Strength program recommendation for a kinda'-not-so-newb

jayliospecky

Hello! This is a question for my husband. He's one of these guys who has a naturally low body-fat, and he has pretty good upper body strength from the manual labour he does as part of his job. His legs, well...let's just say he prefers not to wear shorts.

Back in the day (somewhere between ages 18-30) he worked out regularly but *sigh* he totally never did anything for his legs, and he did mostly isolation work, plus bench press, that kind of thing. I've been doing stronglifts and he is constantly amazed at how different it is from the kind of workouts he used to do. (Oh, and he's 43 now.)

So he keeps TALKING about working out again, but he hasn't really been sticking with it. And one of his favorite exercises is lat pull-downs (the behind the head version) which worries me due to his shoulder issues. He has poor shoulder range-of-motion to begin with and even dislocated his one shoulder so frequently he had to have surgery on it. So we argue about lat pull-downs and he says that's partly why he hasn't gotten back to working out. *eyeroll* So his *coff* lame excuse aside, I was suggesting inverted rows, chin-ups or pull-ups, and pull-downs where he keeps everything in front of his chest. (And yeah, he's one of those guys who can probably do pull-ups even though he hasn't been training much at all. He kinda' makes me sick that way.)

I am concerned about him having a balanced program, however. I think he's sort of a weird cross because he would be likely a beginner when it comes to his lower body, but he's not really a beginner when it comes to his upper body. And like I said, fat loss is not an issue with him at all, if anything he would love to gain weight.

The other issue when it comes to the big compound lifts is his knee. He broke his leg when he was 12 or 13, and the doctors/nurses screwed up majorly (this was when they still put people in traction.) They didn't add enough weight when the doctor was on vacation and then when the doctor got back they frantically added TOO much weight all at once and it sorta' pulled his kneecap lower. I think his one leg is still a little shorter than the other. And when he does something like a squat his knee clicks, which scares him. This all means he is scared of squats, deadlifts, anything that involves weight and bending his knees.

So. I have no idea what kind of routine he should really be doing. Any suggestions or places I could go to (or make him go to himself) for more information?

bostonwolf

I'll summarize what the most common answers are going to be

Stronglifts 5x5 (it's a free website)
Book: New Rules of Weightlifting.

Both of these focus on compound exercises as the core and emphasize whole body workouts.

My personal program is linked below, and is what the guy who created Stronglifts used as his template.

http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/forget-steroids-5-fullbody-workouts-for-serious-gains.html#2

And I agree with you that he should not be doing ANY shoulder lifts behind his head. That is a recipe for rotator cuff strain. Each time I've tried them at the urging of friends I've hurt myself. Never again.

If he wants to gain weight, he's got to start doing serious leg work. Any of the programs above will emphasize it (as you well know with Stronglifts)

For his leg, might be worth talking to a chiropractor.

jayliospecky

Hmm, that's an interesting thought about talking to a chiropractor. I hadn't thought of that. I had thought of a sports physiotherapist but I was skeptical of finding someone with any weight-lifting knowledge. My chiropractor is good, I think I will suggest he try asking him for advice.

I would love for him to try stronglifts or starting strength (I don't know as much personally about NROL.) He'll have to get over his deathly fear of bending his knees, though.

I just asked him if his knee bothers him when he does a lunge and he showed me the most hilarious lunge I have ever seen in my life. AHAHA it was so pathetic. Oh, I haven't had that good of a laugh in a long time.

Sarauk2sf

Tagging

morkiemama

Hmm, that's an interesting thought about talking to a chiropractor. I hadn't thought of that. I had thought of a sports physiotherapist but I was skeptical of finding someone with any weight-lifting knowledge. My chiropractor is good, I think I will suggest he try asking him for advice.

I would love for him to try stronglifts or starting strength (I don't know as much personally about NROL.) He'll have to get over his deathly fear of bending his knees, though.

I just asked him if his knee bothers him when he does a lunge and he showed me the most hilarious lunge I have ever seen in my life. AHAHA it was so pathetic. Oh, I haven't had that good of a laugh in a long time.

I don't have anything of substance to add regarding a routine, but I did want to mention that you will have to find a Chiropractor that doesn't condemn weight lifting. It has so many benefits, but my chiro was DEAD SET against it when I mentioned I had started. I saw him for a completely unrelated injury (fell on ice walking out of a parking garage) and wanted to know when I would have clearance to lift again. He freaked.

Also, I’m not sure how much Chiros know about knee injuries or leg breaks. You might be better off talking to an Orthopedist or possibly a Physical Therapist. : )

craigmandu

I think he should get his knee checked out by someone that specializes. Just to make sure he wouldn't be in any danger of causing more problems.

I talked extensively with my back surgeon before I started my stronglifts 5x5 program. Which I just started.

It's a different game when you have an injury...you can hurt yourself, you can make mistakes that put you down "literally" for weeks. So if I was him, I would get it seriously looked at first.

bostonwolf

Hmm, that's an interesting thought about talking to a chiropractor. I hadn't thought of that. I had thought of a sports physiotherapist but I was skeptical of finding someone with any weight-lifting knowledge. My chiropractor is good, I think I will suggest he try asking him for advice.

I would love for him to try stronglifts or starting strength (I don't know as much personally about NROL.) He'll have to get over his deathly fear of bending his knees, though.

I just asked him if his knee bothers him when he does a lunge and he showed me the most hilarious lunge I have ever seen in my life. AHAHA it was so pathetic. Oh, I haven't had that good of a laugh in a long time.

OK I laughed out loud at the "deathly fear of bending his knees" comment. He is far from the only one. Start digging up pictures online of guys who have gigantic upper bodies supported by little toothpick legs. Inform him that this is what he looks like. Maybe it will help

bostonwolf

Hmm, that's an interesting thought about talking to a chiropractor. I hadn't thought of that. I had thought of a sports physiotherapist but I was skeptical of finding someone with any weight-lifting knowledge. My chiropractor is good, I think I will suggest he try asking him for advice.

I would love for him to try stronglifts or starting strength (I don't know as much personally about NROL.) He'll have to get over his deathly fear of bending his knees, though.

I just asked him if his knee bothers him when he does a lunge and he showed me the most hilarious lunge I have ever seen in my life. AHAHA it was so pathetic. Oh, I haven't had that good of a laugh in a long time.

I don't have anything of substance to add regarding a routine, but I did want to mention that you will have to find a Chiropractor that doesn't condemn weight lifting. It has so many benefits, but my chiro was DEAD SET against it when I mentioned I had started. I saw him for a completely unrelated injury (fell on ice walking out of a parking garage) and wanted to know when I would have clearance to lift again. He freaked.

Also, I’m not sure how much Chiros know about knee injuries or leg breaks. You might be better off talking to an Orthopedist or possibly a Physical Therapist. : )

I'd find another chiro. Both of my friends who are chiropractors are active weightlifters. They also can't stand their colleagues who claim they can relieve allergies, etc.

jamk1446

Hmm, that's an interesting thought about talking to a chiropractor. I hadn't thought of that. I had thought of a sports physiotherapist but I was skeptical of finding someone with any weight-lifting knowledge. My chiropractor is good, I think I will suggest he try asking him for advice.

I would love for him to try stronglifts or starting strength (I don't know as much personally about NROL.) He'll have to get over his deathly fear of bending his knees, though.

I just asked him if his knee bothers him when he does a lunge and he showed me the most hilarious lunge I have ever seen in my life. AHAHA it was so pathetic. Oh, I haven't had that good of a laugh in a long time.

I don't have anything of substance to add regarding a routine, but I did want to mention that you will have to find a Chiropractor that doesn't condemn weight lifting. It has so many benefits, but my chiro was DEAD SET against it when I mentioned I had started. I saw him for a completely unrelated injury (fell on ice walking out of a parking garage) and wanted to know when I would have clearance to lift again. He freaked.

Also, I’m not sure how much Chiros know about knee injuries or leg breaks. You might be better off talking to an Orthopedist or possibly a Physical Therapist. : )

I'd find another chiro. Both of my friends who are chiropractors are active weightlifters. They also can't stand their colleagues who claim they can relieve allergies, etc.

My chiro office works with some of the area major league baseball players and they advertise working with athletes. They've been very helpful to me recommending form adjustments, stretches, etc and were delighted to learn I squat and deadlift. I wouldn't give up on chiros, just check out websites and call offices and ask if they have experience working with athletes.

jayliospecky

Oh, hi. I think it might be 48 hours now, so bump.

Also thank you for those of you who gave some input. I'm thinking we will start by having him go to my chiropractor, and then take it from there. I don't know what our local physios are like in terms of their weight-lifting/athletics knowledge.

Another friend suggested Maximum Strength (Eric Cressey.) I've been reading up on it (and so has my husband) and it seems to be tweaking his interest. He's thinking about getting the book and giving that one a try.

Sarauk2sf

oop - thanks

jayliospecky

So, just an update for those of you who were interested.

My husband saw my chiropractor this morning. He is really happy with everything he learned, and the fact that the chiro works out himself, and also deals with a lot of hockey players, etc. He was happy to hear a lot of information and explanations that even doctors and physiotherapists have been stumped on in the past.

His recommendations were that at this point he's not ready to squat, and that he needs to do some bodyweight work to strengthen his glutes and improve mobility, that kind of thing, before he's at the point where he should squat. He gave him some simple exercises to do (all bodyweight, stretching, mobility stuff) and wants him to come back in 4-6 weeks and he says he will give him a program. His knee is so screwed up his muscles will actually have to be stronger on one side than the other to prevent injury. Weird.

He still wants to buy the Maximum Strength book and read up on it, as he is hoping that he will get to that point eventually. Also from what I have read it sounds like some of the mobility stuff in the book would possibly be helpful sooner than later.

Sarauk2sf

Result with the chiro - they can be hit and miss.

jayliospecky

Result with the chiro - they can be hit and miss.

Agreed. Our chiro is a winner. This is the first time husband has seen him (my issues tend to be simple, not from weird injuries like his.) Now that he's talked to him he's REALLY impressed with his knowledge and also the athletics experience. Hopefully it all goes well.