Suggestions for REstarting to lift

abrubru

Hi! I have power lifted for a large part of my life. About three years ago I stopped lifted entirely due to tendonitis in my right wrist and elbow. I also have Achilles tendonitis. I recently upped my membership at our area rec which has a great weight room, but I am a little afraid to jump right back into lifting after so much time off and the multiple injuries.
Previous to my injuries I was lifting 5X5. I have tried NROLFW, but it was not my cup of tea. Short of just strength building by lifting a percentage of my max for a stacked set, does anyone have any other ideas or advice that could help get me back into my weights? I have been taking it very slowly to allow my tendons to strengthen as I start.
Thanks!

lorrpb

Why not do 5x5 again?

shaunshaikh

I'm in a similar boat. From all the expert advice I've gotten and read, the key will be to work yourself back slowly and to work on form the first 2-3 months. You shouldn't lift to exhaustion for the first 3 months as your muscles re adapt to those movements.

Okiludy

I would follow a beginner program as it is written. I prefer Starting Strength others like SL 5x5. I think more resources and support around Starting Strength but both are good programs. Even with your break you should pick up the lifts fairly quickly and you can run the linear progression as written. This might also help in the injury prevention department also since you won't likely be pushing it too heavy for a bit.

"Starting Strength" is a great book and is far more comprehensive than any other beginner program I have read. I also liked "The Barbell Prescription: Strength Training for Life After 40". It has some good information for programming older people.

Chieflrg

Another vote for Starting Strength. While I support anybody lifting, SL won't give you the results SS will. SL is more volume than a novice lifter needs, more isn't better at that level.

When you factor in tendon problems (recent or past) its even more reason to work with a program that does 3x5 opposed to 5x5.

shaunshaikh wrote: »

You shouldn't lift to exhaustion for the first 3 months as your muscles re adapt to those movements.

There is no reason to lift until exhaustion. Weights should be challenging, but exhaustion breaks form. Breaking form isn't optimal for the muscles you are trying strengthen by doing a particular exercise. Good idea is to leave a couple in tank for most cases.

abrubru

lorrpb wrote: »

Why not do 5x5 again?

I actually was thinking that I WOULD do 5x5 again just because I enjoy the simplicity, but I thought I would ask to see if there were new programs I hadn't seen before.

Chieflrg wrote: »

SL is more volume than a novice lifter needs, more isn't better at that level.

When you factor in tendon problems (recent or past) its even more reason to work with a program that does 3x5 opposed to 5x5.

I do not consider myself a novice lifter. I started power lifting when I was 15, and lifted heavy until 3 years ago when things kind of fell apart in my life. However, I do not necessarily want to look like a power lifter anymore. I bulk up fast and have difficulty taking off the bulk, and I kind of like the smaller proportions my body has since I stopped lifting. I do not care for the strength and muscle loss I've had from not lifting though. I will look at Starting strength to see if it would be a better option thanks to Chief and Okiludy.

DopeItUp

abrubru wrote: »

lorrpb wrote: »

Why not do 5x5 again?

I actually was thinking that I WOULD do 5x5 again just because I enjoy the simplicity, but I thought I would ask to see if there were new programs I hadn't seen before.

Chieflrg wrote: »

SL is more volume than a novice lifter needs, more isn't better at that level.

When you factor in tendon problems (recent or past) its even more reason to work with a program that does 3x5 opposed to 5x5.

I do not consider myself a novice lifter. I started power lifting when I was 15, and lifted heavy until 3 years ago when things kind of fell apart in my life. However, I do not necessarily want to look like a power lifter anymore. I bulk up fast and have difficulty taking off the bulk, and I kind of like the smaller proportions my body has since I stopped lifting. I do not care for the strength and muscle loss I've had from not lifting though. I will look at Starting strength to see if it would be a better option thanks to Chief and Okiludy.

"Novice" refers to where you are at in your lifting career. If you haven't lifted in 3 years you are back to the beginner/novice level and an appropriate program like SS or SL is a good place to start back up.

pondee629

"Previous to my injuries I was lifting 5X5." Start again. If you enjoyed/liked/found the program helpful before, there is no reason not to go back to it. Find a starting weight, probably one too light (to work on form), catch up and progress. Welcome back.

hesn92

I'm also wanting to get back into after a few years. Although I didn't have an Injury, just had a baby (and have been lazy) I am planning on the stronglifts again because it was so simple and effective. Plus it isn't a huge time commitment.

Chieflrg

abrubru wrote: »

I do not consider myself a novice lifter. I started power lifting when I was 15, and lifted heavy until 3 years ago when things kind of fell apart in my life. However, I do not necessarily want to look like a power lifter anymore. I bulk up fast and have difficulty taking off the bulk, and I kind of like the smaller proportions my body has since I stopped lifting. I do not care for the strength and muscle loss I've had from not lifting though. I will look at Starting strength to see if it would be a better option thanks to Chief and Okiludy.

Novice only means how fast you will adapt and recover from training & nothing else. I lifted most of thirty years before I had to stop for health reasons for over a year. Once I was able to train again, I was a novice once more .

You can expect to fully recover by the next training day as well as hit a current PR under SS program for quite a while if you run it as written.

The benefit of SS over SL is that you start with a weight for each barbell lift that is appropriate for your current strength that holds correct form.

As you know SL you start with a empty bar or possibly 50% of a 5rm (which isn't no longer a 5RM once you actually complete the "test" as a novice).

If you can squat 225 lbs with good form, why would you waste months of training to get to 225 lbs? It's not smart or efficient training.

Regardless which way you go, I hope you nab your goal(s) .