Concerns about upcoming cycle.....

[swordfish151]

Hey bros, i have a concern about my upcoming cycle in 01-05....as some of you know im going to be doing just sust at 250mgs a wk..first cycle ever. But as of latley (past month or so) i have been experiencing really bad knee pains while doing any kind of squats or leg presses...originally the pain started when I did lower weights while warming up on the squat rack, then when i added weight it seemed to go away...but as of late i have noticed pain throughout the day..and only when climbing stairs and things of that nature...i tried just doing the leg press machine, but still felt the same pain in my knees...is there anyway to train legs without squats or leg presses (i think not and i want to maximize the sust by doing these exercises)...would knee wraps help? or am i screwed???

 

[Rod555]

Some people find that deca helps make bad shoulder and knees feel better. But seeing as its your first cycle, maybe mixing the sus and deca is a bad idea at this point. Hopefully it will go away by january!

 

[swordfish151]

Some people find that deca helps make bad shoulder and knees feel better. But seeing as its your first cycle, maybe mixing the sus and deca is a bad idea at this point. Hopefully it will go away by january!

it seems to hit its peak during the first couple of sets...example, warming up on the squat wrack, then adding weight..usually feel a little pain, then when i add more weight...it goes away..by the time i hit the leg press machine..im fine...im curious to why this is happening..and should i be using wraps..or will this not help

 

[Apexx]

try warming up on the tread mill or bike for 15 minutes before you hit the weights.
This will get the blood flowing before hand.

 

[swordfish151]

try warming up on the tread mill or bike for 15 minutes before you hit the weights.
This will get the blood flowing before hand.

thanks for the relpy bro, i have tried that...and no luck..

 

[swordfish151]

^

 

[BionicBC]

thanks for the relpy bro, i have tried that...and no luck..

Definately. Then do some light leg extentions and a couple of other excercises to further warm up your knees. If need be, go lighter on squats, and dont go as deep. I know it sucks, but preventing injury should be your #1 priority, for real bro. Try some glucosamine if your stomach can handle it, and maybe some potassium too. Deca works for me, but id save that for your second cycle-run test the first time solo.
Bionic

 

[skinyfatguy]

dude if u got a knee pain go to the doc...especially squatting..u can get messed up if it gives out on you..

 

[shortstack]

hey man, i know a few ex bodybuilders that take low dose deca just for joint problems. you might want to try that? sorry...

 

[swordfish151]

thanks for the reply bro's...im going to try the leg extensions first see how it goes..like i said it goes away with heavy weight..like there is no pain at all and it doesnt mess with my form while doing the squats...just at the beggining it freaking hurts....but yeah im only going to run the test first and go from there..

 

[help4john]

OK....you're heading in the right direction.....Test only! "Warming-up" will not help your joint pain. Get ahold of some Gloucosomine preferably mixed with Chondroiton and MSM. It's relatively inexpensive but takes about 3 weeks for this to kick-in (must take 3X ED). Also, take Aleve....targets pain in the joints. I use 2 Aleve 2X ED but start with one pill 2X ED and take it from there.

Good luck!

 

[LVTitan]

dont have personal experience with it , but i have heard bros recommend knox gelatin (jello) helps joints. i've had bad shoulder pain for over a year. and now it's gone this cycle since i included deca for the first time. but again, i wouldn't add it on ur first cycle.

 

[Bulldog_10]

Well...I'd check with a doctor to make sure there's nothing seriously wrong with it. Then maybe hit up a strength coach or something...you may have an imbalance in the hamstring/quad strength ratio.

I'd try doing some functional training...this help strengthen the core musculature while also using less weight which will let the knee (and your whole body) rest a little bit, and it might correct the problem.

Try things like SLDL's, cook hip lifts, split squats, lateral squats, step-ups...possibly even do some work on a slideboard for conditioning.

If the pain persists, I'd think about putting off the cycle a month or two until you feel confident that the knee won't hinder your gains.


If you don't want to try that...I'd just change up your routine...the same routine over and over again takes a toll on your body (especially the joints)...so increase the volume and decrease the intensity, or vice-versa. Just make a change and see how it works out.

 

[swordfish151]

Hey thanks help4john...i think i will try that...and thanks for the input bulldog and to all the bros...

 

[mrplunkey]

Same thing happened to me (I still have joint pain there now while warming up too, but it's the HGH now )

If it's truly "inside" the joint, then I'd think glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM -- GNC sells a pre-mixed combination called "Triflex" that I take 2x per day.

Now... if it's pain in the front of your knee, just below your kneecap, you may be developing a case of patellar tendonitis. That's actually pretty tricky. Classic signs include a burning sensation in the patellar tendon that is worst when "jarring" the knee (i.e. walking down a flight of stairs without being warmed-up).

If it is patellar tendonitis, here's what I'd try:

1) Carefully budget time on your knees. For example, you may want to hit legs hard every 3-4 days (and hard as in, you can barely walk to your car from the gym). BUT... on your non-legs days, leave them the hell alone -- get total rest.

2) Watch how your knees track... some petallar tendonitis can come from improper foot positioning (i.e. feet rotated too far in or out) or from improper foot angle (i.e. you may need an orthodic in your shoe to turn your feet a specific direction) or from weak hips. For me, I used an orthotic and did a few ancillary hip exercises and voila -- pain gone.

3) Anti-inflammatories... even ibuprofin can help, but I used to take Lodine -- that helped some.

4) Cortosone shots... they suck, but they run some cortosone under your kneecaps and for 4-6 weeks, you'll see much less swelling and inflammation.

5) Rest... as in take 2-3 or even 4 full weeks off where the inflammation can truly go away.

Hope some of this is useful

 

[swordfish151]

Same thing happened to me (I still have joint pain there now while warming up too, but it's the HGH now )

If it's truly "inside" the joint, then I'd think glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM -- GNC sells a pre-mixed combination called "Triflex" that I take 2x per day.

Now... if it's pain in the front of your knee, just below your kneecap, you may be developing a case of patellar tendonitis. That's actually pretty tricky. Classic signs include a burning sensation in the patellar tendon that is worst when "jarring" the knee (i.e. walking down a flight of stairs without being warmed-up).

If it is patellar tendonitis, here's what I'd try:

1) Carefully budget time on your knees. For example, you may want to hit legs hard every 3-4 days (and hard as in, you can barely walk to your car from the gym). BUT... on your non-legs days, leave them the hell alone -- get total rest.

2) Watch how your knees track... some petallar tendonitis can come from improper foot positioning (i.e. feet rotated too far in or out) or from improper foot angle (i.e. you may need an orthodic in your shoe to turn your feet a specific direction) or from weak hips. For me, I used an orthotic and did a few ancillary hip exercises and voila -- pain gone.

3) Anti-inflammatories... even ibuprofin can help, but I used to take Lodine -- that helped some.

4) Cortosone shots... they suck, but they run some cortosone under your kneecaps and for 4-6 weeks, you'll see much less swelling and inflammation.

5) Rest... as in take 2-3 or even 4 full weeks off where the inflammation can truly go away.

Hope some of this is useful

wow, good input, thanks bro...but i dont feel it below my knee cap, but feel the pain in my whole knee...actually knees...both feel the pain..k to you my friend.

 

[40butpumpin]

bro definitely don't do cortisone shots. try doing squats the westside way; wide stance, sitting back as opposed to down, try to keep ankles to knees almost vertical, then on ascent bring hips forward and spread floor out by pushing your knees outwards. go to the westside site to understand more how the do squats. this style of squatting will take a lot of load off your knees and put it in your hips/core where it should be. similar thing with leg press; use a middle to high, and wide foot placement, with your toes pointing out, and push most through your heels. that'll work the posterior side of your legs, up close to your hips. definitely don't do hack's imo. but other than that you have a lot of training possibilities left, so i say get on with it and work your ass off and eat up. oh lastly www.lef.org has a product called arthropro that's excellent for joints, give it a look see. later bro and good luick with your upcoming cycle!

 

[Steve The Bluesman]

I am going to throw my 2 cents in here and suggest two weeks of Glucosomine/Chonondrin...Stuff builds up the tendons in your joints, esp your knees.

If you are starting the cycle in January, you have time to see if the Glucosamine is effective.

Good luck,


Bluesman

 

[swordfish151]

thanks guys for all the great input!!! i think i will try to get some aleve and some Glucosomine/Chonondrin and see what happnes.....im really interested in these "west side" squats..may look into that too!! thanks bros!

 

[slat1]

Go to the Dr and get a referal to a specialist.

 

[40butpumpin]

...Try things like SLDL's, cook hip lifts, split squats, lateral squats, step-ups...possibly even do some work on a slideboard for conditioning....QUOTE]

bro what's a "cook hip lift"?

 

[Bulldog_10]

...Try things like SLDL's, cook hip lifts, split squats, lateral squats, step-ups...possibly even do some work on a slideboard for conditioning....QUOTE]

bro what's a "cook hip lift"?

It's #7 on this link

It looks pretty gay...but if done correctly, it's a very effective hamstring exercise (won't build much muscle, but will help strengthen the muscles and help in stabilization).

You gotta make sure you're NOT just flexing the lumbar region muscles, and really focus on pushing down with your heels and using the hip extensors (hamstrings) to raise your body off the floor. Keep your abdominal area tight by drawing in with the transversis abdominis...and hold the top for 5 seconds.

Give it a shot if you're doing a light leg day, and need some new exercises.

 

[AAP]

It hurts all the time except when you have weight on the quads training them? Don't know what caused it, would say a strained or inflammed tendon, but the reason the pain goes away when you train quads is because the weight compact the knee area and makes a natural support area in the knee region.

 

[mastrmage]

Delayed response here, but I thought it might help.

I had knee pains once. This might sound dumb but it came down to when I was warming up on leg extensions I was starting the rep on too much of an acute angle. I start leg extensions now at 90degrees and my knees are fine now.

 

[swordfish151]

It's #7 on this link

It looks pretty gay...but if done correctly, it's a very effective hamstring exercise (won't build much muscle, but will help strengthen the muscles and help in stabilization).

You gotta make sure you're NOT just flexing the lumbar region muscles, and really focus on pushing down with your heels and using the hip extensors (hamstrings) to raise your body off the floor. Keep your abdominal area tight by drawing in with the transversis abdominis...and hold the top for 5 seconds.

Give it a shot if you're doing a light leg day, and need some new exercises.

when im coming up its all hamstrings i feel....so i beleive im doing them correctly.....but i do think that my problem would be my stance..i noticed this weekend, that when i came down...all went well felt the pain...but when i was coming up my right knee seemed to sway a little..almost like i my hips would go sideways then straight up, and when i walked up the staris i noticed that i dont step with my whole foot but i step with the outer side first then push up causing my hips to move to the side first before getting vertical??

 

[swordfish151]

^

 

[Bulldog_10]

when im coming up its all hamstrings i feel....so i beleive im doing them correctly.....but i do think that my problem would be my stance..i noticed this weekend, that when i came down...all went well felt the pain...but when i was coming up my right knee seemed to sway a little..almost like i my hips would go sideways then straight up, and when i walked up the staris i noticed that i dont step with my whole foot but i step with the outer side first then push up causing my hips to move to the side first before getting vertical??

Hmmm...that could be any number of things. Alot of people have muscle imbalances, poor flexibility, musculoskeletal problems, etc, which can cause problems like this. For alot of people it causes them to have some sort of uneven gait...which over time, can cause some serious problems.

I'd check with a physical therapist, if you have insurance and can get your primary care doc to approve it.

If not, you can have someone watch you walk and see if they notice anything strange. Check the soles of your shoes, see if there is a distinct wear-pattern...you might find the outsides of the soles are more worn than the insides. That could mean your adductors are stronger than your abductors, causing your ankle to invert.

Of course, this is just speculation...I'd check with a doctor and see what they say.

 

[swordfish151]

Hmmm...that could be any number of things. Alot of people have muscle imbalances, poor flexibility, musculoskeletal problems, etc, which can cause problems like this. For alot of people it causes them to have some sort of uneven gait...which over time, can cause some serious problems.

I'd check with a physical therapist, if you have insurance and can get your primary care doc to approve it.

If not, you can have someone watch you walk and see if they notice anything strange. Check the soles of your shoes, see if there is a distinct wear-pattern...you might find the outsides of the soles are more worn than the insides. That could mean your adductors are stronger than your abductors, causing your ankle to invert.

Of course, this is just speculation...I'd check with a doctor and see what they say.

thanks bro!