Knee Pain. I F'ed Up

Bigger Stronger Leaner Jim Wendler 5/3/1 Coaching
1

Hello guys, hello Jim.

I fucked up - i ran 5/3/1 for a bit over a year up until November last year, i made incredible strength and size gains and all that, BUT i did NOT follow the 5 forward 3 back TM periodization, so when i got stuck for the first (!!!) time after over a year, i stupidly decided it was time to hop on a Texas method upper lower split. At first it went quite well for a couple of weeks, but then i injured my left sartorius muscle, tried to train through it and by January of this year it was so bad that i could not squat anymore.
Since i caught a pretty bad flu around that time, i decided to take some time off and go to physical Therapy.

I gained a couple of pounds due to not training, went from 210 lbs to 225, so when i jumped back into training (doing the powerliftingtowin intermediate program, and then a push pull legs routine with twice a week 5x5 squats - i’m so sorry -.-) i decided to rehab and diet at the same time.

Again, it went well at first, i brought up my squat from nothing to 342 lbs 5x5 beltless in 6 weeks (march untill mids of april) but then my right knee couldnt take the load anymore, it began to hurt strongly while training and went worse over the course of the next days.

I am lucky to be working in a radiology so i got an MRI, seems i had a lot of luck, the cartilage, menisci, ligaments etc are all in very good shape, i just had a bit of knee effusion and an odema in my right tibia.

The doctor said i should take it easy for six weeks, so i took 2 weeks completely off,
decided to do it SLOWLY and RIGHT the next time, i.e. doing 5/3/1 and have just finished my first cycle, just upper body though. I want to get back at deadlifting and squatting ASAP, but i do not wanna fuck it up this time.

What are your experiences with these type of injuries, what do you guys and Jim -if you have the time- recommend or have tried to ease my way into it?
I’m thinking about a really low TM (170 lbs squat, 185 lbs deads), 5’s PRO and bodyweight (mainly back raises and bulgarian split squats) assitance…

Thank you very much

2

Have someone look at your form (not just once)

3

Do what doesn’t hurt. You will have to figure that one out yourself. Hopefully, no error. It hurts, you are done.

5 PRO’s with FSL and low start is the “go to” template. I’ve used it before after an injury. Did a lot of band work also. It is well documented that Jim used it after his surgery.

Nothing wrong with 3-6 months. In the grand scheme, it’s better then 2 years off?.

Good luck.

4

Appreciate your answers. Yes, 3-6 months definitely sounds better than 2 years. I’ll try and do some back raises and ab work tomorrow instead of doing nothing and get me some bands. What kind of band work do you recommend specifically?

5

Anything and everything. X walks, pull aparts, raises, flies, just get the blood pumping in the muscles. 100 is a good goal.