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Vent: Getting back into it after long break

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  • Vent: Getting back into it after long break

    I think its been almost a year now since I've posted here (wow time flies), but I've been around and I'm currently bored at work. This post is mostly going to be just me blowing some steam, maybe it should be in the Talk to Talk forum, I don't know.

    Has anyone else just been torn to shreads by an illness/injury/other long gym absence? I just finished up my first week back in the gym after 3 weeks of mono. Literally couldn't swallow solid food for 2.5/3 of those weeks.

    So last week I got back into things....talk about frustrating. Lost somewhere between 12-17 pounds during that time (possibly the only positive note I have is it was an inadvertent cutting session in a way). Flat bench went down in the vicinity of 40-50 pounds, I literally have a weight that I've warmed up with for maybe 2 years, and I took a rep of it down real slow..yeahhhh I couldn't get it up (thats what she said). Even my form was shaky on a lot of exercises. Overrall, what a craptastic month.

    It's very frustrating to spend countless hours over the course of years to achieve something and then see it whisk away so quickly. Now granted, I know it will come back quickly, and supposedly the mythical "muscle memory" should kick in, hopefully sooner than later, so I don't need a pick-me-up speech or anything. But realistically its still a 1-2 month recovery stage until you're back at full strength again, and thats a very difficult thing to deal with, at least for me. After every set I notice myself shaking my head in almost disgust.

    And I know what somebody is thinking too, "Oh, mono...was it worth it?" And the sad part is, I have no idea how I came in contact with it, but sadly I'm not 100% sure, but I don't think its from making out, I have it in my head that I got it from sharing a drink or something not nearly as "worth it".

    I'm sure others have dealt with a long term absence? (injuries are always horrible to get back into things I know) What did you have (sharing is caring)Were you just as frustrated? How long did it take you to get it back? etc etc.


    End Rant

  • #2
    I was frustrated. Start out slow, i used to go just 'for the pump'. Don't focus on lifting heavy weight right off the bat or you'll end up injured.

    Muscle memory is real too... you'll bounce back quick order a brand new CL stack and start fresh with a new approach.

    Just approach it with a positive mind set bro!

    Comment


    • #3
      Thanks for the encouragement, but yeah, don't get me wrong I'm ecstatic that I'm just back in the gym, and the losses...yeah of course I'll keep working and the strength will come back. I'm just pissed at the fact that I have to deal with it

      It was killing me to sit at home knowing that I had no place to be in a gym. But yeah, for both me or anyone who decides to take a peak, you always want to take it slow, pyramid your way up to find your limits and such (even if those limits are a good 25+ pounds lower than your original estimates). Injury is not something anybody wants to deal with.

      I like the little sales pitch you threw in there though. haha kudos to you, I actually dropped $450 on supps before getting sick, figure those will have to wait. But don't you worry, there was some CL mingled in there.
      PW to be specific....that one might into play earlier than the others.
      Last edited by Maestro973; 07-28-2008, 11:48 AM.

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      • #4
        muscle memory > mental memory

        I havent ridden a bike for the longest time, but iassure you if i hop on one ill be fine. .. i cant remember details worth shit from the last time i did ride a bike


        I didnt lift at all last summer.. barely did anything besides drink beer, smoke pot, and work at a crappy job with my newly earned bachelors in psychology. i got pretty out of shape.. than in the fall i wound up getting a TA at temple, teaching weight training for beginners. i felt horrible cause the first semester i was piss poor out of shape. i lifted for 3 days before my first class. i was showing them the basics -- bench, squat, etc-- and hadnt done any of them for over 5 months really!!

        but, ive been lifting week in week out since than, and shouldnt ever stop again.

        as for mono -- its torture. i lost alot of weight when i had it a couple years ago. didnt sleep, barely moved, but i did drink alot of protein shakes (couldnt get whole food down). i was lucky enough to have a sample tub of some companies meal replacement too, so that was pure gold at the time.

        had a severe high sprain in my ankle too.. on crutches for awhile. ER docs said i wouldnt walk for a month or more without crutches! i said fuck that, and was doing full ROM squats in under 3 weeks. i belive my intense calf raise training allowed me greater thanh normal recovery...and, as soon as it sprained (i was mid jog) -- i limped back home (up a hill even!) and drank my postworkout Xtend on the car ride to the hospital. haha .. DEDICATION


        life is full of "bumps and twists" along the ride, its all in your mind how you get over/around them. you can give up, its the easiest way out, or push through and bust your ass to get where you want to go.

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        • #5
          I had to stop lifting for 3 months because of a shoulder injury and I am not fully recovered yet. So I started back at 10 lbs and up my weight at every session. After a month, I still don't have the same strenght I had before the injury, but with some exercices I am already where I was before. My flexed biceps were 11" one month ago, now I am back to 12", the same size I had before my injury (yeah, really small I know), but I weight 20 lbs less than I was.

          Good luck :-)

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          • #6
            Did you by any chance do physical therapy?

            Shoulder injuries are one of my biggest fears, I've got a good friend that lifted with me for about 3 years who had shoulder surgery when he was younger, and you could tell it still affected him years later. He still made great gains and became wayyyyy stronger than he ever was before, but there were certain movements where you could just see his left shoulder giving out while the right was still pushing. Also we'd do skull-crushers and the dang thing would pop every time he did a rep...freaks me out.

            Best of luck to you, keep on chugging (why is this smiley so STRONG? Just count how many reps he does each set)

            Comment


            • #7
              Yes, I've been doing 4 months of physical therapy. No surgery for me, the doctor said that it was my first time and my joints are really flexible, so the surgery could be useless.

              I am still not fully recovered yet, it's really long. :-S

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