Arkk's Weight Lifting / Fitness Thread
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Shonuff
Mr. Poopybutthole
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Old powerlifting trick to keep the weight where it should be: curls your toes upward on the negative part of the movement. This helped me when I had that problem.
Hi Dabamf,
I'm an orthopaedic surgeon. Well I actually specialise purely in hand surgery now, but I still have enough basic orthopaedic knowledge to help assist you.
It sounds like you have a medial meniscal tear (like you self diagnosed). You have both an inner (medial) and outer (lateral) meniscus, so others stating that they have had pain in the outer portion of their knee still makes sense. Medial tends to be twice as common as lateral over a large population.
The fact that you get the pain during a deep squat suggests that the tear is at the back of the medial meniscus (the posterior horn) since the axis of rotation of your knee shifts posteriorly (backwards) during flexion. A posterior horn tear is also the most common location.
There are 3 basic options of treatment.
Non operative and let it resolve by itself (which may or may not happen depending on the type of tear)
Keyhole surgery (arthroscopic) and resection of the torn portion
Keyhole surgery and repair of the tear (which may or may not be appropriate depending on location of the tear and age/general health etc)
If you went to an orthopaedic doctor they would likely send you off for an MRI which would easily diagnose or exclude a meniscus tear. And more importantly would give an idea of the type of tear and what is the appropriate treatment to take.
Wow, thanks man. When I say pain inside, I mean in the joint. But it feels like it's on the lateral portion. The pain comes from the right portion of my right knee. Like if you go just outside the patellar tendon then straight back.
Anyway, since I have no insurance and no money, MRI is out for the time being. What can I do to aid recovery? Also, are heavy exercises like deadlifts problematic if they cause no pain?
Anyway, since I have no insurance and no money, MRI is out for the time being. What can I do to aid recovery? Also, are heavy exercises like deadlifts problematic if they cause no pain?
Stuff that doesn't involve lateral movement is *probably* okay, and shit like leg extensions which put a lot of stress on the outside of the knee should be avoided. I've torn my meniscus before and I frequently have "patellar subluxation" with any pressure to the outside of my knee, whether my dog bumps it, I get kicked, I slip on something and the pressure is on the inside of my foot, etc. I have bone spurs from it happening so much, and it often results in a MCL sprain that isn't quite severe enough to require surgery. It's probably only a matter of time before I blow my knee out totally, but that's life.
I'd stick with light exercise that gets blood flow going, and avoid anything risky. I'm not a PT but that seems obvious, just don't push it.
What kind if exercises are suggested? I've tried lots of stuff and squats ultimately were the miracle rehab from my plica excision. My quad and hamstring strength is good now, but how do I maintain that without squatting?
The same question applies to strength programming based on SS: when squats are temporarily undoable, what do you put in their place?
The same question applies to strength programming based on SS: when squats are temporarily undoable, what do you put in their place?
One thing I do know is for people with stability issues which I don't think you have but is stuff to strengthen your vastus medialis oblique which is basically the teardrop. Having strong VMO's never helped me by the way, but that's what they say. Bulgarian split squats are something you could do, if you can, and in a stable manner.
You could focus on making squats hard by increasing time under tension instead of weight. Anything even like riding a stationary bike to increase blood flow is good. But sometimes you just have to be patient.
Given that you can't see a doctor to get a real diagnosis, I wouldn't push it, but I still don't see how things like riding a bike would hurt it. But I'm not a PT.
Seananigans
Honorary Shit-PhD
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Almost always, the smart thing to do when you run into injury situations, is to stay the fuck off it completely for a LONG time, while maybe getting back into extremely light and/or zero weight strengthening exercises after awhile.
But then, most lifters aren't too terribly smart and usually end up fucking themselves up for life by pushing too hard during an injury recovery.
But then, most lifters aren't too terribly smart and usually end up fucking themselves up for life by pushing too hard during an injury recovery.
Xeldar
Silver Squire
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Romanian Dead Lifts will work your posterior chain and not bend your knees. I'd go with glute ham raises as well. If the deadlift position doesn't hurt, you can work in more pulls from the floor, like snatch high pulls.
If you're squatting 225 you should fly by 300 deadlifts before you hit any plateau, unless you have a body that sucks at pulling (long femur, short torso, short arms).
What kind of program are you doing? Are you increasing 15lbs per week? I guess that's a pretty safe increase for deadlifts/squats.
Itlan
Blackwing Lair Raider
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I started 5x5 SL. So I'm deadlifting 3 times every 2 weeks, 10 pounds each time. Bench is the same, I'm increasing by 10 for now until I plateau, mainly because I'm not necessarily new to lifting, but I wanted to try something different.
Squats, I'm at 225 and plan on attempting 235 on Thursday (my days got fucked up this week). Once the load becomes too much, I'll drop it down to 5 lbs per workout, so go from 235 to 240 for instance. Squatting three times a week is really taking it's toll on my body right now, but it's something different.
Springbok
Karen
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Thoughts on incorporating decline bench (dumbbell or barbell) into routine? Having a hell of a time getting that "fullness" in my pec's. They're more defined/cut than ever (even bigger), but they lack that "thick, full" muscle look. Thoughts?
Doing incline db press, fly, flat bench press, fly etc at the moment. Read conflicting opinions on the decline effectiveness, but I reckon it can't hurt to try. Trying to stay away from machines if possible.
Doing incline db press, fly, flat bench press, fly etc at the moment. Read conflicting opinions on the decline effectiveness, but I reckon it can't hurt to try. Trying to stay away from machines if possible.
Wide grip neck bench press if you want to develop your upper chest. Its hard, so you are gonna go light, but higher reps builds that muscle real quick. Incline dumbbell flies (either with a palms up or palms going towards each other grip) works wonders for filling up that chest.
Lastly, floor press. Certainly, it prevents you from going parallel from your back (which is argubly better for your shoulders if you have any rotary cuff problems) and you'll notice immediately you can't bench as much. While it doesn't prevent it, its much harder to cheat with the arching of the back or lifted legs. I'm liking it a lot as a supplemental chest exercise.
Springbok
Karen
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On flat bench db press I warm up w/ 40's, and do 3 sets of 8-10 reps w/ 85's. Drop 10-15 lbs for flys. Like I said, they are noticeably bigger/more defined, but the fullness just isn't coming in as quickly as I'd like. Looking at them from the side, they don't really "pop" as much as I'd like.
Springbok
Karen
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Just looked up wid grip neck bench press - looks a bit tough! Just did chest yesterday, so will wait until the weekend to give your advice a go, but I'll try anything at this point basically.
You'll adjust eventually. Whether its better than doing things more traditionally remains to be seen. I've never seen someone squat multiple times a week and increase the weight each time .
I guess see how it goes.