Recovery log after biceps tendon surgery

[m314]

9/24

db bench
60s - 20, 20, 20

db rows
60 - 12, 12, 12

db incline bench
60s - 12, 12, 12

db shrugs
60s - 20, 20, 20

cable external rotation
20 - 10

cable internal rotation
30 - 10


I'm still sick, so I didn't push myself at all today. I'll probably avoid any cardio work for the next day or two.

[m314]

9/25

good mornings
135 - 10
175 - 10, 10, 10

Romanian deadlifts
85 - 15, 15, 15, 15

decline crunches
30, 25, 20, 20

[johnjl85]

I'm interested in your progress. I tore my bicep tendon back in April but due to summer school clinical obligations I waited to have the tendon re-attached July 31 of this year. Due to the time lapse they had to use an allograft.

Before my injury I enjoyed doing more dynamic exercise, such as boxing, power cleans, kettlebell swings, pull-ups etc. My question is when do you think it is a good time to start back hitting a heavy bag? Since that is a jolting type action I'm a bit hesitant to start that up until after the 12 week mark.

My ortho has been VERY conservative with my time-table, I guess it is due to the allograft more than anything. While I understand that it is damn frustrating. I've never had to have surgery like this (27) and I've been an active guy since doing wrestling as a freshman in high school. I have full flexion and probably as close to "full" range of motion with supination as I'll get, about 85 degrees. Pronation still working on it and it still hurts my wrist to go full pronation. I have nearly full movement on that but it hurts the wrist to fully do it on my own power.

It seems you got pretty active quickly. Due to A) my paranoia over this allograft and B) my hate for slow boring cardio I have put off alot of working out that isn't related to my rehab. It is funny, I can go lift then do cardio for 45 minutes and do light jogging and be ok. If I am just doing jogging alone I can't get into it, just knowing that is all I have to do for the entire day and day after that is pretty damn depressing.

Anyway enough of that rant. My main question was your thoughts on hitting a heavy bag. I'm probably going to start following a routine similar to yours next week as that is when my gym membership starts up again (suspended it for two months due to surgery).

Best of luck to you on your upcoming surgery. I pray to god I don't have that happen to me but it is a possibility that I have read. Good Luck man.

[m314]

It's good they were able to reattach the tendon with the allograft. When I had the injury, I diagnosed myself online with my phone while I was waiting in the emergency room. This is one injury where the chances of a successful surgery go down the longer you wait. I was worried when they told me I'd have to wait 8 days to get it done.

My ortho was very conservative too. He told me absolutely no weightlifting for 4 months. I was back in the gym lifting after 13 days, just being careful with everything. I was doing things like body weight squats and calf raises at home the day after the surgery. I'd rather do some kind of exercise instead of sitting around being inactive. I hate cardio too, but it's better than nothing for me.

I don't know for sure about hitting a heavy bag. I'm at 3 1/2 months now, and I still wouldn't be comfortable with that. I had problems holding the moving handles on the elliptical machine the last time I tried (a few weeks ago). It felt fine at first, but after 5 minutes it was really starting to hurt. If I wanted to start hitting a heavy bag, I'd probably go really really light at first to see how it feels. Go light and see how it feels later that day and the next day, then go a little harder if it didn't hurt the first time. One thing I've found is that something might feel alright when I'm doing it, but it could cause pain later. Anything that causes pain at the surgical reattachment site feels risky at the moment.

If you can get almost full supination and pronation (even with pain), I don't think you have the problem I do (radioulnar heterotopic ossification). The problem for me is that the bones in the forearm are growing together, completely blocking the normal range of motion for rotation at the elbow. It's obvious when it happens, since it basically makes pronation and supination impossible. It only happens for a few percent of people who have this surgery.

Have you read this other forum? It's the kind of thing nobody's interested in until they have this injury.

http://tendonsurgeryinfo.com/distalbiceps/index.php

Post the question about hitting a heavy bag on the weightlifting forum there, and you'll get a lot more answers. I know several of the guys on there are into training for boxing and MMA.

Thanks, by the way. I should be fine after the next surgery. I'm mostly fine now except for the lack of pronation and supination, which is something that comes up in everyday life more often than you'd think.

[johnjl85]

I checked out that forum first but for some reason I have had a difficult time trying to register for that forum. It is very odd, hence why I came here. I've been a purchsare of products on this site and reader of articles and forum for probably 11 or 12 years but finally started posting now due to this injury.

Yeah I'll try some jump rope, light lifting and shadow boxing. If I can do that I have a better time of mentally setting myself to do cardio. I can tell you one thing, being in school I am damn glad I pay for my own personal insurance. No matter what anyone thinks about Obamacare/Healthcare law stuff I know if I didn't have private insurance they wouldn't have even performed the surgery for this kind of injury.

I've had zero problems having my insurance provider pay for it as well as the rehab and brace. But that is another discussion for a different day.

I really wish you well with this upcoming surgery man. I look forward to reading the rest of your log and kind of following it for my own needs and pace.

[m314]

I've been reading this site and buying supplements from here for a long time too. I didn't register and start posting until recent years. That other forum isn't selling anything; it was just set up by someone who had this injury so people could talk about it. Only a few people on bodybuilding.com have ruptured a distal biceps tendon. Everyone on the other site has.

Do you do any lower body lifts? I couldn't do barbell squats for the first 6 weeks with my arm in a cast, but the leg press machine is a decent substitute for a while. I was training legs 3 days a week while I was in the cast, then doing an improvised upper body workout 3 days a week. Cardio sucks, but I would have done it on its own if that's all that was possible.

The insurance situation does suck for a lot of people. Without insurance, they won't do this surgery unless you can pay up front. The "discount" price for paying up front is around $10,000 from what I've read. I have good private insurance, I thought, but they still haven't paid anything almost 4 months later. My hospital billed them about $25,000, and the insurance company is still trying to get out of paying. That's just for the first surgery. I could pay for it myself if I had to, but I thought that's what insurance was for. Anyway, different discussion like you said.

Are you keeping a log anywhere?

[johnjl85]

That is crazy about your insurance. Jesus, still no payout? Man I've had no problems with my insurance, thankfully. I hope that gets easier for you.

I just keep a personal log, no log on here. I might try starting one for my recovery as I start seriously working out and doing cardio and getting my diet totally in order next week. I've been doing some leg and cardio stuff and my diet has been so/so but the motivation just hasn't been there. I was worried about lifting up any plates for a leg press or holding dumbells until this week so lower body stuff has been body weight squats/wall squats/ pistols/lunges etc. type of movements.

Next week I'll start some light weighted stuff with more of a commitment. Probably start doing cardio in the morning as well as evening after working out. If I can start setting a goal on stuff I am far more likely to stick to it. Doing an exercise just for the sake of it really just doesn't get my motivation. I'll keep posting on this thread as I start working out again next week and I'll put diet stuff up, routine, supps etc. that way if anyone else in the future that should be so unfortunate to have this injury also has my progress to look at as well as yours.

[m314]

I got another call from the insurance company today. I had to explain how the injury happened all over again. They're trying their best to find someone else responsible so they can sue or get another insurance company to pay for it. I thought it would be easier getting them to pay after I've been paying the premiums all these years.

I'm the same way with goals. I'm always motivated to do something, though. I feel bad sitting around getting weaker and fatter. Doing some kind of exercise always feels better. I set small goals for myself all along, like improving every week in terms of weight or reps. I set more vague longer term goals like holding onto as much muscle mass as I could while I was recovering. Now my goals are to rebuild some of the muscle I lost before I go in for the next surgery. The next surgical recovery should be faster, so I shouldn't lose as much this time.

I haven't been doing that well with diet lately. That's the one thing I've always struggled with in terms of motivation. I always want to eat, so it takes real discipline just to eat at maintenance calories much less eat at a deficit. I was 238 this morning, and I'm still a lot weaker than I was at 232 preinjury. It will take some work to get my strength back and lose the extra fat.

Good luck with the workout plan. Remember to start really light for anything that puts stress on the surgical repair site. It's easy to overdo it even if it feels alright when you're doing the exercise.

[johnjl85]

Yeah I've read it takes around 16 weeks for the tendon to fully fuse back 100 percent. So I have probably another two months, around Thanksgiving, before that happens. Damn to think it takes that long but it is a new tendon in my body so I guess it makes sense.

You know the diet thing is weird for me. I am MUCH more likely to follow a good diet when I am also working out than when I'm not working out. Although I know it is more important to be on the diet when you can't/aren't working out. I guess I just get in a certain mindset of "Ok I'm not going to waste this workout by eating garbage" and "need proper diet to perform as I want in this workout". When I'm not able to workout like I used to and want I get in this "**** it" mode. It is odd and frustrating. I'm hoping with seriously getting back into cardio and lifting (light but starting) my motivation and mind set for diet will come back.

My insurance gave me one phone call to see if anyone else could cover it. Once I made it clear that no one else could then they were fine with covering stuff. Hope yours is starting to finally realize they can't get their fangs on anyone else for the money.

[m314]

It's supposed to take 16 weeks even if you don't have a new tendon in your body. The tendon / bone connection is the part that takes a long time to heal. That connection isn't at 100% even after 16 weeks for some people. It should heal faster the younger you are, in general, but it's not something you want to rush. Sometimes they can't reattach the tendon a second time if it ruptures again. Even if they can, who wants to go through that sh*t all over again.

I don't generally eat junk food, but I always want to eat more than I should. I actually make great gains when I eat what I want. I gain lots of muscle along with lots of fat. The hard part for me is staying lean or losing fat after I've gained it.

Anyway, today was another short workout. I think I'll try 3 upper body workouts this week to make up for the low volume and lack of cardio.

9/26

db shoulder press
60s - 12, 12, 12

ez bar upright rows
70 - 15, 15, 15

dips
17, 15, 13

close grip lat pulldowns
135 - 12
150 - 12, 12

[johnjl85]

Any idea as to why they can't reconnect it a second time? Does the connection to the joint just get too destroyed? Yeah I may even wait 18 or 19 weeks to really push it. No idea when I'll try pull-ups, just the thought of that scares the piss out of me

When is the date for your next surgery?

[m314]

I think it's different for everyone. When the tendon ruptures, it gets damaged to a certain extent. The more frayed and damaged the tendon gets, the harder it is to reattach. I don't understand exactly how it works or why they can't use an allograft in some cases. I've read several stories online from people who couldn't get it repaired a second time. There's a guy Clamper Joe on the other forum who ruptured the tendon a second time after his doctor cleared him to go back to work. I've been reading his posts on there since June. It sucks, but it looks like he'll be stuck like that now.

http://tendonsurgeryinfo.com/distalb...p?topic=2352.0

There was another guy King Joe who almost pulled the endobutton out of the bone doing lat pulldowns 6 months post surgery. It came out partially, but it healed again after he took a few months off from lifting weights. I'm guessing if the reattachment device itself fails, the tendon could be reattached again without major issues. I'm not a doctor or anything; I've just read a lot about this over the last few months.

I don't think I'd have an issue doing pullups (neutral grip only with no pronation or supination) in the next few months, but I'm not going to push it. I'll wait until I can get more than 10 reps on the assisted pullup machine at the lowest level (20 pounds) before I try body weight pullups. What scares the piss out of me is mixed grip heavy deadlifts. Never again. I'll work my way up in weight with deadlifts eventually with a double overhand grip.

I don't know for sure about the next surgery, but the doctor thinks maybe early December. I'll get through the next surgery with zero opiates except what they give me for anesthesia. Over the counter painkillers and herbal meds only. It should be fun. I've read as much as I can about the next surgery. It sounds like it should be easier than the last one with a faster recovery time.

[johnjl85]

Jesus 6 months re-injured just doing lat pulldowns? Damn that is really wild. I can't even imagine. Maybe I'll just stick with the 12 rep range until 9 months out. That is pretty scary.

As for deadlifts yeah I don't know. I tore mine in a boxing ring, freak snap. For deadlifts that almost seems like a hope and a prayer as to not re-injurying that until many months. When you say neutral grip on the pull=ups do you mean using like a V-Bar for a pull-up? I had trained mostly overhand grip pull-ups before but considering how week my pronation motion compared to my supination motion I guess neutral grip would be best when I try pull-ups in a few months.

Any reason why they are thinking to put your surgery off until December? Seems a bit far off for something like that. Seems they could just tell from an MRI as to whether or not the fusion is going to be a major issue or not.

As for not using opiates, I can't blame you. Man when they gave me oxy, that stuff was unreal. I can see how people get hooked on that stuff so easily. Wow. You got to really watch yourself with that stuff or you can just zone out on that.

[m314]

I'm not going really heavy again ever, but that's just a personal decision. I'm older and I've had several injuries over the years. I'll be happy sticking with an 8 to 12 rep range. I'll still lift with intensity once I'm fully recovered. I'll still lift "heavy", as in doing 8 reps of a weight most people can't do once. I'm not going for any new one rep maxes, though. One rep max attempts seem to be where I get injured. Deadlifts should be mostly safe as long as I stick to a double overhand grip and a higher rep range. I've read from some other guys who were injured through boxing. I saw Eddie Chambers get the same injury fighting Tomasz Adamek a few days after my injury. It's impressive that Chambers kept fighting with one arm and almost won the decision.

For neutral grip, I mean the bars that are parallel to each other. The hands are facing each other with a neutral grip. Either that or the bars that are close to parallel. I'm just doing that for now since I don't have pronation (required for overhand pullups) or supination (underhand chinups). Neutral grip pullups / chinups fit the range of motion for my arm now. I'll eventually try an underhand grip again sometime next year. Overhand pullups tend to aggravate an old injury (torn labrum in my shoulder) from about 6 years ago, so I'm not planning on doing those again.

The doctor I'm seeing thinks it's best to wait until December. He wants to make sure the tendon / bone attachment is 100% before doing the operation to chisel away the new bone growth. He also wants to wait until the new bone growth is mature and hardened before removing it, since it could grow back if it's removed too soon. He'll give me some kind of anti-inflammatory drug to help prevent it from growing back after the operation, plus I'll be doing range of motion exercises starting the day of or the day after surgery. Keeping the elbow locked in place for a while is what led to the heterotopic ossification in the first place.

I don't mind the zoned out feeling with opiates. Lol. I had a much more painful surgery a few years ago where I had to stay on heavy doses of opiates round the clock for 2 months. The withdrawal from that sucked when it came time to stop. Ever since then, I've been overly sensitive to the withdrawal effects. I won't take them again unless absolutely needed. I'm glad there are certain herbal pain meds legal here in California that don't make you feel like sh*t afterwards. Most people won't have any problems taking opiate based painkillers for a few days post-surgery. I'm no longer one of those people.

[johnjl85]

Damn he continued that fight with one arm? When I tore mine my left arm just went dead and I couldn't punch it at all, took everything to just try and hold it near my chin, it was totally useless, forget trying to punch with it. I have no f-ing clue how he could even continue to fight one handed. Even switching to southpaw I was screwed and threw in the towel about a round after trying to fight through the tear then killed about half a fith of Jager and passed out to deal with the pain. Man, makes me respect those prize fighters even more, that is some balls of brass stuff right there.

Ah I see what you are saying about the neutral grip pull-ups. I actually read an article on bb.com that using that or a narrow rowing attachment to perform pull-ups on actually engages more of the back than pronation or supination pull-ups.

I see what you are saying about holding off surgery. Makes sense. I saw my therapist today and asked why they don't do this kind of surgery if you pull it out a second time. Apparently the tendon becomes too frayed to use. In my allograft situation apparently they left on part of my original tendon then sutchered the cadaver tendon to it and the elbow. If you rip it out a second time your body's own tendon becomes too frayed and there is nothing to even attach the allograft to, just the muscle itself and they apparently can't do it.

[m314]

Yeah, Chambers ruptured his biceps tendon in the first round. I knew what it was when it happened since I just had the same injury. He fought the other 11 rounds with his left hand just hanging down, punching only with his right. I thought he should have won the decision. He's so fast and elusive, Adamek was hardly able to hit him. Chambers is easily one of the top 5 heavyweights out there when not injured. He's just too small to be competitive with the Klitschko brothers. He has the heart of a champion even if he's not the actual champion.

I've read from some people who were able to get the tendon reattached a second time. It's possible sometimes, but there's less of a chance the second time. I guess it depends on how damaged the tendon is. I've read stories from guys who ruptured the distal biceps tendon on both sides, either one at a time or both at the same time. One guy who ruptured both at the same time had to get one fixed surgically, then get the other one fixed 4 months later. That would suck. It would have been a lot worse just 30 years ago, where he's be stuck with 2 bad arms for life. It's great that they're usually able to fix things these days.

[johnjl85]

That is wild that he finished 11 rounds like that. I have to admit I'm surprised he didn't just get knocked out with only one hand up to guard himself with. Especially in the heavyweight division.

Yeah it is great with the advances that have been made. I'm looking forward to the next few decades where they can just clone new body parts to be used.

[m314]

Vitali Klitschko got a lot of criticism for quitting with a torn rotator cuff against Chris Byrd back in 2000. Honestly, I would have quit like that too if I had a major injury in a fight. It's crazy that someone could be so determined to win that they'd fight for so long with a major injury. I haven't heard how he's doing lately, but I'm guessing Chambers will be ready to fight again next year.

http://www.boxingnews24.com/2012/07/...-adamek-fight/

It's crazy how Jon Jones kept fighting last weekend too after Vitor caught him in that arm bar. I was worried he might have had a ruptured biceps tendon with the way he was holding his arm after the fight.

They're already able to regrow certain body parts if they're too badly damaged. Nothing as complex as an arm yet, but that will be possible someday.

[m314]

9/27

The squat rack was occupied again, so I did the first 3 sets with the barbell from the bench press area. You'd think the people there had never seen someone squatting outside of a rack. I wanted to do another set at 245, but my mental energy was gone. Having a cold makes it harder to lift with intensity.

squats
135 - 10
185 - 10, 10
245 - 10, 10

calf raises in the leg press machine
540 + whatever the machine weighs - 12, 12, 12

I should get back to doing cardio next week. In other news, today was the first time I felt comfortable lifting and carrying a 45 pound plate with my left hand. Loading up the leg press machine with 12 plates from across the room goes a lot faster when you carry two at a time.

[johnjl85]

It's crazy how Jon Jones kept fighting last weekend too after Vitor caught him in that arm bar. I was worried he might have had a ruptured biceps tendon with the way he was holding his arm after the fight.

Yeah I have to give Jones credit for that when I was watching the fight. I think it really helped that his arms are so long, I don't think Vitor had the arm bar totally locked out. If he did I don't see how it didn't become a Frank Mir/Big Nog situation. Regardless credit to him for not tapping out. Yeah Bernard Hopkins got a no decision I think for busting up his collarbone. I don't fault a guy when part of his body just snaps and can't continue. A broken nose is one thing, having one of your arms become useless is something else.

[m314]

9/28

db bench
65s - 20, 20, 20

db shrugs
65s - 20, 20, 20

db incline bench
65s - 12, 12, 12

db rows
65s - 12, 12, 12


I still feel strong going up in weight with db bench press. My arm feels a little sketchy after the rows, though. I might drop those down to 60 pounds next week. My arm was still a little sore from Wednesday before I got started today. I should probably stick with 2 upper body workouts per week.

[m314]

Yeah I have to give Jones credit for that when I was watching the fight. I think it really helped that his arms are so long, I don't think Vitor had the arm bar totally locked out. If he did I don't see how it didn't become a Frank Mir/Big Nog situation. Regardless credit to him for not tapping out. Yeah Bernard Hopkins got a no decision I think for busting up his collarbone. I don't fault a guy when part of his body just snaps and can't continue. A broken nose is one thing, having one of your arms become useless is something else.

I don't fault anyone in MMA for tapping out when their opponent has a submission locked in. If they hang in there too long like Big Nog, they'll end up with a broken arm or worse. That means a long layoff when they need to fight for a living. Only the guys at the very top get paid a decent amount of money for what they do.

I'm from Orlando, so I've always been a big fan of Antonio Tarver. He kept fighting after a broken jaw against Eric Harding, which was crazy. I don't think anyone would have blamed him for quitting there. I think I'd rather get knocked out with a shot to the jaw instead of having it broken and continuing for a few rounds like that.

[johnjl85]

I'm from Orlando, so I've always been a big fan of Antonio Tarver. He kept fighting after a broken jaw against Eric Harding, which was crazy. I don't think anyone would have blamed him for quitting there. I think I'd rather get knocked out with a shot to the jaw instead of having it broken and continuing for a few rounds like that.

Wow. Yeah I've had my bell rung in the ring, straight up KTFO once, but to fight with a broken jaw? Considering at that point you can't bite down on the mouth piece to help protect against a KO I'm surprised dude didn't get knocked out.

[m314]

10/1

db shoulder press
65s - 12, 12, 11

assisted chinups
55 - 10, 10, 10

dips
16, 15, 12

ez bar upright rows
80 - 12, 12, 12

cable external rotation
20 - 10, 10

cable internal rotation
30 - 10, 10

elliptical machine
level 2 at 130 strides per minute - 15 minutes


The numbers went down a little for dips, but in all fairness I was pushing more weight after all the pizza and beer this weekend. Lol. I weighed in at 244 this morning before I had breakfast or put clothes on. I need to get the weekend cheat days under control.

Today was the first time in months that I held on to the moving handles for the elliptical machine for 15 minutes. The arm started to hurt at the end, so I stopped a little early. I might try it again tomorrow depending on how the arm feels.

[johnjl85]

I'd like to post some of my progress on here as well if that is alright. I'm not sure what the proper etiquette for this but I though tit would be convenient for anyone in the future to have your perspective and mine as I have had an allograft performed and I train a bit differently. If this isn't the correct way to do this I can create my own thread, just let me know.

So today was my first true day back in the gym. This is week 9 for me and my physical therapist cleared me to perform bicep curls with 3-5 lb dumbells. I have close to full supination in my rebuilt arm, probably about as much supination as I'll ever have. My pronation has started to come along better. I'm probably 90 percent at pronation and the pain associated with that has decreased quite a bit. I still have a bit of pain with pronation but not alot.

So my training regimen had been more circuit based with cardio and boxing/kickboxing involved. Not a traditional bodybuilder split.

So what I did today was:

Box Squat with Barbell
Lat Pulldown (in place of pullups)
One-Arm dumbell Row
Dumbell Shoulder Press
Barbell Bench Press
Girl Pushups on knees
Bicep Curl
Tricep Kickback (therapist said to try this as this stretches the bicep out in a different way)

So I perform all of these exercises back to back in one circuit then repeat two times for a total of three sets. Previous to my injury I performed pull-ups instead of lat pull down, barbell row, and clean and press instead of dumbell shoulder press. I would do deadlifts from time to time but that was not a huge staple of my program.

So today I did 3 sets of:

Box Squat with barbell, 25lbs on each side: Prior to Injury, Box Squat with 55lbs on each side

Lat Pulldown, 55 pounds: Prior to Injury, Overhand grip pull up. Set of 20 reps, then 18, then 12

One-Arm Row 15 pounds: Prior to Injury, Barbell Row, 40 lbs on each side

Shoulder Press 15 pounds: Prior to Injury, Clean and Press, 40 pounds each side

Bench Press 20 pounds on each side: Prior to Injury, two 45s and a 10 and 5 on each side

Girl Push-ups 12 reps: Prior to Injury, Plyo-Pushups. 20 reps

Bicep Curl 3-5 pound dumbells: Prior to injury I did not work biceps in isolation much

Tricep Kickback 8 pounds: Prior to injury I did not work triceps in isolation

All exercises were performed at the 12 rep range: Prior to injury rep range for exercises would go from 8-12 reps

So overall today I felt good. I felt I could have pushed more weight on a lot of the exercises but I am being very cautious with this injury, the arm might feel good but that doesn't mean it is "good" from a healing standpoint. I'm only slightly past the halfway date in terms of healing from this surgery. At the end of the round I used the 5 pound dumbells for bicep curls. I wouldn't say that was a mistake but I certainly don't need to go beyond 5 pounds right now. My arm is a bit sore where the tendon is at, so I will probably go back to 3 pound weights when I do this again on Thursday. Also for the shoulder press, I think I will use the smith machine for presses, I worry loading the dumbells, even at these pathetic weights, has the chance of stressing the bicep more than I want.

I noticed some fatigue in the injured arm (my left arm, I am right handed) when doing bench press. Now I haven't lifted at all since July 20th or so, so there is a good amount of atrophy from that. Also I tore my tendon back in April and waited until July to get the surgery, due to school obligations, so that left bicep has quite a bit of atrophy in it. Other than with the curls and the last round on the bench press though my injured arm felt good.

I then spent about 30 minutes on the stationary bike for cardio. Tomorrow I'm going to do abs, jump rope and jog for 20 minutes then do 20 minutes of intervals.

The sups I am taking are bodybuilding.com brands. I am taking the whey, the beta-alanine, creatine mono, and test booster. I use peanut butter and muscle milk as my night-time protein, when I run out of muscle-milk I may switch just to caesin. I also take glucosamine and fishoils.

I hope to return unrestricted to activity by December and really start pushing things. For now I am taking things slow and a bit paranoid over any little thing, I think that is natural for an injury, especially a tendon replacement injury which can be tricky.

[m314]

You don't have to worry about etiquette here. I'm interested in seeing your progress, just like other people will be if they have this injury.

It's good to start with ridiculously light weights after this kind of surgery. Start really light and go up a little every week as long as it feels comfortable. If the tendon reattachment site hurts during any lift, you're pushing things too fast. For me, a little pain there during the workout means a lot of pain later on. What you really don't want is to get overconfident and try something really heavy too soon. The surgery was bad enough the first time. Go up in weights slowly and patiently, and you'll be in much better shape by December when you're more fully healed.

It's great to hear about the pronation and supination. That's very different from my situation, which means you're healing normally. I don't know what the differences are in the healing process for an allograft compared to when they reattach the original tendon to the bone. It sounds like things are going well for this point in the recovery process.

[m314]

10/2

Romanian deadlifts
105 - 15, 15, 15, 15

good mornings
135 - 12, 12, 12, 12

decline crunches (different bench with a higher angle)
25, 25, 25, 20

elliptical (back to holding the stationary handles)
level 3 at 130 strides per minute - 20 minutes


I started good mornings a couple months ago as a temporary replacement for deadlifts. I'll probably drop them at some point once I'm able to support more weight with my arm. I'd rather do 8 sets of heavyish deadlifts and drop good mornings completely, but my arm can't take that much volume or weight yet. It will at some point soon. I'll be doing a bunch of reps with 2 plates at some point before my next surgery if I can keep going up 20 pounds a week.

[johnjl85]

Well I'm glad we can have a kind of joint recovery story here. I think different perspectives from different repairs and training history will be a nice point of comparison for anyone in the future.

Today I just worked abs. I'll tell you, today I felt like a guy who hasn't worked out in over two months and has gained 10-12 pounds (with some muscle loss if nothing else than in my injured arm). So I usually float around 203-205, 200 on a good day and I'm 5"10'. Right now I am 214. So I was a bit sore from yesterday. Not anything major but I certainly felt like I worked out yesterday. My injured arm felt great, no soreness or pain from yesterday's workout.

So with abs I did 3 rounds of leg raise, cable crunch, decline oblique crunch, russian twist and hanging leg raise (with strap assets of course). It wasn't terrible but it was certainly challenging...then when I did cardio after...

Well cardio f-ing sucked. I did about 10 minutes on the treadmill with a 2.0 incline at 5.8 speed and I was hurting bad. Hurting as in cramps and severly winded. I couldn't believe how bad I was at jogging on the treadmill. Very disheartening. I then spent another 20 minutes on the stationary bike, 12 percent difficulty (20 is top difficulty level).

So overall my body felt like a guy who has been out of the game for over 2 months and is a good 10 plus pounds overweight. Suppose that is natural. It is certainly easier for me to do cardio now when I can do it in combo with some kind of lifting. Just doing cardio alone everyday psychologically wears me down. Right now I am in a better place mentally to push through some stuff. Which is good because right now psychology in all likelihood is all I have to use to gut out these first few weeks of coming back.

[m314]

I know what you mean about feeling out of shape. I didn't stop exercising after this injury, but I had to stop certain exercises for a while. I had to take 2 months off exercising a few years ago after a different surgery. It was hard starting up again after a layoff like that. I'm glad I was able to do at least something this time to try to stay in shape while I was recovering.

After a few months off, I usually take it easy the first week back. I push myself a little more the next week, then by the third week I'm back at full intensity. It's harder to go all out right away when it has been a couple months.

It's good to hear your arm is doing well. I still get a lot of pain in the forearm and wrist from the ossification issue, and I still get pain in the tendon and the reattachment site if I overdo it a little.

[m314]

10/3

db bench press
70s - 20, 20, 18

db shrugs
70s - 20, 20, 20

db incline bench press
70s - 12, 10, 10

seated cable rows
150 - 12, 14, 14


I didn't have time for cardio today, so I'll probably walk a couple miles tonight. I haven't been logging little things like 30 minute walks or a few pushups (using Perfect Pushup handles) on the weekends. I'm not trying to get in cardio shape for sports or anything; I just want to stay in semi-decent shape there and burn some extra calories.

I'm finally at the point where incline bench press feels heavyish. I'll go up to the 75s next week and stay there until I can do 3 sets with 10 or more reps. I still feel strong with db flat bench. I feel like I can add 5 pounds a week there for a few more weeks before I'll have to slow down.

I keep thinking I'm going to add curls and triceps pushdowns back in to my routine. My arm tends to hurt after doing just the limited volume I've been doing on days like today, so I haven't done the isolation lifts for a while.