A story of What NOT to Do!!!

[tempbrit]

Ok, so I am into my 4th cycle and then all of a sudden, my elbows start hurting like crazy. I dope up on the Ibuprofen and that gets me by and I continue to hit the weights hard. I am lifting significant amounts above and beyond what I have ever lifted before. Thanks to the Tren/Var/GH/LR3 that I am running. I was loving it. Huge gains and I was lean lean lean!

Well, ignoring something like Tendonitis is stupid. After a few weeks of this, I realize that the Ibuprofen isn't working anymore. It becomes difficult to lift a glass of water off the table. I kills me to type or to write. Shaking hands with someone is excruciating.

It is the end of my cycle and I just hit PCT and take a few weeks off. Well it doesn't get better. I go see a Dr. and he prescribes more Ibuprofen and that does no good. I go back and get a Cortisone shot and I thought everything was better. Well it wasn't I did not rehab my elbows and I paid the price. Two more cortison shots later (spread over a 7 month period), I finally met a specialist who showed me how to rehab my elbow. I also showed him my workout routine. He identified a couple of key points. Mainly I was not doing any excercises to strengthen my forearms. I was also not stretching the tendons.

Well after almost 9 months I am finally back in the Gym! It does not look like I have ever worked out before. Also during my 9 month absence, I had two bouts with Mono. I lost 17 pounds the first bout and 11 the second. Unfortunately, this weightloss was anything but strategic. I looked like a pig.

I am thrilled to be back in the gym. I am going to continue to rehab for a couple of months and then try another cycle to get things going again. Hopefully, by then I will be able to fit into my clothes again.

Word to the wise, be careful when you make drastic changes in the amount of weight you are lifting. If you apply too much stress to one area of your body, another part is going to feel the impact and suffer.

Also, do not ignore small little injuries. I did and it cost me several years worth of work I had put into building my body.

Hope that whole muscle memory thing is true and kicks in quickly for me.


Also if anyone out there is from the UK, where in the hell can you find Natty peanut butter. I can find this Organic stuff, but it has a bunch of additives.

Out...

TB

[BajanBastard]

Glad you're back training, wish you the best.

[pigrond]

food network.com has a recipe for all natural peanut butter and cashew butter which is absolutely awesome

[tempbrit]

Thanks guys. I will look up the food network.com recipe. I really miss the filet mignon I would enjoy about once or twice a week. Not too plentiful over here in the UK.

[SS1476]

Thanks guys. I will look up the food network.com recipe. I really miss the filet mignon I would enjoy about once or twice a week. Not too plentiful over here in the UK.

YUM! I'll take 4 filet mignon's please..

Welcome back,and soon to be
welcomed back to the dark side

[Uconish]

food network.com has a recipe for all natural peanut butter and cashew butter which is absolutely awesome

i can tell!!!!!!!!!!!!

[V_Vandetta]

i can tell!!!!!!!!!!!!

LMAO ..... that is not right






oh and welcome back bro.. been there with a long lay over.. but it does come back ... So good luck and happy lifting be safe

[SS1476]

Ouch! .

[pigrond]

oh dam im still working on it.i can gain the weight i just have little trouble losing it

[Hard Head]

What was your forearm strengthening/rehab routine?

[SS1476]

oh dam im still working on it

You'll do it.

If you only knew my story...

Thank god I found this place
in 04' pretty much sums it up
along with ~240lbs & 30%+ BF

[pigrond]

i havent had my bf measured but its more than enough my diet is on now and fat is starting to drop off being off the dbol is helping too ive lost 7 lbs switching to decca from dbol strength hasnt changed yet but its only been 1.5 wks

[SS1476]

pigrond,
Bro..this diet forum here was
my best friend well before I
joined...really helped me out.

For dropping the fat..I went
the good ole' reliable AM cardio
and I also did run clen as well.

Damn...Im no HIJACKER sorry tempbrit

[pigrond]

thanks bro

[HighandWide]

Hope that whole muscle memory thing is true and kicks in quickly for me.
TB

There is no such thing as muscle memory. That is scientifically speaking. There is not published research stating that "muscle memory" exists. Doing research for gradschool on something similar to it and figured I would share this with you and others who didn't know. It is actually a very interesting topic and if you have time you should check it out. Physical activity becoming easier is mainly is due to how many nerological pathways we need to recruit in order for use to preform a movement. I'll shut up now...

H&W

[Uconish]

LMAO ..... that is not right






oh and welcome back bro.. been there with a long lay over.. but it does come back ... So good luck and happy lifting be safe

Im sorry.........but right now i get soooooo pissed off when i see people eating things that i REALLY wish i could eat............its not me. its the lack of carbs!

[*Narkissos*]

There is no such thing as muscle memory. That is scientifically speaking. There is not published research stating that "muscle memory" exists. Doing research for gradschool on something similar to it and figured I would share this with you and others who didn't know. It is actually a very interesting topic and if you have time you should check it out. Physical activity becoming easier is mainly is due to how many nerological pathways we need to recruit in order for use to preform a movement. I'll shut up now...

H&W

I believe that 'muscle memory' does exist... just not in the self-limiting definition that it is associated with on the boards. The forging of neurological pathways... the establishment of neuromuscular co-ordination (re: muscle recruitment) once forged do not regress. Thus, for someone who's ceased weight-training, it'd be easier for them to restart and begin gaining than it would be for someone learning the biomechanics and establishing the neuromuscular co-ordination for the first time.

I think that is the basis of 'muscle memory'...

The above description isn't all encompassing either.

'Muscle memory'...It's a misnomer..similar to 'flexing' a muscle..

Which is technically impossible.. since flexion/flexing is a term relevant to joint movement.. not muscle contractions

What's your grad degree in by the way? I'm interested

Nark

[*Narkissos*]

Im sorry.........but right now i get soooooo pissed off when i see people eating things that i REALLY wish i could eat............its not me. its the lack of carbs!

I just had two chicken breasts that i grilled earlier.

I refried em in butter... had toast on the side.. and a litre of orange juice

mmmm... butter



Good luck with your prep man.. looking thick!

[guest589745]

I hear ya man, Im rehabing my shoulder right now.

If you guys feel pain STOP!

[stupidhippo]

There is no such thing as muscle memory. That is scientifically speaking. There is not published research stating that "muscle memory" exists. Doing research for gradschool on something similar to it and figured I would share this with you and others who didn't know. It is actually a very interesting topic and if you have time you should check it out. Physical activity becoming easier is mainly is due to how many nerological pathways we need to recruit in order for use to preform a movement. I'll shut up now...

H&W

I dont completely agree witht this.. Anyone with a long absence knows that when they start working out again they reach a point that is somewhere at least pretty close to what they were before MANY times faster than they would if they would have never lifted before.. no differences in diet or workout routine..

also to the thread starter: I think ignoring small injuries is a big problem for many (me included).. I have atleast one bodypart injured all the time, and my mind doesnt allow for it to rest properly. This appoach has hurt me many times (including: many herniated discs and many overworked joints which eventually had to have many weeks off). I have been lucky that I have had nothig as bad happen to me as what happened to the thread starter.. I hope some ppl take note of this and let the overworked bodyparts heal, its worth it.. Also my grappling training is partly that causes my problems. Dont have these problems when I haev an injury that only lets me do gym workouts..

[*Narkissos*]

Well, ignoring something like Tendonitis is stupid.

I was gonna say "yea it is"... but honestly I'm sorry you had to go tru it.

I stay away from pain meds (and otc meds in general: cold/flu etc.) for that reason. I prefer pain/discomfort when something is wrong...so i can know what to target to fix it.. or what to avoid so as not to worsen it. Honestly i've used ibruprofen once for the year.. and that was for some deathly bad homebrew... couldn't move for fear of death

Anyway man.. i'm glad you're back. I'm sure you'll be back on top in no time. You know what to do..and your bros are here to back you tru your return.

Get going

Nark

[HighandWide]

I believe that 'muscle memory' does exist... just not in the self-limiting definition that it is associated with on the boards. The forging of neurological pathways... the establishment of neuromuscular co-ordination (re: muscle recruitment) once forged do not regress. Thus, for someone who's ceased weight-training, it'd be easier for them to restart and begin gaining than it would be for someone learning the biomechanics and establishing the neuromuscular co-ordination for the first time.

I think that is the basis of 'muscle memory'...

The above description isn't all encompassing either.

'Muscle memory'...It's a misnomer..similar to 'flexing' a muscle..

Which is technically impossible.. since flexion/flexing is a term relevant to joint movement.. not muscle contractions

What's your grad degree in by the way? I'm interested

Nark

Agree w/ everything your saying...What I was saying is simply for those who no nothing about physiology, which is my masters program...undergrad Physical Theropy w/ minor in Kinesiology...Glad you know your stuff....now I can get scientific..

"Muscle memory" is an often misused term to describe the phenomenon of skeletal muscle activity that is learned and becomes essentially automatic with practice. With constant practice, the neural networks and motor neuron(muscle group) pathways become fast and effortless, requiring no conscious thought to achieve the fluid sequence of motor activity that produces optimal physiological behavior. However, ex: if an individual becomes ill and is bedridden for any length of time, walking must be relearned. The re-learning process will be quicker than the original because the movement is already intaked in a persons schema. But that and cognitive memory are other topic for another day.

Not sure if I'm reading you right here but you DO loose pathways once they are forged. This is most easily seem on a persons path from a begginner thrower (think child) to a advanced (thing MLB). Think of these pathways as steets in an unfamiliar neighborhood. If someone told you to go to the Wal-mart and gave you no directions you would be confused and have to drive all around until you find it. But the more times you travel to the wal-mart the easier it gets to navigate and you can thus find the quickest route. This is essentially how muscle recruitment works. The more you practice a skill the easier it is to produce an optimal outcome not because of muscle memory but because you have established and developed the most optimal muscle recruitment stategy.
If you tell someone to run a speed ladder who was never done it before they may look like a spaz. Their hands my be out for balance. Eyes down at their feet. Tripping over themselves or the ladder. It may not be that they are naturally uncoordinated or a spaz but that they have never developed optimal nerolgical pathways to allow them to move more fluid. Through practice their body recognizes what pathways are needed and what pathways aren't. While this happens you will see their arms begin to drop into a more fluid running type motion, and they will be able to pick their head up and not trip over the ladder.
But the reason why "muscle memory" is so hard to define is because it is so interrelated to other aspects of science, most notably motor skill develoment and cognitive memory. Muscle memory has nothing to do with your muscles remembering a movement because their is nothing located in skeletal muscle cells that can facilitate this. When people talk about muscle memory they most often mean muscle recruitment.

-H&W

PS- Sorry so long winded..I can talk about this for days

[HighandWide]

'Muscle memory'...It's a misnomer..similar to 'flexing' a muscle..

Which is technically impossible.. since flexion/flexing is a term relevant to joint movement.. not muscle contractions

Nark

This is very true...there are alot of misnomers in physiology...Comes from alot of people knowing just the top layer of how the body works...Flexion/Extension, A**uction/Adduction, Lateral/Medial Rotation, and
Circumduction are all terms used to describe joint movement

They only muscular movement terms I can think of off the top of my head are eccentric/concentric movement

[HighandWide]

why can't I say a-b-d-u-c-t-i-o-n?

[stupidhippo]

b d is forbidden..

[LatinoPR]

I dont belive on pain killers,you should pay atention on why your body hurts,there is a reazon behind that.







LPR.

[*Narkissos*]

^^Good post HighandWide

I got your PM... Gotta get off to school but will try to address it when i log back in

[ecivon]

Same thing happened to me. Was in 3rd cycle and feeling great. Pounding the weights. Some right wrist discomfort but deca would override. Was spotting for one of my son's friends when his left shoulder collapsed and the falling off-balance weight kinda snapped my right wrist. Didn't hurt at all, but felt a pop. Couple days later, deca or no deca hurt like hell. This was in March this year. Couldn't lift a freakin' thing and had surgery June 8 to sew up torn ligaments. It's now Nov. and still haven't been able to lift and the pain and damage will be permanent. Not only tore the ligs. but shifted position of bones that can't be fixed except by joint replacement and which the docs. said the max. weight the wrist would be able to support would be about 50lbs. Whathehell!! No way I said. Anyway, after countless tests, rehab and expert consultations have been cleared to lift again as they say I can't damage it anymore than it has been damaged and it'll hold up, it will just be a matter of being able to tolerate the pain. I don't think that'll be much of a problem. Can't wait to start again. Have my gear in hand -- test p, deca, var and long igf for 3 months, then plan test, gh and long igf for a loooong cycle. I guess I'll find out. And this had nothing to do with not working out forearms as they were part of my routine -- actually enjoyed abusing my forearms, wrists and grip. Lots of barbell wrist curls and grip squeezes.

[Mesomorphyl]

i can tell!!!!!!!!!!!!

oh fukk no you didnt!

[MAXIMA5]

I've also found that training forearms increased all my upperbody lifts, especially arnold presses, bench, incline, decline, etc...

It's amazing how much more you can bench when your forearms can bare their share of the weight.

[ecivon]

You're right, it's a fact MAXIMA5; a large portion of our upper torso body strength and performance comes from a powerful lower trunk development, they go hand-in-hand. Likewise for the shoulders, chest and biceps, powerful and equally performing forearms and grip are a necessity. If either are underdeveloped, they will not perform as needed to compliment/enhance the performance and development of the other groups.

[tempbrit]

Forearms now have a permanent place in my weekly routine.

Not going back to the Tendonitis thing again. I really did not realize how much that effects your everyday life.

I have always wondered if the guys you see at the gym all the time who never do legs, if that will catch up with them eventually.