Heavy Lifting and joint health
tomcornhole
Posts: 1,084 Member
Just started SS this week. I have been lifting on a machine and dumbbells for 9 months. Worked fine for me at the time and increased my strength significantly, but I wanted to move to barbell compound lifts, thus my starting SS.
One thing I have noticed is my joints are popping a bit since starting SS and my hips and left shoulder are sore. Nothing terrible, but enough to ask this question. When I was lifting dumbbells, I had an issue with my right shoulder. I was able to work through that by keeping the weight low for a long while (2 months) and eventually the pain went away and I could advance my strength.
I am thinking this might be a good approach for SS. I am adding weight fairly quickly as I get form correct and my confidence builds. I do not want to keep upping the weight and end up with a joint problem. I am more than happy to keep the weight below my max working weight and let the joints catch up to my muscles and then go back to adding more weight.
What are your thoughts on this? So far, I am not injured, just creaky.
Tom
One thing I have noticed is my joints are popping a bit since starting SS and my hips and left shoulder are sore. Nothing terrible, but enough to ask this question. When I was lifting dumbbells, I had an issue with my right shoulder. I was able to work through that by keeping the weight low for a long while (2 months) and eventually the pain went away and I could advance my strength.
I am thinking this might be a good approach for SS. I am adding weight fairly quickly as I get form correct and my confidence builds. I do not want to keep upping the weight and end up with a joint problem. I am more than happy to keep the weight below my max working weight and let the joints catch up to my muscles and then go back to adding more weight.
What are your thoughts on this? So far, I am not injured, just creaky.
Tom
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Replies
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Try stretching. Look up californiacrossfit on YouTube. They have a lot of mobility work on there that should help.0
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Last year I had horrible pain in my Kees from lifting. My trainer made me do legs raises on the machine once and the pain lasted months. I started by icing then did extra long sessions of stretching the pain went away in just a week. Trying this would cost nothing and might make a world of difference0
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I do 20 minutes on the treadmill followed by some stretching prior to starting lifts. I will increase my stretching and go from there. I do not have any joint serious pain right now, just a bit of soreness that I want to treat correctly. I want to ensure I do things right from the start so I don't have to stop to let my joints heal.
Did some reading online and it seems adding Omega-3 and gelatin supplements might be a good thing. Any thoughts on that?0 -
Also, a lot of people recommend omega3 fish oil for joint and overall body health.
Another website I visit religiously is www.mobilitywod.com0 -
Warm-ups, and perhaps a supplement such as fish oil.0
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The effects of fish oil have been (and still are) debated, but there doesn't seem to be any harm in trying them. I take them, just to be on the safe side.
As has been mentioned, proper stretching post-workout is imperative, as is a brief warm-up. I only walk about 3 mph on the treadmill for 5 minutes. Ever since I incorporated that, nearly all my joint soreness has gone away. And what I do have isn't really pain - just a mild annoyance that goes away a little after my workout.
As far as your shoulder goes, that could be any number of things. It could be the way you do bench press, it could be just needing to get used to the bar sitting on them during squats, it could be something else entirely. Whatever it is, be careful with it and stop if it gets to be too much.
The above are some things that worked for me - your mileage may vary.0 -
1. Do Not Stretch prior to working out. Do mobility exercises, some mobility can fit with warming up.
2. Warm-up the muscles you are going to use prior to lifting heavy.
3. Form. Form. Form.
ETA: Stretching post workout and foam rolling are great.0 -
Awesome info. I don't have any real pain the next day. But TR0berts hit the nail on the head with my shoulders. Getting under the bar for squats is not something they are used to so they have hurt during squats. I always do 10 reps with just the bar on all my lifts prior to adding weight. Then I work up to my working weight in 3 more sets of 5, following the SS progression. Finish 3x5 for the working sets across.
Based on all your input, I am doing the right things. I have had a big jug of Omega-3 fish oil capsules in the pantry for a while, just never found a reason to take them. Since it seems to be good for other things, I will incorporate it into my normal day.0 -
^^^THIS and only this.1. Do Not Stretch prior to working out. Do mobility exercises, some mobility can fit with warming up.
2. Warm-up the muscles you are going to use prior to lifting heavy.
3. Form. Form. Form.
ETA: Stretching post workout and foam rolling are great.
I suffer from an autoimmune disease that attacks all the joints in my hands, wrists, knees, ankles, and hips so I have to pay special attention to my joints as they are always in pain Do 1,2, and 3 for lifting and 1,2, and 3 for running along with the post workout suggestion and you can't go wrong.0 -
I use to have a popping noise as well on one knee when in was doing heavy lifting. I went and got a deep tissue massage from a sports medicine dr and after two sessions, it went away. I don't know if this is related to what you expierence but it worked great for me.0
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Just started SS this week. I have been lifting on a machine and dumbbells for 9 months. Worked fine for me at the time and increased my strength significantly, but I wanted to move to barbell compound lifts, thus my starting SS.
One thing I have noticed is my joints are popping a bit since starting SS and my hips and left shoulder are sore. Nothing terrible, but enough to ask this question. When I was lifting dumbbells, I had an issue with my right shoulder. I was able to work through that by keeping the weight low for a long while (2 months) and eventually the pain went away and I could advance my strength.
I am thinking this might be a good approach for SS. I am adding weight fairly quickly as I get form correct and my confidence builds. I do not want to keep upping the weight and end up with a joint problem. I am more than happy to keep the weight below my max working weight and let the joints catch up to my muscles and then go back to adding more weight.
What are your thoughts on this? So far, I am not injured, just creaky.
Tom
I think you're being very smart. Your body is the ultimate authority on what it can do, not any off-the-shelf training program. Pain is a signal you've reached some limitation, & it's best to listen to it. The feeling of ease and lack of challenge is a sign you can progress safely.
I've read many articles (can't remember which, tons, there was a review by Lyle McDonald somewhere) suggesting strength gains can totally be made lifting at 60-70% capacity. There is NO NEED to push it.
And even if you're lifting at 40 or 50% for a while - like the poster below said, ligaments and all that need to adjust, have to respect that process. It's way better to be able to lift safely into your 60s than to reach some arbitrary max weight for ten minutes in your 30s or 40s and handicap yourself for life.0 -
We defnitely need to get our ligaments and joints conditioned to avoid injury when lifting. New Rules of Lifting for Women Stage 1 is a great way to do that - start with higher reps (so less weight, but NOT LIGHT WEIGHT) that helps to condition joints, tendons, etc.
Warming up is essential as well, as many people already mentioned.0 -
Bookmarking, because I have this problem every time I start lifting heavy, in spite of thorough warm ups, fish oil, and stretching afterward..0
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1. Do Not Stretch prior to working out. Do mobility exercises, some mobility can fit with warming up.
2. Warm-up the muscles you are going to use prior to lifting heavy.
3. Form. Form. Form.
ETA: Stretching post workout and foam rolling are great.
This. Exactly.
I also recommend glucosamine and omega 3 supplements. Do not push your weights so quickly that you compromise your form. If you develop joint or muscle PAIN, not just soreness or DOMS, take a rest week.
Edited to add: Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove discuss aging or injured joints and lifting in New Rules of Lifting for Life, and continue that theme in New Rules of Lifting Supercharged. Both programs let you choose your own lifts and avoid exercises that exacerbate pre-existing joint issues.0 -
Bookmarking, because I have this problem every time I start lifting heavy, in spite of thorough warm ups, fish oil, and stretching afterward..
When you warm up, are we talking just a general warm-up or a specific one? The difference is, say, jogging on a treadmill for 5 min before doing bench presses vs. doing a bench press set with just the bar, then adding weight gradually as you build up to the highest weight you are going to attempt. Specific warm-ups might be helpful to those of you struggling with joint pain... At least you can identify at what point the pain appears.
More here (mostly about the value of warm-ups for alleviating DOMS):
https://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article folder/domos.html0 -
Based on all this great input, I am going to reduce my weight a bit and do 2 weeks of joint conditioning. I thought I might b ready to just dive in full speed on barbell lifts because I have been doing machines and barbells at what I thought was heavy weights. But it is clear to me now hq they are completely different. I'm good with the Slow approach. I want to do this for a long time.0
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Bookmarking, because I have this problem every time I start lifting heavy, in spite of thorough warm ups, fish oil, and stretching afterward..
When you warm up, are we talking just a general warm-up or a specific one? The difference is, say, jogging on a treadmill for 5 min before doing bench presses vs. doing a bench press set with just the bar, then adding weight gradually as you build up to the highest weight you are going to attempt. Specific warm-ups might be helpful to those of you struggling with joint pain... At least you can identify at what point the pain appears.
More here (mostly about the value of warm-ups for alleviating DOMS):
https://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article folder/domos.html
Thanks for the link. I do a long, whole body warm up with cardio and low weight reps. I backed off for a long time to let various body parts recover, and I'm hoping that I can get into some heavy lifting, eventually, but I'm going to be a lot more cautious this time around.0 -
I found this really helpful (see "Identifying Initial Resistances" - ***Conservative Method***):
http://www.exrx.net/WeightTraining/Tips.html#anchor1072724
And then on any given day, even if you could lift that same weight last week, pay attention to anything that feels sharp or weird (stop if it hurts). General muscle soreness, like DOMS, is normal. To tell the difference:
http://www.santacruzacupunctureclinic.com/component/content/article/65
(For DOMS prevention, check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_onset_muscle_soreness#Repeated-bout_effect )0 -
I've started to do pyramid sets to see if that will make a diiference, the thinking being that the lighter high rep sets will help to warm up
the tendons and ligaments for the heavier weights.0 -
Bookmarking, because I have this problem every time I start lifting heavy, in spite of thorough warm ups, fish oil, and stretching afterward..
When you warm up, are we talking just a general warm-up or a specific one? The difference is, say, jogging on a treadmill for 5 min before doing bench presses vs. doing a bench press set with just the bar, then adding weight gradually as you build up to the highest weight you are going to attempt. Specific warm-ups might be helpful to those of you struggling with joint pain... At least you can identify at what point the pain appears.
More here (mostly about the value of warm-ups for alleviating DOMS):
https://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article folder/domos.html
Thanks for the link. I do a long, whole body warm up with cardio and low weight reps. I backed off for a long time to let various body parts recover, and I'm hoping that I can get into some heavy lifting, eventually, but I'm going to be a lot more cautious this time around.
Ah--then maybe try focusing more on the specific warm-ups, and build up to your max weight very gradually. Good luck!0 -
I think I'm going to hire a trainer to get my form right. Today's lifts were focused on form and the working weight went down. But man, are there a lot of weird things going on in my lifts. Better to get it right now and then move on.0
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Tom, the community at the Starting Strength site is generally pretty open to providing form checks. If you can, take a vid of yourself doing your various lifts (at work weights) and post there for review.
Like others said, do NOT stretch until afterwards. You can simulate the movement (bodyweight squats) to get ready, but stretching should be reserved for afterwards.
Also, from what you said, it sounds like you may have started too heavy. It looks like you're doing the right thing now by focusing on form and dropping weight, but make sure that you don't try to jump too much once you get your form down. Your weights will go up fast enough. Give your body time to keep up with the increases.0 -
Didn't know there was a SS site. Will sign up straight away. Thank you.
I did go heavy fast. Ego got the best of me.0
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