Powerlifter Larry Wheels has suffered a minor hamstring tear after squatting 700 pounds for seven reps. In a recent YouTube video, Wheels reflected on the accident and revealed that he will ‘hop on’ growth hormone to boost his recovery efforts.
Boasting numerous powerlifting records and renowned for his super-human strength, Larry Wheels continues to captivate his fans online. With over 2.89 million subscribers on YouTube, Wheels’ content is not only entertaining but informative.
As of late, Larry Wheels embarked on a mission to become an IFBB Pro in the Classic Physique category. While he found some success, Wheels was unable to secure the achievement when he brought his talents to the 2023 Amateur Olympia event. He ultimately finished in second place with ambitious plans for the future.
Just days ago, Wheels celebrated after setting a new PR by crushing a 400-pound seated dumbbell shoulder press for four reps. Unfortunately, it appears Wheels’ momentum has taken a hit after he sustained what he believes to be a grade-one tear to his hamstring.
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Larry Wheels Sustains Hamstring Tear Squatting 700 Lbs for Reps After Not Warming Up ‘Sufficiently,’ Hops Back on Growth Hormone
According to Wheels, most of his injuries have happened in cold environments, as was the case with his latest hamstring tear.
“I mean, if it was not for the minor tear, it would have been I think even a PR. Regardless of whether it was a Pr or not, the injury happened because I was lifting in a cold environment and not sufficiently warmed up for the top set. I thought for the second to last set that I was warmed up sufficiently but I wasn’t super confident. That’s where I made a mistake.”
Wheels added that his behavior was reckless and that he should have made sure he broke a sweat before attempting such heavy lifts.
“I should have made sure before going to do the top set that I was breaking a sweat and my knees and everything felt really warm and I felt comfortable.
If you’re working out in the gym and your hands and feet are cold and you feel you need a hoodie on and you’re trying to hit an AMRAP it’s just really reckless. Me, I should know better. I’ve said this many times actually when I’ve got injured in the past training in cold environments,” shared Larry Wheels.
As for how the injury felt, Wheels mentioned that it was just muscular and described the pop as ‘very small.’
“As of today, as of right now, I say it’s just muscular, the pop was very small. So I’ve had quad and hamstring tears that have completely disabled me and so much to the fact where during the lift I completely collapsed and I couldn’t walk. There was no contracting in the quad or hamstring, there was no walking even.”
Unlike past injuries to his hamstring that disabled him from walking, Wheels’ recent tear doesn’t seem to be too severe.
“As of right now I can bare full weight on my leg, I can walk, sit, stand, and in my experience with a more serious tear maybe a tendon or ligament, it’s completely disabled right. You can’t contract the muscle, you can’t put weight on it at all, you can’t stand, I mean, I literally needed crutches for my last quad tear and my hamstring tear and it took me nearly nine months for each one to fully recover.”
“Now, I want to bring awareness to how important it is to be properly warmed up in a cold environment. See I haven’t lifted in a cold gym in so many years I underestimated how dangerous it could be. In Dubai, even in the winter time it’s warm all year-round.”
With time to reflect on his actions, Larry shared that he underestimated how dangerous lifting can be when the body is cold.
“In this situation, again, I underestimated how dangerous it could really be when your hands and feet are really cold and you’re doing sets and reps and you just can’t quite get warm.”
As for solutions to avoid this problem in the future, Wheels advised a proper warm-up, whether that’s treadmill, bike work, body weight movements, hip thrusts, or band work.
“A solution would be getting on the bike, maybe walking on the treadmill, doing more reps with lighter weight, breaking a sweat right, or maybe just doing some body weight warm-ups, hip thrusts with no weight, using bands, right. So this is why having a coach, a powerlifting coach for example that specializes in having athletes perform for feats of strength is really crucial if you’re trying to push your limits.”
“Where I am more tuned to bodybuilding right, it’s not every day that we’re really or ever really, he’s having to coach people into hitting single, triples, and fives, or getting under big weight like I just did.”
To accelerate the healing process, Larry Wheels revealed to his fans that he will ‘hop on’ some growth hormone once again, which is a practice he’s utilized before with minor tears.
“With that said, I’m going to hop on some growth hormone I’ve used it in the past when I had grade one tears such as this one when I know it’s muscular or maybe it’s a small tendon tear and maybe some growth hormone will help speed up the recovery process but it’s critical if you have a small tear like this you don’t rush the process and get back into lifting too quickly because this can very easily become a major tear as I mentioned before where it’s torn completely off the bone or the muscle and tendon are separated and now you’re looking at nearly a year of recovery,” said Larry Wheels.
Following Larry Wheels’ Olympia Amateur appearance, he gained 55 pounds in just two days. He called the rebound an unofficial world record. While Wheels has been honest about his goals in Classic Physique, many fans are curious how he’ll fare against elite talent should he end up earning his Pro card.
When the cameras are on Larry Wheels, there’s never a dull moment, especially when he’s testing the realms of his strength inside the gym. In the months to come, hopefully, Larry Wheels can make a speedy recovery so he can pick up where he left off in 2023 with bodybuilding.
Watch the full video below:
RELATED: Larry Wheels Talks Bodybuilding Goals, Cycles & Winning Mr. Olympia: “It’s Mission Impossible”
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