I seem to be constantly injuring myself lately.

dave_in_ni
dave_in_ni Posts: 533 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
I'm no spring chicken anymore, I am 38. It seems like recently I am constantly injuring myself lifting weights. If its not my neck overhead pressing, its my arm doing hammer curls. Yesterday just got back to lifting after being on holiday for 5 days, I was warming up doing dumbbell bench press, using 22.5kg dumbbells had just finished a set and was setting the dumbbells down, I normally lifting 30kg dumbbells so this wasn't overly heavy and felt this pain in my lower back then couldn't get straightened back up, I've been in pain since.

Am I getting to old now for lifting heavy or why is does this seem to constantly happen? I am thinking I might have to start using lighter weights for more reps and using more time under tension.

Replies

  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    I'd get some sessions with a trainer to work on form if that's a potential issue- I get occasional tweaks but it's generally when I push myself and let form slip a bit.

    Using lighter weights but with good form will probably be more effective than heavier weights with incorrect form.
  • manowarrule2003
    manowarrule2003 Posts: 118 Member
    Deffinately not an age issue. I would assume there is a form issue. Any underlying medical issues? Maybe back the weight down for a bit ut and work back up. Good luck mate
  • shaf238
    shaf238 Posts: 4,022 Member
    Yeah definitely not an age issue. You mentioned abut the 22.5s given you lift 30s, it must just be a lack of care in form when lifting. I've certainly done it, I've tweaked my back flinging 6s out of the way 😅
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    Not age specifically. It could be many things such as form or accumulated stress, etc. When training, muscles will tweak or pain come and go. It's part of the deal. Working around these happenings is ideal assuming nothing major is the cause which usually it never is.

    In your situation, I would find a direct alternative such as barbell bench that doesn't make the pain worse and continue to train. Taking weight off with the same lift would be one of my last feathers in the cap.
  • dave_in_ni
    dave_in_ni Posts: 533 Member
    I wasn't even lifting when the tweak occurred, I was just coming off lifting and setting the dumbbells on the floor, when they touched the floor I felt the tweak. Needless to say, I went back today and went over the same routine using only 12.5 kg dumbbells and more reps, everything was fine bit of a niggle but nothing major.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    dave_in_ni wrote: »
    I'm no spring chicken anymore, I am 38. It seems like recently I am constantly injuring myself lifting weights. If its not my neck overhead pressing, its my arm doing hammer curls. Yesterday just got back to lifting after being on holiday for 5 days, I was warming up doing dumbbell bench press, using 22.5kg dumbbells had just finished a set and was setting the dumbbells down, I normally lifting 30kg dumbbells so this wasn't overly heavy and felt this pain in my lower back then couldn't get straightened back up, I've been in pain since.

    Am I getting to old now for lifting heavy or why is does this seem to constantly happen? I am thinking I might have to start using lighter weights for more reps and using more time under tension.

    I'm 67 and lift 3 to 4 times per week. No you are not too old. A ridiculous suggestion really. Warm up a little slower, maybe a little cardio to get the blood flowing. That's what I do and no issues with injury at my age.
  • jseams1234
    jseams1234 Posts: 1,219 Member
    dave_in_ni wrote: »
    I wasn't even lifting when the tweak occurred, I was just coming off lifting and setting the dumbbells on the floor, when they touched the floor I felt the tweak. Needless to say, I went back today and went over the same routine using only 12.5 kg dumbbells and more reps, everything was fine bit of a niggle but nothing major.

    The nastiest lifting injury I've had was a torn intercostal that I got when I was putting a 45# plate back on the lower rack. I leaned over, twisted a little awkwardly to avoid someone coming down the isle and pop. Almost two months to fully heal. The second biggest injury was grabbing a 100# db to do bent over rows and forgetting to tense up my back and core before I picked it up off the ground. Tweaked my back pretty good. This has happened twice to me. Anyhow, I've learned to take it slow whenever I'm handling anything in the gym. I've also become a bit paranoid about db rows and prefer bb rows now. lol
  • billkansas
    billkansas Posts: 267 Member
    edited August 2018
    You are a spring chicken compared to many lifters. I'm starting to think dumbbells are the riskiest thing ever as an older/intermediate strength trainer. I mean, you need them to be pretty heavy after you've lifted for a while and the simple act of getting them on/off the floor/bench is probably a bit risky for old tendons and ligaments. I'll probably never use dumbbells as a serious strength building exercise again- prefer a barbell anyway. I may use them to do some rinky dink high rep stuff (after my heavy barbell work)... that is all.
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,223 Member
    I'm only 29 and know the feeling of constantly nursing some nagging ailment all too well. I've also tweaked things to various degrees simply moving weight around. For me it all comes back to form, regardless what or how much I'm lifting or whether or not I'm executing a "lift" or moving plates around. Any time I'm feeling a bit beat up I can almost always trace it back to listening to my ego and trying to lift with more weight than I really should without compromising form. Some lower back issues at 26 really made me put the proper emphasis back on form - every rep, any weight.
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
    These other people may know better than I about lifting and being in the gym.
    But I suspect I know more about aging.
    I don't know what is leading to your injuries. But I do know that as I have gotten older I think I have gone through periods when I seemed to get injured frequently.
    I think the aging process, as it relates to strenuous physical activity, is plateaus and then drops. And it doesn't necessarily correlate to the decades. So, you don't suddenly turn 30 years and lose a step. You might not lose a step until age 35 years, or 36. Then you don't lose another step for six more years. Etc.
    The same is somewhat true for injuries, I think. You hit a certain point, and suddenly you start being injured a lot of the time. I don't know if one injury just leads to another. Or if healing takes longer, so one injury extends to the next. Or if your body changes and so you just cannot do what you did before with the same intensity.
    But I do know that I believe I have had certain periods in my life where I remember always having some kind of an injury -- sometimes serious, sometimes not but rather just annoying. These periods have lasted for years and other times just for a few months.
    Then, just when you start to think this is going to be your new perpetual condition, you get over it and you go injury free for a while. Perhaps you are instinctively cutting back on the intensity of what you used to do. Perhaps your body just adapts to your age and becomes stronger.
    I don't know.
    But I do know that as you age you go through periods where, it seems, you get injured all the time, doing things you wouldn't think could cause it.
    I suppose I have cut back a bit over the years. In the gym, I do not push as hard to try to increase strength as I used to, but I just try to get a good workout. I focus more on increasing reps than weight. Mostly.
    I also don't play soccer anymore. And I used to.
    But mostly I have tried to just push through.
  • billkansas
    billkansas Posts: 267 Member
    edited August 2018
    I'd say lift more weight but do it with real attention and focus to proper form. Hire an expert coach in the compound barbell lifts if you need to (I recommend Starting Strength, Rippetoe). I'm 49 and have set many personal bests the past couple of years... hit my best squat of 320 lbs for 3 sets of 5 reps this year and I'm basically an ordinary, tall, skinny guy. Minor injuries happen, but I would argue at a rate less than I experienced as a runner years ago.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    edited August 2018
    my guess is form and going too hard too fast is the issue.
    at least, with runners, that is our issue typically when we are injury prone

    38 is still a spring chicken.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    edited August 2018
    sgt1372 wrote: »
    OP: If you don't know this already, the notion that you're "no spring chicken" at 38 is simply laughable to someone, like me, who is 67 going on 68.

    My guess is that your recent injuries may be due in part to your age but not because, as you believe, you are too old, but rather because you are too young to pay proper attention to your physical limitations, which become more apparent as you age.

    My suggestion to avoid further injury is simply to lift less weight.

    Agreed with everything but the bolded part. Where it may be true, it's more appropriate to suggest lifting with a useful intensity at the correct dosage whole using good form.

    Simply dropping weight will not banish injuries. People can get injured with lighter weights just the same. Dropping weights more than likely will also cause strength loss which I would hazard no one wants to lose strength.

  • Silentpadna
    Silentpadna Posts: 1,306 Member
    billkansas wrote: »
    I'd say lift more weight but do it with real attention and focus to proper form. Hire an expert coach in the compound barbell lifts if you need to (I recommend Starting Strength, Rippetoe). I'm 49 and have set many personal bests the past couple of years... hit my best squat of 320 lbs for 3 sets of 5 reps this year and I'm basically an ordinary, tall, skinny guy. Minor injuries happen, but I would argue at a rate less than I experienced as a runner years ago.

    ^^^This^^^

    Starting strength is great for the basics in form. I actually went light to start because I was 54 when I started lifting, now 55 and about 15 months in. The best way to prevent injuries is through two things:

    1. Proper form.
    2. Proper form.

    Not a typo. I literally started at the bar for everything but dead lifts. Compound movements with a steady progression allowed my weak tendons to strengthen while everything was still easy. It got hard soon enough, but not until my form was locked in. I'm not as strong as @billkansas, but still proud of the progress I've made. Hit 295 squats for a set of 5, 365 dead lifts, 230 bench and 145 overhead press. I've also had a few injury setbacks along the way - nothing major. Just a couple of back tweaks where I then de-loaded and worked on form for the squats and dead lifts and a recent hip bursitis issue. Currently resting the low body stuff again for that.

    Lift more weight, but use good form. Don't be afraid to de-load both for form sake, and for shedding accumulated fatigue. De-loads can be magic.
  • billkansas
    billkansas Posts: 267 Member
    Silentpadna wrote: »
    billkansas wrote: »
    I'd say lift more weight but do it with real attention and focus to proper form. Hire an expert coach in the compound barbell lifts if you need to (I recommend Starting Strength, Rippetoe). I'm 49 and have set many personal bests the past couple of years... hit my best squat of 320 lbs for 3 sets of 5 reps this year and I'm basically an ordinary, tall, skinny guy. Minor injuries happen, but I would argue at a rate less than I experienced as a runner years ago.

    ^^^This^^^

    Starting strength is great for the basics in form. I actually went light to start because I was 54 when I started lifting, now 55 and about 15 months in. The best way to prevent injuries is through two things:

    1. Proper form.
    2. Proper form.

    Not a typo. I literally started at the bar for everything but dead lifts. Compound movements with a steady progression allowed my weak tendons to strengthen while everything was still easy. It got hard soon enough, but not until my form was locked in. I'm not as strong as @billkansas, but still proud of the progress I've made. Hit 295 squats for a set of 5, 365 dead lifts, 230 bench and 145 overhead press. I've also had a few injury setbacks along the way - nothing major. Just a couple of back tweaks where I then de-loaded and worked on form for the squats and dead lifts and a recent hip bursitis issue. Currently resting the low body stuff again for that.

    Lift more weight, but use good form. Don't be afraid to de-load both for form sake, and for shedding accumulated fatigue. De-loads can be magic.

    Actually, you're a little stronger. Squat is my best exercise and why I bragged on it. You beat me on deadlifts and bench and we are a tie on overhead press (assuming these are your all your best lifts for 3x5's and deadlift is a 1x5). Cool... you got there faster than me as I'm over 2 years in and especially impressive since you are over 5 years older. Thanks for your note because it is proof to all: you can get stronger in your fifties and probably beyond!

    But yeah, proper form is probably most important thing. If you can't execute with proper form: de-load! The biggest risk as an older lifter is injury... it can cost you months or years of progress. So, the older you get- the more focused you need to be on proper form (and nutrition, and rest, etc).

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