Can't lift for a week or two

[2dumb2quit]

I bruised the periosteum on my wrist and jacked up something in my finger. Not exactly debilitating injuries, but they mean I can't grip anything heavy. This happened about a week ago, and before that I injured my back, so I haven't been able to lift for two weeks already. The doctor says it'll take at least another week or 10 days to heal. In that time, I'm planning on running about 6 miles every other day, doing sprints, jumps, and ab work on the in-between days, and resting on the 7th. In total, this will mean about a month out of weight training for me.

So two questions:

Is there anything else I should add to my routine while my hand's out of commission?

How much strength am I likely to lose over this downtime?

Thanks much!

[ihatepeas]

Can't answer either question. But wanted to say hope it doesn't hurt too bad and hope it heals quickly and correctly.

I'm gonna tell you something you'd never expect a triathlete (I love the sport of triathlon and want to do another one...just one more...) to tell you.

You've got the sprints in there. There is a reason that sprinters look like bodybuilders and "runners" don't... that reason is growth hormone, exercise that isn't catabolic.

More sprints, a couple of hours a day walking, drop the 6 mile runs since you aren't lifting...avoid anything catabolic. That means no endurance, distance work. Eat to keep your strength and muscle mass.

Good luck to ya.

[2dumb2quit]

Mmm... not gonna lie, that advice scares me. Thing is, I used to just lift and walk a lot, and I didn't really see many results. When I started running, I started getting stronger too. That's probably more due to upping my protein intake around the same time too.

I'm willing to give this a shot though. If I stop running for a week or two, will I be looking at endurance losses? It's been a tough fight building up to where I am now.

Sprinting increases VO2 Max and increases endurance.

2 weeks? That's just enough for a nice break that may "decondition" you a little. That sounds bad on the surface but think about it a little. You won't lose anything during that short a time period. But when you start training again, you will respond better to the same weights or even lighter weights. This is why Bryan, the guy who came up with HST (hypertrophy specific training) recommends a 2 week deconditioning break every 8 weeks.

If I were purely a bodybuilder, I'd actually just stick with HST - this is the methodology I used to get the most gains in my life over a 6 month time period.

Since I'm not really a bodybuilder (and have pics to prove it lol) I utilize what I find to be good from everything. Kind of like applying the tao of jeet kune do to weight lifting. Sifu Lee actually taught this about gung fu...but it works for every aspect of life... take what is useful to you and discard what is not.

This is why my own training reflects influences from Starr, Pendalay, Haythcock, Campbell, and Tabata with 5x5, HST, progressive resistance, endurance training, sprinting, tabata style bike training, CrossFit, even my fight training includes elements from karate, ju jitsu, Kung Fu, Boxing... etc...

A break won't kill you. It'll allow you to come back stronger. Do active recovery and avoid catabolism. I believe sprints are the way to do that for muscle preservation instead of endurance running as distance running will lead to catabolism.

And yeah, eat just like you are training hard.

[2dumb2quit]

Alrighty, I'll give it a go. Thanks a bunch

Good luck...and come back stronger.

[2dumb2quit]

So I went to the weight room today, and things seemed to be going pretty well, except for bench press; it's the one lift that still hurts my wrist like crazy. Squat hurt, but it was manageable. Here's my numbers for today:

Full Squat: 165*12, 185*10, 215*2, 205*3, 185*3->165*6
Pull-ups: 10 (front), 5 (side), 3, 2, 2.. something pathetic
Deadlift: 185*7, 185*3, 135*12
Sprints: 200m, walk 100m * 4
100m, walk 50m * 4

Short workout, but not too awful for warming back up to things. Deadlift was... disappointing. First time I've ever deadlifted without a trap bar, and the last time I deadlifted with a trapbar was a few months back. Must work on that.

Also ran 6 miles yesterday. I didn't get fat over a week off, and it seems that while I may have lost some upperbody endurance, I didn't really lose any strength. Awesome news I might try the full 2 weeks deconditioning period later on. Thanks again V

[2dumb2quit]

And one day later, I am very very sore.

yes, must work on deadlift. It's such an awesome lift and one of the keys to any complete workout regimen.

It's not easy, but worth it. But hey, you are doing it so don't be dissappointed. We all have lifts we would like to be better at.

[healthbuff101]

You shouldn't be disappointed much, 'coz you're body's just trying to adjust after that needed rest. It'll be back to condition in no time. Just continue on with your usual exercises and you'll soon be fit like before.