Triplett to Make Season Debut in Glendale
By: Justin Felisko
PUEBLO, Colo. – Matt Triplett squatted down to grab the barbell with his two hands and gritted his teeth. He slowly lifted the 205 pounds below him and pinched his shoulders as he began to finish a set of deadlifts at Results Personal Training in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
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The 29-year-old is no stranger to fitness.
Triplett has been an avid hot yoga participant for years, and he used to drive three hours round-trip to train at the Michael Johnson Performance Center when he lived in Texas. Triplett knows there is only so much time left in his career, and the seven-time PBR World Finalist wants to leave no stone unturned as he gets set to begin his 2021 season this weekend in Glendale, Arizona.
Therefore, Triplett made it a priority to team up with Corey Howard, a personal trainer and owner of Results Personal Training, as he counted down the final weeks of his recovery from offseason hip surgery.
“I really look back on my career, and so far, I have noticed nothing else has held me back from a world title but me,” Triplett told PBR.com on Tuesday. “Maybe I have not done the right things or worked out hard enough or whatever the situation may be, but the only reason why I haven’t won the world is myself. I can’t blame nobody else. This last surgery kind of woke me up a little bit. I know I have the ability to do it still, and I am not getting any younger. I’ve got five more solid years left in me, so I am just going to be way more focused. I don’t want to retire thinking I should have or could have done this differently. I want to retire knowing I did everything I could in my will and everything I could try to do to get my dream accomplished.”
That dream, of course, is a PBR world title, and Triplett’s latest pursuit of a gold buckle begins this coming weekend at the PBR Built Ford Tough Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires, at Gila River Arena.
Triplett will be making his season debut on Saturday night against Space Force (18-6, premier series) after undergoing hip surgery last November under the watchful eye of renowned surgeon Dr. J.W. Byrd in Nashville. Space Force bucked Triplett off in 6.92 seconds at the 2019 UTB event in Houston.
It has been more than six months since Triplett last competed on the premier series. He originally shut things down last season on Aug. 21 after his hip and groin injuries had him basically unable to walk out of the Days of ’47 Arena in Salt Lake City.
Triplett got on two practice bulls last Friday with the South Dakota State University rodeo team.
“When you have done it this long, bull riding is kind of like riding a bike,” Triplett said. “You don’t forget how to do it; you just need to get your timing into play. When you’ve got that Buckrite and you have been riding your horse bareback, and you’ve been really getting stronger, I just really wanted to make sure I felt in time with them and felt strong and was confident in my hip before I came back.
“You know when your body is ready to go, and if my body wasn’t 100% to go this weekend, I would not have come. I feel 100%, and I am back to that feeling of going to show up and win, not just to show up.”
Triplett was 14th in the world standings when he shut things down last season, but he knew could not continue. He had hoped to return in time for the World Finals but eventually realized he could not push his body any further and opted for surgery.
“That was hard,” Triplett said. “It is something when you can’t reach your goal and make it to the World Finals. I felt that was my year to go win the World Finals. I had gotten third and second before. It was my time to make it shine. But you can’t do that when your body is telling you you can’t show up 100%. I like to feel great, and I like to know I am going there winning, and I don’t have to worry about a sore hip. It was a life lesson to motivate myself to work a lot harder and do a lot more so I can prevent those injuries.”
Triplett consulted with the PBR Sports Medicine team and Dr. Tandy Freeman about how to approach his recovery. He then had an honest conversation with good friend and six-time PBR World Finals qualifier Douglas Duncan about the surgery.
“I actually called my good buddy Douglas because he has been through it all the hip deal,” Triplett said. “He said to get it done right away instead of waiting and trying to ride through it and ruining more of the tissue.”
Triplett committed himself to not only a standard rehabilitation program after he underwent surgery but also to improving his overall fitness and conditioning.
The Columbia Falls, Montana, native did not necessarily want to pack on additional muscle weight or get bigger. Rather, Triplett wanted to improve his strength and flexibility and make sure his body was prepared for this coming season. He especially wanted to strengthen his core and lower back.
“I’ve always kept up with the yoga and stuff, but I think adding the ability to strengthen yourself, not really get bigger, but really strengthen your muscles and getting stronger does wonders for your confidence,” Triplett said. “You need more than yoga. Everyone is realizing bull riding is a real sport. We are really having to train because these bulls are getting so good nowadays that if you aren’t at the top of your game, they can hurt you.”
Triplett also has the added motivation that he and his wife, Cierra, are expecting their first child on July 21.
“I want to build and raise our child and give him or her the best life they can have,” he said.
“That woke me up a little bit too. It dang sure made me a whole lot more mature and helps me stay focused and not get off the train tracks.”
Triplett went only 15-for-41 (36.59%) last season, and he still finished 24th in the world standings. He has learned throughout his career that his health is crucial for his success in the arena. Triplett posted 33 qualified rides in back-to-back seasons (2014/2015), finishing third and fifth in the world standings, before a series of injuries slowed him down.
Triplett tore ligaments in his right riding arm at the 2015 PBR World Finals and needed reconstructive surgery. Five months later, his return lasted four weeks before he needed left shoulder surgery. He was surging in 2017 and on the outskirts of the world title race before he tore his left labrum in September and needed surgery once again.
Triplett was relatively healthy in 2019, finishing seventh in the world standings, and he believes a return to title contention is within reach.
To do so, he plans on continuing to train consistently with Howard.
“I will keep training with him throughout the whole year,” Triplett said. “The only way to ride these rank son-of-a-guns is by putting in the time in the weight room.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
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