Why am I Getting Hurt all the Time?

Training Bodybuilding
1

Lately I have been hurting myself WAY more often than I ever have. I’m talking about micro muscle tears that are taking at least two weeks to heal.

This has been a real problem lately. Three weeks ago it was one of my lats. Then a pec. Then a trap. Yesterday I pulled my right thigh on my last rep of squats and now it hurts like hell just to sit down.

What’s going on? Am I missing some kind of mineral or something? I always warm up very well before my heavy sets so it’s not that. I drink water, take glutamine, fish oil, creatine, vit C, and a multi. What’s the deal?

2

[quote]NoeticFront wrote:
Lately I have been hurting myself WAY more often than I ever have. I’m talking about micro muscle tears that are taking at least two weeks to heal.

This has been a real problem lately. Three weeks ago it was one of my lats. Then a pec. Then a trap. Yesterday I pulled my right thigh on my last rep of squats and now it hurts like hell just to sit down.

What’s going on? Am I missing some kind of mineral or something? I always warm up very well before my heavy sets so it’s not that. I drink water, take glutamine, fish oil, creatine, vit C, and a multi. What’s the deal? [/quote]

Sounds like a case of Father Time meets heavy weights.

This is a long shot, but try REZ-V. I started taking it about 4 months ago and about two months ago I realized my Piriformis had improved dramatically. It had been injured for 8 years and kept me from doing any heavy legs. I’m pretty geeked out that soon I may be able to squat heavy again.

Good luck.

3

Sounds like you just need some time off. Good time to go for walks and work on flexibility/mobility.

4

No, not the walks! I promise I’ll do anything but the walks! Aaaahh!

5

have you tried Glutamine?

6

Sounds like you need some good ol’ rest.

7

[quote]slimthugger wrote:
have you tried Glutamine?[/quote]
Yes,he says so in the op.

8

Your bio shows that you are an experienced lifter but it is pretty easy to get lax in your quest for more weight on the bar. If this isnt you then perhaps someone else will find the cause.

Perhaps your cadence is too fast especially in the negative portion of the lift. You have to keep the heavy weights under control. Not suggesting you go super slow but a controlled negative instead of letting gravity have its way with it.

I am an older lifter and I am now finding that I need to be extra prudent about my warmups, more so than when I was younger. I am still lifting some fairly heavy weightsand they were starting to get the better of me.

A warmup for me is now about fifteen minutes of heavy bag work before I lift. I start off with about 30% of my working weight and work on form for 10-15 reps. I then up it to 50% and do just a couple reps again watching form. Then I acclimate myself to the heavy weight with 75% for a single or double. I finish up the warmup with a 90% single.

I was doing a single set of 50% for a long time for a warmup and I was starting to have small traumas like you describe. Since I changed up my warmup it is very rare now and only if I move too fast or slip into bad form.

Good luck.

9

maybe change your program up, de load, for a week or two.

screw going for walks, just have sex instead. more fun IMO.

10

Wilderman -

Yeah, I’m not that young anymore (33) but I hate to think that I’ll have to lay off the heavy weights! I see 50+ lifters that are in AMAZING shape (hormone therapy notwithstanding) and I’d like to think that I can be that way too.

I’m pretty cognizant of my tempo since I try to lift explosively, then do the negative pretty slow. I suppose it can’t hurt to go slower for a while. I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.

Also, my warmup looks similar to yours, sans the heavy bag (I do my combatives training after the weights). But say, for instance, if I plan on starting my sets (usually four) of squats using 4 plates, I start by using nothing but the bar for about 10 reps.

Then I’ll do 1 plate, again 10 reps. Then two, then three, and then I get to four and I’m ready to start my working sets and I’ll keep adding weight after that. If it’s really cold outside of my knees are whining, I’ll start off by doing 5 - 10 minutes of the stationary bike. Does that sound about right?

My injuries have been happening towards the end of my workouts, though, that’s why I don’t think it’s from not warming up enough.

11

[quote]NoeticFront wrote:
Wilderman -

Yeah, I’m not that young anymore (33) but I hate to think that I’ll have to lay off the heavy weights! I see 50+ lifters that are in AMAZING shape (hormone therapy notwithstanding) and I’d like to think that I can be that way too.

I’m pretty cognizant of my tempo since I try to lift explosively, then do the negative pretty slow. I suppose it can’t hurt to go slower for a while. I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.

Also, my warmup looks similar to yours, sans the heavy bag (I do my combatives training after the weights). But say, for instance, if I plan on starting my sets (usually four) of squats using 4 plates, I start by using nothing but the bar for about 10 reps.

Then I’ll do 1 plate, again 10 reps. Then two, then three, and then I get to four and I’m ready to start my working sets and I’ll keep adding weight after that. If it’s really cold outside of my knees are whining, I’ll start off by doing 5 - 10 minutes of the stationary bike. Does that sound about right?

My injuries have been happening towards the end of my workouts, though, that’s why I don’t think it’s from not warming up enough.

[/quote]

Ditto to the working on into the fifties. This is my plan as well. Hopefully beyond.

That sounds like a good warm-up to me. Do you incorporate and stretching pre, during or post workout? Perhaps this too can help. I do limited stretching pre-workout and a pretty thorough post workout stretch. I sometimes stretch between sets depending upon the lift. I will stretch my chest after I bench press but before and between sets of flys or pullovers for example. Perhaps a little flexibility work might alleviate the problem as well. Myself I rely upon the stretch reflex for several of my main lifts like barbell press, squat, etc and avoid stretching before these. I will still stretch my hips, hamstrings and low back before squating but avoid stretching my quads. There was a recent discussion on stretching last week. Maybe you can find some words of wisdom in that thread.

The other posters gave you some good advise to back off for a while. Maybe roll your weights back to 80% or more and slowly work back up. During this time really take a look at your form and work to do a controlled negative. Maybe spend a little effort in flexibility during this time as well.

I hope this helps. Maybe some of the other experienced guys will chime in with something I missed. Good luck.

12

Damn. No. I’m terrible at stretching. I always either forget or I’m in a hurry and just rush out of the gym. I do a little bit in between sets but no real stretching session. I need to. Especially because I also do self defense stuff and I need the flexibility. It will help. Thanks for the tip.

I’m just about ready to get off the heavy weight routine for a while anyway so I’ll be adding more conditioning exercises. I alternate between hypertrophy, strength, and finally core/speed/conditioning, doing each phase for about a couple of months. That’s my totally made-up way to balance the weights with the martial arts. It seems to work for me.

Thanks, all, for the advice.

13

i have been having the same problem lately. but im only 25. i think im missing a key part of nutrients in my diet. or maybe i just drink too much lol