Returning to lifting after 7 months?

[richedie]

Hi everyone,

I started lifting when i was about 16 and have continued religiously through out my life. I am not 36 and separated my shoulder snowboarding in January. This is a fairly common injury in this sport and similar sports. I had reconstructive shoulder surgery in early february. I was a heavy lifter up to this point. Obviously I had lost a lot of upper body mass and tone. My shape gradually changed but I am just now able to start the work to make a come back, so to speak. I am sure many of you have had longer lay-offs that this so you are probably laughing.

So, after 7 months...I am finally starting to work my upper body. Prior to this, it was lower body and very light weights in the last few months for upper body. Even now, I am only at using 5 - 15 lb dumbells for my right arm since it was my right shoulder that had the reconstructive surgery.

Things are starting to pick up and I am feeling better......but I am wondering if I should concentrate on fat loss at this point and then building back up or try to do both - which I have always found to be next to impossible.

Right now I am doing a light upper body workout once a week, a heavier lower body workout and running/walking on alternate days.

Thanks!
Rich

[fitnessman]

I see no reason why doing both would be an issue.

[GSXR1181]

I just came back from an injury myself. After an 11 month layoff, I lost a lot of muscle mass, and gained a lot of weight. Currently I'm cutting my body fat. And the reason is this. Since I had my right elbow reconstructed, I couldn't lift very much weight with it. So I figured I'd lift light, eat right, cardio and more cardio. And as I melt off the extra fat I put on, it will allow enough time for my right arm to gain it's strength back. I've been only lifting as much as my right arm will allow and doing the same weight with my left. So basically I'm pushing my right arm as hard as I can, while the left arm has no problem with the weight. And hopefully my right arm will catch up soon, which it is doing. It's just my 2 cents.

[never2late]

Things are starting to pick up and I am feeling better......but I am wondering if I should concentrate on fat loss at this point and then building back up or try to do both - which I have always found to be next to impossible.

Right now I am doing a light upper body workout once a week, a heavier lower body workout and running/walking on alternate days.

Thanks!
Rich

I agree with fitnessman above (no reason you can't do both) and will add this:

IMO, your "building up" at this point in time (after a layoff such as yours) should be more focused on getting connective tissue prepped once again for heavier workouts in the future. You'll also be re-establishing neural networks (central nervous system) connections from the brain to muscle cells. While these connections never "disappear", they certainly go up and down in their firing efficiency depending on load over time.

In other words, you're still all there -- you just have to reconnect to "you" again.

So, for now, you're changing the oil, cleaning out the carborator, checking the air in the tires, etc. for eventually taking that car out on the road again.

My wife was ill earlier in the year, and due to home care and other issues at the time, I lost a few months in 2006 myself. Picked up a few pounds along the way as well. As of today, I'm still focusing on circuit training to get back in the groove.

One thing I've noticed at age 50 . . . the body certainly does respond positively to training -- but goes downhill rapidly once training has stopped.

There's more life behind me than in front of me -- and my body knows it, and knows where it's eventually headed (the grave) in the not too distant future.

Working out is the ONLY thing that counteracts that slow slide into the grave.

Once stopped for any length of time, it seems like the slide wants to pick up like a bat out of hell.