Thread: Weight lifting

Fellow body builders. I train 5 x a week splitting muscle groups down into 3-4 workouts each per week.

Today a dog in the park kept provoking my dog until they got into a fight. In separating them, the other dog which was a pitbull mix bit my finger. Rushed to hospital and had to have stitches and dressing etc. They told me I'd not be able to lift weights for 3 weeks.

Now I can still of course do legs and abs and pressups if I am careful, but no upper body exercises such as benching, shoulder pressing,curling, deadlifting etc. I'm quite upset about that and I am worried that all the size and defintion that I've spent the last year working hard for under a diciplined routine and diet will become depleted.

What are you're thoughts/experience with this and how long muscle breaks down in? Very much appreciated

Sorry to hear about your injury. I know how disappointing it can be. After breaking a clavicle 6 years ago I couldn't get back on the road or trail with my bicycle for 5 weeks. This for a guy who rode 6 days a week.

Stuart McRobert's training philosophy is that less is more in terms of getting results. IOW, the layoff may actually help you to make gains when you go back. I don't know if he is correct but following his recommendations has helped me gain strength and endurance by taxing my body less. Of course at 61 years old what works for me may not work for a younger man. Here is Stuart's website. Hope you heal up and are able to get back at it quickly.

Let me tell you my friend, Nobody was more bummed than me when I found out my back was broke. I had a pars fracture at L5. I had surgery in Jan, and just got back to the gym in June. There is such a thing as Muscle Memory, believe me. 3 weeks is nothing. Just Eat clean. You should be fine. I split too, Chest/Bi's, Back/Tri's Shoulder/Traps and I have a leg day. I was training for over ten years straight. Very disciplined. You could imagine how I felt when I could do nothing for months and months, and had to watch my build disappear before me in the mirror. I still have a ways to go, but I've been getting lots of feedback from co workers noticing I'm getting back into shape.

Don't screw around and try to do stuff you shouldn't. Believe me, you don't want to make it worse. Listen to your Doctor's. You shouldn't loose much in 3 weeks, if any...
Don't worry....Actually, If you've been hitting it hard, The rest will do you good. You'll be stronger when you get back. Keep a good attitude. A lot of it's, mental....

Rich

Originally Posted by Scipio

What are you're thoughts/experience with this and how long muscle breaks down in? Very much appreciated

That of course depends on your resting (non-exercise stimulated) androgen levels vs. catabolic hormones. Keep eating enough food. Getting emotionally "down" may depress testosterone and other hormones, which of course... mind over matter, eh? You shouldn't lose much mass. The worst part will be returning to the conditioned state, there is appreciably fast snap back to near previous strength levels with conditioning alone.

Now could be a good time to look at HST (hypertrophy specific training) to make use of the de-conditioning (which is your new strategy, get it? ).

You need to take a serious look at a modification of kettle bells. My first thought is adapting your dumbell exercises by using the almighty plastic bag! Seriously, whether it's sand or the weights (sans bar) you can try to avoid using that injured finger.

Have you enjoyed much aerobic exercise? I personally don't like pure aerobic, if I go "running" it's really more fartlekking than a set slog of a pace.

My grandfather told a story about an old man in Norway who always walked with 2 canes. "Oh, he didn't need the canes to walk with, grandpa said."
"If a dog came up to bite him he would worry it with one cane and beat it over the head with the other."

Now I can't imagine someone who works out as frequently as you do would need canes either, but the concept of carrying a couple of sticks for self and puppy preservation does have its merits.

good luck

Originally Posted by AxelH

Now could be a good time to look at HST (hypertrophy specific training) to make use of the de-conditioning (which is your new strategy, get it? ).

Axel, Im not entirely sure what you mean here? As for aerobics I used to run for half an hour 3 times a week under low intensity (10KMPH). Im going to do that a couple of times a week for the next 3 weeks to compensate for the calorie burn I would have achieved weight lifting.

Jimmy, I've ordered that book, it looks great! Ive never read books on this, only learned through people at various gyms and the net previously.

Zib, Im glad to hear you're making the gains again. 10 years is a long time. It must have been heartbreaking looking in the mirror after what you had described. I think alot of it is mental though, and Im glad to know 3 weeks is nothing. I had anxiety that the muscle would begin to break down.

The numbers I remember from when I was powerlifting was that you lose ~5% off your top end each week.

HOWEVER, that does not indicate atrophy when you're talking as short term as 3 weeks. It will all still be there, it will just be a matter of your body not giving you 100% for the first few workouts.

For reference, I broke and arm and took an entire year off lifting (compound spiral fractures take a LONG time to heal). It took me 3-4 months to get back to where I was after, and I started an 8 week program immediately after that which helped me set a 50lb personal best in deadlifts, and a 25 lb personal best for squats.

Don't sweat a 3 week break.

I personally can take 2 weeks off and still do same reps with the max weight I have been doing before the break. I think you will be just fine and back to your weight by the second to third week. I think it's very important to watch the diet, because you will not be doing as much exercise.

I agree with the others. 3 weeks is not a big deal.
And when you get back, you'll pick up where you left. You might even pick up faster than before because your muscles got a chance to fully recover from the training.

Depending upon the equipment in your gym there are still upper body exercises that you can do without using your hands. Clearly that means you can't use free weights, but most gyms have lateral raise machines for the deltoids, pec decks for the chest, and some pec decks can be used in reverse for the upper back. A pullover machine is better used without involving the hands anyway. If you can find a set, some wrist straps have flattened hooks that fit a bar so you could use them to do some pulling exercises.