[quote]rehanb_bl wrote:
you’re in good hands with LH but I can tell you after my recent surgery, don’t plan on making any gains anytime soon… standing exercises involving weights… don’t count on it[/quote]
Thank you for the kind words. And you are correct in that Ziggajay shouldn’t rush into any standing based exercises.
To Ziggajay,
Let me start by saying in terms of cycling PEDs, I have absolutely no background in it, so just be careful and if needed/able to, seek medical guidance regarding its usage. I have no idea about how it will effect your recovery.
In regards to training guidance, here is my outlook and advice on things:
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Your ACL/LCL injury was non-contact, which to me makes me assume that you have some structural imbalances, whether they be mobility based or strength balance based. You should look into this, determine where your imbalances lay, and develop your program based towards fixing those imbalances/pathologies present. Obviously, you need to address your surgical needs first for your injured knee, but you can start to work on the healthy leg and other body parts.
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You have followed a body part split for quite some time now (3 years), so it may be time to change up your routine to see how you respond. I personally am not a fan of body part splits, but I am much more performance minded in my training approach. Not to say that you can’t improve performance from body part splits, but I do not feel it is optimal.
Also, from my experience with athletes/people I’ve worked with and other people I have talked with, body part splits tend to lead to more imbalance based problems due to most people not balancing the exercises properly in their workouts and stressing certain exercises more than others. Also, body part splits generally are too much volume for people who are looking for performance based benefits when you begin to include their sport training as well.
I am in no way telling you to switch your training methodology nor am I saying what you have done is wrong, but just giving my opinion. With your goals of PL/BB mix, what you have done may have been great, but with your injury you may want to rethink your programing, at least through your rehab phase.
- In terms of standing exercises, you first need to be able to weight bear on the surgical leg, unless you plan on doing the exercises single legged. For when you will be able to weight bear - as long as there is no meniscal repair, microfracture, or other similar procedures done, generally ACL/ligamentous repaired limbs are allowed to begin weight bearing once tolerated by the client within the first week, usually starting with partial weight bearing then progressing to full weight bearing.
Let me also point out that once you are able to weight bear, you will be in a straight leg immobilizer for a bit and depending on how the surgery goes and what is done, you may be restricted to specific ROM limitations and have the brace locked within that specific range.
This will factor into exercises where you may need to have your knees bent to a certain degree but may not be capable/allowed to bend you knee to that range. Even once allowed to weight bear, the doctor will ideally not want any external load placed on that knee, meaning you shouldn’t do heavy loaded standing exercises.
From the list of exercises you put up in your first post, here are some that you will not be able to do for quite a while IMO: Heavy Shrugs, Standing BB Rows, Standing Upright Rows, Good Mornings (Def not for a LONG time), Calf Raises with substantial weight on leg press.
- You are getting an allograft repair, which means you will be getting tissue from a cadaver to replace your damaged tissue. The recovery rate can vary depending on how your body reacts to the outside tissue and how quickly it “accepts” it. There is also a chance of the body rejecting the tissue and the graft failing. This is a small chance, but generally I have seen recovery times last a bit longer in those who chose the allograft option over the autograft. I’m just explaining this to you because depending on how your body reacts to the graft, it may take longer before you are able to push the limits and loads of your lifting.
I commend you for trying to plan out some training in advance to your surgery. I think too many people stop all training together for too extended of a timeframe. For the first 2 weeks after surgery, I think you will be best off concentrating on recovery of your knee without thinking of any extensive extra outside training. Afterwards, up until the 3-4 month mark, you probably won’t be allowed to do any type of jogging or jumping based drills. But you should progress as your body allows with your other lifts.
Modify and adapt your program as you need to. Cable stack machines are a great tool if you have access. You can perform varieties to drills standing or rowing or seated, including rowing and pressing movements. Just be intelligent about the stresses you put on your knee during the healing process and place the majority of your focus on rehab for your knee, but realize that you do have 3 healthy limbs that you can train.
It is hard to say when you can begin standing exercises, but I would lean more towards the cautious size as you do not want to risk damage to the repair and re-injury. There are tons of variations to standing exercises, including just making them seated, that you can perform.
To summarize it all, focus on your recovery from surgery at the start. After recovery from the surgery, begin training your healthy limbs without over-stressing the surgical knee, but the bulk of your focus should still be on your rehab for your surgical knee. Use variations of exercises to limit the stresses on the knee. If you continue to perform body part splits, I’d recommend splitting your legs day to do single leg variations for the healthy leg and rehab exercises for the surgical knee.