incredible experience with 2b training - with questions.

[bartman314]

marcus300 separate post on muscle fibers crystallized a couple of points with me, and motivated this post of recent recovery from a motorcycle crash on labor day.

On labor day, i was 215 lbs, ~13% bf, regular '2a' training (see marcus300 thread for context) and crashed a motorcycle. damage was 5 broken ribs, broken scapula, punctured lung, concussion, kidney bleeding, road rash. 4 weeks later i got the green light to get back in the gym - 200 lbs, ~18% bf.

Since that time i have used 2b type training (~12 working heavy sets per body part - ~6 reps to as close to positive failure as possible - i'm still learning how important the mental part is!), nutrition has been good, with high calories to bulk (~3300 cal/day: ~42.5:42.5:15 P:C:F, although closer to ~4000 cal/day over last week). i started trt 2 weeks into training.

Today, i'm at 220, ~14% bf, with strength better than when i crashed (triceps still lagging a bit). My current program is:

day1: back+tri
day2: shoulder+trap
day3: chest+bi
day4: legs
repeat

cardio is ~3-4 days/week

rest days are rare, maybe 1/week (i know i'm risking overtraining, but wanted to come back as quickly as i could). i'm starting to get a hot elbow and am thinking of backing off a bit. questions:

1. is it better to break up workouts or to schedule rest days (or both)?
2. do all body parts respond equally to 2b (HIIT) training? (i am getting better results for larger muscles - chest, back, legs with 2b training)
3. will compression sleeves help a hot elbow (no tendonitis, just a quirky joint pain with lateral stress on joint)?

feedback appreciated!

[M302_Imola]

Yes a compression sleeve on the faulty elbow should do the trick as well as resting more often. I always know when I'm overtraining because my joints in my elbows start bitching at me...listen to your body!