Knee issues and Full Body workout - advice needed

opethdisciple

opethdisciple

opethdisciple

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Getting back in the gym after about 8 months off.

Story is that I have problems with both my knees. I have a physio programme in place for the rehab of the legs/knees.

But I also want to do upper body stuff as well.

What I was doing before I quit was a full body workout twice a week.

Consisting of:

Bench Press 3 x 10
Pull Ups 3 x 10
Military Press 3 x 10
Dips 3 x 10
Dumbell Curls 3 x 10
Leg Press 3 x 10
Hamstring Curls 3 x 10
Leg Press Calf Raises 3 x 10
Ab work

Now I will be in the gym working on the same stuff, minus the legs, during the weights session.

So as it stands I would just be doing the below twice a week:

Bench Press 3 x 10
Pull Ups 3 x 10
Dumbell Shoulder press 3 x 10
Dips 3 x 10
Dumbell Curls 3 x 10
Ab work

How better can I optimise my time, anything I should take out or include, considering I am not doing the legs during this session.

Or is this ample for a complete newbie.

To give you a complete overview my plan.

Monday - Weights as above
Tuesday - Leg work (8mins Cross trainer, 8 mins bike, single leg press, body weight squats against wall, 1 leg squats, bridge and hamstring curls with gym ball), glute extensions and clam shell
Wednesday - Day off
Thursday - Leg work
Friday - weights
Saturday - legs
Sunday - Day off

What do you reckon?

My aims, are primarily to rehab my knees. The deal is if the rehab isnt working by April, then I will have to have an op on the right leg. Additionally, the rest of my body is not very strong and I carry a natural amount of mediterranean spread on my lower stomach which I would love to reduce.

The diet I will clean up, I'v done it before so I know what is needed.
 
icecold said:
Do strict single arm cable rows 3x10 as well and you've got a pretty balanced workout.

Can you do a fully single leg squat? Seems a bit savage for a rehab routine.

Try doing these as well, great rehab for your knee and stabiliser for your ankle/foot (where most knee problems originate):
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=20956254&postcount=96
Click to expand...

Single leg squat may seem savage, but its not going to be as low as your probably thinking.

The aim is to build up... but the surgeons I have spoken to have told me Im going to have to work on my legs for years, so I should not fell disheartend if things arent happen in months...

Cable rows you say? What muscle group is that for?
 
Ah so not a full pistol, that makes more sense.

Cable rows are for your back, and done properly are great for your scapula stabilisers. Do try the other rehab thing I posted, it's very gentle but really good.
 
Spend a bit of time on the rowing machine too. It works all the main muscle groups and is non-impact so far as your knees are concerned. You'll be a lot fitter than if you just do weights. Start with a 20 min row and build up from there. You could do intervals to mix things up a bit if it gets boring.
 
So you reckon I sould add cable rows to my weight routine:

Bench Press 3x10
Pull Ups 3x10
Dumbell Shoulder press 3x10
Dips 3x10
Dumbell Curls 3x10
Cable Rows 3x10
Ab work

I was of the understanding that Pull ups where for the back?
 
Yes, but that's a bit like saying, "leg extensions work my legs so that's all I'm going to do". Also, you generally want to have more pulling that pushing in a routine, even with the extra cable rows you have 3 pushing and 2 pull pulling movements.
 
The workout is from a Full Body work out I was doing before I quit.

Im a complete newbie and not very strong at all, so its meant to be basic.

Given this, do you still think I should add the cable rows in to the equation?

Do you think it looks balanced?
 
I know, I read what you wrote ;)

It's not the best full body routine I've ever seen, the push: pull ratio is off as I mentioned and you aren't squatting at all.

But yes, if you add cable rows it's a more balanced upper body routine.
 
icecold said:
I know, I read what you wrote ;)

It's not the best full body routine I've ever seen, the push: pull ratio is off as I mentioned and you aren't squatting at all.

But yes, if you add cable rows it's a more balanced upper body routine.
Click to expand...

Yea I know dude. Im doing leg work on seperate days tho, including body weight squats (as far as my predicament allows me).

Proper squats etc are out of the question at the moment. My legs are in bad shape. I had an ACL reconstruction on my left leg, which the surgeon screwed up, placing the graft a whole centimeter out of position!!

When I was squatting before I quit, the next day I couldnt walk on my left leg, as the acl graft was swollen. In other words all the tension was being placed on the graft its self during the squat rather than the quads. Basically becuase the leg muscle where underdeveloped.

The point is I need to build up my leg muscles first, before moving on.

The tragic thing is I have also injured my right knee as well, which Im basically going to see if it responds to physio by April, by which point if it hasnt its op time.

Im fed up procrastinating and being unable to go to the gym or allowing my legs to basically atrophy.

However petrified I am about needles and hospitals, I would gladly take my self to the operating theatre to get this done NOW, as it has knocked my confidence around woman as well as my self belief.

Sometimes there are things in life, which you have to do, the sooner you do em the better. This is one of those things for me.
 
Sorry, I wasn't being very clear, I meant that when you were doing your full body routine before it wasn't ideal.

Sorry to hear about your injuries, I know how annoying they can be (although not to your extent!). Hopefully your body will just adapt to your surgeons shoddy work.

What's the problem with your right knee?

What I was alluding to before was that sometimes these injuries arise from bad mechanics. If a person does a lot of running with bad mechanics, that's thousands of repetitions where your loading your tissues in ways they weren't designed for. These tissues respond by becoming more brittle, making injuries far more likely. Now you have motion back, one of the most important aspects of your rehab is to ensure perfect mechanics to avoid unwanted stresses on your already weakened tissues. This means working on mobility and stability in your hips and ankles.

Case in point: guy I know was complaining of knee pain which seemed to be caused by a slip while walking with a backpack. I took a look at him anyway and his feet were completely flat, something which puts stress on the knee. Not a coincidence!

Anyway, good luck with your rehab :)
 
I caused the problem with my right knee.

I was doig hamstring curls on a machine where you sit down in a chair and using both legs pull the bar back lifting the weight.

Now I put too heavy a weight and was basically jerking it to get the weight to lift!!

I realised I was only hurting my knee so I stoped. However over the last few months, the knee got worse and now it cracks when I bend the knee, as well as it hurts when the knee is bent and and bearing weight.

I went to surgeon.physio, scans etc showed no damage, but they think I have caused a tracking issue with how my knee cap tracks in the grove, when you bend and flex the knee.

I think its called knee subluxation.

Hopefully it responds to physio. The physios seem to think it will, however I will regard it as a miracle if it improves.

But Im willing to give it a shot. And if it doesnt work, then like I said before I will march my self in to the operating theatre.
 
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