That sucks Lee, what a pain in the ass.
A lot of people only recommend deadlifting once every two weeks? Not sure if this is why. I remember back in the fall I felt a pull in that same area. It didn't seem to take too long to heal, but it definitely affected my deadlift. Hopefully yours heals fast.
Maybe you could try the sumo style for a while? Or the modified sumo style?
I like your wife's comment...
Yah, a real pain in the ass if there ever was one.
I first got this while helping my brother move 15 years or so ago, from Denver to Chicago. One day packing up, one day driving cross-country for 12-14 hours, then one day unloading. It was on the third day that it hurt as bad as it does now. Apparently, everything stiffened up on the second day while sitting in the truck. At first I tried complete rest, but this didn't help. Then a doc told me nothing was structurally wrong, so try stretching and walking. Within a few days it cleared up. I wasn't lifting at the time.
This experience leads me to conclude that it's a matter of being too tight before I deadlift. The fact that my running has been sporadic during this same time period of experiencing strains and pulls while deadlifting supports that thesis. It's funny, Saturday I told myself I really should start with some light cable rows to warm-up, but I was worried my kids would wake up at any time (it was already past 9am) and cut the workout short, so I dove straight into the deadlifts, with just a few warm-up reps at 125 and 215. Before that I had been sitting at my desk for 2-3 hours. On the first 3.5 reps I felt great and niggleless.
So a bunch of potential contributing factors:
1. too much sitting
2. not enough running
3. not enough warming up (and needing to put deadlifts last in the workout order again)
4. not enough stretching/massaging
5. cold garage
6. building loads back up too quickly
7. possible imbalance in technique, lifting more on right side than left
8. gettin' old
9. maybe even dehydration? I haven't been drinking as much water as I normally do lately, I dunno why.
I'm also hopeful it will heal fast. This is worse than it was a few weeks ago, after the initial pull.
I've never tried Sumo DLs, is there a specific reason why they might help? Or is it just a matter of trying a little variety on the chance that it might make a difference?
I think doing deadlifts less frequently might also be an option, like just on intensity day. I could do lighter power cleans on Volume day, and then sub Back Extensions, Russian Twists, and Loaded Carries on Wednesday's Density/Assistance day.
I've become convinced that squats are more primary anyway, as many argue. And I'm liking the idea of making them a kind of limiter on how much I can deadlift, like at the 4:5 ratio, especially during the rehab process. If I can do 100 squat, then 125 deadlift. If I can do 200 squat, then 250 deadlift. On Wednesday, I tried 150 squat, but went back to 125 on the second set after a felt a slight hint of a niggle in the problem area. So if I had used the 4:5 ratio on Saturday, I would've capped the deadlifts at around 150-175 instead of attempting 270. If I put the squats first, and deadlifts last, I'll always have a good indicator of how much I should be deadlifting on any particular day, and I'll be plenty warmed up.
After my pull a few weeks ago, the squats seemed most affected, even though it happened while deadlifting. I think the greater range of motion and stretch in that area probably aggravates it more. On Saturday, I tried three squat reps at 85 after retearing/straining the muscle on the deadlifts, and those seemed OK. So once the pain subsides, I may start at 85 for both the squat and the deadlift, then add 10-20 pounds per week. As BA says, it doesn't take that long to build back up even if you just add a little each time or week. I would be caught up sometime in the second cycle. I would much rather do light squats and deadlifts than no squats and deadlifts at all. A workout just doesn't feel complete these days without the lower body stuff. And anyway, the only real goal is 400 by the end of the year.
My wife showed me a bunch of free weight fails on her ipad. I told her I wasn't doing anything like that, and then showed her my safety bolts for the bench press and squats. That helped assuage her a bit. But she's right, I feel downright stupid getting hurt while working out. I spent the whole weekend mad at myself for letting this happen again.