Returning to lifting after an injury (I could use advice)
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Keep in mind that an exercise doesn't necessarily have to mimic ancient human movement to be useful (pretty sure cycling doesn't). The bench press is a good movement for building muscle mass, and as a result, general strength in the upper body. Sometimes I think people tend to over-think this kind of stuff.
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I used to think doing hill repeats on a bike was like leg day at the gym. I've since learned how wrong I was. You're right on this one, too. But I do hope the squats I've been doing will make backpacking easier, the high country is melting out now.
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I like how the OP, and I, have hurt themselves using the OHP, and yet some continue to insist that it's perfectly safe.
Can it be safe? Can it be unsafe? Might he hurt himself again if he does the same thing? (Yes)
Can he modify the exercise to recruit the same muscles while increasing the margin of safety?
By all means, keep encouraging him to do something that he already said hurt him.
I don't do military press anymore because I hurt myself doing it. I do other shoulder exercises, and my shoulders are bigger and stronger now than when I used to do military press.
"No one is using enough weight on OHP to negatively impact a healthy back. "
https://www.mensjournal.com/health-f...verhead-press/
https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...1&pagenumber=1
https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...3&pagenumber=1
https://fitnesspainfree.com/push-pre...r-back-part-1/
Can it be safe? Can it be unsafe? Might he hurt himself again if he does the same thing? (Yes)
Can he modify the exercise to recruit the same muscles while increasing the margin of safety?
By all means, keep encouraging him to do something that he already said hurt him.
I don't do military press anymore because I hurt myself doing it. I do other shoulder exercises, and my shoulders are bigger and stronger now than when I used to do military press.
"No one is using enough weight on OHP to negatively impact a healthy back. "
https://www.mensjournal.com/health-f...verhead-press/
https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...1&pagenumber=1
https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...3&pagenumber=1
https://fitnesspainfree.com/push-pre...r-back-part-1/
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Keep in mind that an exercise doesn't necessarily have to mimic ancient human movement to be useful (pretty sure cycling doesn't). The bench press is a good movement for building muscle mass, and as a result, general strength in the upper body. Sometimes I think people tend to over-think this kind of stuff.
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Not saying this is you (or anyone here) but the extreme "weight room exercises must mirror common real life movements to be functional" is one of the crowds I don't agree with.
If you don't like it, that's a pretty good reason to not do it (10 years ago, I would never have said that). The most important things in lifting, or any exercise really, is consistency and effort. Doing something you hate is likely to affect the former. I don't know of any job that depends on having a good bench, so why do it if you don't like it?
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The average non-weight training adult still receives enough back development from ordinary activity that ~50 situps or crunches 3x/wk OR a daily 2 min plank won't go amiss. Add even the slightest amount of heavy weight work to normal activity and weighted sit-ups and/or machine ab exercises with progressive weight increase in addition to 2 min+ planks and ~100 floor crunches or ~50 slant board crunches need to be performed to keep the core in balance with the back.
Or this.
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I've never heard of this 3:1 ratio either. And I've been doing squats all along. They made me nervous at first so I used to video myself with my phone to check my form. No butt wink. Chest stays high. Etc. Squats definitely work your core.
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I use the 5:1 rule: 5 back exercises for every ab one. After all, your back muscles are 5X closer to the vertebrae than are the abs. It's not really a rule. It's just what I do and works well. So far I've never met a cyclist, skier, or gym rat who pulled an ab muscle riding , skiing, or doing a lift. Back muscles and other soft tissue are another story.
All that focus on ab work is just vanity for most folks IMO - Nordic skiers and rock climbers are certainly exceptions. If your back gets sore, work it. If your abs get sore, work them.
All that focus on ab work is just vanity for most folks IMO - Nordic skiers and rock climbers are certainly exceptions. If your back gets sore, work it. If your abs get sore, work them.
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#34
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In fact, funny you should mention shoulder press because its always been my weakness even before my injury. However, I just set a new personal best record for seated shoulder press pass with the 105 plate (laughable for most, but when I first restarted I could barely move the second plate, so it was a major accomplishment for me.)
Anyhow, full disclosure, it still hurts like the dickens, but to be frank it hurt even when I was sedentary.
One strategy you could do in order to ease back into it is to include OHP on your general warm up. Do a couple very light sets (like just the bar) as a warm up before you bench for instance. If that causes no pain for a few weeks, perhaps consider working them back in very lightly.
In general, when doing them, I'd make sure to always leave at least 2 reps "in the tank" going forward. That way you won't be tempted to arch your back too much or compromise form in other ways. Remember, these are just to support your health and other activities, there's no prize for setting an OHP record.
As far as a trainer is concerned, that can be either really good or a total waste of time. There's just so much variation in the quality of trainers out there that it's a pretty big risk.
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Barbell OHP is only bad for people who have pre-existing shoulder issues and/or lack mobility/flexibility in their shoulders. It's also bad for people who have bad posture and rounded shoulders..... It's perfectly safe if you have healthy shoulders and enough mobility to do this exercise correctly...The best way to keep your shoulders healthy is to train your back, especially your upper back...For every pushing movement you should be doing two pulling movements...Rows, pull ups, inverted rows, face pulls etc are necessary for healthy shoulders, if you only doing pushing exercises, you're going to have problems.
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I’m going to start hitting the weights again but with dumbbells and a higher rep scheme and NO not the pink dumbbells and 100 reps . Rep range in the 8-12 range to build some and keep some muscle not trying to be Hercules. Coming off a 3 year break after triple hernia due to heavy deadlifting well heavy for me at least. I figure higher reps moderate weight will be beneficial at my age ( 50 ). Progressively increasing the weight over time and see what happens. If something starts to hurt I’m wise enough now I think to stop and or rest.
#37
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I’m going to start hitting the weights again but with dumbbells and a higher rep scheme and NO not the pink dumbbells and 100 reps . Rep range in the 8-12 range to build some and keep some muscle not trying to be Hercules. Coming off a 3 year break after triple hernia due to heavy deadlifting well heavy for me at least. I figure higher reps moderate weight will be beneficial at my age ( 50 ). Progressively increasing the weight over time and see what happens. If something starts to hurt I’m wise enough now I think to stop and or rest.
When I started I was so embarrassed because I could barely move the first plate. Today, I can rep the entire stack on nearly all the machines. An accomplishment I'm extremely proud of since after my injury I had resolved to give up weight training forever. I also learned that muscle memory is also real -- even after an 8 year layoff -- so your 3 year break should be a cakewalk.
As for pain, well it still hurts...a lot sometimes. So I still go to the doc just to make sure I'm not doing more harm than good. But to be honest it hurt more when I wasn't training at all.
Anyway, it sounds like you're experienced enough to tell the difference between the pain associated with training, and that of an injury. Good luck with your comeback, and keep us posted.
#38
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I spent the Fall and Winter lifting heavy, and hurt my lower back. It turned out to be an overuse muscle injury, and I’m fully healed now. Lifting was helping my performance in other sports, and I started to enjoy it as “me time,” so I’d like to return. Obviously I’d like to avoid further injury, and there are smart people here, so I’m hoping for good advice.
For context, I’m pretty sure this is what hurt me: too much volume, weight gain, the overhead press.
I’ve been going back to the gym for a few weeks, doing one exercise at a time, at moderate weight, and seeing how I feel the next day. Benches aren’t a problem. Squats aren’t a problem. Overhead presses are a problem.
My instinct is to return, start over with moderate weight, and limit volume drastically. I feel like I should be doing overhead presses, but that I should progress especially slowly with them.
I’m not sure whether I would benefit from hiring a trainer versus recording videos of myself on my phone, would love to hear thoughts on that. There’s a risk of hiring a bad trainer. There’s a lot of info on the web filled with photos of good vs bad form for every step of every exercise.
I don’t know if there’s any value in seeing a sports doctor at this point?
And then I don’t know what I don’t know. I have common sense, I’m eager, and sometimes I have bad instincts.
For context, I’m pretty sure this is what hurt me: too much volume, weight gain, the overhead press.
I’ve been going back to the gym for a few weeks, doing one exercise at a time, at moderate weight, and seeing how I feel the next day. Benches aren’t a problem. Squats aren’t a problem. Overhead presses are a problem.
My instinct is to return, start over with moderate weight, and limit volume drastically. I feel like I should be doing overhead presses, but that I should progress especially slowly with them.
I’m not sure whether I would benefit from hiring a trainer versus recording videos of myself on my phone, would love to hear thoughts on that. There’s a risk of hiring a bad trainer. There’s a lot of info on the web filled with photos of good vs bad form for every step of every exercise.
I don’t know if there’s any value in seeing a sports doctor at this point?
And then I don’t know what I don’t know. I have common sense, I’m eager, and sometimes I have bad instincts.
Instead, I default to the machines, and use my left arm to assist raising, while balancing the weight on the concentric focused on my injured side. Its a critical exercise that require all of my concentration since the goal is to rehab without exacerbating my injury.
Some days I go to far and pay the price with excruciating pain around bedtime (is there any wonder I'm grumpy). I did them today and well see tonight if I went to far or not. Anyway, use the machines, and if you're lucky, get a spot whom you can trust, and keep us posted on how you're doing.
Standing overhead press is one of my favourite exercises. It's also one of those exercises where I always keep my reps very low, usually 3-5 reps. The reason why I keep my reps low on OHP is because it's easier to maintain proper form, no cheating, no leg drive, not too much bending of lower back...I found out that it becomes really difficult to maintain proper form on OHP when trying to do higher reps...I much prefer to do 10-12 sets of 3 reps with very short rest periods, instead of the more traditional 3 sets of 10-12 reps...I am also a big fan of doing high sets and low reps with short rest periods for other exercises, it keeps fatigue under control and allows me to maintain perfect form.
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I am 6ft tall and also have a slim build but I also have good mobility... Yes OHP is a very hard exercise, that's why I do it because it's hard and forces your entire body to work hard to move and support the weight. I am using light weight and focus more on maintaining very strict form, rather then using heavy weight. I prefer to get higher volume with lighter weight then lower volume with heavy weight. When doing standing OHP I always keep one leg/foot slightly forward few inches ( a mini split-stance) it puts less strain on the lower back and prevents arching or bending your back too much. Sometimes I use ketlebells for my OHP and at other times I will use a barbell.
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I am 6ft tall and also have a slim build but I also have good mobility... Yes OHP is a very hard exercise, that's why I do it because it's hard and forces your entire body to work hard to move and support the weight. I am using light weight and focus more on maintaining very strict form, rather then using heavy weight. I prefer to get higher volume with lighter weight then lower volume with heavy weight. When doing standing OHP I always keep one leg/foot slightly forward few inches ( a mini split-stance) it puts less strain on the lower back and prevents arching or bending your back too much. Sometimes I use ketlebells for my OHP and at other times I will use a barbell.
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#41
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I've been doing OHP still, but at half the weight. And a lot of other core exercises like renegade rows.
I saw a physical therapist about all of this, helped me refine my routine a bit. Things are good.
I saw a physical therapist about all of this, helped me refine my routine a bit. Things are good.
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