View Full Version : Commitment
I'm talking about a different type of commitment, guys. Some of you may recall posts of mine on this website about a nagging back injury that i sustained a while ago. I have done everything to help it except shut everything down. I will be taking two weeks off from the gym- from everything, for the first time. As I'm still pretty young in the game, I'm having a difficult time mentally right now trying to convince myself that when I'm back in a few weeks, it'll be better than it is now.
What should i do, if anything, in these two weeks? Diet should stay right around maintenance level? I will be stretching everyday (press-ups, etc. for the lower back)
Any input of ideas or past experiences would go a long way for my piece of mind. Thanks a ton, fellas
when resting for a week or two, keep eating clean, lower calories though (carbs/fat) , but i do increase protein from whole food sources. i also still supp with eaa nitro as a treat, instead of soda, and pop a couple packs of animal nitro once a day between lunch and dinner.
Also 4-6 uni-liver tabs with every meal.
Another great thing is one or two cheat days a week. meaning one high calorie no holds barred meal per day for 1-2 days. The first couple weeks back, especially that first day back in gym i normally feel recharged and strong as a damn ox (no pun intended)
lower calories coming mostly from solid protein? i already eat a lot from day to day, but i intend on staying around my maintenance level for the most part. cheat days are a positive in this scenario?
lower calories coming mostly from solid protein? i already eat a lot from day to day, but i intend on staying around my maintenance level for the most part. cheat days are a positive in this scenario?
for me yeah, i decrease the amount of calories i take in from fats and carbs, increase my protein slightly and have a couple cheat meals throughout the week while resting up.
Maintenance level is what a stay near, only tweaking calorie sources slightly. When i take time off from the gym i am pretty sedentary (desk job) so my calorie needs are different. Thats also why i use the amino acid supps, make sure maintenance is attained and i hold on to as much as possible. my cheat meals are typically a trip to panda express (orange chicken, mandarin chicken/no sauce, and steamed veggies) or burger king (triple whopper, side salad, diet coke). The surplus in cals is nice for me, i swear i feel stronger when i hit the gym, this sort of all over refreshed feeling.
do what he said , that's what i do when i take a week off or so , i keep it high protien low in carbs , do some slow boring cardio and once or twice a week i'll go and get a triple whopper i love this stuff or 2 double quarter pounders but no fries or empty stuff. then i come back eager to the gym and i smash PR's
should i revert right back to those compound, heavy lifts i was doing recently or take it easy my first week back?
When injuries are nagging and recurring, they really need to be checked out and properly looked into. I've had the same issue with my trap. Get it looked at by a specialist.
jonschmid
03-08-09, 3:14 am
Just take it easy Arab.
I get back injureis all to offen due to my job and all the twisting motions and lifting. Its not easy takin time off, but be assured that when you come back, youll b better and ready to go. Just stick witha diet like Dingo suggests in his post there. Just let your back heal. Be sure to stay on some Ibuprophen as well. it will keep and swelling down so it can repair. And start out easy when you come back.
I went a bit further my last injury as it was pretty bad. Took a boat load of ibuprophen(anti=swelling), rest, ice(anti-sweling), heat(hot tub)(increases circulation for healing). I lost some strength but when you come back its like your sarting all over again and your increase in stregth and size will be a bit better then before.
But if you still have problems go see a specialitist.
how long do you estimate? this is the fourth day, im keeping my calories around 3000 a day (maintenance for me), and my back is starting to feel better as im getting a lot more movement in it. im taking 3 advil (ibuprofin, anti-swelling) in the morning and at night, as this is what my doctor reccommended when i first sustained the injury. should i just assess myself at the end of two weeks, and if i need more...take more time to heal?
jonschmid
03-08-09, 7:31 pm
Yea, just assess yourself at the end of the two weeks. Who knows how bad your strain or tear is. Just give it time. Better to just give it the two weeks so you wont be going back and forth between better and injured. Youll be beter off in the long run.
should i rest my body entirely or should i still perform pushups and situps?
jonschmid
03-08-09, 9:39 pm
I wouldnt do any pushup or sit up.
These excersises would contract thoose back muscles. to a small extent but it would be enough to keep your recovery inhibited.
But when you get better, go for it.
none of us here can really assess you injury.
That said, it depends on the severity, and your experience with listening to your body.
3 weeks ago i over exerted myself doing a chest/back superset night. I ended up straining (self diagnosis, not the best rout to go) my lower back, left side. I've been doing this long enough that i could tell the pain was comin from the muscle, not the spine. I got lucky, it could have only gotten worse, i'm no doc. Anyway i took time off, and when i resumed lifting, I started off light and slow, making sure to pay very close attention to what my body was telling me, before, during, and between sets. I took extended breaks between sets to make sure i was really ready to keep going on.
My point is, if your not going to go to a doc, then you need to learn to really listen to your body.
i was at a doc in the beginning, and it was diagnosed as a strain of the lumbar sacral (lower back muscles around the spine). ive lifted since then and it has always been a slight pain, now i am being proactive in resting it, rather than keeping it under constant strain
one FINAL question guys..
when i come back, should i do exercises directly targeting the injured lower back in an attempt to restrengthen those muscles?
i.e... bodyweight hyperextensions or lightweight GMs?
jonschmid
03-10-09, 11:01 am
I wouldnt go staight into GM's. Start off with your normal workout routine. I would think that hyerextensions would be much easier for you to start off with.
I wouldnt go staight into GM's. Start off with your normal workout routine. I would think that hyerextensions would be much easier for you to start off with.
i won't risk re-straining the lower back, though?
jonschmid
03-10-09, 6:03 pm
hyers are less strain then some other exersises. Do the motion slow and listen to what your body tells you. or you could go a step further, and instead of doing body wieght hypers, do static stretches on the hyper machine to start out with before raising your trunk with your body wieght. So just hang there in order to get a strech.
When your musle strains/tears, the body protects thoose areas by shortening the fibers. If they heal shortened then you will just have the same problem over again. But after an ok healing time you can stretch thoose fibers , breaking up the old microscopic scar tissue(collogen) further healing the muscle,ligament, tenden ect in a lengthened manner.
Ever know someone with a TKR (total knee repair) or other acl like injury? When i was an ortho rep for various MD's here, we took that same approach and would put patients into CPM's (Continuos passive motion contraptions) as early as they came out of the OR. Studies showed that a nice easy slow stretch of the affected area lessened recovery time.
But by what you have said, I persoanlly would rest 2 weeks, start off with some static stretches and if everyrhing goes ok from there you can start off with some body weight hypers or other low impact exercises. Then go back to more normal routine unless your body says "not yet".
So take your two weeks, rest , ice, medicate and stretch to get a feel for how its going.
hyers are less strain then some other exersises. Do the motion slow and listen to what your body tells you. or you could go a step further, and instead of doing body wieght hypers, do static stretches on the hyper machine to start out with before raising your trunk with your body wieght. So just hang there in order to get a strech.
When your musle strains/tears, the body protects thoose areas by shortening the fibers. If they heal shortened then you will just have the same problem over again. But after an ok healing time you can stretch thoose fibers , breaking up the old microscopic scar tissue(collogen) further healing the muscle,ligament, tenden ect in a lengthened manner.
Ever know someone with a TKR (total knee repair) or other acl like injury? When i was an ortho rep for various MD's here, we took that same approach and would put patients into CPM's (Continuos passive motion contraptions) as early as they came out of the OR. Studies showed that a nice easy slow stretch of the affected area lessened recovery time.
But by what you have said, I persoanlly would rest 2 weeks, start off with some static stretches and if everyrhing goes ok from there you can start off with some body weight hypers or other low impact exercises. Then go back to more normal routine unless your body says "not yet".
So take your two weeks, rest , ice, medicate and stretch to get a feel for how its going.
WOW thats really helpful info dude thanks a ton. ive heard that immidiately following an injury, ice is beneficial to reduce blood flow and swelling of the area, but as an injury gets older heat is more beneficial to loosen up the already-tight muscles?
what do you believe to be more beneficial at this stage in my injury's progression
jonschmid
03-10-09, 10:04 pm
You got it, new injurues are RICE. rest ice compression elevation.
ice helps the pain level and reduce swelling yet heat increases blood flow in order to loosen up muscles and reduce swelling via circulation.....blah blah blah.
I still do both till im healed but I am a hot tub whore and im in the 104 degree water after each and every workout. and 2-3 times a day if a get hurt.
Ice once in awhile if you can but i think heat may work better for ya.
TigerAce01
03-10-09, 10:30 pm
Taking time off completely is hard brother, but once you get past the mental part, it will be easy. I recently injured my ankle during a grappling session, and I was told today that I tore 3 ligaments with one torn almost through completely. I have to spend 12 weeks with an immobilizer on, the another 4-6 of physical therapy. I have NEVER taken this much time off of my feet. Yes, I've had to avoid certain exercises, or just spend a couple of weeks off (previous knee injury), but never as severe as this. I just had to tell myself that the injury has already happened, there's no reason to be angry or upset. It's there and it's not going away without proper rest and recovery. In my eyes, I'd much rather spend 12 weeks just working my upper body than spend the rest of my life with chronic pain. Take time off, forget about working out and being in this game. The best thing about being a bodybuilder/powerlifter/athlete is the fact that we can forget entirely that we are. This lifestyle does not define who we are as people... it merely gives us actions to illustrate ourselves.
Good luck with the time off, and I would suggest just living like a normal person. No supps, normal food, and just chill. You'll feel like you can take on the world when you get back.
-Ace
for anyone who's interested, today was my first workout in 10 days since i decided to take time off. i was well justified in that i waited for three painless days to pass until i allowed myself to lift again.
i did: (afer 10 min in sauna to stretch back)
3 sets of pullups to failure
5X5 on barbell rows
5X5 on close grip pulldowns
5X5 machine rows
i dont have any pain in the back right now, when would it be a good idea to begin incorporating some more core strengthening tactics like hypers/ GMs/ weighted crunches, etc?
jonschmid
03-14-09, 11:20 am
Wow, that went fast
If yor doinf 5x5's with the barb rows and mach rows, heck go for it already...lol