Went great... now injury =(

**Kingsix** · 21-06-2011 11:08 AM

Hello everyone,

I've been working out 5x a week for past 3 months with noticeable results. Specially last month when i started eating better + got some supplements. I gained some muscle and lots of strength... now when everything was going great I injured my arm (elbow on inner side). Well basically i stretched something, so that now it really hurts and cant lift anything. So I'll probably be out for some time (last time this happened was about a month

)

Now I'm really in blind here on what should i do?
I was thinking of doing cardio in mean time to lose some fat or something, but I'm afraid I'll just lose muscle. I could also work on my legs..
So my idea is to go lower on carbs and just do cardio/legs to try to lose some fat...
Also, i started eating creatine about 3 weeks ago, I'm guessing that useless now?

To summerize my 3 month gains:
Squats - from 45 to 85kg
Benchpress - 45 to 70kg
Barbell Curl - 25 to 40kg
Deadlift - 45 to 80kg
Bench dips- from lifting myself barely 4x8 to 4x8 with 25kg on me
Tricep pushdown - 30 do 55kg
..these are some of the basic workouts.

Not sure if thats a lots but i think its good. Only thing is that im not almost any "bigger" (regarding muscle size), even though results appear to be there if looking at weight...

Anyways, any recommendation is appreciated!
Thanks !

**SpiderDan** · 21-06-2011 11:36 AM

Firstly, do you know what caused the injury? have you found out what the injury is?

Secondly, what are you doing to fix the injury?

Thirdly, what is your plan when its fixed to prevent it happening again?

Is there any upperbody exercises that can be performed without causing pain?

Build the frequency of leg training but keep the cardio down (to start with) if you want to train legs more cardio will get in the way of recovery.

**MiniHulk** · 21-06-2011 11:43 AM

I second that. Keep hitting the squats hard to keep your strength up.

Contrast showers could maybe speed up the healing, they certainly help with my shoulder. 30 seconds cold water in the shower, then follow with 30 seconds hot... keep repeating and try to deal with as cold as you possibly can.

**Kingsix** · 21-06-2011 11:55 AM

Cause of injury was pretty stupid frankly... Was arm wrestling, wasn't warmed up or anything and i guess i stretched something in there heh. (last same injury had the same cause, I'm guessing my arms aren't built for this=))
I'm going to the pharmacy today, maybe they have some gel or something for this .
To prevent it happening again -pretty simple- no more of that^^ =)

I went to the gym yesterday, tried to lift some small weight to warmup the chest and it started hurting already, so I'm guessing i can't do any upper body workouts atm. After I've just done squats and other leg workouts...

How many times a week can i work on legs? Someone told me more then twice is too much? Was thinking of doing squats every time (since theyr closest to full body workout) and mix other leg workouts with abs/cardio.

**dope540** · 21-06-2011 12:02 PM

you can work up to 5-13 times a week if you can.

james copping, one of hte powerlifters here was squatting everyday a few months back. working up to a daily max.

some people train squats twice a day wit no problems.

**Kingsix** · 23-06-2011 08:56 AM

Thanks for the answers!
Been doing squats/some other leg exercises last days mixed with short HIIT/abs session(about 20 mins).

I'm wondering about my progress, as i wrote in my initial post. As i said, my strength definitely went up, but my muscle size hasn't, they'r just more defined I'd say, thats all. (its been 3 months)

So my question is, did I expect too much or am I simply doing something wrong?

**SpiderDan** · 23-06-2011 09:06 AM

Quote

Originally Posted by Kingsix

Thanks for the answers!
Been doing squats/some other leg exercises last days mixed with short HIIT/abs session(about 20 mins).

I'm wondering about my progress, as i wrote in my initial post. As i said, my strength definitely went up, but my muscle size hasn't, they'r just more defined I'd say, thats all. (its been 3 months)

So my question is, did I expect too much or am I simply doing something wrong?

Strength is more technique and neurological adaptations, this is why you can get very light weight class lifters moving huge weights.

Muscles only grow when you have sufficient raw materials (i.e. amino acids and calories) to build it. Simply, if you dont eat enough you wont grow.

That said three months is a very short amount of time, it takes many years of training to build appreciable muscle mass. In that three months you probably had some modicum of hormonal changes and thus some positive body recomposition, even if you didnt put on any weight.

If you want to get bigger, train, get stronger and eat to support it. Simples.

**SpiderDan** · 23-06-2011 09:26 AM

Quote

Originally Posted by Kingsix

Cause of injury was pretty stupid frankly... Was arm wrestling, wasn't warmed up or anything and i guess i stretched something in there heh. (last same injury had the same cause, I'm guessing my arms aren't built for this=))
I'm going to the pharmacy today, maybe they have some gel or something for this .
To prevent it happening again -pretty simple- no more of that^^ =)

I went to the gym yesterday, tried to lift some small weight to warmup the chest and it started hurting already, so I'm guessing i can't do any upper body workouts atm. After I've just done squats and other leg workouts...

How many times a week can i work on legs? Someone told me more then twice is too much? Was thinking of doing squats every time (since theyr closest to full body workout) and mix other leg workouts with abs/cardio.

We've all done something silly like that, you'll be fine.

Alternate hot (hot water bottle) and cold (ice) bout 30-45 seconds of each for 20-30 mins on the affected area. Ramp up the fish oil intake (anti inflammatory) you can use Ibruprofen Gels and some deep heat. You could also look into a sports therapist to manipulate it and stimulate some blood flow.

Just dont go crazy when you start back up training upper body.

As far as training legs, you can train them alot but dont expect to easily adapt from training them once a week to training them several times a week. If I was in your position Id just squat every time I went to the gym, forget any other leg exercises (including HIIT) but you could include some core work. This would be a great time to increase your legs work capacity and improve your squat form. Just make sure you adequately stretch and rehab in between each session.

**MiniHulk** · 23-06-2011 09:30 AM

S.D hit the nail on the head.

I agree with the calories. You need to be eating a lot if you want to notice a change. Your body is loving the exercise, even if it takes a long time to grow.

**Kingsix** · 10-07-2011 06:10 AM

Well, its been almost 3 weeks now.. my arm is better but still not ready to workout... muscle still hurts a bit when in touch it more firmly. This is getting really frustrating now.
Tried lifting a week ago and made it worse.. .eh..

. Now im waiting untill its really 100% good...

Anyways, i've been doing squats almost every day.
Lift weight went up to 110kg now, i do first 2x 5 reps (with like 110kg) and after 3x8 with 100. So there is some progress there i guess