Video Fitness Forum  

Go Back   Video Fitness Forum > Video Fitness Reader Forum > General Discussion

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Old 04-07-14, 11:13 AM  
Vintage VFer
VF Supporter
 
Vintage VFer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Question Help! How to build muscle when working around injuries?

(I don't expect much sympathy about the first part of this post, but I'll go on anyway.) Over the last year I have lost more weight. I'm at the low end for my height. So, weight gain (lean muscle mass) is actually something I would want.

I have an upper body injury, tennis elbow that is slowly healing. I have a hip injury that I manage by avoiding certain workouts and certain moves. My knees have been iffy lately.

Instead of squats, I've been doing weighted glute raises, weighted straight-leg quad lifts and deadlifts. (I love deadlifts and am glad I can still at least do those!)

I can't go very heavy with the glute raises because of the sore arm. I've been doing them a lot for months with nothing to show for it. I may be be great at glute activation, but not at building up my butt.

My main strength workout for about a year has been Margaret Richards' Getting Better. This is a great workout, but I and so SICK of it after so long.

So, my friends, (Sophie, are you there?), what exercises/workouts would you suggest to still build muscle while working around upper and lower body injuries?
__________________
Goal:250 / Done:67

POSTURE CHECK!
Vintage VFer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-07-14, 12:07 PM  
slysam
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alta-tude View Post
I can't go very heavy with the glute raises because of the sore arm. I've been doing them a lot for months with nothing to show for it. I may be be great at glute activation, but not at building up my butt.
By Glute raises, do you mean bridges or sometimes called hip thrusts or similar? If so, I find it physically uncomfortable using a heavy barbell like Bret Contreras suggests, but I like the idea of the exercise. I found I can do it if I use resistance bands (I put my feet on the bands and arrange or pull it tight, I like the looped bands). And the one legged version adds to the challenge, though maybe that wouldn't be good for your hip?
slysam is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-07-14, 12:19 PM  
mspina
 
mspina's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Boston, MA
Is the issue with the heavy glute bridges getting a heavy enough barbell in place? If so, take a look at this: http://bretcontreras.com/who-thinks-...s-a-glute-wod/

You can get plates down to 10# in that big bumper size (anywhere that sells Crossfit equipment will have them), then you can just roll under it without using your UB at all to get into position.

I vaguely recall that KB swings might be problematic for you - otherwise I'd recommend HEAVY swings. Also, similarly for losing weight, gaining requires close attention to your diet. LOTS of protein, timed well. Bodybuilding.com has a number of training plans - you might have some luck looking through those for specific mass building exercise ideas that could work for you.
__________________
Michelle

Random Stuff:
  • Spinervals Team Member Triathlon Coach
  • Avid CrossFitter
  • Former Triathlon Fanatic
  • 2008 Boston Marathon Finisher
  • Cast member in IronGirl StrEndurance workout (released 12/07)

mspina is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-07-14, 01:08 PM  
Jane P.
VF Supporter
 
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Colorado Springs
I've had to deal with foot problems for a long time. I also did Getting Better a lot, until I realized I could pair any upper body workout with any floorwork dvd section.

As for your elbow, if you have to, use a lighter dumbbell on the bad side. That way you aren't losing any strength. I had a shoulder injury and had to do this for quite a while. Eventually it healed and I was able to lift equal weight on both sides.

Hope you can gain some good muscle.
__________________
"The two most powerful warriors are patience and time." Leo Tolstoy
Jane P. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-07-14, 02:00 PM  
NoraKate
VF Supporter
 
NoraKate's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: pittsburgh
do you have an old pair of ankle weights around?

After I blew out my elbow....

I managed some decent shoulder work by strapping them to my upper arms.
side raises, front raises, presses, all sorts of flies....


and lots of slow rowing
but only slow
__________________
you can have my caffeine when you pry it from my cold dead hands
NoraKate is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-07-14, 02:03 PM  
PrairieGem
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jane P. View Post
As for your elbow, if you have to, use a lighter dumbbell on the bad side. That way you aren't losing any strength. I had a shoulder injury and had to do this for quite a while.
I've been doing this while dealing with tendonitis in my shoulder (biceps head). My back gets really sore when I don't lift weights regularly, so it is a struggle to figure out how to balance those two conflicting needs. I'm glad to hear someone else does the same thing.
__________________
~Gem
Dux femina facti
PrairieGem is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-08-14, 08:53 AM  
KarenP
VF Supporter
 
KarenP's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Milky Way Galaxy
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alta-tude View Post

I have an upper body injury, tennis elbow that is slowly healing. I have a hip injury that I manage by avoiding certain workouts and certain moves. My knees have been iffy lately.
Sorry that tennis elbow is taking so long to heal, but I'm glad to hear it's healing.

Question: Aren't you supposed to avoid gripping until that injury heals? And if so, how are you able to perform deadlifts?

Do you have access to a back extension bench? That exercise works the posterior chain and won't stress your elbow at all.

Is your elbow healed enough to train Tyler Twists yet?

Finally, for you iffy knees: The New York Times posted a video with a routine to help stabilize knees (it was aimed at runners) a while back. Not sure if your hip will allow you to do any of them though.

Oh … and there was an old study that said that training one side produced less atrophy in the injured side than not training at all. So maybe that's worth a shot for your upper body? When you are healed, you can go back to training both arms.
__________________
Cheers,

Karen

QUIT SLOUCHING!!!
KarenP is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-08-14, 10:28 AM  
Vintage VFer
VF Supporter
 
Vintage VFer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Thanks for the replies. (I think this is my first ever "Help!" post in my millions of posts.)


Quote:
Originally Posted by slysam View Post
By Glute raises, do you mean bridges or sometimes called hip thrusts or similar? If so, I find it physically uncomfortable using a heavy barbell like Bret Contreras suggests, but I like the idea of the exercise. I found I can do it if I use resistance bands (I put my feet on the bands and arrange or pull it tight, I like the looped bands). And the one legged version adds to the challenge, though maybe that wouldn't be good for your hip?
Yup, the Bret Contreras glute raises. That band idea sounds like a good thing to try.


Quote:
Originally Posted by mspina View Post
Is the issue with the heavy glute bridges getting a heavy enough barbell in place? If so, take a look at this: http://bretcontreras.com/who-thinks-...s-a-glute-wod/

You can get plates down to 10# in that big bumper size (anywhere that sells Crossfit equipment will have them), then you can just roll under it without using your UB at all to get into position.

I vaguely recall that KB swings might be problematic for you - otherwise I'd recommend HEAVY swings. Also, similarly for losing weight, gaining requires close attention to your diet. LOTS of protein, timed well. Bodybuilding.com has a number of training plans - you might have some luck looking through those for specific mass building exercise ideas that could work for you.
The bigger plate would really help. I looked at a few local sports stores and they didn't have the big plates. I'll see if there is a CrossFit equipment store in my area. I'll check out Bodybuilding,com. I actually belong to HardGainer.com, but haven't visited there in years.

I adore kettlebells, but the hip doesn't. Doing swings actually gave me a butt!


Quote:
Originally Posted by Jane P. View Post
As for your elbow, if you have to, use a lighter dumbbell on the bad side. That way you aren't losing any strength. I had a shoulder injury and had to do this for quite a while. Eventually it healed and I was able to lift equal weight on both sides.
I've done that a few times, and need to be more consistent.


Quote:
Originally Posted by NoraKate View Post
After I blew out my elbow....
I managed some decent shoulder work by strapping them to my upper arms.
side raises, front raises, presses, all sorts of flies....
Duh! (headsmack) I should have thought of this! I learned from Margaret Richard to put leg weights above the knees for floor work. I never thought of doing that for upper body work.




Quote:
Originally Posted by KarenP View Post
Question: Aren't you supposed to avoid gripping until that injury heals? And if so, how are you able to perform deadlifts?
I have those wrist hook things. ( I don't' always use them.)

Quote:
Originally Posted by KarenP
Do you have access to a back extension bench? That exercise works the posterior chain and won't stress your elbow at all.
I could probably do the same thing on a resistance ball.


Quote:
Originally Posted by KarenP
Is your elbow healed enough to train Tyler Twists yet?
I've been skeered to try those again after they hurt so much before.


Quote:
Originally Posted by KarenP
Finally, for you iffy knees: The New York Times posted a video with a routine to help stabilize knees (it was aimed at runners) a while back. Not sure if your hip will allow you to do any of them though.
I can't get the video to work on my Mac. I'll try on my iPad.


Again, thanks for some valuable ideas!
__________________
Goal:250 / Done:67

POSTURE CHECK!
Vintage VFer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-08-14, 10:40 AM  
JENILU
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: AL
Quote:
Originally Posted by NoraKate View Post
do you have an old pair of ankle weights around?

After I blew out my elbow....
I managed some decent shoulder work by strapping them to my upper arms.
side raises, front raises, presses, all sorts of flies....
I did this with 5 lb. leg weights for a while and it was awesome - especially for my biceps for some reason, but it did end up being a part of several facotrs that really messed up my neck and left shoulder, so please be careful.

Another thing I have done is hold lighter ankle weights around my hand without having to grip and doing higher reps. This helped keep some of the strength i had atleast. Gripping seemed to be my biggest problem, but as long as i could do something that allowed me to keep my hansds pretty loose, it seemed to be ok-- as long as what I was holding wasn't too heavy.


Alta, best to you! i hope you see much improvement and strength!!
JENILU is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-08-14, 10:41 AM  
Sarah-lara
VF Supporter
 
Sarah-lara's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2003
does anybody around you teach good aquatics classes? My old gym used to have a few good classes (aside from the usual aerobics ones), like deep water walking and resistance classes with props.
__________________
Sarah
Sarah-lara is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
glute bridges, glute building, injuries, lean body mass, muscle building

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:00 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.3
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
© 2009 Video Fitness