CTS
I’ve experienced another case of Carpal Tunnel syndrome, or CTS. I’ve been feeling mild pain in my forearms but not necessarily in my wrists. It really went wild after doing a set of “over the bench forearm curls.” I’ve been experiencing pain (not the good kind) in my shoulders and upper arm too. It’s hard to stop after not taking a break in seven months, doubling every weight, and really liking every minute of it. Oh well. I’ll take the last five days of the week on cardio, lower body, core, and who knows what. My wife thinks I should try a Yoga or step class. She’s probably right but I can’t help feeling like I’ll leave the class with less than two testicles. Treadmill sounds good to me.
February 17, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Yoga would be good for stretching but you aren’t going to burn very many calories. And yeah I agree attending either one is going to be less than manly. Just switch up the exercises. Do the exercises that you are able and leave out the ones you are not. I have suffered many over use injuries over the past several years. The best best is to rest the worn/sore body parts. Nothing will hinder training more than chronic injuries that keep cropping up.
March 9, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Progress! I don’t know if what I’m dealing with is full-blown CTS as some have said it’s a chronic thing. I also dealt with extremely sore joints all over with the wrists being the worst. I’ve learned to handle things better with the following approach.
-Glucosamine (1500mg/day) and Chondroitin sulfate(1200mg/day) supplements – 2X daily
Major help. I was very skeptical but not anymore. I picked up the Kirkland brand at Costco and I could tell a marked difference right away. It makes sense given that joints are made primarily of glucosamine but I didn’t expect such a difference.
-Mix it up!
I’ve been changing my training style. Instead of bicep curls with dumbbells I’ve been using bands instead. They allow for a much more natural movement and wrist support. I’ve been trying different ways of lifting to help vary my approach while paying serious attention to how my joints feel. IE: on chest day, week one is plate loaded machines, week two dumbbells, week three barbells. If I feel my joints straining than I don’t push it even a little. Fact is that I lift heavy and very often so I need to allow my body to heal after a vicious and unrelenting training cycle.
-Easy there bud.
Each muscle group 1X per week. I tried taking arms to 2X per week and my body started to fall apart. 7-day split is the max that I can physically. Keep in mind that I don’t leave the gym until the muscle group is near destroyed. Pacing myself on a 1X week schedule split helps.