Beginners Routine

Bigger Stronger Leaner
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[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:
Your back injury has lingered for 6+ months? You said you can’t go to a doctor, but did you check with your doc after his 4-6 week timeframe passed and you weren’t any closer to healing? [/quote]
Yes exactly, it stopped being inconvenient in my day to day life after about a month, then the healing began to slow down, then pretty much stalled. It is lingering. I went to the doctor 1-3 days after it happened, and did what he told me. Then if I remember correctly I posted about the injury here a couple months later (vague date) and someone (probably you) told me to go again. Yes I eventually went again, my doctor didn’t tell me anything. (He is only a GP) I told him that I began foam rolling and it gives me strong temporary relief. All he said was “Does it make it feel better?” “Yes.” “Keep doing it.” He referred me to a specialist but my family can’t afford it, this is why I am trying to solve things myself to the best of my knowledge.

[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:
Dude, you need to be proactive about your recovery, not just be eager to get back to squatting three days a week. Get back to where you can do full range push-ups, pull-ups, bodyweight squats, and full range toe touches without pain, and then think about lifting. [/quote]
I can do all of these things comfortably.

[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:
Disbelief being the key word here, as apparently it was a band-aid solution that didn’t “cure” anything. We should try not to do that again.

A 100% healthy body has zero discomfort and zero pain. At 16, that’s where you should want to be. If you’re feeling discomfort/pain, you’re not fully healed, period. Tissue quality work (foam rolling, treating mobility drills as important as oxygen, etc.) should become part of your new daily routine. A handful of drills, 10-15 minutes a day everyday, to hit the whole body would be a start. [/quote]
My parents told me it was a muscular pain, I didn’t believe them (stupid me). I had all the symptoms of having a muscular pain, it completely went away when I was running around doing sport having a bit of a pump, then would come back when I began resting. Strength training made it hurt more in the short term (directly after training) but as the days, and weeks went by my lower back strengthened and the pain went away.

What sort of drills should I do? I did a few sets of 100m sprints, and hill sprints at my park for a while but I don’t know I got bored because I just enjoy deadlifts and squats. Don’t think they would help my back any way I was doing them in an attempt to preserve lower body strength. What sort of mobility work should I be doing? My holy grail would be if I knew what muscle it was, but I don’t. It isn’t a surface muscle because I feel absolutely nothing from a massage, unless someone digs their entire elbow in to my back with their body weight. It is a deep muscle. It begins in my mid back and goes up my thoracic spine. I spent countless hours comparing my area of pain to anatomy drawings and reading articles/threads and I nailed it down to 2-3 possible muscles which I saved in a text document somewhere. Though nothing concrete obviously. The best stretch I can get for the muscle is extending my left arm, twisting my torso to the right, then reaching and bending forward as much as I can. This still feels very indirect, I don’t feel as much as I think I should.

[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:
Also, consider some yoga. No joke. It’d be a decent combo of stretching and activity as long as you stick within your capabilities. Either find some beginners lessons online or see if you can find a local class to score a free trial. [/quote]
Will look in to this. Do you know any good sources for yoga routines? I would prefer to do it at home.

[quote]
Undertand that if you don’t legitimately fix this 100%, it can be something that sticks with you as a problem for years. It’s undoubtedly worth putting in the time to correct it now.[/quote]
I understand. To the best of my knowledge, cautiously starting gym again would be of benefit to me. The squats that I did to prior to this thread felt good. I could go so far as to saying that my back felt better the subsequent days but its too early to be certain.

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[quote]magick wrote:
Do you have any suggestions on useful yoga positions for mobility work?[/quote]
This article discussed a few good bang-for-buck moves that work the hips, glutes, and upper and lower back:

I also like “Warrior 1” which is basically a lunge position with both arms overhead. I use a variation of it (including a lateral bend) in my general warm-up every workout.

[quote]Massthetics wrote:
Do you know any good sources for yoga routines? I would prefer to do it at home.[/quote]
FitnessBlender on Youtube has a few good videos, but some are also hit and miss. DoYogaWithMe is another channel a lot of people like. The key is to look for “beginners” yoga and go at an easy pace, not trying to push or force any stretch.

Fair call. I’d still ease into lifting a little more gradually, rather than squatting 3 days a week. Even an upper/lower split 3 days a week would be a better transition back into training. I’d also adopt more of an anti-inflammatory diet, at the very least drastically increasing your fish oil intake. That’ll go towards helping whatever it is resolve a little on its own.

I definitely agree that it’s extra-tricky without a specific diagnosis of what’s going wrong with what muscle. That’s one of the biggest problems of e-diagnosing injuries. I’d keep doing what you can to narrow down what it is/could be, and check articles like Deconstructing Computer Guy and Neanderthal No More to try finding info that helps:

Try some tissue work with a tennis ball or two, or get in there yourself.
http://tnation.T-Nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/soft_tissue_work_for_tough_guys

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OP, I just want to compliment you on a noticeably improved attitude since you first showed up. Now instead of the old “I know more than everyone else” attitude you’re asking questions, legitimately listening to the answers, and continuing to probe when necessary. Keep it up. I have no specific advice for your problem, but have much more confidence in you reaching a solution than I would have with the attitude you used to have on here.

Don’t let this compliment go to your head.

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Thought I’d post an update, for those that may care or maybe would want to know how things can catch you off guard. I had an x-ray done, and I saw a specialist today. He was very concise and knowledgeable, stripped me down to my undies, and did a full examination from head to toe regarding my upper back. I have, as evident from my xrays and his examination of me scoliosis, and also issues in my sacroiliac joint causing uneven load bearing.

I had this condition pre-existing and it began to have a snowball effect on future issues when I started doing heavy lifting. I guess it should go as a warning to anyone that if they had an unhealthy past like I did, it may be worthwhile to get a good examination by a professional because it may prevent over a years worth of recovery and rehabilitation later down the line. At least I feel better about myself knowing that I didn’t injure myself with stupid form or programming but rather as a result of an undiagnosed condition.

I am going to be referred to a physio but I am not sure how many sessions my family would be able to afford. The most important difficult thing, however (in my opinion), is getting the correct diagnosis which I now have. I am hoping that I will be able to treat and work around this with the bountiful information on the internet.

I have a thread in the injury section, if anyone has some useful information for me: Scoliosis - Injuries and Rehab - Forums - T Nation

Thanks.

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Sucks to hear man, sorry it’s causing such an issue.

The relatively-good news, though, is that unless it’s a severe degree of scoliosis, you should be able to train basically normally after a while. The famous example is powerlifter Lamar Gant, who was the first to deadlift 5x bodyweight, and he had something like an 80-degree curve.

Obviously you always need to base things on your own capabilities, ROM, etc. And asterisk all that with a warning that I know tiddlywinks about addressing whatever your specific issues might be.

Do your rehab and listen to your docs Totally, 100%, and almost entirely without question (for sure question them for curiosity’s sake or for clarification, but a lot of guys try to second guess medical professionals with decades of experience based on what they read in a blog). They’re seeing you in person and they have the most insight to your situation.

Are they looking at addressing your SI joint issue too? Or is the scoliosis the priority?

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find a good chiro with knowledge of weight training athletes

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[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:
Sucks to hear man, sorry it’s causing such an issue.

The relatively-good news, though, is that unless it’s a severe degree of scoliosis, you should be able to train basically normally after a while. The famous example is powerlifter Lamar Gant, who was the first to deadlift 5x bodyweight, and he had something like an 80-degree curve.

Obviously you always need to base things on your own capabilities, ROM, etc. And asterisk all that with a warning that I know tiddlywinks about addressing whatever your specific issues might be.

Do your rehab and listen to your docs Totally, 100%, and almost entirely without question (for sure question them for curiosity’s sake or for clarification, but a lot of guys try to second guess medical professionals with decades of experience based on what they read in a blog). They’re seeing you in person and they have the most insight to your situation.

Are they looking at addressing your SI joint issue too? Or is the scoliosis the priority?[/quote]
I also heard about Lamar Gant, he gives me hope. There are also numerous bodybuilders who compete at amateur level with scoliosis. From what my specialist told me, I can basically do all forms of sports however regularly lifting weights that are at or near my capacity can easily cause re-injury in my case, due to the inevitable muscle imbalance of my curved spine. I did stronglifts 5x5 for roughly half a year (have to check my log book to make sure) before I ran in to any discomfort. With another few months of stupid bro-science lifting before that. At the moment my entire back is very tight and uncomfortable due to sitting on my ass trying to recover, particularly my upper back. Once the physio loosens everything up and allows it to heal I will re-continue weight lifting, to a certain extent.

For me, when he began talking about my scoliosis and some of the implications of it I was already taking in a lot of information and he only touched upon on my SI joint. All he told me is that there is something up with it and it causes uneven load bearing on my legs when I lift weights. I am awaiting to see my GP next week who will have the full report. My spine curves in an ‘S’ shape, trying to correct itself on the way up. Maybe whats going on with my SI joint is the cause of it (to some degree) and once that is addressed my curve may improve.

Since I turned 17 last month and already completed just about 95% of my growth, my options are limited for my spine. There is no possible way to “cure” it, however if done correctly things can be done to lessen the curve. It is also postural, to a certain extent. My hopes are that it can be corrected to the point that it will realistically stop causing me issues in the gym. It only developed in the last few years during my growth spurts, I still have a little bit of growth left in me and my curve is only a mild case (classified as 10-25 degrees) so I am going to try and use these in my favor.

Not the end of the world, just one extra thing I have to consider.

Rampantbadger - Will do. I will ask my GP when I see him if he could refer me to one.

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Well its been said that two times your body weight is very strong as I see it its really close.

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By who?

And 2 years is a LONG time to come up with a comeback.

2 Likes
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There is actually a huge difference between 5X5@80% and 3X5@85%. The RPE for both on the last set is very similar I find but the difference lies in the total tonnage lifted for each.

5X5@80kg=2000kg
3X5@85kg=1275kg

This is a huge difference in volume and if hypertrophy is the goal then 5X5 is undoubtedly superior.

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Just realised how old this thread is. Epic bump.

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If you’re 400 lbs, 2x bodyweight is strong. If you’re 250 lbs, 2x bodyweight is not strong. These things don’t work in a linear fashion. A 450 squat at 250 is not impressive. Sorry bruh.