I put ClassPass on hold and was forced to figure out that whole working out on your own thing…yikes.
Oh, and then I went to Switzerland. Cheese fondue galore mixed with a vacation mentality of not working out set the stage for disaster on my return home.
Okay, that’s a little melodramatic, but good thing SkyDiving and HangGliding required no use of my hand or effort on my part! Thank you Skydive Interlaken and BumbleBee HangGliding for keeping the rest of my bones in one piece.
When I got back, my physician cleared me to begin biking as long as I did not put more than 20lbs through my hand. Done deal. I took that and ran with it…well I guess I actually biked with it.
I started doing Peloton at least 5 times per week. Two weeks later I woke up and felt like someone had sliced into my butt (where the butt meets the thigh).
From that point, I reviewed my symptoms and diagnosed myself with proximal hamstring tendinopathy (on both sides).
What does that mean?
Basically, I overdid it. I overloaded my hamstring tendon past it’s load capacity.
Picture a spring. When you stretch it, it should return back to normal when you release it. If you pull too far, it will eventually stay in that stretched out position.
Why did this happen? Because I went from a cheese-eating couch-dweller to a Maserati driving 120mph without any ramp up time (minus the sleek appearance. I’m definitely not one of those girls that “glisten” when I work out). I didn’t do any other type of exercise and repeatedly overloaded my tendons with compression forces galore.
Tsk, Tsk. I should know better.
So what did I do?
Well first I thought: “Ugghhh this is the worst! I’m waddling around like a penguin and feel like I am 100 years old!” Then, I started stretching it…massaging with a lacrosse ball…and then put myself on PT probation because I was ignoring everything I know as a PT.
It was only getting worse, because DUH, this is exactly what I would tell my patients not to do!
I guess I’m just not used to seeing myself as a patient.
So what should I have done to prevent this?
So what should I have done to treat it?
I guess my injury was a way of my body telling me to stop being an idiot and get back to practicing what I preach!
Forget Hamstrings. Think about all of the aches and pains that have set you back.
Did you know that Soul Cycle in NYC has an in-house PT?
Neither did I.
I recently listened to a PT PintCast interview of SoulCycle’s NYC in-house PT, Dr. Corinne Croce. No, these instructors are not injuring themselves constantly, but they do need to stay injury free to teach multiple classes a day.
Dr. Corinne Croce explains, “You don’t have to be hurt to get PT.” Thanks to a good resistance training and injury prevention program, these instructors are able to keep kicking your butt in and out of the saddle.
Whether you are a runner, spinner, or other athlete, you need to have a strength program to prevent injury and keep working towards that body you want.
So you don’t like reading research. How about real-life examples?
Ever follow some of your favorite instructors on Instagram? Check out Antonia DeSantis and Anthony McClain.
These are two of the most bad-ass, energy exuding instructors out there, but you will see that they are in the gym or workout studio LOADING those muscles!
“But I don’t want to get bulky.”
Does Victoria’s Secret model, Iza Goulart look bulky to you? Hell no.
Moral of the story: Participate in a some type of strength training program and don’t go from 0 to 100 when starting an exercise plan.
Cardio addict without an idea where to start with the weights? Check this out to help get you started.
Please, don’t end up in my shoes with a massive pain in the butt or some other training induced injury.
In the words of Dr. Erik Meira, “Just Load It.”
#powertraining #powerlifting #lifting #abdominals #shoulderpain #strengthtraining #fitnessclasses #yoga #lowbackpain #muscle #injury #exercisescience #exercise #exercisephysiology #cycling #physicaltherapy #sportsscience #rehab #healthandwellness #classpass #sports #chiropractics #fitness #run #orthopedics #core #performance #personaltraining #chicago #running #injuries #warmup #stiffness #abs #kinesiology #stretching #hiit #swimming
