On Setbacks and PRs

An injury, like any setback in life, can leave us feeling desperate, helpless, and hurt.? Many here on LinkedIn are going through something—whether a failed project, a missed promotion, a layoff, or something else.? These disruptions to our best-laid plans, like an injury, can take us by surprise and seem to stop us in our tracks. ?But just as Braden helped me heal my shoulder and in the process get my deadlift to over 400 pounds in the short span of time from mid-June to October 3rd of this year, it is my hope that your response to whatever unexpected setback you may be going through can lead you to new heights—in career and more importantly, in life— on which you had perhaps previously given up.? You have people in your corner, and I’m one of them.?

Conversely, when we're gearing up for a max effort— that final week shipping the major project we've been toiling on for months, clicking "Join Meeting" on the interview for a major career-advancing change, stepping in front of the company for a big presentation, we can't worry about what's "on the bar." We instead must "focus on the brace"— steady our self, trust all the arduous, grinding, preparatory work that led up to the big lift, focus inward and forget— just for the time being— the "big-ness" of it all.

Full story below the video...

Since getting into strength training in undergrad, I always loved the deadlift best. Somewhere along the way developed the somewhat arbitrary goal to be able to pull 400 pounds from the floor.? Try as I might, in the 14+ years since hitting my absolute max, even during periods of focused, regular lifting, I have never pulled more than 295 pounds from the floor.?

This past spring, ready to get back into strength training, I laid aside my climbing shoes and boxing gloves and joined a truly inspiring Salt Lake City gym, Big Mountain Barbell , where world-class athletes perform amazing feats of strength daily.? Within a few weeks I was back to pulling 275, and while it felt very heavy, I was determined to finally pull more than 300 pounds.

Unfortunately, I was getting greedy, also bench pressing several times per week through March and April into May, and soon I had a painful shoulder injury that sent me to two doctors and a PT—to no avail.? I was in pain that disturbed my sleep, and had a bony bump sticking up from my shoulder, visible from a few feet away.? Rest, ice, anti-inflammatories, physical therapy… nothing was working.

One Friday night at the gym, I was once again at the bench press, trying to lock in my form and work up to a good working weight for a set of five. My shoulder had felt up to the task that day, but now it was really hurting again, and I wasn't even lifting what I had the previous week. My shoulder had been interfering with my sleep, and my bench press was making no progress week to week because I had cut back on workouts to rest my shoulder.

Discouraged, I looked over to the Olympic platforms where a coach was leading several athletes through their individual scheduled weightlifting program.? One athlete complained of a tweak in his neck and scapula that made it hard to get the barbell in the front rack position of the clean and jerk. On the spot, after directing the athlete to move this way and that, the coach diagnosed what muscle wasn’t firing right during the lift, pointed out where the athlete was tight, and prescribed a specific movement for the athlete to rehab the problem at home that night and through the week.? Something about the compassionate, chill, matter-of-fact way he advised the athlete and returned to the others to continue helping each of them let me know that this was the person who would fix my shoulder… and perhaps bring my deadlift numbers up.

Braden coached me twice per week, and gave me a program to execute three more days on my own.? We did not deadlift.? We did not bench.? We did not back squat or power clean.? Instead, Braden had me performing 30 minutes daily of shoulder and hip mobility exercises designed to correct tightness in those regions of the body from “desk posture.”? We did entire 90-minute workouts focused on activating glutes, low core, and upper back muscles that had “fallen asleep” from sitting in a chair.? These workouts were uncomfortable: waking up these muscles involved very light weights and high reps of exercises that didn’t look cool or feel powerful, but rather, caused a deep burn and a lot of fatigue.

From June to September we did not deadlift from the floor.? My shoulder was fixed, but I was getting worried— and vocally so— that in the span of four arduous months of ten hours per week of exercise I had no strength gains to show for all the time and energy and discomfort.? Until one October day when Braden asked me if I wanted to have a little fun—to which I replied roundly in the affirmative.

After warming up, we loaded up a bar and set to work.? After each successful set, Braden and I would add another kilogram-denominated plate to the bar.? At one point I looked down at the kilogram plates on the bar, calculated roughly the pound equivalent, and asked, “Is this 330lbs?” —a thirty-five-pound PR, compared to the 295 I pulled in college.?

Braden replied, “Don’t worry about what’s on the bar.? Your block brace—" that is, my glutes, hips, core, and upper back all acting together in concert— “was perfect on the last set.? Focus inward on your brace and don’t worry about the bar, it’s the very same movement.”? I did as he instructed, and up the bar came.? We added more weight and repeated.? And added more weight.? And again. And again. ?When he indicated we were done for the day I looked at the bar and said, “Man, I don’t know exact kilo to pound conversion but I feel like we’re a hair’s breadth from 400…”? Braden looked down, looked to the ceiling, closed his eyes, and said, “Actually, yes. Seven more kilos.”? We had to try.? Try we did. ?And after all the months of tough workouts painstakingly putting my body through everything but the deadlift… the victory tasted so, so very sweet when I stood right up with that bar in my hands.

(For my Salt Lake folks who want to get stronger than you could imagine, and correct some of the deleterious physical effects of “desk posture,” you need to go see Braden.? Hit me up and I’ll pass along his contact info!)