elbow injury

[sierraman]

I have had surgery on my elbow before and now it is acting up a bit. I went and tried to do a chest and tri day, but it just got to be too much pain. I went and got it checked out, but got no where with that. Should I just stay off of it for a bit? I dont want to lose my gains.

[Morskaya_Pekhota]

I'd definitely go easy on it, Sierra. Try switching up your exercises and find which ones will give you the least pain. If flat benchpress bothers you, try pullovers or flys for a while instead. Also, if you're working with a barbell for most of them, try switching to dumbbells and see how that treats you.

[sierraman]

i did flys yesterday and it didnt hurt too bad, but the problem is I never get sore after doing them. Can you explain pullovers? If i continue to eat healthy and high protein will my muscle mass maintain for a few weeks?

[Morskaya_Pekhota]

i did flys yesterday and it didnt hurt too bad, but the problem is I never get sore after doing them.

I wouldn't sweat the lack of soreness. I don't get sore too often either, just fatigued in the targeted muscles the next day. Judge your progress by the increases in the weight you're using compared to the last workout or the increase in reps you can get with the same weight. As long as you're getting stronger, you'll get bigger.

That being said, be sure you're executing the movement properly. Really focus on contracting the pectoral muscles and squeeze them together hard at the top of the movement and pause briefly. The top of the movement is not a rest, it should be a full contraction. Also, be sure that your biceps and shoulders do not dominate the movement either. You may have to temporarily drop the weight temporarily to do so, but really focus on the pecs here. It's not about moving the weight; it's about stimulating the muscle.

Can you explain pullovers?

You can see what pullovers are here. They're a great chest exercise that *should* be a little easier on the elbows. Give it a shot and let me know if it worked out for you or if it was painful.

If i continue to eat healthy and high protein will my muscle mass maintain for a few weeks?

You should be fine.

[sierraman]

do you have any ideas for bicep and tri exercises? Should I switch to light weight high reps 15-20 to help maintian do you think?

[Morskaya_Pekhota]

Hard to say without seeing your whole routine. Post it up and let us get a look at it. Tell us the days you lift, the movements you do along with how many sets and reps of each.

[sierraman]

Chest Day:

Flat bench One warmup at 135 8 reps
185 8 reps
225 3-4 reps failure
225 2-3 reps failur

Incline Bench warmup 135 8 reps
155 8 reps
175 5-6 reps failure
155 5-6 reps failure

Decline bench warm up 135 8 reps
155 8 reps
175 8 reps then static hold
195 8 reps static hold

Cable flys depending on how I feel

Tri pull downs 100lbs 8 reps
110 8 reps
110 8 reps
110 8 reps

skull crushers
65lbs 8 to 10 reps 4 sets

behind the the head barbell raise 50lbs 8 reps 4 sets

thats is chest and tri day which i try and do 2 times a week

[gpack28]

do you have any ideas for bicep and tri exercises? Should I switch to light weight high reps 15-20 to help maintian do you think?

Mechanics is going to be very important for you here. If you're using machines it's crucial to keep your elbow lined up with the axis of the machine. This means in all planes. If you're using cables, be sure the line of resistance (the cable) is the same plane that you are moving in. Any misalignment here puts extra stresses on the joint.

With injury's you can use the pain as a rule of thumb of what you can and cannot do. If it hurts, don't do it. That's your body talking to you saying stop.

Good luck man.