Short version is, iv'e took 6 stiches to my side (right on the lat muscle) and the doctor says no training until the stitches come out IN 10-14 DAYS!! I'm seriously ****ed off and don't know how i'm going to cope haha seriously. i'm high energy and love training so this is going to be hard. my family and mates are already betting on the number of times i'll burst the stitches, but i intend to prove them wrong (this time haha) Help guys. Tell me its good to have rest weeks and i won't lose much strength etc! Ive read its good to do this from time to time anyway. with the boxing this was never a problem. i'd put on a little weight maybe but soon knocked it off when i got back to training. with the weights, what negative effect is 14 days going to have? or am i going to benefit? Obviously any training is out due to the nature and location of my injury. but ive got to do something or i'll go nuts! Any idea's?
Take the rest. A couple of weeks off is not going to seriously affect your training and you might find your lifts actually improve after a break. I normally have a lighter week every 4th week or so and a complete week off around every 9th or 13th week (depending on the cycle I'm working on). If you need to be doing something active, go for a walk.
Yeah cheers mate. just found another article saying pretty much the same. about taking guilt free 2 week layoffs and seeing great gains in size,strength and lifts. It said this would only be beneficial for people who'd been training intensively for months and i certainly fit the bill so yeah, will definately take the rest. Not that ive much choice anyway!
He's just catching his breath! I'll try and find a study i read the other week where a bunch of powerlifters took about 12 days of and not one of their lifts suffered, a few even went up. most pro boxers will take about 8 days off before a fight, clearly their performance doesn't suffer.
Yeah when i was still boxing i used to take the week before the fight off completely, and ive also seen a couple of articles that suggest a week or 2 lay off about every 3 months or so is good. one trainer swears by it and stated that nearly all the lads he trains come back stronger after this rest. cheers for the input mate
Forgot to ask... ive been taking creatine mono and protein shakes for the past 3 weeks (before my injury) do i still carry on taking the creatine/shakes during this 2 week rest or stop until i start training again?
That's not obvious to me. It's obvious you can't do anything that involves stabilizing your torso in any regard, but that's it. Use this time to work on some weaknesses as you take a break from your hard workouts and you should be surprised by the results. I'd focus on my lower leg strength. Seated calf raises won't be a problem, as they don't require assistance from the lats. You could superset those with dumbbell dorsiflexion (put a 10-20 lb DB between your feet while hanging them off the edge of a bench and flex your feet up and then extend them straight for reps of 8-15) Your kicking, running, jumping, balance, and hiking will all be improved. You could also work on your forearm extensors with sets of band spreads (get a thick rubber band, or a few small rubber bands, and put them around your fingers and spread your hand against the resistance). You could work side lying clams to ensure proper function of your glute medius muscles (which are likely inactive/underactive unless you already specifically train for activation of them). While I'm not a fan of wall sits usually, the fact that you take all of the core challenge away is a GOOD thing for you. So long as you're putting all your weight into the wall, your legs will be loaded something fierce with little to no stress on your lats at all. You could also work on bodyweight one leg romanian deadlifts with sets of 10 or more for unilateral strength, stability, and of course for wicked balance improvements. That one is a bit borderline however, so if it causes any discomfort just scrap it until you're better. You could do some isometric neck exercises with a very light band, simply trying to keep your neck straight as you have a light band pulling it in various directions. Don't move through a range of motion, just keep your neck neutral against the resistance. This shouldn't stress your lats anymore than getting out of a bed would. In fact, nothing I mentioned should be impossible if you can at least walk around, go upstairs, and sit on a toilet without your stitches blowing. Don't think about what you can't do, think about what you CAN DO for the next 14 days. You can do quite a lot for areas that you've probably never bothered to train up to this point. And of course, lots of stretching (not the lats!) of your lower body and soft tissue work would be fantastic during this time. Ah, CEE. That's so GNC salesman! There is a ceiling of how much creatine your body can store, and CEE does not and can not raise it whatsoever. Whether you use CM or CEE, it'll be a few days before your body is fully saturated, and once it is there will be no difference in performance. So how do you justify the outrageous price???
Ok mate cheers, i bought in bulk too so have loads of both at the min. plus to be honest seeing as ive been trying to bulk up for a while now i was a little worried about losing what ive built up so far. i know i'm not going to lose all my gains as i'm not on steroids, but i figured it would be a good idea to keep feeding my body the same while its recovering etc.. but to be honest i'm too new to weight training to know what i'm talking about really, but that's what forums like this are for eh. cheers
To be honest mate i'd not read much about it (CEE) and when i did search around for answers regarding what type of creatine was best most said creatine mono. just put it down to lack of experience mate, ive never taken creatine or any other supps before. but having read up on ethyl ester since you mentioned it it doessound better. more easily absorbed and processed by the body and draws water into the muscle more efficiently...or something along those lines... BUT, ive still got 3 big tubs of creatine mono yet so i'll just have to stick with them for now. cheers for the advice tho mate, much apreciated
Cheers for that mate, loads of helpful stuff there, thanks. ive been walking everywhere, still taking max out twice per day too and have been hiking twice this week also (two nice and steady 25 milers) Ive also been going to the gym and just working on lower body. front squat machine, leg press, leg curl, calf machine etc and leg raises, but i found doing these quite sore so left them out after 4 sets. But yeah, a lot of what you mentioned there ive definately never done or done very little of it so will give them a go. cheers
Sam Here is an article by Nikhil Rao that takes a scientific look at the differences between the various sorts of creatine, and he dispells some common myths regarding creatine use. Here's another one by TC that overlaps a bit but covers some other topics and myths. Read them both and you'll immediately know more about creatine than the majority of trainees, and maybe you can help some of your mates with the info too. Here's a snippet from that second one that I highly recommend applying, as it makes CM absorb quickly without any stomach issues. If you're concerned about how fast you load, try dissolving your powdered creatine in a warm beverage, like tea. That's how the initial creatine studies were conducted and what they knew then still applies: creatine just doesn't dissolve very well unless you mix it in something warm.
Thanks for that mate, very interesting and informative. I take creatine capsules and it works out that 6 give me 4 grams of creatine, so if ive read the article right, at just over 200lbs i'm getting the right amount.. The one thing i'm unsure about now is when to take them. the instructions said 3 caps before my workout and 3 after. but from those articles it seems the best time to take creatine is after my workout with my post workout protein shake...so do i just take all 6 after my workout? and put them in a cup of tea or glass of warm water? Cheers for the advice. sam
Actually when you take it isn't a big concern, because creatine doesn't go in and out of your system as fast as, say glucose, which needs to be replenished asap for recovery. It takes days to become saturated, and after that as long as you take it every day it doesn't matter when. I take mine in the morning with tea personally. Just find a time every day that you can get into the habit of taking it, and try to always do that. If you train nearly every day, you can take it after your workout if that is convenient, and then just don't forget it on your off days.
Cheers for all your advice mate, been working legs mostly and tried most of the exercises you reccommended with mixed results but overall were well worth it, thanks. my legs have definately benefitted from the extra attention and definately feel stronger and i feel looser from some of the other exercises and the band work they helped me with at the gym but couldnt say which has helped with this the most, as a lot of it could be down to the rest ive had as i feel great and am raring to go. The stitches came out last friday and the wound is clean as a whistle and has healed very well. ive worked out 3 times since then, today being the heaviest i've gone as i wanted to ease back into it. I did: Squat: 20 reps with bar, 10 @ 60kg, 8 @ 80kg, 6 @ 100kg, 5 @ 120kg to warm up, then 5 x 5 @ 140kg work sets. (7 reps on last set) Squat: 5 x 10 @ 60kg Bench: 20 reps with bar, 10 @ 60kg, 8 @ 80kg, 6 @ 100kg, 5 @ 105kg, 3 x 3 @ 115kg. Bench: 5 x 10 @ 60kg Barbell Rows: 5 x 5 @ 70kg Close Grip Bench: 4 x 8 @ 50kg Bar Dips: (plus 20kg plate) 8 x 3 I feel great, and still had enough left for 50 press ups and 20 pull ups to finish off. the rest has definately done me good. Cheers mate, sam
