Muscle Imbalance

I ran this past Saturday for the first time in two weeks, following an injury to my lower back. While trying to re-live the glory days of junior high football, I hyper-extented my back sending me to the turf. It took awhile for me to diagnose my injury - though I had plenty of time - I spent two days in bed, almost immobile from the pain.

I finally realized my injury was from something so simple and all too common - muscle imbalance. We often forget how straightforward and uncomplex our bodies can be. We forget that every muscle has a counterpoint and if you neglect one, you risk the other.

At the end of October I ran my first Ultra, the Spirit of the Osage 50k. To accomplish this I nearly doubled my normal run training and put swimming and cycling on the shelf. This run focus built up my quads and gave me the strength necessary to cover the tough 50k course, but the lack of cycling and swimming left my hamstrings out of balance with the quads. When I tried to push myself in the football game, it all came crashing down.

It has been a good lesson to learn and gave me a chance to actually rest a little this season. Now, we have all seen "that guy" in the gym only working on his pecks, asking others "how much you bench?" He is not treating his body properly and one of these days, it may all come crashing down on him too.

So just remember, DON'T BE "THAT GUY!!!"