Knee Injury

[Mbt1990]

Lovely news from MRI and xray, I have a bad meniscus tear and onset arthritis in my right knee, Bodyweight squats kill no matter the position, I was so close to a 100kg Squat also but it's not worth it, especially when my only transportation is walking.

He told me to avoid lower body lifting or else further damage from it would void my treatment however I can still Deadlift which I'm happy with.

So at this time, I asked about upper body training, he said that's fine as long as I don't put unnecessary direct pressure on the knee as it could lead to further damage and the other knee may compensate which would lead to further problems down the road, as he put it, hanging by a thread in a theoretical standpoint.

So even though i respected his expertise, I love my squats, so I went to get a second opinion with a sports physician who basically tested/checked me over and said pretty much the same thing and refered it back to the doctor/physician who originally saw me.

So at this time, I thought well it gives me the chance to really focus on my upper body (dark cloud silver lining eh?) But I'm needing to know if my routine pretty much has it covered.

So heres my predicament

1. I have messed up elbows so tricep isolation is out and overhead presses (waiting list for elbow treatment)

2. I only have access to barbells and dumbbells

3. My ceiling in the cellar/basement is very low (6ft 3in)

4. I can't do lower body work 

5. No access to machines etc

So my routine I thought of is below, can you tell me if this pretty much covers everything?

Thankyou


=====

Day 1 - Push
Bench Press (4 ramp up sets) - 1x5 (85%) - 1x10 (65%) - 1x15 (50%)
Incline dumbbell press 2x10
Flyes 1x25
Seated Side Laterals 1x20+

Day 2 Pull
Deadlift (4 ramp up sets) - 1x5(85%)
Barbell Row (4 ramp up sets) - 1x5 (85%) - 1x10 (65%) - 1x15 (50%)
Yates Row - 1x20
Trap Bar Shrugs - 2x25 (heavy)
Hammer Curls - 1x25

[EliKoehn]

Man I would be so claustrophobic lifting underneath a ceiling that low...

Looks pretty good considering you can't do squats, but how are you not putting a lot of pressure on the knee with rows and deadlifts? If it doesn't cause you any trouble, I'd proceed anyway, but there's still a lot of isometric force that that joint has to hold and transfer with both of those exercises.

[Mbt1990]

Man I would be so claustrophobic lifting underneath a ceiling that low...

Looks pretty good considering you can't do squats, but how are you not putting a lot of pressure on the knee with rows and deadlifts? If it doesn't cause you any trouble, I'd proceed anyway, but there's still a lot of isometric force that that joint has to hold and transfer with both of those exercises.

Thanks buddy, so it pretty much hits my whole upper body then, understandably I could theoretically reduce it more if I wanted?

Push
Bench press
Incline or flat db Bench press
Side laterals

Pull
Deadlift
Row
Curl

So pretty much hits the upper body as a whole?

And yeah claustrophobia is a bitch haha

[EliKoehn]

I think you've got all your major bases covered for upper body with that, yeah. I prefer training push and pull together (usually back and chest, primarily, and then do more of an arm/shoulder focus on another day), but your exercise selection is almost identical to mine actually.

I don't do flyes very often, however... I'm certainly not against them but presses just seem sufficient and chest isn't something that needs to play catchup as much as, say, quads or rear delts, for me.

[Mbt1990]

I think you've got all your major bases covered for upper body with that, yeah. I prefer training push and pull together (usually back and chest, primarily, and then do more of an arm/shoulder focus on another day), but your exercise selection is almost identical to mine actually.

I don't do flyes very often, however... I'm certainly not against them but presses just seem sufficient and chest isn't something that needs to play catchup as much as, say, quads or rear delts, for me.

Thankyou for replying, with the selection I have, how would you put the push pull together? Understandably, doing push pull together means more frequency if done twice a week? Curious to see what you would do

[EliKoehn]

Thankyou for replying, with the selection I have, how would you put the push pull together? Understandably, doing push pull together means more frequency if done twice a week? Curious to see what you would do

I like the reverse pyramid approach, putting the emphasis on weight but making sure to finish out with enough volume to stimulate the muscle entirely. (The reverse takes away too much strength potential, IMO.)

And I would alternate days with emphasis on weight, and then emphasis on volume, as well as alternate intensity. I would call what you've written a "heavy" day, for instance.

A few tweaks I personally would make, is to do more than one really intense set. Granted, that's perfectly valid and 85% is a lot, so that may be a better approach for you. I like to do at least 3-5 sets in that range, but sometimes (just yesterday, for instance) it's too much and I stall out on the weight. I would also do maybe a little more extra work with the alternate exercise like dumbbell press, instead of just two sets, maybe four. And 50% intensity is pretty low I think. I'd try to stay in the 70-80% range for your working sets, unless it's a high volume day and your emphasis lies elsewhere.

Two caveats:
1.) I'm just a guy and am still learning a lot myself
2.) On the 80% side of the fence, I think this will see you to a lot of progress

[coachcalande]

Lovely news from MRI and xray, I have a bad meniscus tear and onset arthritis in my right knee, Bodyweight squats kill no matter the position, I was so close to a 100kg Squat also but it's not worth it, especially when my only transportation is walking.

He told me to avoid lower body lifting or else further damage from it would void my treatment however I can still Deadlift which I'm happy with.

So at this time, I asked about upper body training, he said that's fine as long as I don't put unnecessary direct pressure on the knee as it could lead to further damage and the other knee may compensate which would lead to further problems down the road, as he put it, hanging by a thread in a theoretical standpoint.

So even though i respected his expertise, I love my squats, so I went to get a second opinion with a sports physician who basically tested/checked me over and said pretty much the same thing and refered it back to the doctor/physician who originally saw me.

So at this time, I thought well it gives me the chance to really focus on my upper body (dark cloud silver lining eh?) But I'm needing to know if my routine pretty much has it covered.

So heres my predicament

1. I have messed up elbows so tricep isolation is out and overhead presses (waiting list for elbow treatment)

2. I only have access to barbells and dumbbells

3. My ceiling in the cellar/basement is very low (6ft 3in)

4. I can't do lower body work 

5. No access to machines etc

So my routine I thought of is below, can you tell me if this pretty much covers everything?

Thankyou


=====

Day 1 - Push
Bench Press (4 ramp up sets) - 1x5 (85%) - 1x10 (65%) - 1x15 (50%)
Incline dumbbell press 2x10
Flyes 1x25
Seated Side Laterals 1x20+

Day 2 Pull
Deadlift (4 ramp up sets) - 1x5(85%)
Barbell Row (4 ramp up sets) - 1x5 (85%) - 1x10 (65%) - 1x15 (50%)
Yates Row - 1x20
Trap Bar Shrugs - 2x25 (heavy)
Hammer Curls - 1x25

Get it rested or cleaned up.

Have been through major knee surgery and can still do all the crazy leg days even with basically cratered canyons in my bones.

Good luck! You’ll be back to it all in no time.

[Mbt1990]

Get it rested or cleaned up.

Have been through major knee surgery and can still do all the crazy leg days even with basically cratered canyons in my bones.

Good luck! You’ll be back to it all in no time.

Making me sound weak now hahaha, but how do you manage squats (I'm low bar) with catered canyons in your bones?!

[Darkius]

Your situation sounds worse than mine.

Some hours I feel like I can do weighted lunges. Others it hurts when cycling or climbing stairs.

Please keep us posted how it goes. If you recover enough to squat, that will give me hope.

[coachcalande]

Making me sound weak now hahaha, but how do you manage squats (I'm low bar) with catered canyons in your bones?!

Wrap my knees, high reps on set 1…amazingly it’s leg press that makes my knees most sore after a few heavy press sets. Doc said never do leg ext again…that was 20 years ago and a lot of leg extensions sets later…

[Darkius]

My knee was painful to low squat. After squating with precision placement, doing high squats, etc, I now can do low squats, and add weight with high squats.


My thumbs and wrists used to say no to bench press. After years of working around that, I tried again and can bench 95 pounds without pain. 115 pounds started hurting bones in my hands. Maybe I need to eat more calcium.



A tendon in my elbow kept me from doing chin ups. Yesterday, I tried again with band assistance. My muscles are now the limiting factor. I could only do 8 palms away. I used to do far more without the bands. Ill just have to work on that.



I hurt my lower back lifting a couch wrong years ago. Been careful with it a long time. Yesterday I deadlifted 80 pounds several times. My hands and forearms were my weak point.



My insurance covers physical therapy, so I plan to get therapy for as many problem areas as I can.

[Darkius]

Wrap my knees, high reps on set 1…amazingly it’s leg press that makes my knees most sore after a few heavy press sets. Doc said never do leg ext again…that was 20 years ago and a lot of leg extensions sets later…

Are you saying knee wraps help, and dont just hide pain? I bought one but have not used it yet.

[Darkius]

Get it rested or cleaned up.

Have been through major knee surgery and can still do all the crazy leg days even with basically cratered canyons in my bones.

Good luck! You’ll be back to it all in no time.

I met a guy at the gym yesterday who had acl surgery in one knee and meniscus surgery in the other. He now runs again.


My sports doctor said I'd never run again. For now I'm taking his advice. Once I'm squating heavy, 10% body fat, and power walking flat, I'll ask for a second opinion. I know I'd mess it up bad if I try to run now.

[coachcalande]

I wrap as the compression adds stability, holds in fluid, gives me more confidence…

I also have learned to lean on machines during the bad times where things feel less stable or when arthritis flare ups happen….especially when scar tissue is f floating around…had a knee shift whike walking 365 back a few years ago and that was scary as hell….that was the last time I chose not to wrap.

The real issue with arthritis is that bone Spurs and spikes can tear cartilage in the middle of a set…so I most often rely on smith squats and front squats…but still test my progress on free weights because it allows me heavier sets and free mobility.

Leg press…I love but always feel very inflamed after a heavy leg day involving press.

Yeah running is another love, keep trying to do it, never ends well.