Aging and Injuries

[wild1poet2]

I'm wallowing in a bit of self pity. My right lat is injured. I'm hoping its just the muscle and not the tendon. I've got enough torn tendons already.

Its been a week off so far. I think its healing. Was it injured with deadlifts? Or was it weighted pull ups?

I actually did my "100 pull up" workout after the injury ..... grimacing all the way. I even chained up some weights. Stupid I know. But that which doesn't kill us makes us stronger. At least when I was young it did.

I'm 56 now and wondering if its time to ease back? 100 weighted pull ups!! Maybe that's too much now? It can't go on forever can it? I never deadlift less than 3 plates. Does that go forever? I know 4 plates for reps seems like I'd be tempting fate now. There is a lot of uncharted ground here. Everyone seems to be younger now. I can only go on what I used to do.

Did I tear the lat? Is this it? I know the docs won't know. I've seen enough over the years with an assortment of injuries. They don't see a lot of folks like us in their clinical practice. And I don't want any more surgeries and long rehabs.

The number of injuries do seem to go up as one ages. If we try to maintain the same training levels. They seem to be mostly connective tissue injuries now. We're too strong for our good I guess. The tendons finally give up and get a tear. The body begins to betray us.

Even the title of this forum section "Over age 35" seems to imply a line of demarcation long passed.

When we're young all the injuries seem to heal quick. They were mostly muscle strains or overtraining things. Nothing really tore. If they did we healed at the same rate anyways.

Its hard to do "downtime". I will wait a few more days and "test" my lat with a few bodyweight pull ups. Just to see if it is healing. Meanwhile I will wonder about aging versus training versus injury.

[ironwill2008]

Aging doesn't guarantee gym injuries.

You might want to review your volume/frequency of training, exercise form, nutrition, and sleep quality.

[JRT6]

Jeeze I wanna jump off a bridge.

You can't go heavy all the time at any age. Figure out what you're doing wrong and fix it. If something hurts stop for JC's sake. Your problems are self induced.

[hammerfelt]

I got a bone graft and 1 screw in my foot. Nothing to do with age, dumbbell fell over on it.

Work around your injury.

Do you know how it happened and how to avoid it happening again?

Any reason to think your injury is age related?

[chunkysnowman]

100 weighted pull ups! Why? Aside from the fact that I'm jealous, I just wonder why you would want to do that quantity? Isnt 3 sets of 12 reps enough? Maybe do less but increase the weight. Often injuries are caused by repetition rather than strain, e.g. tennis elbow.

[mark74]

I got a bone graft and 1 screw in my foot. Nothing to do with age, dumbbell fell over on it.

Sorry man, I had to laugh at that one.

[GuyJin]

Aging may not necessarily be the culprit here. From your post, it seems as though you've been hitting it too hard and too long without a break. Sooner or later, something's going to give. FWIW, I'd pull back on the intensity/poundage trip for a week or two, rest up, heal up, and then slowly ramp up the training again. You can't go full bore all the time. Older dudes like us usually need to warm up more. That doesn't mean you have to use the pink dumbbells; it just means being a bit more careful. In your post, you alluded to pushing too hard so backing off sounds like a wise idea. My two yen....

[HoustonTXMuscle]

Aging may not necessarily be the culprit here. From your post, it seems as though you've been hitting it too hard and too long without a break. Sooner or later, something's going to give. FWIW, I'd pull back on the intensity/poundage trip for a week or two, rest up, heal up, and then slowly ramp up the training again. You can't go full bore all the time. Older dudes like us usually need to warm up more. That doesn't mean you have to use the pink dumbbells; it just means being a bit more careful. In your post, you alluded to pushing too hard so backing off sounds like a wise idea. My two yen....

Agree with GuyJin. It took me more than 6 months and 2 coaches to pound the idea into my head that overtraining is not a good thing. With appropriate warm-up and stretching exercises coupled with limiting my body splits to 3 sets of 4 exercises/body group and 2 days off per week, I'm lifting heavier and with better form that I was two to three years ago.

[Brackneyc]

If something hurts stop for JC's sake.

This is on page one of the manual.

[emp1acur]

Maybe you do deloads already, or have seen this post, but VoxExMachina wrote up this nice description of why we need to deload, so I'm linking it here in case you haven't incorporated that into your regime regularly.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=121391461

[Phattso]

I'm wallowing in a bit of self pity. My right lat is injured. I'm hoping its just the muscle and not the tendon. I've got enough torn tendons already.

Its been a week off so far. I think its healing. Was it injured with deadlifts? Or was it weighted pull ups?

I actually did my "100 pull up" workout after the injury ..... grimacing all the way. I even chained up some weights. Stupid I know. But that which doesn't kill us makes us stronger. At least when I was young it did.

I'm 56 now and wondering if its time to ease back? 100 weighted pull ups!! Maybe that's too much now? It can't go on forever can it? I never deadlift less than 3 plates. Does that go forever? I know 4 plates for reps seems like I'd be tempting fate now. There is a lot of uncharted ground here. Everyone seems to be younger now. I can only go on what I used to do.

But, for you, WildPoet, you train hard, so IMO, don't ease up on your training. Warm up more and make sure your form is good.



Did I tear the lat? Is this it? I know the docs won't know. I've seen enough over the years with an assortment of injuries. They don't see a lot of folks like us in their clinical practice. And I don't want any more surgeries and long rehabs.

The number of injuries do seem to go up as one ages. If we try to maintain the same training levels. They seem to be mostly connective tissue injuries now. We're too strong for our good I guess. The tendons finally give up and get a tear. The body begins to betray us.

Even the title of this forum section "Over age 35" seems to imply a line of demarcation long passed.

When we're young all the injuries seem to heal quick. They were mostly muscle strains or overtraining things. Nothing really tore. If they did we healed at the same rate anyways.

Its hard to do "downtime". I will wait a few more days and "test" my lat with a few bodyweight pull ups. Just to see if it is healing. Meanwhile I will wonder about aging versus training versus injury.

Actually, you bring up a good point and good subject that others can learn from, as well. What I have learned as I age, is that my body requires more warming up, no matter what muscle group I am training. But, I do not believe age is a precursor for more injuries. Not sure f this is true, but it seems to me that the more muscle you have, the more careful you have to be in preserving its integrity.

On the other hand, if a person is not serious about training and trains inconsistently, then for that individual only, sure, HIS age would probably be a major factor in his or her injuries.

But, for you, WildPoet, you train hard, so IMO, don't ease up on your training. Warm up more and make sure your form is good.

[JRT6]

Sorry man, I had to laugh at that one.

I used to go this dungeon of a gym 25 years ago and some dude was doing pulldowns with an S hook attachment that got caught in a nostril. Now that is injury to tell the gandkids about.

[Dutchman]

I'll second the comments from HoustonTXM, I'm turning 70 in a month and still going strong. The secret to keeping the injuries down is spacing and rest. In my case I use an 8 day week with 4 splits and as much time as needed between sets. I'm still getting stronger and am sure I can continue to do so for years. There is no age limit imposed on us other than what we arbitrarily set up for ourselves. Train smart, train hard and train long! Good luck!

[MecGen]

Op
I understand you, I've been pushing myself hard these last couple of months and have the strains to prove it. I am wrestling with a nagging trap pang thats taking its sweetfuk time to go away. If you read the responses above the key is to train smarter, which I can't do all the time. If I don't give 100% in an workout, I feel like crap about it. I can't speak for anyone else, altho I am in the best shape of my life right now, there is no denying that my body is way less forgiving to things like overtraining and poor form, but that just me. It would be hypocritical of myself to say differently and pretend age has nothing to do with it.


Regards

[jayluk4600]

Ya know some good stuff above. I am turning 40 here soon and as of this year after 23 years of training pretty damn hard with minimal injuries they are starting to happen to me. So I guess I am in that mode of re-evaluating how i train, I refuse to not go heavy so I am simply finding safer ways of doing it and working on.. I say working on letting my body rest some lol.

But I will never ever throw in the towel. Just the way its gonna be.

[JerryB]

I'll second the comments from HoustonTXM, I'm turning 70 in a month and still going strong. The secret to keeping the injuries down is spacing and rest. In my case I use an 8 day week with 4 splits and as much time as needed between sets. I'm still getting stronger and am sure I can continue to do so for years. There is no age limit imposed on us other than what we arbitrarily set up for ourselves. Train smart, train hard and train long! Good luck!

You point out a key element that appears to be missing in the op training....train smart.

[KeithTheSnake]

You know, I don't get training injuries like I did when I was a kid -- because I'm smarter now.

[ljimd]

Slow controlled reps have made all the difference for me. Took years to put my ego on the shelf and concentrate on movement instead of ever greater poundages. Has extended my ability to train effectively by many years.

[NYkarate]

I learned long ago (the hard way), if you feel an unusual pain while lifting you need to stop and rest. In fact, this just happened to me yesterday. I was doing squats and my distal right quad started to give me a little bit of pain. I will now take a few extra days off and let it rest. It is far better to have a few extra days of rest than weeks or months off due to injury.

[ZazenZone]

100 weighted chins is excessive in my opinion, unless it's maybe a once in a blue moon type thing when you're trying to throw yourself a big shock. I would think a standard 5 set pyramid would be plenty for chins- 12,10,8,6,5 increasing or the like. I haven't done chins in years- they make my ac joints scream. I've had to ditch several exercises, actually.

Don't be a slave to the numbers in the gym. Go with how you feel. Sometimes age and injuries dictate that we not use the poundages we used to. So be it. Lift for the experience and enjoy your workouts. By enjoy I mean train hard but within your capacity. This is not an easy feat to accomplish for many of us- but that's ok. It'll work itself out whether you want it to or not. When the physical pain of lifting huge numbers and doing too much volume finally outweighs the mental pain of taking a step back, you will naturally adjust accordingly.

Today, I get far more enjoyment doing 185 pound romanian deadlifts versus doing 3/4 plates with full deadlifts and being in pain for x number of days afterward. It's about the feel and the quality of the overall experience, not about number of pounds lifted.

Happy lifting

[wild1poet2]

Thanks for all the advices. The lat is healing. Actually I think its my teres major. Enough initial inflamation is down so I did a few bodyweight pull ups and can isolate the injury a bit more.
My post was more about the mental aspect of aging and training. A lot of us grew up training balls to the wall. We can still do it but we've reached a point we overpower the elasticity of the connective tissues. I've had way more injuries from playing sports than from training and I never played less than all out. So its a bit of mind shift. Yes I do warm up which for me is maybe a total of 50 bodyweight pulls. Then I chain up 25 or 35 pounds. This is half what I routinely did just ten years ago. Some of you guys are using two 35 plates and we'll all know dudes who can do 45's. So its not reckless. Except for maybe an old guy. LOL The lats and back in general are big strong muscles and will easily respond. Besides I don't recall injuring it in the gym. Another oddity of aging. Delayed reactions. DOM's takes me two days to set in now. Each of your comments helped me get a baseline on how different folks approach the aging process in their training. And I don't feel like an old man in a young man's game so much anymore. Many thanks.

[kenethleclair]

3 sets of 10 probably would work better till you heal......................

i'm wallowing in a bit of self pity. My right lat is injured. I'm hoping its just the muscle and not the tendon. I've got enough torn tendons already.

Its been a week off so far. I think its healing. Was it injured with deadlifts? Or was it weighted pull ups?

I actually did my "100 pull up" workout after the injury ..... Grimacing all the way. I even chained up some weights. Stupid i know. But that which doesn't kill us makes us stronger. At least when i was young it did.

I'm 56 now and wondering if its time to ease back? 100 weighted pull ups!! Maybe that's too much now? It can't go on forever can it? I never deadlift less than 3 plates. Does that go forever? I know 4 plates for reps seems like i'd be tempting fate now. There is a lot of uncharted ground here. Everyone seems to be younger now. I can only go on what i used to do.

Did i tear the lat? Is this it? I know the docs won't know. I've seen enough over the years with an assortment of injuries. They don't see a lot of folks like us in their clinical practice. And i don't want any more surgeries and long rehabs.

The number of injuries do seem to go up as one ages. If we try to maintain the same training levels. They seem to be mostly connective tissue injuries now. We're too strong for our good i guess. The tendons finally give up and get a tear. The body begins to betray us.

Even the title of this forum section "over age 35" seems to imply a line of demarcation long passed.

When we're young all the injuries seem to heal quick. They were mostly muscle strains or overtraining things. Nothing really tore. If they did we healed at the same rate anyways.

Its hard to do "downtime". I will wait a few more days and "test" my lat with a few bodyweight pull ups. Just to see if it is healing. Meanwhile i will wonder about aging versus training versus injury.

[Guinea-pig]

Unfortunately age is something you can't change. And after about age 45-50 in most cases it is tough to continue building muscle mass and staying injury free when pushing the envelope.

[MecGen]

3 sets of 10 probably would work better till you heal......................

Pull up your pants...your avatar offends me...(nt srs, well sortof)

[JRT6]

It's no secret that any strength you have in old age you have bring with you from your younger days. Getting a serious injury that results in significant strength lose is strength, for at least a small part, that is never comng back. Strength loss for the athlete as we grow older can a very slow process and I intend to keep it that way. Don't focus on the monent, focus on the long term.

[Hogan1956]

Slow controlled reps have made all the difference for me. Took years to put my ego on the shelf and concentrate on movement instead of ever greater poundages. Has extended my ability to train effectively by many years.

This^

[beachguy498]

Slow controlled reps have made all the difference for me. Took years to put my ego on the shelf and concentrate on movement instead of ever greater poundages. Has extended my ability to train effectively by many years.

This is what I've been doing after screwing up my shoulder last year. The original injury was done years ago, I've had my share of other injuries over the years, more so in my youth.

Control the weight, leave the ego someplace else, sometimes less is more. Live to lift another day.

Rob

[wild1poet2]

Thought I'd share a little insight that might help some folks who hesitate to work the back. Humans are descended from brachiating apes. At least for those who believe in science and evolution. At some point we developed weapons and became bipedal and over time and no longer depended as much on brachiating skills for survival. The lats, teres majors and traps atrophied away.

But we still carry those primordal genes and can develop a lot of dense mass in those back muscles. Its been so long .... hundreds of thousands of years ... we've forgot. We focus on pecs, tri's and biceps. We all know guys who do a few lat pull downs and maybe some rows and that's it. But they'll hit chest from 20 different angles using multiple training protocols.

But we are the genetic successors to brachiating hulking primitive apes. Our survival depended on being able to get up off the ground quick and out of the way of big cats with their sharp bloodthirsty fangs and lighting fast claws. Apparently we were successful at it. It didn't matter a lot how much we could bench press back then. If you were on your back trying to push away a saber toothed tiger you were gonna end up cat scat.

Watch kids at the playground. The athletic kids will jump up onto the monkey bars and swing through them or climb up into the trees. Those are primitive brachiating skills re-asserting themselves. We used to depend on them as much as we depend on quad and calf strength to locomote today.
Remember climbing ropes in gym class? More brachiating skills right there.

I work them once a week but there are those who will hit them more frequently. When I bulk I will go to a twice a week routine in a hard-easy protocol. They are dense muscles and capable of tolerating a lot of work volume with quick recovery. Anyways, just an observation.

[bigtallox]

Took years to put my ego on the shelf and concentrate on movement instead of ever greater poundages.

This doesn't make sense to me, concentrating on the movement is the way to greater poundages.

[bigtallox]

It's no secret that any strength you have in old age you have bring with you from your younger days.

I'm not sure I agree, define "old age" and "younger days".