ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ ||| The 2023/2024 Gym Rats Thread ||| ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ

opethdisciple said:
You could try to supplementing with collagen.

I have a fairly major knee issue which I am trying to live with. To keep it short my left knee which I had an acl reconstruction on back in 2004 has became loose since 2020 when I went for a run. For 3 years I had really bad pain, inflammation and laxity.

I started supplementing with collagen in Oct 2022, first I started with a small dose 3g... then eventually I bought powered and started taking 10g just before gym session.

It absolutely helped me. It brought the pain from a stinging 8 down to a 3-4. However I still had flare ups.

Since Christmas 2023 I have increased my dose from 10g to 20g (medical papers that have researched the optimal dose say 15g, but I take 20g as it's just easier to take 2 scoops) and I have noticed a big improvement.

Knee is much more tolerant and resilient. I still have laxity in the knee but that's why I am doing my Bulgarian Split Squats. :)

You could also try adding a turmeric supplement as well.

Also just to note you should try to keep your vitamin c up when you take collagen as the vitamin c helps the body use the collagen.

I take 500mg vitamin c tablet.

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As a side note, back in 2014 I was at my strongest. However I ended up dislocating my shoulder. For 7 years I had laxity and pain in my left shoulder. I was out of the gym for years etc... Over the years it got more stable but still remained sore. In 2021 I got back in the gym to try to rehab my knee.

However I couldn't press without pain. Anything over 60kg on the bench would hurt and shoulder presses where even worse.

As I mentioned above I started with the collagen to help my knee, but then I suddenly noticed a few months later that the pain in my shoulder had more or less gone which was a welcome surprise.
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Just to follow on the back of this, I recently have been seeing a physio due to issues with my knee (mainly my patella tendon) and was told that using vitamin c and gelatin was better than using collagen supplements. He did link me to a study paper round this too.
 
bailey12856 said:
Just to follow on the back of this, I recently have been seeing a physio due to issues with my knee (mainly my patella tendon) and was told that using vitamin c and gelatin was better than using collagen supplements. He did link me to a study paper round this too.
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Regarding the gelatin, can you link to what you buy when you buy it please.

I have read that gelatin is better but seems a bit of a mine field when you look online what to buy.
 
opethdisciple said:
Regarding the gelatin, can you link to what you buy when you buy it please.

I have read that gelatin is better but seems a bit of a mine field when you look online what to buy.
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Hi literally told me to buy the blocks of jelly you get from any supermarket, and to take 15g gelatin with 1000mg Vit C daily
 
Both things are so small in their benefit that they are almost definitely going to be a waste of money, especially if you aren't doing rehab / pre-hab work to fix the issues.

Get on with doing the rehab and do it consistently and with patience.
 
opethdisciple said:
I have found as I said taking collagen absolutely helps.
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There are a lot of studies out there supporting that collagen really only has a tiny tangible impact. If you've noticed something the likelyhood its either placebo or linked to something else you've changed is higher than the collagen working its self.

Basically its like BCAA's paying money to pee it out basically.
 
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Syla5 said:
Both things are so small in their benefit that they are almost definitely going to be a waste of money, especially if you aren't doing rehab / pre-hab work to fix the issues.

Get on with doing the rehab and do it consistently and with patience.
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Agree with this, and I am using a private physio to fix my knee problem and through everything he has given me, it is working. He did link directly to an extensive study showing the effectiveness of using gelatin & vit c combined. Also the 85p a block of jelly costs me and that gives me 9 days worth, I think its worth a go. Not quite on par with the costs of BCAA
 
bailey12856 said:
Agree with this, and I am using a private physio to fix my knee problem and through everything he has given me, it is working. He did link directly to an extensive study showing the effectiveness of using gelatin & vit c combined. Also the 85p a block of jelly costs me and that gives me 9 days worth, I think its worth a go. Not quite on par with the costs of BCAA
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BCAA's are cost equivalent to around 10p per serving (at least when i last brought) so very much on par cost wise.
 
It's not placebo.

I had shoulder pain for 7 years which only cleared up when I started taking collagen.

Also have seen benefits with the knee too.

There are medical journals out there which have investigated collagen and it's not placebo.

This is the medical journal that proposed that 15g is the optimal dose.

Conclusions
Strong evidence of 5–15 g/day dose of COL in improving joint pain and functionality.

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Collagen is not the same as whey or generic protein power. It's got a different concentration of the essential amino acids giving it a different profile. Taking whey for example would not have the same impact as collagen on joint pain.
 
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Ok, so based on the Generic Bulk Routine template given by Lyle Mcdonald this is how I plan to run my leg days.

Day 1:
Bulgarian Split Squats​
4 x 6-8 3m​
Seated Hams​
4 x 6-8 3m​
Leg Ext​
3 x 10-12 90s​
Leg Curl​
3 x 10-12 90s​
Calves / Abs​
​

Day 2:

Squat​
4 x 6-8 3m​
RDL​
4 x 6-8 3m​
Leg Ext​
3 x 10-12 90s​
Leg Curl​
3 x 10-12 90s​
Calves / Abs​
​

I guess my question is are Bulgarian Splits Squats a good choice to lead with on day 1?

I find that heavy squats takes a toll on the lower back.

The alterative is to switch out the BSS for the trap bar deadlift.

But the argument is that the BSS is better for direct leg hypertrophy than the trap bar deadlift.
 
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opethdisciple said:
Both hamstring machines.

I should have been clearer. One is seated the other is lying.

They hit the hamstrings in different ways and different parts of the muscle.
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Yeah i do seated and lying curls between my two sessions, although never in the same session, if anything i would swap your RDL with the seated hamstring curls as Squats should in theory be a more taxing overall movement than BSS and so you can get more out of the RDL's that way.
 
Syla5 said:
Yeah i do seated and lying curls between my two sessions, although never in the same session, if anything i would swap your RDL with the seated hamstring curls as Squats should in theory be a more taxing overall movement than BSS and so you can get more out of the RDL's that way.
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Yea, I'd do the bigger compounds first like Squats/RDLs and then go on to the Isolation based ones like BSS. Instead of say seated hammies, switch over to DB RDL (I've recently started doing these for my hammies and have found they hit really well as an assistance). So, day 1 could be Squat and then DB RDL and Day 2 could be RDL and BSS.
 
2 weeks of having a cold, but I’ve mostly been able to push on in the gym. Two weeks away from breaking all my PRs across the board. Typical of my training where I gain massively in the winter and struggle through the summer. I’m hoping gym air con will help this year.
 
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