Okay, here is the back story to this post. Back in April I tore my shoulder and my pec at work, the doctors sent me back to work and the gym. My gym progress halted and started to decline, and I had major shoulder pains, so I stopped lifting. In June I started physio, and I was sent back to the gym in July for 3 weeks, that was a bad move.
They have now sent me back to the gym again, and things are going good, actually they are going a little TOO good. I have had 2 lifting sessions since they sent me back, I have lost weight, size and energy over the months, which was expected.
So I am trying to ease myself back into the lifestyle. Taking it easy has never been my style in the gym, but I tried to keep the intensity in check, I failed. In each of these 2 sessions I have hit PR’s.
I pushed 315x6 on the Rack Lockouts, previous best was 280x3
And I pushed 110lb dumbells for dumbell press, I was using 100’s before and couldn’t break that barrier for the life of me.
Squat is down 80lbs, deadlift is down, and most of my other lifts are down but not substantially.
After taking that long of a break this is kind of weirding me out. but I kind of like it as well.
That’s pretty crazy Dave. I say don’t worry too much about why it happened, just try to keep a good thing going. I remember when I used to be flaky, taking months off of the gym at a time, I too would be stronger when I came back from a long break. I usually lost that new-found strength after a few sessions, though.
I think maybe I tried to push the intensity too much every session after the first. My advice to you would be to try as best you can not to get so excited that you burn yourself out. Take it slow, do what you can to keep what you’ve gained.
Maybe somebody who knows more about these muscle things can help out more.
Been a while since I’ve heard from ya…was beginning to think your roommate forgot to pay the bills again.
Anywho, I’ve heard of this “phenomenon” before. Do you remember Boyer Coe - a popular pro bodybuilder in the early '90s? He tore a bicep at one point and had it stapled back to the joint…a few months later he was calling it his “bionic arm” and actually had to stop training it so it wouldn’t get unproportionately larger than his “real” bicep.
A old friend who personal trains athletes mentioned something similar a few years ago - he had a high-jumper reach personal bests a few months after a mild calf tear.
A possibility is that the muscle healed “tighter” than normal; thus allowing for a faster and more efficient contractions.
I don’t believe it has anything to do with “resting a chronically overtrained muscle and allowing it to recover completely” or any of that garbage.
Hey thanks guys. And yes Jeff, I have been away because my roommate didn’t pay the bills, yet again. But I buckled down and got different internet myself. so I will be as regular as metamucil!!!
I hope these gains do stay with me and continue to progress, I just htought that it was a heck of a weird thing to have happen.
Ha…It’s just like that movie with the kid with the broken arm who starts pitching in the majors…keep those pecs tight! Seriously though, enjoy your time back in the gym, those first few weeks after a prolonged absence are always fun, so savour it (I’m going on week three, so the thrill is starting to fade…and my legs are starting to hurt… ).
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