Gain muscle post serious injury.

CapnMark

Hello all.

I used to be a regular gym goer but after a serious injury in January 2007 I have been unable to train until recently. A few months ago I was given the all clear to resume regular training again so Im looking for some advice if you can spare it.

The injury itself was a full ACL rupture and grade 2 lateral and medial tear with my lateral chondroid coming loose aswell. I had the operation in April 2007 and after a long recovery period everything feels good again thank god. However, all the inactivity involved in waiting for the swelling to go down before the operation and the lack of sport after the op has left my body in pretty poor shape by my standards. I used to weigh 90kgs and had good muscle tone but my weight has ballooned to 110 kgs (now down to 104) and my muscle tone is quite poor. My two main sports are rugby in the winter and sailing in the summer. Both of these require a lot of muscle strength, especially in the back, legs and forearms.

I was planning on having three gym days a week, tuesdays thursdays and saturdays, on which I hope to concentrate on strength training. the other days i was thinking on doing a basic core workout coupled with some light cardio to start with and increasing in intensity as I start to feel more comfortable with it.

In a nutshell my main aim is to reduce fat and increase muscle mass. im 6'1 and have a large frame. My nutrition is fairly good. I eat a large amount of protein and will be supplementing it with protein shakes. I dont drink alcahol and I dont eat fast food.

Could anyone advise on a suitable exercise regime that would focus on my main areas of concern (back, legs and arms) preferably with free weights but also possibly weight machines if I am short of time.

Thanks all

EileenG

You might want to talk to your physio about setting up a routine.

You need to work your whole body. No point having massive legs and arms if you wreck your shoulder due to muscular inbalance.

Concentrate on the compound lifts like squat, deadlift and bench press. Use free weights, and concentrate on getting your form absolutely perfect. Keep your weights light until you are 100% happy with your form, then go for the weight you can just about lift for 8-10 reps.

Also, lunges, dips, pull-ups, military press, barbell row, stiffleg deadlift, barbell curl, lateral raise, stuff like that.

matrixroyal

I have had 2 acl ruptures ( both legs ) and after the second I decided to have killer quads / legs from now on to give my knees the ultimate protection.

I did this by doing lots and lots of squats, skipping, one leg hopping, jumping, cycling and uphill sprinting. To start with I just did bodyweight squats until my technique was very good. Then I introduced the weighted squats and plyometrics explosive stuff. I still do mostly bodyweight squats ( sets of 400 with lots of variation of movements, positions and speed ) and anything else that burns the quads.

Try to do more on the weak leg until it is just about level with the good leg, it needs more work to try to get it back to it's normal level of strength.

Apparently the leg extension machine is not safe for a weakened acl and in general you should stick to exercises that are closed chain, eg. your feet are grounded and not exposing your knee joint.

Don't ignore your other leg muscles or you will be imbalanced and that can also lead to injury.

THere will be times when you are sore or feel you are not improving, just take a break for a few days, keep icing it and then get back to working it.

Good luck,

edges

matrixroyal wrote: »

I have had 2 acl ruptures ( both legs ) and after the second I decided to have killer quads / legs from now on to give my knees the ultimate protection.

I did this by doing lots and lots of squats, skipping, one leg hopping, jumping, cycling and uphill sprinting. To start with I just did bodyweight squats until my technique was very good. Then I introduced the weighted squats and plyometrics explosive stuff. I still do mostly bodyweight squats ( sets of 400 with lots of variation of movements, positions and speed ) and anything else that burns the quads.

Try to do more on the weak leg until it is just about level with the good leg, it needs more work to try to get it back to it's normal level of strength.

Apparently the leg extension machine is not safe for a weakened acl and in general you should stick to exercises that are closed chain, eg. your feet are grounded and not exposing your knee joint.

Don't ignore your other leg muscles or you will be imbalanced and that can also lead to injury.

THere will be times when you are sore or feel you are not improving, just take a break for a few days, keep icing it and then get back to working it.

Good luck,

Solid advice, what did you do to trash both knees?

You're bang on the button regarding the leg press. Freeweight training is definately the way to go.

Unilateral exercises such as lunge variations are great, start with the weak side and use that as the pace maker. Don't be tempted to do more on the strong side.

Dave
www.WG-Fit.com

CapnMark

Thanks for the advice guys, my physio told me that I should be ok to resume all activities except those that put heavy torque on my left (bad) knee. Im wary of using weight machines around my leg (i never want to go through another acl op again) but supposedly free weights are ok as long as I increase the weight gradually. my left thigh is one inch in diameter smaller than my right, but even feeling it my muscle definition is WAY less in my left than my right. hopefully get to the gym tomorrow and feel my way through a couple of exercises.

CapnMark

Wow matrixroyal dont envy you doing two of them! Who did your ops?

matrixroyal

Did one playing soccer when jumping for a header and landing while hyperextending the knee. Did the other playing Gaelic football, studs got caught in the turf and took a massive hit ( body moved, leg stayed put ). Anyone who had it will tell you that it is absolute agony for 2-3 minutes and then it eases off. After the second one, a lot of people told me to give it up etc but that wasn't an option. Took me a good year to get back but I have just finished a full season of soccer and have played about 20 matches so far of the gaelic season with a few triathlons thrown in for good measure.

Ray Moran did both surgeries and he is very good but he tells you that it is 20% him and 80% yourself.

Keep at it. Forgot to mention the lunges, I find them excellent for isolating that weak side. That inch will take a long time to get back but it is doable with hard work.