Injury thoughts...

[b fold the truth]

Injuries will happen to anyone who takes strength training serious. Anyone who has not been injured...hasn't taken strength training serious.

A lot of people consider certain exercises to be "dangerous". Louie Simmons clearly says that the exercises the people fear to be dangerous are probably the ones that will pack on the most muscle and make you the strongest...you just have to know how to do them properly.

Is it lack of form that causes most injuries or the excess of a weaker untrained muscle? Most people who have shoulder problems get them because they do not properly warm up nor do they properly train their rotator cuffs. A little prevention goes a long way. Back problems from squatting and deadlifting? Louie also says that none of his lifters have ever had any kind of major back problems. If your back hurts...your abs, hips, and hams are probably not strong enough.

Stretch to become more flexible.

Warm up your muscles every single time you lift.

Take 5 minutes before bed to stretch, lay on the floor, and relax your muscles.

Don't be afraid to take ibuprofen, alleve, etc...or to use ice/heat.

Most of all...consider an injury your new focus point in your training, not something that you have to work around. Focus on your injuries...make them stronger so that it never happens again.

B True

 

[needsize]

Great post! It seems like the bulk of my training has been finding ways to rehab or train around my various injuries. If I had of learned proper exercise form and the value of a proper warm up 10 years ago, then I would be a lot healthier now. But as long as I continue to learn from my mistakes, and I guess move on to make new ones, then it's all good.
For what it's worth, I've found over the past month, that taking ibuprofin (for its anti-inflamatory properties) before bed and in the middle of the night, seems to be really helping my various injuries to heal.

 

[Y_lifter]

Behold the Truth from B Fold the Truth....

I had a stint of lower back pain a few months ago and learned this very lesson in Physical Therapy.
I laughed when they started me out on Rubber bands and the Exercise ball concentrating on the Trunk muscles.

Strengthen the entire Trunk and the lower Back is happy...

I did, and it is....

 

[b fold the truth]

Any other thoughts?

Any stories of recovery?

B True

 

[deathonthefield]

yea , do a light warmup even before u stretch, people actually pull more shit by stretching before warming up, u gotta loosen and heat up the muscles even before u stretch. this is for pre stretch, post stretch ur muscles are already warm so u can stretch without fear of pulling anything

 

[Deciever]

yeah i was out of training for 4 months with a badly strained hamstring (from football, not from lifting) but i didnt listen to my body, and conituned to weight train(not as much legs but i still tried to squat and leg press and stuff) for a month and a half after the injnury. Well after that month and a half i had to spend 2 weeks in the trainers office doing physical therapy so i could finally recover... recovery took about 2 and a half months, and i started out squatting again. for the first two weeks i could only squat 95 lbs, and deadlifting 135 hurt. Eventually i made my way back up, but still had weak hamstrings, i had my squat up 215, and my dead up to 275. Then i started reading up here, cause i had a contest in 2 months, and learned about widening my squat stance and other powerlifting methods. Widening my squat stance helped with the pain, and in 2months my squat went from 215- 265, and my dead from 275-335 at my contest. Now that i read up on westside , i am doing a lot of good mornings in my routine, and glute ham raises to help my hamstring.

even now, before any leg workout, and during, i stretch my hamstring, because it still gets tense during heavy workouts
Moral of the story : listen to your body. If it hurts, dont train through it, and ease back into training it slowly.. thats the biggest mistake i made.. i just tried to train through it.

 

[b fold the truth]

That is what I like to hear...injury...overcome.

B True

 

[Thaibox]

I was kicked out of the military for two crushed discs in my lower back. When I returned to being a civilian my therapist told me the same things Y_lifter said. They said never to do deadlifts, good mornings, Squats, etc. I never thought I'd really grow because I was doomed to be stuck doing "safe" isolation things forever.

I started doing deads really light and with super strict form. I'm currently up to a modest 500lb dead, and 405 stiff-legged off a block for 4. My back looks kind of funny because its not as wide as I'd like, but my erectors are thick.

I blew out my knee fighting, and it still keeps me from doing heavy squats, but I'm slowly making progress with presses and fairly light, high rep squats. Pretty sure I'm looking at surgery for it in a few months.

My shoulders have always been my strongest muscles, so I've never been worried too much about injuring them. Bad fucking move. For two weeks now I haven't been able to press anything. Brushing my teeth is a painful experience. Pretty frustrating.

For anyone ignoring rotator excercises, you're making a big mistake. Injuries suck, but they definately are a valuable learning tool.

 

[gettinlarger]

my shoulders used to hurt on chest day when i hit bench hard. i think it was my rotator cuff. i began exercising them and working on form, and now i dont feel anything.

 

[Zebo]

Coming up on my one year anniversary for my knee surgery.

I had a torn meniscus cartilage removed. I thought I was screwed. Cartilage doesn't grow back.....

I'm squatting 315 with no pain......

Just no running.....