i broke my hand yesterday. a serious bummer. i haven’t seen a specialist yet, but i will either end up with a cast or a pin in my hand. i anticipate being kind of out of action for a long while. i’ve seen the elite fts article (knife game), but would like some further advice from you guys…
the straight up lifts will be out, i’m sure. can’t really DL for max with a cast. definitely no back squats or benching either.
i have a hip squat belt, so i’ll definitely be doing those. will also try front squats. maybe hack squats as well?
i’m not too worried about my bench, as i’ve taken long layoffs before without too much detriment. besides, my shoulder is banged up.
is there anything that i can do deadlifting-wise? i can’t think of a way to really DL during my coming layoff.
I recently had multiple breaks in my ring finger that initially required a splint and then surgery so I’ll give you my input.
After seeing your specialist (hand surgeon I presume) you should have a better idea of what happens from here on end. My hand surgeon told me it would take 3 months for complete bone healing (I have permanent pins in my finger where the break was). If things go okay I should be able to start strengthening exercise by day 28 post operatively.
Initially when I had the splint on my lower body work consisted of zercher squats (primary movement) and lots of GHRs. I did Smith machine squats a bit but didnt really feel that comfortable on them. Setting the zerchers at different heights are probably the best thing for your DL - I think even when I can deadlift again I may use a high zercher if my lock out isnt up to scratch.
The possible issue with hack squats / front squat etc is how you will put on/off the locks for the weight (hacks) and for the front, if you will be able to get in positiion. Ask your surgeon/physio but it’s likely that the initial stages you do not want to exert your grip in any way. If you have training partners who are there to stabilize just in case then go for broke.
I haven’t been able to do any back work on my injured side since the injury but have done a lot of unilateral stuff on machines primarily for upper body - pressing etc.
Hope this was helpful. Keep us posted on how things go.
kyle, broke it trying to be the aggressive young guy i used to be. not the smartest thing i’ve ever done.
caleb, great advice. it’s squat day, so i’ll try some light fronts to warm up and to get used to the balance. will definitley have to do them cross arm BB-style. i plan on zerchers after that, probably to just below parallel.
johnson, i’ve definitely toyed with the idea of going down to 148. you’re right, assuming (BIG assumption) i don’t get weaker, i’ll crush everyone in that class. i’d finally be the freak…
I have experienced hand and wrist injuries in the past and the zercher squats were my mainstay. Bands can be used for Good Mornings as well as hand free pulldowns ( Bands on elbows ). Hitting the extension machines for triceps and pullovers with a grip-free approach might work as well for a little upper body work. Might be time to do some lower back rehab, if you have access to a reverse hyper.
OP I’ve had that break, but both the ring finger and pinky finger. Took about 5 weeks to be out of the cast. I was about 13 when it happened ROM of the knuckle came back within 3 days with no PT. I will admit that I re-injured my hand while grabbing a hand railing, and picking stuff up. I REALLY do not recommend deadlifting with the cast on or even afterwards until you regain grip strength. It took about a month for the strength to return.
If your dead set in DLing then I would try the lifting hooks that strap to your wrist.
Depending on how high your cast is, you could probably buy some lifting hooks (not straps) and use them for DLs. If its half way up ur forearm, it may be possible. If you can theres your way to do some back work as well.
Hack squats and Front squats are iffy in my book man, but see how they go with a spotter as back up.
And as you said you dont have to worry bout Bench and it will probably do your shoulder some good with a break from it.
For back work, assuming you can’t loop anything around your wrist, you can fix a band to a power rack, loop the other end around your elbow, and row away. Better than nothing.
I broke my proximal phalanx on my ring finger (the bigger bone) and was trying out different ideas so I could continue to to lift. I bought the hooks mentioned and found that they would bend some and not support the weight properly. This was with deadlifts at decent weights, and I had trouble with pullups here too.
Caused all kinds of pain when the hook would slip and smash my finger on the bar.
For rowing movements, you could also use some ankle straps but put them on your wrist. That might put too much pressure on your hand tho. Again, mine was my finger, so this did not bother me.
As I have talked to numerous people on here, the biggest thing I could say is to take it easy and not push yourself. A few weeks down wont cause much issue in the long term. I was so worried about missing time in the gym and getting my lifts in, I am now stuck with a finger that wont completely straighten and is swollen to about the size of my thumb. I broke my finger back in 06.
kyle, that is a sick video. going to have to try that tomorrow.
you guys are great! thanks for the advice. i didnt get to the gym today because of work, but will definitely be in tomorrow…
saw an ortho surgeon today. he said that it would be healed in 3 weeks! i am stoked about that. AND i didn’t need surgery - just a splint. he said surgery would only be needed if it doesnt heal at all. doc said i could DL again in 4 weeks.
Sled drags and car pulls in addition to whatever lower body work you’re doing. If you do them heavy and with the push-pull variations it oughta keep your core strong and most of your back size. Plus it’ll keep your GPP up which should speed up your return to full strength once you can train properly again. Otherwise it’s a bitch when you have to get both your work capacity AND your strength up.
[quote]anthonycyee wrote:
i broke my hand yesterday. a serious bummer. i haven’t seen a specialist yet, but i will either end up with a cast or a pin in my hand. i anticipate being kind of out of action for a long while. i’ve seen the elite fts article (knife game), but would like some further advice from you guys…
the straight up lifts will be out, i’m sure. can’t really DL for max with a cast. definitely no back squats or benching either.
i have a hip squat belt, so i’ll definitely be doing those. will also try front squats. maybe hack squats as well?
i’m not too worried about my bench, as i’ve taken long layoffs before without too much detriment. besides, my shoulder is banged up.
is there anything that i can do deadlifting-wise? i can’t think of a way to really DL during my coming layoff.[/quote]
I didn’t read everyone’s responses, but I noticed a couple people suggested zerchers. I broke my hand over the summer, and did a lot of zerchers as well.
Modi’s idea about the SSB is a good one too, I would have loved to have had access to one of those during my injury.
I fractured my hand a few years back. No deadlifting at all, but I did squats, hamstring curls, calf raises, barbell lunges/light dumbbell lunges. No upper body but still kept up with cardio. I did this for 5 weeks and still kept great strength.
