Starting Over

Training Bodybuilding
1

I am a 48 yr old guy who was in great shape - ie, I looked great nekkid - until I had 3 surgeries over 3 years to remove disks and fuse cervical vertebrae. Basically from c3-t1 is titanium (cause at my age the original parts were no longer available…)

ANYway, the nerves were impacted in my right arm and I lost a LOT of function and muscle mass. Biceps, triceps, the whole rotator cuff groupwrist flexors, you name it, its atrophied. Now I need to start over and rebuild. The nerves seem to be firing and I am back to friggin 2-5 lb girlie weights.

Any suggestions as to whether hi/lo reps, number of sets, anything is different than if I was just training like I used to? In terms of supplements, is biotest/creatine useful when starting from such a low lever and basically just recruiting new fibers??

I’ve been to physical therapy but it’s all fat guys with new hips - and no hot therapists, so forget it! I have the discipline and this once-and-future gym rat is just looking for some 411.

Thanks

2

If you are lifting 2-5 lb girlie weights it sounds to me like you have a damn good opportunity to do a cycle of AAS. At your age I will assume that you are somewhat financilly stable and can afford some good stuff. Aside from that, do a search on “massive eating” to get your diet on track.

3

sparky,

Welcome to the forum! We have something in common I too am 48 years old, so I understand a little about whats rolling around in the back of your mind. Hey, when we graduated from High School Three Dog Night was the number one band. Haha, Okay, enough reminiscing.

If I were you I would take it real slow. No need to rush, it’s not a race. You want to make sure that you have a complete recovery with no set backs. With that stated, I would begin by doing some high rep sets of the basic movements. Just go through the motions the first few weeks. Make sure everything is moving properly. Begin each session with a good warm-up. Full rotation of shoulders, Stretch the pecs etc.

Maybe two sets of Deadlifts. Three sets of Squats (you can use a light weight or no weight for the first session). I would not do any Bench Pressing as you have stated that you once damaged your rotator cuff. Instead, try three sets of body weight Push-ups and see how they feel. Also, some light overhead pressing might be in order. I would also try a couple of sets of Pull-ups.

After a few weeks of this feeling out process you will be able to get down to some serious lifting. When you begin to up your poundages make sure that you do not do it at the cost of form. Remember, it will take time to get back to what you used to do. Do not try to do it all in a few weeks, this could only set you back further.

After your initial break in of a few weeks, your schedule might look something like this:

Three Days Per Week:

  1. Deadlift-4 sets 8 to 10 reps.
  2. Squat-4 sets 10 to 12 reps.
  3. Overhead Press-3 sets 8 to 12 reps.
  4. Pull-ups-3 sets as many reps as you can do comfortably, don’t strain.
  5. Push-ups-4 sets, again do not go to failure on any set.

If you want to continue to increase the weight and lower the reps after a 4 to 6 week period that is of course your preference. I recommend that you not go to heavy for a while. Give yourself a nice long welcome back period.

I would also add two days of cardio training per week. Your choice, but if you want to run I would make sure that you stretch out real good prior to your session. It’s easy to pull a leg muscle when they have been dormant for a while.

As for supplementation, I would order some Grow Protein powder immediately. Forget about the Creatine for now. If you want to try it you can get into it later. You will make some great gains in the beginning just eating properly and upping your protein intake.

Lastly, Don’t let anyone tell you that you are to old to train hard (once you get back into the swing of things). Age is not as important as attitude! As I stated in the beginning of this post, I am 48 years old and also in the best shape of my life! And mine has been a life of consistant training. I have improved almost every year since High School, (you know, when Three Dog Night was the hottest band) Not bragging, just want to let you know that some of your best days are ahead of you!

Never Give Up And Never Give In! Feel free to PM me anytime.

All the Best,

Zeb

4

i think that you should use various rep ranges in your workouts barring anything that would lead to injury. The reason for this is that you need to recruit the various muscle fibers, slow/fast twitch. there are several ways you can do this: you can do high intensity low reps first then progress to lower intensity higher reps, or you can do really long drop sets, or you can split your routine into high intensity days nd low intensity days, there is also the pendulum bodybuilding by CT. try different things out to see how you feel and adapt. don’t feel embarrased by the weights you use. the poundages and the body mass will go up. I would definitely be on a high protein diet as this will definitely help with recovery. Active recovery techniques like icing down muscles and contrast baths, massages will also help a lot. good luck, laters pk