*** The 2016 Gym Rats Thread ***

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Been doing 5x5 SL for a few months, had an issue this morning with really bad numbness/aching in my left bicep/arm when doing heavier (low bar) squats (near my PB of 5x5 82.5kg), anyone else get this?

I was doing a 77.5kg squat this morning (which I've done before), on lighter squats my biceps (left in particular) are always 'working' a bit to stabilise the weight, but today (and Monday at 75kg to a lesser degree), after racking the weight after the 4th and 5th sets I had a major numbness/dull ache, in my bicep with a slight tingling down my arm to my little finger - but the main issue was the intense numbness in my bicep and a little in my tricep, like I'd just done 30 reps of bicep curls, like a really big pump but not the good feeling.

Stopped me from doing the rest of the workout, the soreness took about 2 hours to go away, and this evening it's still a little sore if I stretch my arm.

I messed around with an empty bar with wider and narrower hand positions but just resting the empty bar on my back I could feel the tightness in my bicep building up.

Now I always feel it in my biceps a bit on squats, that's nothing new - and sometimes I'll get the arm ache but it's never stopped me with doing my bench or OHP after squatting. This morning however, when loading up the bar for my bench (47.5kg would have been my working weight, was putting on 7.5kg on each end) I tried curling the 5kg plate and couldn't do one rep with my left arm! No problem at all with my right arm.

Any ideas? Wider grip needed? I am taking a bit of the weight on my arms (hard not too, just walking the weight out it feels seriously heavy) but my thumbs are on top of the bar, and I hardly feel it when actually squatting, just after racking the weight.
 
I'm sure one of the more knowledgeable guys will be on here to offer advice - but that doesn't sound fun, might be worth getting a professional to look at it. Don't want to risk doing real damage by attempting to train through it.
 
Thinking about it, it might be as simple as I'm taking some of the weight onto my arms, and my left arm is naturally weaker than my right, hence noticing it more in my left. I am taking some weight through my arms, I know that. Hmm, I'll see what it's like Friday morning and try a much wider grip on my warm up sets, the issue is I have tiny rear delts so there's not much to support the bar on my back! :D
 

Anyone guess which elbow i have an injury on :p

Still cant upload from windows phone so have record my phone lol

Same again next week then 190 x 2 then 192.5 x 2 week after then aiming for the big 210. Injury permitting. Have a glut of them, trap, lat and elbow :(
 
TallPaul_S said:
Thinking about it, it might be as simple as I'm taking some of the weight onto my arms, and my left arm is naturally weaker than my right, hence noticing it more in my left. I am taking some weight through my arms, I know that. Hmm, I'll see what it's like Friday morning and try a much wider grip on my warm up sets, the issue is I have tiny rear delts so there's not much to support the bar on my back! :D
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Pictures or better yet video would help greatly but you should not have any weight on your arms. Best way to do this for low bar is to make sure you get your elbows up above behind you. The arms are just for pressing the bar into your back. That may really mean a slightly wider grip to work around your individual proportions and mobility
 
TallPaul_S said:
Been doing 5x5 SL for a few months, had an issue this morning with really bad numbness/aching in my left bicep/arm when doing heavier (low bar) squats (near my PB of 5x5 82.5kg), anyone else get this?

I was doing a 77.5kg squat this morning (which I've done before), on lighter squats my biceps (left in particular) are always 'working' a bit to stabilise the weight, but today (and Monday at 75kg to a lesser degree), after racking the weight after the 4th and 5th sets I had a major numbness/dull ache, in my bicep with a slight tingling down my arm to my little finger - but the main issue was the intense numbness in my bicep and a little in my tricep, like I'd just done 30 reps of bicep curls, like a really big pump but not the good feeling.

Stopped me from doing the rest of the workout, the soreness took about 2 hours to go away, and this evening it's still a little sore if I stretch my arm.

I messed around with an empty bar with wider and narrower hand positions but just resting the empty bar on my back I could feel the tightness in my bicep building up.

Now I always feel it in my biceps a bit on squats, that's nothing new - and sometimes I'll get the arm ache but it's never stopped me with doing my bench or OHP after squatting. This morning however, when loading up the bar for my bench (47.5kg would have been my working weight, was putting on 7.5kg on each end) I tried curling the 5kg plate and couldn't do one rep with my left arm! No problem at all with my right arm.

Any ideas? Wider grip needed? I am taking a bit of the weight on my arms (hard not too, just walking the weight out it feels seriously heavy) but my thumbs are on top of the bar, and I hardly feel it when actually squatting, just after racking the weight.
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Video/picture would be very helpful, as otherwise it is slight guess work.

First off: go and see a physio. ;)

Secondly, assuming you are "normal" then you probably do - as somebody has already pointed out - have rubbish shoulder mobility, poor thoracic extension and tight pecs. External rotation in particular sounds bad. But - believe it or not - it is also possible to have right biceps, too. :)

Which is a bit like shooting fish in a barrel, but hey. :)

Stretch your pecs and biceps, work on your external shoulder rotation (rotator cuff), and see how you get on. Also, why not try front squatting for a few weeks, too, and prepare for quads. :cool:
 
If you get that pain first thing do is give it a good couple of days rest before attempting anything.

Is the pain in your bicep or more toward your elbow (eg on the inside of your elbow but bicep side)
 
shroomz said:
Pictures or better yet video would help greatly but you should not have any weight on your arms. Best way to do this for low bar is to make sure you get your elbows up above behind you. The arms are just for pressing the bar into your back. That may really mean a slightly wider grip to work around your individual proportions and mobility
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mrthingyx said:
Video/picture would be very helpful, as otherwise it is slight guess work.

First off: go and see a physio. ;)

Secondly, assuming you are "normal" then you probably do - as somebody has already pointed out - have rubbish shoulder mobility, poor thoracic extension and tight pecs. External rotation in particular sounds bad. But - believe it or not - it is also possible to have right biceps, too. :)

Which is a bit like shooting fish in a barrel, but hey. :)

Stretch your pecs and biceps, work on your external shoulder rotation (rotator cuff), and see how you get on. Also, why not try front squatting for a few weeks, too, and prepare for quads. :cool:
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Thanks both, I do have pretty poor shoulder/pecs mobility so will make sure those are stretched properly beforehand. I do think it's probably because I'm taking some of the weight in my arms which I shouldn't be doing, and just didn't notice it much before on the lighter weights. My wrists are bent a little so will try and sort that out, I think a wider grip will help.

Obviously if it occurs again or gets to be an issue I'll go see someone. :)
RaohNS said:
If you get that pain first thing do is give it a good couple of days rest before attempting anything.

Is the pain in your bicep or more toward your elbow (eg on the inside of your elbow but bicep side)
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It was in the bicep and on the inside of the bicep down towards the elbow - it wasn't a 'pain' as such, more a very uncomfortable and strong dull ache and loss of strength.
 
TallPaul_S said:
It was in the bicep and on the inside of the bicep down towards the elbow - it wasn't a 'pain' as such, more a very uncomfortable and strong dull ache and loss of strength.
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Rest it for a few days completely its probably from the sounds of it a pulled muscle. When returning avoid exercises that hurt and use work arounds. If it continues and continues to get worse see a doc with the idea to put you through to a physio

Remember: If your over 21 pulled muscles will be with you for life so its worth giving good recovery now rather than longer and more robust recovery later. I pulled a pec muscle a few years ago (bc of a daft step daughter who cant count to ten) and it knocked 45kg off my routine. If I wasn't careful in giving 2weeks rest and light physio it would have been months
 
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RaohNS said:
Rest it for a few days completely its probably from the sounds of it a pulled muscle. When returning avoid exercises that hurt and use work arounds. If it continues and continues to get worse see a doc with the idea to put you through to a physio

Remember: If your over 21 pulled muscles will be with you for life so its worth giving good recovery now rather than longer and more robust recovery later. I pulled a pec muscle a few years ago (bc of a daft step daughter who cant count to ten) and it knocked 45kg off my routine. If I wasn't careful in giving 2weeks rest and light physio it would have been months
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Just be careful with this: whilst hormone and lifestyle changes occur, the body will generally heal the same way, so any lingering injury will more than likely be a result of poor rehab (I.e. Life getting in the way)...

I am assuming that is what you meant...? :)
 
The body does heal the same way but the devil is in the detail: As we age we do not recover as quickly as muscle tissue response changes and becomes less efficient due to physiological changes as we age. The big issue is that often as we age we expect to recover at the same sort of rates and often exacerbate the injury. That's where the incorrect physio comes in.

Prime example if I do a seated dumbell shoulder press the second I get to 40kg I feel an old and healed injury start to flare and it takes a tiny amount of stress on that muscle maybe 2-3 reps before for safety reasons I have to stop.

Having done this for years we perhaps know we can train through a twinge, but know when we start feeling a tingle or the dreaded hot water running sensation its time to stop and walk away.
 
In that case you're just not healed fully. In some instance you may never be and may require further intervention. If you have an injury either rest and don't use that type of exercise, or fix it, or train around it. It is not worth it. As someone who played over 15 years of high level rugby with a plethora of injuries, I wish I had taken this advice. Now unless i have surgery I will never be fully fixed. I now know my limitations, and get frustrated by them, and forget I have them until I realise I've made it worse again.

It's so easy to overlook dysfunction in your body when the adrenaline is surging. Heck I played 20mins with a torn shoulder before collapsing in pain.
 
Remember: If your over 21 pulled muscles will be with you for life so its worth giving good recovery now rather than longer and more robust recovery later.
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Strongly disagree since our entire training adaptation is based on creating a series of microtears within the muscle which the body then repairs stronger than before.
 
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You can be healed but have a "fault" where it is easier to pull/cause injury (like being susceptible to something). Example you may have a mate who hate a knee injury years ago, will still come in doing a heavy set but then may get an injury on it almost out of nowhere.

The one I mentioned was quite a severe one really and one I should have sought attention for. However it healed enough within a couple of weeks that I was able to re-do the exercise that caused it. Now however it is that injury which would return with different exercise.
 
reiyushin said:
Strongly disagree since our entire training adaptation is based on creating a series of microtears within the muscle which the body then repairs stronger than before.
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That is with certain tissue elements within the muscle a tear or pull can result in things different than the doms effect.

Muscle tissue when "tearing" and repairing is at a microscopic level. A tear of muscle tissue can be game changing and career ending. Tearing a tendon or ligament for example, we train those as well but hope not to tear them for obvious reasons.

As we age we do not recover as quickly there is a wealth of both human and animal research on this. Injury and physiological changes can leave us lapse to rest, recovery periods
 
TallPall_S do you lowbar squat?

If so there's a couple of things to look into;

1) Back tightness; are you creating a big enough shelf for the bar with your upper back and is it locked in place? If the bar is supported too much by the arms and not by the back then it can cause a lot of stress at the elbow joint. Wrist wraps and elbow sleeves can help but they're not a fix.

2) It could be a tight/knotted infraspinatus; google infraspinatus bicep pain and you should get some good exercises and manual therapy ideas.

3) The above can be aggravated by tight pecs and shoulders and if you find moving your arms out helps then you need to start keeping up with your mobility (check out the icecold mobility thread or mobilitywod)

4) Ultimately you're going to need to take a few weeks off squatting lowbar (if you are)
 
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