Hip Flexor/Groin Pain

[Mike]

I've been suffering some pain in my left hip flexor and groin area since starting ABC. Is this something I should be worried about or could it be that I'm just not used to the core activation and extra abdominal work from swinging the club?

I seem to get a slight headache after training as well, my breathing is good so I can't really figure out what's wrong!

[Scott Sonnon]

How did the pull happen?

How are you breathing?

[Mike]

I don't recall any moment where I actually thought that I had pulled something. It's just a pain that has started to surface over the last week or so! It kind of centers around the left groin area, but I can feel it in my thigh and lower back a bit as well!

As for breathing, I make a conscious effort to exhale when moving the club and not holding my breath!

[Scott Sonnon]

When did the pain start?

Where are you specifically exhaling / inhaling on your exercises?

[Mike]

The pain started about a week and a half ago. I thought it might be a hernia from when I started working on the hip snap during front swings, but I was doing those 3 weeks ago and I can't feel anything there with my hand.

As for breathing it's hard for me to explain, I usually inhale when I lock down my core and then exhale when I move into the "concentric" portion of the movement. For example, If I'm doing a side clean to guard I'll start with a slight hip sway, then inhale as I lock my core, then exhale as I explode into the guard position, from there I'll inhale in the guard position and then exhale as I lower the club out of the guard!

[Scott Sonnon]

I thought it might be a hernia
It reads as if you're Power Breathing. After you get cleared by your doc, start working on Be Breathed, so that you can learn to exhale to lock down your core.

[Doug Szolek]

Mike the groin pain may well be due to the area being worked differently than ever before due to the Hip Sway required for ABC movements. Would you categorize it as muscular pain? (as in soreness)

Have you been doing any active recovery exercises on your days off of Clubbell training?

As for the breathing, it sounds as though your doing a slighty softer version of power breathing.

When you swing your Bruiser, make sure that you are letting the movement breath for you. What I mean by that is, when you catch it in Order Position you need to exhale as your elbows marry to your core lockdown. As the weight carries away from your body allow the natural expansion to pull air into your lungs but never consciously inhale and by all means NEVER hold your breath to catch or lift the load. The final point of exhale will be as the Clubbell passes your legs at the bottom of the Side Clean, because the weight is pulling down from your shoulders you'll need to ehale here as you re-lock your core and prepare for the next rep.

Let me know if that makes sense to you. And we'll keep you on the path of strength.

[Mike]

I think the pain has to do with the fact that I'm just not used to the plane of movement when swinging the club. I've only ever lifted free weights in the traditional style before so I think CST has given my body a slight jolt that it's unaccustomed to! I just thought I'd check here with you guys anyways!

As for active recovery, does Body-Flow count? I'm still trying to get the hang of some of the movements, but my coordination is crappy!

[Doug Szolek]

Mike, be careful of your health. Only you can prevent injury which means time off training and time off fun. If the pain was enough to get you to mention it here then you should get a Dr.'s clearance before continuing.

If you check out ok then I'd highly recomend you add the 4Corner Balance Drill to your schedule twice a day every day. It should be just the thing to release any residual tension that you may be holding in these newly stimulated areas.

Take care of yourself and let me know how it goes :)

[Mike]

Thanks Doug, I actually made an appointment to see my doctor tommorrow morning. The pain doesn't feel like anything too severe, but there's no harm in getting it checked out. I must confess that I'm probably overtraining because even though I train Mon/Wed/Fri. I actually haven't gone ONE day without swinging the bruiser in some way. On my off days I'll look at the damn thing and it's like I have to lift it or something, so I pick it up and do a set of pendulums or front cleans to order or something. I'm gonna have to smack myself across the face and FORCE myself not to touch the thing on my off days!!!

I think it's a personality trait, it reminds me of my obsessive compulsive disorder I used to have.

[Shawnm]

Hi Mike, looks like you got some great advise on this already. I just answered a thread on another forum regarding pain and training. For those are lurking and are or will experience something similar the best thing to do when unsure of yourself is get things checked out by a professional.

I have many clients whose bodies are a mess from years of hard training and in some cases mis-training. Their reluctance to seek proper help has turned many minor problems into serious ones. In your case its probably not a big deal, however proper care of of your body means taking care of injury. Many people will train two or three hours a day but are reluctant to take 30mins to consult on an injury.

Take the time to heal now and avoid pain later. 8)

[Mike]

The doctor said i'm ok and that it's probably just minor muscle pain. I told him about the clubbell and he thought maybe it was a tad too heavy, but I assured him that I can handle it, he wasn't impressed with my flexibility though LOL!

He cleared me, but told me to go see him if it got worse and to use good judgement when training!