Part 2. Amy Evilsizer, Certified Athletic Trainer, continues with a demonstration of how to treat leg muscle injuries at home using RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation). Her assistant is Katelyn Stachurski.
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Stretching has long been touted as the most effective muscle injury prevention mechanism available, and thus is used by bodybuilders around the world prior to weight lifting workout sessions to reduce the risk of muscle strains and tears. Much time is spent performing various types of stretches depending upon which muscle group is focused upon, and there is no doubt that increasing flexibility can allow for superior range of motion during weight training exercises, and also can reduce the incidence of various muscle injuries. Yet, despite the benefits of stretching, for the bodybuilder who is hoisting heavy poundage during weight training sessions, there is a far more effective injury prevention technique that can be performed in addition to, or even in lieu of stretching, and is neglected by far too many bodybuilders. Warm up sets are, by far, the most potent weight lifting workout injury prevention method, as they prepare a muscle for pending stress, and when implemented properly within a weight lifting workout plan, they can prevent the pain and discomfort that often surfaces in joints and muscles. We all know that fully depressing the gas pedal on an automobile shortly after starting the engine can cause great damage, as the oil has yet to circulate properly through the various chambers of the engine, and operating a vehicle at full power when engine temperature has yet to rise will increase the chances for wear, tear and potential engine failure, and although we all apply this to our car by way of an engine warm up period, many bodybuilders neglect to use the same logic on their own body, which responds similar to an automobile in such circumstances, except instead of waiting for oil to circulate through the engine compartments and allowing engine temperature to rise, we are attempting to increase blood flow into the muscle vessels so that they are prepared to handle heavy weights during an intense bodybuilding session. By doing so, the muscles, like an automobile engine, are in essence lubricated, preparing them for intense stress that follows, but when warm up sets are neglected, the muscles are performing at maximum capacity from a cold state, and can easily experience injuries ranging in severity from minor muscle strains to major tears. Many bodybuilders may fear that performing warm ups will adversely impact the actual weight used during a workout set, but this is not only a false notion, but surprisingly to many, the opposite is true, meaning that by performing warms ups properly, the muscle are actually able to lift greater amounts of weight during a workout set than if they were attempting to perform the weight training exercise absent any warm up efforts, which makes this concept much more plausible to those who wish to maximize muscle building results. But even if warm ups were not to offer this significant benefit, the injury prevention capability itself is extremely important to any bodybuilder who has a long term vision, as other than improper weight lifting and bodybuilding diet techniques creating disappointing progress, the next likely reason why most bodybuilders never achieve desired muscle building results is due to a string of injuries derailing consistency, and one reason why this occurs is that far too many bodybuilders neglect proper warm up sets for each weight lifting exercise. A friend of mine decided to experiment with some weight training exercises in my basement, and he expressed interest in testing his strength on the squat, so I urged him to warm up prior to doing so, but he ignored my advice, and within several reps, he suffered an agonizing lower back injury. As he and so many have proven, warm ups are one of the most important and often neglected keys to maximum muscle building, but make sure not to select warm up weights that are excessive, otherwise you will adversely impact your actual weight lifting workout sets, but you must also avoid selecting weights that are too light, as this will not properly prepare a muscle for pending workout stress. The correct balance has you using a weight that does not cause any fatigue whatsoever, but which properly stimulates blood flow to the muscle groups being trained, and you must make sure to always engage in warm ups for each weight training exercise, as there is no total body warm up method that substitutes for performing each specific weight lifting movement with lighter weights. Warm ups should not extend your workout session length by a significant margin since such sets do not require that you rest for longer than is necessary to change weight on the bar.
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Many bodybuilders believe that using very heavy weights for their weight training workouts will produce quicker results when compared with a lighter weight workout focus, and this idea is correct. Heavy weight and lower rep weight lifting sessions do produce bigger muscles, so it’s no shock that most who achieve muscle building success perform at least a portion of their weight lifting workout sessions using a lower rep range. Yet, the problem for a large number of bodybuilders is that their desire for low rep weight training exercise sessions often causes them to sacrifice proper weight lifting form, which can lead to severe injury. If a legitimate study were conducted on the subject, I would not be surprised to learn that the majority of those who experience weight lifting injuries are using incorrect form during their workouts, which causes muscles to function in awkward ways, resulting in muscle strains, tears, and tendon issues. In fact, muscle mass increase is maximized only if constant weight training can be maintained for an extended period of time, and many individuals find themselves taking unplanned vacations from their weight lifting workout sessions due to severe injuries stemming specifically from improper weight lifting form. The desire is strong to loosen up form in order to increase weight used for a particular exercise session, especially when using heavy weight and low reps during a weight lifting workout session, and when a weight lifter does not immediately fix such behavior, he or she will gradually alter weight lifting form to the point where the exercise is no longer safe, and injury is likely to result. What all bodybuilders must remember as they pursue maximum muscle building is that the term “heavy” is relative, and proper weight training form is far more important than the amount of weight used. Therefore, when you are contemplating adding weight to a bodybuilding exercise, make sure that you are doing so with proper weight training form in mind, adding weight in small increments to avoid using incorrect, awkward weight lifting performance. If you find yourself gradually modifying exercise form to allow for greater weight in a given exercise, then you should lessen the amount of weight used by at least 10-20 pounds, focusing on the mind/muscle connection during each set, only adding weight (in small increments) when you are once again confident that form is perfect. It’s unfortunately very easy to become misled into believing that because you have not increased weight for 2-3 exercise sessions that your muscle gain efforts will suffer, when it’s actually very common to stay with an identical weight for several workouts while still increasing muscle size. But by using incorrect form to try and increase the amount of weight used in a given weight training exercise, you will actually risk slowing muscle gains given both the injury potential, and the risk of removing emphasis away from the intended muscle group. Remember that the success of your weight lifting pursuits will be based on how consistent you are capable of training, and using improper form will lead to injuries, forcing missed weight training workouts, and will ultimately impact your overall weight training progress in a negative way.
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Bodybuilders seeking maximum muscle building frequently focus upon range of motion when aiming to intensify a workout, with some reducing the distance between reps in order to use more weight, while other bodybuilders focus upon the widest range of motion in order to recruit the greatest number of muscle fibers for each weight lifting workout set. Obviously, the disparity between these two philosophies leaves most bodybuilders wondering which technique is more effective, and many, due to articles espousing the virtues of full range bodybuilding form, gravitate towards a full range of motion, believing that they will produce superior muscle gain. This concept is perfectly acceptable when using lighter weights and higher reps for muscle stimulation, as the joint and tendon stress is minimal, and therefore bringing a muscle through a longer distance each rep will not result in adverse consequences. Yet, for bodybuilders who are aiming for maximum muscle gain, and decide to cycle low reps and heavy weight with higher rep workout sessions, full range of motion for certain exercises can actually increase the risk for injury and discomfort, especially in relation to joints, which experience greater strain when they are placed under heavy stress in a full range of motion environment. During low rep, high weight lifting sessions, range of motion is best reduced, but not to the point where many bodybuilders gravitate towards, as for example, a 50% decline in range of motion will bring about far less muscle gain, and actually cause instability in muscles which can result in future serious injuries, including muscle tears. The best method at reducing the risk of joint discomfort when performing heavier, lower rep weight lifting workout sessions is to trim range of motion slightly at the point of complete muscle contraction, which means, for example, avoiding full lock out of the knees during squat, and the elbows during the triceps pushdown, as to reduce the impact on joints when using extremely heavy weights. This leads to a slight decline in standard range of motion of about 10%, while still offering complete muscle stimulation. Many bodybuilders are under the impression that altering squat range of motion at the bottom of each rep will reduce the impact of knee injuries, but this is a misconception, as full form squat, where you lower the weight as far as possible, is more effective at building lower body muscle mass, and brings about stability in the legs that will not occur when significantly reducing range of motion. The reason many experience knee pain during squatting is not because of excessive range of motion, but rather poor form which places unnecessary stress upon the knee joint, as the squat and deadlift are two weight training exercises where form is especially difficult and crucial to the safety of each rep, and far too many bodybuilders aim to reduce rep range during squats as opposed to solving the true cause of knee discomfort, which is incorrect form. The same concept applies to elbow pain during bench pressing, as muscles have been designed to work together in systematic fashion, and when a link in the chain begins to function in a way that was not intended, other muscles attempt to compensate in an unnatural way, and before long, joints are inflamed, and muscles begin to experience frequent injury. Therefore, in addition to avoiding complete lockout on weight lifting exercises such as bench press and squat, if you are suffering from joint discomfort, you should make an effort to analyze weight lifting workout form on all exercises to determine whether your body is performing each rep correctly, making any adjustments as necessary. Those bodybuilders who attempt to rectify joint discomfort by greatly reducing weight lifting exercise range of motion are simply mortgaging their long term well being, as muscles that are not conditioned to perform in their natural strength curve will eventually create instability in the tendon and joint regions, which will increase the risk for serious future muscle injuries and prolonged discomfort. Although reducing exercise range of motion increases the amount of weight used in each lifting movement dramatically, such artificial improvements do not lead to extra muscle gains, but rather reduce the necessary stimulation for long term muscle growth.
When the muscle tissues are injured, you body reverts to an emergency state of recovery. It attempts to heal all the injured cells and repairing them as much as is possible. For those cells that are beyond repair, they are replaced with new healthy cells. As such, the body needs a lot of growth factor nutrients to help repair and replace the injured muscle tissues. It is very important that you give the body the necessary time to concentrate on healing the muscles and replacing those damaged beyond repair. If you persist in training or go back to the gym too fast before full recovery is achieved, you will only aggravate the injuries and force even the reparable tissues to a completely irreparable condition. The first step to nurse muscle injury is therefore to give the body complete rest. It is also important to remember to sleep as much as you can. Depending on the seriousness of the injury, you should sleep for a minimum ten hours a day while nursing muscle injuries. Muscle recovery and growth only occurs during sleeping hours and providing as many sleeping hours for the body aids in effective and fast recovery from muscle injuries. Then sleep is not just lying on bed but quality sleep where the nervous system is completely lost to unconsciousness. The next step is to provide adequate nutrition for the recovering body. The diet must be balanced with all essential nutrients. But besides the balance, the diet must contain as much of growth factor nutrients as possible. These growth factor nutrients are amino acids. Pump up your protein supply to include the most bio-available amino acids to the body as it is possible. The nine most essential amino acids are more important (the BCAA’s) because they can be easily ingested into the body and absorbed into the blood fast enough to provide an emergency supply of growth raw materials. This fast speed of absorption and use by muscle cells is what we are calling bioavailability. Eat the most bio-available amino acids you can get, especially BCAA’s which need no conversion and therefore very fast in the rate of absorption. While nursing injuries in your muscles, 2. 6 – 2. 8 grams of protein in your diet per pound of body weight is adequate and not too high as some quarters may think. We are talking about a body state in which muscles tissues have to be repaired, replaced with new ones and further growth achieved. What else can build the body besides proteins? So why not pump them up the max?The proteins should be increased simultaneously with water intake. Water helps amplify transmission of nutrients into the muscles and to remove metabolic wastes to the various excretory sites in the body. This is very essential for recovering muscles. So take at least ten glasses of plain water, add on this a lot of fluids, milk, fruit drinks. Fresh fruits and green vegetables are also necessary so as to amplify the immune system which is in charge of muscle recovery and healing. Boosting the immune system also helps avoid complications in the sites of injury like swelling, inflation and infection. Calcium, iron and magnesium should also be supplemented in the diet to enable speedy tissue rebuilding.
Amy Evilsizer, Certified Athletic Trainer, discusses how to treat leg muscle injuries at home using RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation). Her assistant is Katelyn Stachurski.
