Snapping My Sh** Up...

[BPH]

Alright I'm going to post this here and on BB.com, but I might as well post it here first.

I've been doing Starting Strength these last few months. Don't think I'm new to it, because I did it last year for a summer to bulk up for football.

I do the routine 3 times a week and run 2 miles on the days where I don't work out.

I'm noticing a few small pains that are starting to affect my ability to lift; specifically the muscle on my kneecap is tender from when I run and squat, and it's starting to affect the weight of my squat.

The other injury I got while benching, my right shoulder has a twinge and now it hurts just to lift 135lbs.

My question is, should I avoid the gym/running, and if so, how long should I stay out of the gym to heal? I feel that at this point it's starting to affect all my lifts so I know I should rest, but I don't want to stay out of it so long that I get weak. And are there any good cardio alternatives to running that I can do regularly? I have a swimming pool in my back yard.

Looking forward to seeing what you guys have in mind.

 

[user43770]

I did starting strength for over a year when I first started getting back into lifting. I made some very good strength gains, but after a certain point it became too much. Like you, I also dealt with shoulder pain; my knees would ache for no reason; I began to have less energy in the gym. I was over training.

I finally switched to a routine with less volume. I still give it everything I have, but I only hit each lift every 8-12 days or so. My strongest deadlifts have been on 12 days rest.

I'm also a lot older than you. Not sure how much that might factor in.

 

[Krueg]

I'm not all jacked and tan, nor am I the strongest guy here. Neither am I a strength coach or personal trainer... But, here are my thoughts..

You may need to add some stretching, mobility work and warm-ups before you bench. It could also be your form as well.

For Squats and knee pain, that is usually a form/technique issue. Sometimes there will be some discomfort/pain when first squatting but, you just gotta push through it.

 

[user43770]

And 2 miles on your off days?! Dude, that's a recipe for disaster. When are your muscles supposed to get rest on that routine? I would say pick one: heavy lifting or excessive cardio.

 

[BPH]

@Krueg I do warm-up for my bench press. My work set weight was 210 and I warmed up by doing 135, 185, and 200 before I did the work sets. As for form I know most of the do's and don't; I arch my back, I don't bring the bar down to touch my chest, I keep my elbows and shoulder in an L shape and have good control.

Squats I've been doing for a while. It's not pain while squatting because I would sometimes get soreness right above my hips from squatting. This is a pain in one of my knees where it feels loose, snaps once in a while, and I fear it would buckle. I believe this pain is actually from running rather than squatting as I run my through my neighborhood which is full of places where I have to run downhill, probably putting a lot of pressure on my knees. That's why I asked for an alternate source of cardio, as I said the pool is a possibility but swimming would probably irritate my also-injured shoulder and affect my bench after a while.

@TyTe EyEz What does your routine look like and what do you look like? The only reason I do so much cardio is because I only want to bulk up a little bit. I want to get a little stronger and bigger while cutting down the fat. I have a 4-pack and want a 6-pack basically, I just want it to not be a skinny boy 6-pack.

 

[user43770]

5'8, 150 lbs, 12% bodyfat.

My routine revolves around deadlifts/ squats / bench press and chins. I do some accessory excercises as needed. I've always trained for strength. I lost 20 pounds of fat while getting stronger in all of my lifts. I achieved this through the leangains diet. I did absolutely zero cardio while losing this weight.

Cardio is an inefficient way to lose bodyfat. Especially when you intend to build and maintain muscle. Get your diet on point. That's where it's at. I recommend the leangains website to anyone who will listen.

I have before/after pics that I can pm you if you want.

 

[Purefilth]

pm me the leangains website tyte eyes? Could do with a better dietary plan myself tbh

 

[user43770]

leangains.com is his website. There are tons of write-ups on it all over the internet.

 

[TheStig]

I can't speak for your knee pain because I don't know what your squatting form is like, but I can say that something in your form is the issue. Squats should not cause knee pain.

I can, however, say something about your shoulder pain. I separated my shoulder on a max bench about 4 years back, and was experiencing that same shoulder pain you describe in the time leading up to it.

When you're benching, the bar should be coming down to your lower chest, NOT high on your upper chest (collarbone area) like you see a lot of guys doing. I know, that used to be me. Also, your elbows should NOT be pointing out away from your torso (picture if your collarbone extended outside of your body, that line), they should be tight, and comfortably be pointing out at about a 45 degree angle with respect to your torso and shoulders.

So basically, if my hypothesis is correct as far as what's wrong with your form, you should start bringing the bar lower on your chest (nipple area or slightly below), and you should narrow your grip a bit (don't know how much because I can't see your form), and keep your shoulders tight. Once I fixed my form, it was only a matter of 2-3 weeks before my shoulder pain was gone.

Oh and if you're doing military press on a smith machine, that also is a recipe for shoulder joint disaster. I know from personal experience.

Follow this form, it's what I did http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1e4Jp34iPQ

 

[Krueg]

@Krueg I do warm-up for my bench press. My work set weight was 210 and I warmed up by doing 135, 185, and 200 before I did the work sets. As for form I know most of the do's and don't; I arch my back, I don't bring the bar down to touch my chest, I keep my elbows and shoulder in an L shape and have good control.

Sounds right, do you do any sets/reps with anything lighter than 135; such as 95 or an empty bar?

Why don't you touch your chest with the bar and which area of the chest do you lower the bar to?

 

[BPH]

I appreciate all the advice that I'm getting here but it's not really answering my main question.

Should I stay out of the gym for a while and let everything heal/cut out running for cardio (and if so replace with what?)/or continue with my routine and reduce weight and work back up?

I can record my form if you guys want to critique it, but I've watched countless form videos and am very cautious. I have scoliosis and my dad had Osgood-Schlatter's. I'm pretty sure the knee pain is from running downhill in my neighborhood when I do cardio, I don't think it's my squat form, although I AM saying that this pain is affecting it.

The shoulder pain may be from benching too heavy too soon, as Starting Strength encourages. Again I can try to record my form but I don't think that's the problem. I've always exercised good form over heavier weight.

I just want to know if I should rest and recover, if so for how long, and what I should replace my cardio with since it's causing knee pains.

 

[TheStig]

I think a good place to start would be to take a week off, get back at it and see how you feel. As far as cardio...if you have to still be doing it I would suggest it'd be helpful to just cut back to a mile from two.

As far as form, I wasn't saying that it absolutely is the problem, just going off personal experience and the way it sounded with the info provided. It could very well be that your joints just aren't accustomed to heavy weight yet.