Can't train for a few weeks. How to maintain?

[bennos]

I've got a neck injury and it's shot down into the muscles around the shoulders. My physio told me it's a muscle injury caused by incorrect squat form. Wrong bar position on the neck then made worse from continual weight lifting over time.

The advice is neck stretches and no training for at least a few weeks.

It sucks to think of all the hard yards I've put into going to the gym and now I can't train.

If you were in a similar position and can't train for weeks... what would you do to maintain your physique? Or as much as possible.

 

[Ride_On]

I've got a neck injury and it's shot down into the muscles around the shoulders. My physio told me it's a muscle injury caused by incorrect squat form. Wrong bar position on the neck then made worse from continual weight lifting over time.

The advice is neck stretches and no training for at least a few weeks.

It sucks to think of all the hard yards I've put into going to the gym and now I can't train.

If you were in a similar position and can't train for weeks... what would you do to maintain your physique? Or as much as possible.

Problem number one is of a bigger concern than not being able to train in my opinion. MAKE SURE that you read up on squat form, watch videos, and learn the CORRECT bar position. That is a very serious place on your body to be putting lots of heavy weight on the wrong way. My recommandation is that you either buy Starting Strength, reread it if you have already read it, and/or look around at StrongLifts and StrengthMill for more stuff on bar position. Ask questions around there if you need to. StrengthMill has a Q&A with Rippetoe I believe.

Now, on to training. I had surgery about 5 weeks ago and while I'm technically allowed to hit the weights, I'm not supposed to lift heavy or do anything that might result in clenching my teeth. This was a very big surgery, therefore, I am not risking anything and haven't touched weights since then. I'm doing bodyweight workouts. I made my own "blast straps" (google that on EliteFTS) and devised a good workout using that. If you do something like that and make sure to eat enough, you probably won't lose too much, if any, muscle over the rest time here.

PS: If you want to know about those homemade blast straps, ask me. I think they cost me around 15 bucks to make, rather than 60.

 

[kenzo242]

I've got a neck injury and it's shot down into the muscles around the shoulders. My physio told me it's a muscle injury caused by incorrect squat form. Wrong bar position on the neck then made worse from continual weight lifting over time.

The advice is neck stretches and no training for at least a few weeks.

It sucks to think of all the hard yards I've put into going to the gym and now I can't train.

If you were in a similar position and can't train for weeks... what would you do to maintain your physique? Or as much as possible.

Nothing ever stays the same. If you're not getting better, you're getting worse.

 

[Ride_On]

Nothing ever stays the same. If you're not getting better, you're getting worse.

Gonna have to completely disagree there.

 

[bennos]

Tried body weight training (ie. push ups), however stopped it too as it still causes issues. So right now I'm pretty much just doing cardio. Not running/treadmill though as this irritates the neck and shoulder muscles.

Going back to the physio tomorrow and will really watch the diet... eat clean.

 

[neonlady]

Tried body weight training (ie. push ups), however stopped it too as it still causes issues. So right now I'm pretty much just doing cardio. Not running/treadmill though as this irritates the neck and shoulder muscles.

Going back to the physio tomorrow and will really watch the diet... eat clean.

Hi

I've read this whole thread so far and have noticed something.

Your concern is focused on your upper body - shoulders/chest/back - and rightfully so. That is an area that can be damaged and you not even know, so I'm glad you found out now before permanent damage had been done.

I do know someone who used the bar in the wrong position for years and now has permanent damage - spinal stenosis - and the only option is ZERO bar work, limited exercise, PT, and surgery.

Oh yeah...and his motivation factor went right down the crapper so he's now more like a sloth that looks like Jabba the Hut. It sucks to be him.

But now I have a question: You do have legs... right!?

Just because you've been limited or restricted to one area of your body does not mean you cannot work something else. (please note my friend mentioned above did not do this).

I'd ask your PT about doing BW squats or lunges and maybe core which will depend on how you do ab work. I'd also ask about resistance bands as they can give you a good workout too - maybe later though - after PT has had a chance to work on relieving the irritation.

Having an injury or setback can really mess with your head. Don't let it beat you up though. There are enough people out there who do that to us daily we don't need a 'self help' session.. hehe. (case in point - the 2nd response to this thread from Kenzo242 - he can go scratch - hehehe)

You can overcome this and be stronger in the end.

 

[bennos]

Oh yeah...and his motivation factor went right down the crapper so he's now more like a sloth that looks like Jabba the Hut. It sucks to be him.

But now I have a question: You do have legs... right!?

Just because you've been limited or restricted to one area of your body does not mean you cannot work something else. (please note my friend mentioned above did not do this).

I'd ask your PT about doing BW squats or lunges and maybe core which will depend on how you do ab work. I'd also ask about resistance bands as they can give you a good workout too - maybe later though - after PT has had a chance to work on relieving the irritation.

Having an injury or setback can really mess with your head. Don't let it beat you up though. There are enough people out there who do that to us daily we don't need a 'self help' session.. hehe. (case in point - the 2nd response to this thread from Kenzo242 - he can go scratch - hehehe)

You can overcome this and be stronger in the end.

Thanks for the encouraging post! Yes, I'm hitting the legs, abs (concentrating on core) and cardio big time, still have to be careful of some legs and abs exercises as loading on too much will bring the neck muscles into the equation.

Losing motivation - what happened to your friend the Stars Wars character is a big concern to me.

Yeah, what's up with the comment from kenzo242 - what a negative fellow.

 

[kenzo242]

My comment wasn't meant to be a negative shot a bennos. It was meant to let him know that the body is either in a state of growth or decay. Meaning, if you're not training intense enough to stimulate change then physiologically your body is losing any previous gains made. Albeit slowly.

And with a neck injury you're going to need to be very careful with any exercise performed focusing on postural stabilty and cervical alignment.

My apologies if my statement came off as offensive.

 

[Ride_On]

My comment wasn't meant to be a negative shot a bennos. It was meant to let him know that the body is either in a state of growth or decay. Meaning, if you're not training intense enough to stimulate change then physiologically your body is losing any previous gains made. Albeit slowly.

And with a neck injury you're going to need to be very careful with any exercise performed focusing on postural stabilty and cervical alignment.

My apologies if my statement came off as offensive.

Nice recovery :sport:

 

[johnny83]

The bottom line is if your Dr. told you just do neck stretches and NO training, then heed his advice. Its only a few weeks, I personally take 1 week off every 9-12 weeks and it works wonders for my body and keeps me from plateauing. A week or 2 more than that isnt going to hurt at all as long as you keep a decent diet. Plus, you dont want to jeapordize your future long term physical fitness due to tryin to maintain too hard during your few week rest.

 

[illiniphase4]

The bottom line is if your Dr. told you just do neck stretches and NO training, then heed his advice. Its only a few weeks, I personally take 1 week off every 9-12 weeks and it works wonders for my body and keeps me from plateauing. A week or 2 more than that isnt going to hurt at all as long as you keep a decent diet. Plus, you dont want to jeapordize your future long term physical fitness due to tryin to maintain too hard during your few week rest.

Got to agree here, particularly because it's a neck injury. There's simply too much risk involved with disobeying the doc (I had a cervical fracture back in high school and was out of just about everything for over a year, so I'd like to think I know what I'm talking about here).

Johnny is right on here. Follow the doc's orders and focus on your diet. I would even stay away from the cardio. Even low impact exercise like elliptical and stationary bike still have impact on the spinal column, and you don't want to prolong recovery.