Author Topic: AGC's journal (Read 522524 times)

AGC · « **Reply #495 on:** November 17, 2012, 01:33:27 am »

Update on my weird leg pain: It feels about 90% recovered in terms of the discomfort and effect on activity. It doesn't give me any pain or anything when I'm just doing low-intensity work like walking, jogging. It just gets a bit stiff now and then.

I went to the doctor again for a follow-up and he did the knee ligament tests again. He said my ligaments are actually very stable and that it was more likely to be some small stress fractures in the area where the fibula and tibia join. He poked around my knee and found a spot where it was kind of tender compared to the surrounding areas. Makes a lot more sense. I think the bump I got to the medial side of my knee during basketball a few months ago was a bit of a red herring, made me think I'd sprained the LCL on the other side due to buckling of the knee. Either way the result is irrelevant as the treatment would have been the same: ~3-4 weeks rest from heavy and moderate weight-bearing activities like jumping, sprinting etc (I've been resting for nearly three weeks).

I'm gonna start lifting again in a few days when I feel I'm good to go. Thinking of doing more low-impact strength work again while I build up to doing plyometrics and sprinting. Focus on getting back to the strength levels I had a few weeks ago (as I will have lost a bit), and strengthening hams, glutes and calves more.

vag · « **Reply #496 on:** November 17, 2012, 08:19:58 am »

Heal that leg man , be patient and do everything right , don't rush it back! ( Says someone who is unable to do that and pays the price!

)
It might be a good idea to open a relevant thread in Lance&adarq Q&A section to have it for future reference/updates...

AGC · « **Reply #497 on:** November 19, 2012, 04:27:08 am »

Quote from: vag on November 17, 2012, 08:19:58 am

Heal that leg man , be patient and do everything right , don't rush it back! ( Says someone who is unable to do that and pays the price! )
It might be a good idea to open a relevant thread in Lance&adarq Q&A section to have it for future reference/updates...

Thanks man, yeah I tend to be fairly conservative when it comes to injury. Back when I was about 14-15 I got a stress fracture in the ball of my foot and I just never let it heal properly. The thing was that it was so minor that I could train and compete on it but because I didn't let it rest it didn't heal for ages and it really stalled my progress. So I don't make the same mistake nowadays. Like with the patellar tendonitis I had a while back: it was only hurting during ME plants, could have kept training on it but the main thing is I have no rush to dunk. It'll happen eventually. Just gotta be patient. Good idea about a thread in A&L's Q&A, I'm unsure of what exercises I should do after the pain has fully gone.

Today the spot feels pretty much normal. It's only very slightly stiff when I really straighten my leg hard. I've been wearing knee sleeves for the last few days to keep it warm and I think that's helped a bit, plus getting in extra calcium and Vit D (not that they really help that much). I think I could probably start lifting again, just unsure which lifts to avoid while it's still in the final stages of healing.

To be honest I have kind of enjoyed having a few weeks off training. I think it's good to do it every 1-2 years.

AGC · « **Reply #498 on:** November 25, 2012, 08:16:17 pm »

Damn it feels weird not posting as often. My leg is kind of the same since last time, it got stiff again a few days ago, no idea why but it's normal again now. Basically just trying to limit my walking each day, no running yet, having hot/cold baths to keep the blood flowing, and compression. I could probably start doing squats/RDLs etc but I thought I would wait until it feels completely normal again. I've just been doing upper body lifts and core every two days in the meantime. My sessions are usually like:

3x10-12 weighted situps@3kgs
Front and side planks, 3x1min/30s respectively
Weighted crunch machine or ab pulldowns
Random iso swiss ball stuff like glute bridges etc
Military press 3x8 (gone from 35kgs to 45kgs in about a week)
Chin-ups: 3-4x6

AGC · « **Reply #499 on:** December 08, 2012, 12:51:58 am »

Been so slack updating since I've just been doing boring upper body/core workouts for last week or so. My leg felt strong and pain-free enough to play a casual game of netball with some moderate jumping/landing/cutting, with no ill effects then next day. The only real issue I have now is that it's become stiff when I try and flex my quad/VMO hard to fully straighten the leg. I can run and jump but I couldn't jump maximally off my left leg yet.

I went back to the doctor for a check-up and after re-examining me and going through my symptoms he said that I possibly could have had a partial tear of my lateral meniscus rather than a stress fracture. He initally dismissed anything like that in my first visit because he said that the tests he did didn't indicate any large tear (as there was no pain or any significant shifting of the knee joint). The only way to definitively diagnose one or the other would be to have an MRI. However, since it seems to have healed pretty well on my month off, regardless of what it actually was, I don't think I'll bother paying a large amount of money (could be between $200-400, which I just don't have atm). Apparently lateral tears can heal pretty effectively because there's blood flow to that side of the meniscus. If it's on the medial then the prognosis isn't as good.

If it was still hurting and there was popping or clicking I'd definitely have it done. But at this stage he said it's probably not worth it, just take the rest of Dec off, lots of compression and heat treatment and some exercises to get rid of the stiffness from not extending it fully for a few weeks. Then see how it responds as I build back into more active exercise again.

This has to be the most annoying/weird injury I've had in a long time but TBH I don't think training would have been going too great anyway. Over the last month it's been very hectic trying to get work and sort out my options for next year, so a bit of time off was probably warranted anyway. I've just been using the time to get my UB/core stronger and to give me something easy to do. I've been reading a lot of training stuff and I've got some good ideas when I get back to vert training, but definitely worth being conservative with this so it heals 100%.

AGC · « **Reply #500 on:** December 11, 2012, 07:59:06 am »

Decided to just start logging each session from now on to keep track of progress. My aims for Dec are:

- Full mobility of left knee, able to hyperextend/tense VMO without discomfort. Do rehab exercises everyday (foam rolling of entire leg and knee, gentle straightening and flexing of left knee to point of discomfort, stretching). Heat packs 3x/day and Epsom bath 1x/day.

- Core: Able to do 2x(2min front plank + 1min30s side planks) --> kellyb's core strength tests (this should be easy, will increase if I reach it too fast)

- Maintain good UB strength (Push: 90kg bench x 6, 50kg military press x 6 \\ Pull: 5x6 pull-ups, 30kg preacher curl x 6)

- Work LB muscles (doing what I can) - using cable machine/leg curl atm

Gym:

Foam roll warmup

TKEs: 3x20/leg@5kgs

Core: 3x(1 min front plank, 45 sec side planks) \\ Roman chair crunches: 3x25 (legs down)

LB: 4-point hip/glute raises using cable machine (2 sets per leg@20-30kgs) --> I really like doing this as I don't have to bend my leg

UB (pull): Lat pulldown: 4x8@55kgs \\ Concentration curls: 3x6-8/arm@15kgs

AGC · « **Reply #501 on:** December 14, 2012, 03:41:42 am »

Gym:

Foam roll/glute activation

TKEs: 3x20-25@20kgs

Leg curl: 1x20@low weight, 1x8@32kgs

Hip flexor/abduction/adduction leg raises w/cable: 2x12-14/leg@20-30kgs

Core: 2min front plank, 1min side planks (the problem I'm having with this is that my arms/shoulders are giving out before my abs)

Bench: 2x8@60kgs, 1x8@70kgs, 1x10@60kgs

Shoulder DB flys: 3x8@12,5kgs \\ Shrugs: 2x10@32,5kgs

Leg is feeling great today. See how it goes for next week.

LBSS · « **Reply #502 on:** December 14, 2012, 10:19:13 am »

yeah that's why i think extended planks are silly. you can make it harder in other ways. lift one leg and one arm or put a weight on your back or wear a vest.

AGC · « **Reply #503 on:** December 17, 2012, 04:35:59 am »

Quote from: LBSS on December 14, 2012, 10:19:13 am

yeah that's why i think extended planks are silly. you can make it harder in other ways. lift one leg and one arm or put a weight on your back or wear a vest.

Yep i agree. It's more the side-planks than the fronts, but I can see I'll run into the same problem eventually with fronts. I'll probably switch to one leg/one arm style.

Gym:

Foam roll/dynamic warmup/stretch

Glute activation: bridges, isometric back ext holds (new one I'd thought I'd try, seems to work)

Leg curl: 1x8@20kgs, 2x12-14@32kgs

Pull-ups - Strict form (WWII test style): 13, 5, 4, 4 (I'm a fair way off 20

)

Lat pulldown: 50 reps of 40kgs over 6 sets (first few were 10, then 7, 6, 7)

Preacher curls: 50 reps of 20kgs (12, 13, 9, 6, 10)

I also did some light vert-oriented exercises to see how my knee would hold up

Squat: 3x8@40kgs

3 SVJs

3x10 pogos

2x10 SL hops on rubber springboard

It felt fine during and it didn't seem to actually affect my performance in any way. It feels normal today. I could probably ramp up the intensity a bit but I'm still gonna stick to resting it for remaining weeks of Dec, just to be safe. I've got crazy DOMS today from the squats/leg curls.

AGC · « **Reply #504 on:** December 23, 2012, 02:50:17 am »

Gym:

Planks: 3x1min (front), 3x45 secs (sides)

Ab pulldown: 4x8-10@50kgs

UB: DB shoulder press: 1x8@12kgs (warmup), 40 reps @ 18kgs (12,10, 6, 6, 6) // DB chest flys: 4x10@12kgs

LB: Leg curls: warmup, 3x10@32kgs \\ Leg ext: 3x25@25kgs

Foam roll/stretch

BW: 87.5kgs (gaining some UB mass, and a bit of fat as well due to no cardio for awhile, waist has gone up about an inch)

My knee is slowly improving, it's just taking a lot longer than I thought to get rid of the stiffness. It's progressed to the point where it's just stiff to flex the quad/VMO hard, usually in the morning. Can fully straighten it without any assistance (no locking) and walking/running is no issue. During gym workouts and after heat treatment it becomes fully mobile and no real stiffness (due to the blood flow I guess). Now I'm at home for Xmas with no gym and absolutely nothing to do except read a whole bunch of stuff for Uni next year, so I'll try and be very consistent with the heat treatment as it seems to be helping.

Also, since I have no gym for about a week, thought I might try and train for some of the fitness tests in that WWII GI test that LBSS posted. I can do the pushups, pullups and situps at home, will leave the running and jumping for awhile longer.

AGC · « **Reply #505 on:** December 27, 2012, 03:50:01 am »

"Gym":

UB warmup

Push-ups (elbows in): 5x20

Conc. curls: 5x6/arm@12kgs

Pullups: 4x5

Shoulder revolutions: 3x10@12kgs

AGC · « **Reply #506 on:** December 27, 2012, 04:00:16 am »

"Gym":

Pull-ups (WWII fitness test form): 40 reps (7, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 3)

Situps (WWII fitness test form): 56 in 2 mins (I really do suck at these it turns out, I am just so slow at them. I don't know how you do the full ROM consistently in 1.5 sec to get 79 reps in 2 mins. I feel it burns my hip flexors out before my abdominals).

Dips: 40 reps (10x4)

Also did a few SVJs on my vertec, was hitting 30-31'', which is great considering I've been out for nearly two months. I feel that ~30'' is my "baseline" vertical when I'm not training specifically for it but am staying relatively active and not getting fat.

LBSS · « **Reply #507 on:** December 28, 2012, 06:54:05 pm »

+1 on the ww2 sit ups. the timing would be insane to finish them all. hip flexors killed afterward, abs were not limiting. kind of a dumb exercise.

AGC · « **Reply #508 on:** January 03, 2013, 02:38:22 am »

Quote from: LBSS on December 28, 2012, 06:54:05 pm

+1 on the ww2 sit ups. the timing would be insane to finish them all. hip flexors killed afterward, abs were not limiting. kind of a dumb exercise.

Yeah I'm a little disappointed because I was looking forward to training for this as part of a GPP block once I start fully training again. But I can't really be bothered training the situps because they're stupid to do and don't seem to hit the abs like they should. I might do the rest though.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Been slack updating over xmas, basically have done two sessions similar to the last two. Also did an insane 50km bike ride up and down these giant climbs near my home with my dad and brother who are both into road cycling. Good for some cardio though. Got back to the gym yesterday and just did some really basic agility drills (line hops, single leg hops and some SVJs), 7x6 chinups and 3x10 GHR at BW.

My knee is feeling pretty good, I think whatever was wrong with it has healed, it just gets a bit stiff in the morning when I've just woken up but it gets better after a shower. I can squeeze my quad as hard as I can with either minor or no pain. I'm really hoping it responds OK when I start running/jumping again.

I'm considering sitting out basketball for a season because I think that's how I first got this little tear or nick in my meniscus. Never really got injured when I was doing athletics year-round (except for some stress fractures in my left toe which was definitely an overuse/coach training me too hard for speed endurance injury), but I don't jump in the same controlled way when playing ball as I do when training or jumping. Not too mention all the little bumps and bruises and mallet fingers I get playing an average game, definitely adds up. My desire to dunk has never been stronger and if it means I need to sit out that one game a week to help it then that's what I'll do.

When I restart I'm gonna use a more long-term periodisation set-up. Start with a bit of GPP and drop my BW a bit before I start building strength again. Then do short power -> speed blocks to minimise the wear and tear on my body. Haven't got the exact plan yet but it's gonna be simple, just try and improve a few keys lifts, then bring in plyos when I'm strong and light enough.

Also gonna focus more on diet/nutrition than I have been in the past. Not that my diet is bad atm, I get enough protein , don't eat any sweet stuff and don't drink much at all. Just fine-tuning really. Probably will be doing what Mutumbo is doing atm, high protein, fruit/veg, moderate carbs (only around training/before bed). at around 86.5 kgs atm with around 11-12% BF (32'' waist), I think 80kgs at 7-8% with a 2x squat would be ideal for me. Just dying to get back to training!

AGC · « **Reply #509 on:** January 12, 2013, 06:10:15 am »

Training over last week:

Gym (2x):

Good foam roll and stretch (20mins)

Light LB machine weights: leg curl, knee ext, back extension

UB: Doing a 6x6 of pullups, DB shoulder press, dips

Cardio: 2 beach sessions out in the surf for 30mins (quite tiring)

Stretching/foam rolling and hot/cold baths everyday. I think the baths have been key in increasing the blood flow and actually getting this meniscus soreness healed.

I've been tracking my diet this week using some fitness diet tracker app thing. I've been trying to be as accurate as possible without obsessing over counting every calorie. One week has given me a good idea of how much I'll be eating on an average day. I've been trying for about 150g of carbs a day, keeping protein at around 150-60g (just under 2g/kg BW) and keeping fats around 30% of total calories (40-30-30 p/f/c atm). Carbs have been all fruit and vegetables, fats mainly from nuts, milk, few eggs and some cheese. I have NO idea if this is a start way to drop a bit of bf (very much a novice in regards to sports nutrition) so suggestions welcomed.

It's just experimental at this stage but I've lost a bit of weight already (about 2kgs) since the start of the year. Aiming to get around 80kgs because I'm more conscious of the added weight on my joints etc. I think my 'natural' (untrained) BW is around 78kgs so if I'm around that number by the time I'm jumping again and getting good squat numbers I think that would be more beneficial than having more kilos on the squat but at a heavier BW (i.e. 86-87kgs).

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Author Topic: AGC's journal (Read 522524 times)

AGC

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