Rich67

Instead of doing straight curls with heavy weight, try these variations: 1) Use lighter dumbbells, and lie on an incline bench (about 60-45 degrees). Put the arms all the way down, keep your back flat to the bench, head back, and curl the weight up. 2) Using dumbbells, stand with both arms out to your sides, palms facing away from you. Curl the weights up to your shoulders, keeping your upper arms tight against your sides and keeping the palms facing out. (Open arm curls). 3) Use and EZ curl bar and do preacher curls. If your "bones" hurt, and not your muscles, you are lifting more weight than your ligaments and tendons can handle, and you're straining them. You are young, and probably jumping into heavy weight too fast. Keep in mind, you have to train your tendons and ligaments to handle the extra weight too, and they lag behind muscles.Go light, concentrate on GOOD FORM, and work the weight up S-L-O-W-L-Y. It's not worth pulling muscles or getting injured just so you can look like the tough guy in the gym. Because then you'll get skinny lying around at home nursing yourself back to health. Let the other boneheads at the gym do it. You see them: the guys who are in there 6 days a week, benching the same heavy weight, curling the same heavy weight...they never seem to really get bigger, do they? The true gym rat is the guy who goes in 3-4 times a week, but gets the compliments like "hey man, you're getting big", or "are you working out? Losing weight?" etc.

I have to go along with Warlock on this one. First off, you need to condition yourself. Believe it or not, weak abs are the main cause of lower back pain. If the abs are weak, the back muscles have to work too hard to stabalize the spine, thus, back pain. Unless your pain is from auto injury or other trauma, it's not that hard to alleviate most of the pain. Enough to train, that is. I had some lower back problems years ago, but since I have been following strict workouts for the abs and back muscles, my problems have pretty much disappeared. I train in jiu-jitsu now, am average as far as flexibility (I can't do the splits), and I have been doing fine. Go see a doctor first, have him x-ray your back. If you have herniated discs, you might want to put the training on hold. But if all seems OK, it's just your muscles that are strained, and you need to condition them.

I tore my ACL, MCL and meniscus in November. I was flat on my back 2 days post-op (outpatient) and finally was up and moving around on day 3 with minimal pain. I did the hamstring graft, but I heard the allograft (cadaver ACL) is quicker for recovery time. I am feeling pretty good now, although I still have a weird pop in my knee and it still bothers me. I started doing sqauts last week ( taking it easy- 90 pounds) and it's just a matter of strengthening the muscles again. Look at about 2 months of physical therapy after, and look at being about 70% in about 4 months. You won't be 100 percent until 9 months post op. And that's if you keep up the exercise and stay active. I have a 3" scar and 3 scars (holes) where they 'scoped it. I also had some nerve damage... my shin is numb from my kneecap to mid-shin... it feels like it's asleep if I touch it. Don't notice it unless I bang it. Feels weird. Hopefully it'll come back. Good luck. ACL surgery is supposedly the toughest rehab of any of the scope surgeries. It ain't fun, but if you want to do the things you love, it's the only option.

I'm not an orthopedist, but it sounds like when you dislocated your knee, you may have torn the meniscus in the knee. The symptoms you are describing lends creedence to that. The only way to relieve the pain is to get a good doctor, get an MRI, then he'll make the recommendation. In the case of meniscal tears, orthoscopic sugery is required. They'll stitch it down where it belongs. If you don't get it taken care of, you're setting yourself up for years of arthritis and pain in the knee. ANY knee surgery sucks, I had surgery to fix my ACL, MCL and meniscus all in one pop. I'm still not 100%...it's been 4 months. They say I'll be 100% in 9 months post op. It's a rough surgery. Just the meniscus alone shouldn't be too bad, though.

What you experienced is typical of beginning weightlifters. You're young, you think you can jump in and lift six days a week for an hour or more a pop, and things will be hunky-dory. BUZZZZZ! Wrong answer! A starting lifter has to take a lot more time off in the beginning and you need to ease into it a lot longer than an experienced lifter. Secondly, joint pain may mean you are not performing exercises with proper form. You really need to get a good weightlifting instruction book and study proper execution of lifts. For example, if you go too deep in dips, you can screw up your shoulders. Too deep in squats or knees not over the ankles and you can mess up your knees. Don't watch the other meatheads at the gym, 8 out of 10 of them are working out with terrible form, and are setting themselves up for injuries. Work out 3 times a week with light weights and proper form. If you feel good after a month, add a day and work out heavier. Re evaluate yourself every month. If something hurts, rest it until it gets better, and make sure you are doing the exercise correctly. The most important advise is this: IF YOU ARE A NON-DRUG ASSISTED LIFTER, LESS IS BETTER. Us natural guys have to give our bodies time to recover.

This is one of the better resources out there: http://www.discounthandcuffs.com/taha.html You can also try shopping at "calibrepress.com"

Hmmm let's see.... numerous finger sprains/jams, split lip (10 stitches), torn ACL and meniscus in knee, dislocated thumb.

Yes, Andrew. That site is excellent!

I once pulled apart those plastic soda six-pack holders...ya know, the ones that hold the cans together? Put like 3 or 4 of 'em together and tried to break them apart. Well, I screwed up the nerves in my fingers and had that same sensation you have for about a month and a half in my fingers. It went away. You probably damaged some nerves in your finger. Don't worry, the sensation will dissapate as the nerves heal. If it persists for more than 2 months, I'd see a doctor.

I concur with Bretty. Kickboxing, TSD, TKD, and the other basic (???) arts (Judo also fits in there) stress aerobic fitness. I'm not too sure about Aikido (never took it) and I only took KF San Soo, which wasn't too keen on a lot of aerobics.

There are a few schools of thought on that. Good question, BTW! In order for muscle to grow, there has to be muscular overload-stimulus ( and of course the rest, nutrition, etc.) Muscular overload can occur different ways: lift heavy weight to stress the muscle to break down cells, or lift lighter weights in a certain given time period. There is a theory of training developed by Sisco called "Power Factor Training". PF teaches that muscular growth can occur using only partial-range reps, heavy weight, and high reps. You can increase the growth by keeping the same weight, but putting more reps into the same time frame as the previous lift. Let's use the pushup theory: 1) You do 2 sets of pushups at 20 reps each. In between each set, you take a one minute rest. It takes you a total of 3 minutes to do the whole exercise. 2) The next day you do 2 sets again at 20 each, rest 30 seconds in between each set, and complete the whole thing in 2 minutes. If you believe in PFT, you are actually getting stronger, and will grow muscle, since you are doing more volume in a given time period. Pretty soon, you should get to the point where you can crank out 50 reps with no rest in 2 minutes (hmmm) and the theory is you are stronger still. Then you start adding weight, and the factor increases even more. It's pretty complicated. But as far as muscular strength is concerned, think in the terms of TIME. In other words, how many reps of a certain exercise can you do within a given time frame, and can you improve on that by doing them faster or with more weight at the same speed. To answer your original question, Person B is getting a better workout because he is accomplishing more within a smaller time period, and is stressing the muscle more than person A.

Hmmm...tastefully, eh? OK.. 1) Race gasoline and synthetic oil fired out of the exhaust of a jetski on the beach 2) Coffee in the morning (even though I hate the taste of it) 3) A steak on the BBQ that was marinating for days. Those are a few of my favorite things...

Wow...what more could a couch potato ask for....

Help me out, guys....what's a key lock?

I have been lifting for about 17 years. I have had shoulder, wrist, and lower back problems due to constant heavy lifts. In my "uneducated days", every day would be a ONE REP MAX day, and I would do nothing but flat bench presses, squats, and shoulder presses. As a result, I had pains in my rotator cuff, wrists and threw out my lower back using improper squat form. What was said before is correct, powerlifters are more prone to those nagging injuries. Casual weightlifters are not, unless they use poor form. I took a layoff of about 1 year from all weight training to help give my joints time to heal. I am now pain free, and train with light to moderate weights. The funny thing is, I think I look bigger and better than when I was lifting like a powerlifter. Weightlifting is great exercise, don't think otherwise. The main thing is, don't go too heavy and always use proper form and breathing techniques. Stretch and warm up well, and don't let your ego dictate your workout program. So what if you only load 135 on the bar and bench 15-20 reps. Let the musclehead who sits there next do his one-rep max every day as he smirks at you. He'll evntually burn out and get injured, then he'll sit at home and get fat. Meanwhile, you'll be lean and mean.

The best way for you to achieve what you're looking for is to train with relatively light weights and use higher reps. Also, you want to do "bodyweight" only exercises such as pushups, pullups and dips. The reason for that is twofold: 1) Using only your bodyweight helps you develop good muscle tone without bulking up with excess muscle that can slow you down. 2) It also promotes better flexibility and range of motion than with weight training alone. Don't get me wrong, you certainly do want to train with weights, but don't overdo it. When you see bodybuilders, real ones that are in the high-level competitions, those guys are drug-assisted. You CANNOT get that large with supplements and protein intake alone. So, to think you'll look like that if you lift like that is a grave misconception. A lot of people who train with weights really overlook the benefits of stretching. You should stretch your muscles a minimum of 10 minutes before each workout, during each workout, and at least 5 minutes after each workout. This helps you retain your flexibility even when you exclusively weight train. I lift 3 times a week, and I keep the weights light. I do 15-20 reps per exercise, and do 3 sets per bodypart. I also do 3 days of aerobics, and train 3-4 times a week. I'm pretty wasted after a week of that, so I can't overdo it all the time. I am 5'11" and weigh 180. I have about 8% bodyfat, and I am pretty flexible/functionally strong. By that I mean I can lift a lot more than people think I can just by looking at me. I have a buddy that is 6'2" and weighs about 245. He looks big, muscles and all, and he works out "the regular way" 4-5 times a week. He can bench and squat WAY more than me, but when I helped him move a bureau out of his house one day, he could hardly budge it. I was able to scoot it out all on my own. He couldn't believe it, and admitted I had more "functional" strength than he. He put it well and said his strength was more "aesthetic", meaning it was more for looks than anything else. I'd rather have the functionality.

I drink tequila. It does the job quick, doesn't fill ya up, and it makes you feel like you're in Cancun in winter!

Cheapest and best have gotta be eggs, tuna, and milk. If you can wing it, a good whey protein powder can cost about $20 US. That can have about 20 servings in it, and if it's mixed with milk, it can push 25-30g of protein per serving. That's about a dollar a serving. I'm on a budget too. What I do is eliminate one meal (usually dinner) and drink my protein blend (10 oz of nonfat milk, one banana and two scoops of MEtRX whey powder). That gives me about 40g of protein (good quality, too), potassium from the banana, calcium, and some carbs for energy. I have eggs for breakfast (WHITES only! Throw out the yolks-fat and cholesterol) and some toast. I eat pretty much what I want for lunch (steak, chicken,etc). For snacks I have yogurt, peanut butter and nuts. That's a cheap diet. I figure for all my food each week, I spend about $50 US. Here's a list for you: 1) Protein powder (if you can afford it) 2) Cans of tuna 3) peanut butter 4) whole wheat bread 5) milk (nonfat or low) 6) bananas 7) eggs nonfat yogurt 9) trail mix (mixed nuts) That's the bare bones. I also get 10) green veggies 11) multi-vitamins 12) apples or pineapple 13) cereal 14) diet/caffeine free soda That about does it. It's pretty cheap. I also buy frozen chicken breast and frozen meat for special occasions. All things considered, it's eating for muscle on a budget. I'm not real big,I'm athletic, but I train 3x a week, lift weights 3x a week, do aerobics 2x a week and I am never hungry.

In cases of grappling with an attacker who has a knife, I resort to some very proficient styles: GLOCK (an Austrian art), Smith and Wesson, and Black Talon. All of them are effective and the only thing I like to bring to a knife fight!

I don't think you'll get much out of it. I'm sure there are things you can do solo (practice falls, rolls, upa drills, etc) but as far as techniques, actual hands on is the only way to learn and practice. You could get a dummy and practice passively, but it's hard to really apply things to something that offers no resistance or counters you. Especially with jiujitsu...but there's nothing wrong with running techniques through your head and MENTALLY preparing.

c'mon...can't we have a little fun here??? Natural, in your other posts, you indicate: 1) You are 15 and have been taking karate for 7 months. 2) said you have NOT done Muy Thai http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?p=152035&highlight=#152035 3)said you lack in confidence http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?p=150499&highlight=#150499 I'm not trying to bust your chops here, but your statement sounds a little out of line with your previous postings. Try to be yourself. It's a good thing that you're a leader in your school. But a leader also has to have confidence, and also has to be honest with himself and others.

I'd like to have 1) started another style such as BJJ or similar 2) competed utilizing this style successfully 3) achieved a high rank and started instructing same 4) maybe open a dojo....??? It's hard to say. Goals can be set now, but change a lot depending on what happens along the way (injuries, money issues, etc). But it's nice to always have something to shoot for.

I have the same problem in my area. What I did was: 1) Found a guy who trained in BJJ and asked him to show me some techniques. Although this isn't a great way to learn it, it's better than not training at all. We spar about 3x a week. 2) I'm looking for straight Jiujitsu dojos in the area, not necessarily B jj. BJJ is a variation of the main theme, but the basics are essentially the same. I have a couple prospects but I'm just waiting for some extra $$ so I can start hitting one regularly. 3) I considered judo... there's plenty of those around, and it's also a very good style to get into.

The only thing I can suggest is you find an elbow brace and start wearing it. You honestly have to rest the elbow for a few months. And that means don't do ANYTHING other than typical daily work with it. No exercise, dojo,...nothing! Check out this article: http://www.tennis-elbow.net/tenniselbow.htm I think that's what you have. Get some insurance!!!!

You're welcome. Keep us posted. Just remember, I'm not an MD so I can't give you medical diagnoses...I can only give you my opinion based on my experiences. You doc is the man to see!