Lol's New HST Log
- Thread starter Lol
- Start date
Sat 17/12/16
Update:
Saw surgeon last Tuesday 13th Dec. Had an X-ray and ultrasound to try to figure out what has happened?
The X-ray showed the button was still in place.
The ultrasound was less revealing as there is so much scar tissue in the area where the tendon should be. The operator was finding it tricky to discern whether or not the tendon was still on the bone or not.
Something may still be attached to the bone because the distal biceps tendon has not completely lost tension and when I supinate my hand, there is a little bit of moment. So, the surgeon is hoping that there are enough fibres still close enough to the bone to allow for healing to take place. I hope so too, although it does not instil me with a great deal of confidence. I will be seeing him again in a month's time.
Observationally, if I now compare my left and right arms when standing, the distal end of my left biceps has moved about an inch higher up my arm. I'm assuming that's how far the tendon has also shifted.
Hand pain and numbness still suck but at least the Amitriptyline has taken the edge off it so I can sleep better.
Generally speaking, if it wasn't for the recent hiccup, I would be feeling very positive about my rehab so far. The hand pain is a nuisance but it will hopefully improve as healing continues.
One unwanted thing that did show up on the X-ray was bone forming in my forearm muscles that must have had little bits of drilled out bone lodged in them. Hopefully, that will not get worse. Apparently, keeping the muscles working will help prevent it getting any worse.
Update:
Saw surgeon last Tuesday 13th Dec. Had an X-ray and ultrasound to try to figure out what has happened?
The X-ray showed the button was still in place.
The ultrasound was less revealing as there is so much scar tissue in the area where the tendon should be. The operator was finding it tricky to discern whether or not the tendon was still on the bone or not.
Something may still be attached to the bone because the distal biceps tendon has not completely lost tension and when I supinate my hand, there is a little bit of moment. So, the surgeon is hoping that there are enough fibres still close enough to the bone to allow for healing to take place. I hope so too, although it does not instil me with a great deal of confidence. I will be seeing him again in a month's time.
Observationally, if I now compare my left and right arms when standing, the distal end of my left biceps has moved about an inch higher up my arm. I'm assuming that's how far the tendon has also shifted.
Hand pain and numbness still suck but at least the Amitriptyline has taken the edge off it so I can sleep better.
Generally speaking, if it wasn't for the recent hiccup, I would be feeling very positive about my rehab so far. The hand pain is a nuisance but it will hopefully improve as healing continues.
One unwanted thing that did show up on the X-ray was bone forming in my forearm muscles that must have had little bits of drilled out bone lodged in them. Hopefully, that will not get worse. Apparently, keeping the muscles working will help prevent it getting any worse.
Cheers folks. All the very best with your training for the new year.
I hope to be healed enough to be able to get back to full training by the middle of next year. I will get my squats going again soon but it'll only be light, higher-rep stuff until the arm healing is further along.
I hope to be healed enough to be able to get back to full training by the middle of next year. I will get my squats going again soon but it'll only be light, higher-rep stuff until the arm healing is further along.
Fri 23/12/16
On the road to recovery following repair to left-arm distal biceps tendon rupture.
Paused Front Squat (kg)
Warmup: bar/10, 30/10, 40/10, 50/10, 60/10
Notes:
I recall reading a Dan Jon book on training in which he entitled one chapter: "The warmup is the workout", or something like that. Anyway, that's what my squat workouts are going to be for a while.
I'm going to place the emphasis on form. I have no excuse to be at all sloppy or inconsistent. Paused squats are great for this. I won't be wearing any support gear, such as sleeves or a belt. I will just stick to my O-shoes.
I managed to loosely clean-grip the bar tonight which I couldn't do the last time I tried. Good news.
Legs felt surprisingly fatigued after the 60kg set so I called it a night and will try again, hopefully tomorrow.
On the road to recovery following repair to left-arm distal biceps tendon rupture.
Paused Front Squat (kg)
Warmup: bar/10, 30/10, 40/10, 50/10, 60/10
Notes:
I recall reading a Dan Jon book on training in which he entitled one chapter: "The warmup is the workout", or something like that. Anyway, that's what my squat workouts are going to be for a while.
I'm going to place the emphasis on form. I have no excuse to be at all sloppy or inconsistent. Paused squats are great for this. I won't be wearing any support gear, such as sleeves or a belt. I will just stick to my O-shoes.
I managed to loosely clean-grip the bar tonight which I couldn't do the last time I tried. Good news.
Legs felt surprisingly fatigued after the 60kg set so I called it a night and will try again, hopefully tomorrow.
1/4/17
Hi folks. Hope you are all doing well.
I am taking tentative steps with the weights. Had a complete break from the end of December until 30th March.
Left arm still isn't great. I have constant hand pain but it's reduced now so I've come off all pain killers. Amitriptyline was doing my head in. Biceps are about 1.5" shorter than they were. Have never been given a satisfactory explanation of what happened when I had the post-op "popping". (Somehow my tendon gained 1.5" in length and yet it remained attached to the bone.)
Anyway, I'm going to be playing with baby weights for a while. I have minimal confidence in my left arm so I won't be doing anything that puts my biceps in the firing line. Pronated grip only on any bar lifts for the time being.
Short session to kick things off:
All loads in kg
Hang Snatch
20/5, 30/5, 40/5
Snatch
40/5, 45/3, 50/2,3,3
55/1, 60/1
Straps throughout
C&J
60/2, 65/2, 70/2
Paused Front Skwaats
60/5,5,5,5
Notes
I am down to just over 80kg in bodyweight so have lost about 25lbs. I have have also lost all my calluses and have baby-soft hands, so I taped my thumbs and pinkies as they take the biggest beating with snatch-grip.
Will be focusing on form as I am not in any rush to regain strength. Saying that, I couldn't resist attempting a snatch @60kg. Felt heavy as.
Left hand was a bit more "buzzy" after this session so perhaps lifting will aid nerve repair—or it'll make it worse. I will hope for the former.
For squats I'm going as absolutely deep as I can with heels to glutes and doing my very best not to allow my hips to shoot back and my knees to come in when coming up out of the hole. I have always had a problem with this so now I ought to take the time to address it.
Hi folks. Hope you are all doing well.
I am taking tentative steps with the weights. Had a complete break from the end of December until 30th March.
Left arm still isn't great. I have constant hand pain but it's reduced now so I've come off all pain killers. Amitriptyline was doing my head in. Biceps are about 1.5" shorter than they were. Have never been given a satisfactory explanation of what happened when I had the post-op "popping". (Somehow my tendon gained 1.5" in length and yet it remained attached to the bone.)
Anyway, I'm going to be playing with baby weights for a while. I have minimal confidence in my left arm so I won't be doing anything that puts my biceps in the firing line. Pronated grip only on any bar lifts for the time being.
Short session to kick things off:
All loads in kg
Hang Snatch
20/5, 30/5, 40/5
Snatch
40/5, 45/3, 50/2,3,3
55/1, 60/1
Straps throughout
C&J
60/2, 65/2, 70/2
Paused Front Skwaats
60/5,5,5,5
Notes
I am down to just over 80kg in bodyweight so have lost about 25lbs. I have have also lost all my calluses and have baby-soft hands, so I taped my thumbs and pinkies as they take the biggest beating with snatch-grip.
Will be focusing on form as I am not in any rush to regain strength. Saying that, I couldn't resist attempting a snatch @60kg. Felt heavy as.
Left hand was a bit more "buzzy" after this session so perhaps lifting will aid nerve repair—or it'll make it worse. I will hope for the former.
For squats I'm going as absolutely deep as I can with heels to glutes and doing my very best not to allow my hips to shoot back and my knees to come in when coming up out of the hole. I have always had a problem with this so now I ought to take the time to address it.
Sunday 2/4/17
All loads in kg
Paused HBBS
40/5,5, 50/5, 60/5, 70/5
80/5,5,5
90/1
100/1,1 - 10 sec then 5 sec pause
Bench
20/15, 40/10, 50/10, 60/10,
Brief pauses between reps
70/10
80/5
No pauses except for final reps
Row from bench
50/10
Notes
As-deep-as-possible squats (Heels to glutes). Trying to improve ankle dorsiflexion on right side as it is not as good as on my left.
Shoulders felt a bit uncomfortable when benching. Hopefully they will soon toughen up.
Tried a reduced-ROM row from bench with a light weight. Felt ok. Think I will add these in as part of biceps tendon rehab.
All loads in kg
Paused HBBS
40/5,5, 50/5, 60/5, 70/5
80/5,5,5
90/1
100/1,1 - 10 sec then 5 sec pause
Bench
20/15, 40/10, 50/10, 60/10,
Brief pauses between reps
70/10
80/5
No pauses except for final reps
Row from bench
50/10
Notes
As-deep-as-possible squats (Heels to glutes). Trying to improve ankle dorsiflexion on right side as it is not as good as on my left.
Shoulders felt a bit uncomfortable when benching. Hopefully they will soon toughen up.
Tried a reduced-ROM row from bench with a light weight. Felt ok. Think I will add these in as part of biceps tendon rehab.
21/07/17
General update
Bodyweight is currently around 82kg.
Am dealing with a few annoying niggles. Still have a numb top of left thumb and part of the back of my hand. There's some pain and constant pins and needles too, depending on what I'm doing. That's generally a nuisance in everyday life but I can still hook-grip ok.
Started deadlifting again but left hip got upset so I had to back off those. I need to work up more gradually.
Hip has since improved but right knee now has some sort of nerve impingement going on which has spoilt my squat progression. I managed to get up to 130kg for paused HBBS but I have had to lay off them again now. Hopefully, I'll be able to get back to them soon.
When doing clean-pulls the other eve (@ only 105kg), I had a pain in my left biceps. I think it's going to be ok. Upper-arm went a bit yellow for a few days and it was sore to the touch but the pain has reduced today. I'm sure it is related to my distal biceps tendon rupture, although I'm relieved that the pain was not at the distal end (ie. in my forearm). I do think my biceps were damaged at the time of the injury (and not just the tendon). Now I am indirectly loading them up a bit more, it seems I am getting to the stage where I am going to have to be more careful again. It's still only seven months since my tendon was bolted back on.
Bench has been going ok although I'm well away from anything that was heavy for me. My rows are way down now too for obvious reasons.
Snatch is currently at 75kg, clean is at 102.5kg and jerk is a bit less than that. If I can get back on track, I'm now considering a weightlifting comp in March next year. I have decided that the October powerlifting meet I was planning on entering is not on the cards as I am way behind where I was at this time last year.
Today, I purchased Lyle M's new ebook on Optimal Nutrition for Injury. It may prove helpful.
General update
Bodyweight is currently around 82kg.
Am dealing with a few annoying niggles. Still have a numb top of left thumb and part of the back of my hand. There's some pain and constant pins and needles too, depending on what I'm doing. That's generally a nuisance in everyday life but I can still hook-grip ok.
Started deadlifting again but left hip got upset so I had to back off those. I need to work up more gradually.
Hip has since improved but right knee now has some sort of nerve impingement going on which has spoilt my squat progression. I managed to get up to 130kg for paused HBBS but I have had to lay off them again now. Hopefully, I'll be able to get back to them soon.
When doing clean-pulls the other eve (@ only 105kg), I had a pain in my left biceps. I think it's going to be ok. Upper-arm went a bit yellow for a few days and it was sore to the touch but the pain has reduced today. I'm sure it is related to my distal biceps tendon rupture, although I'm relieved that the pain was not at the distal end (ie. in my forearm). I do think my biceps were damaged at the time of the injury (and not just the tendon). Now I am indirectly loading them up a bit more, it seems I am getting to the stage where I am going to have to be more careful again. It's still only seven months since my tendon was bolted back on.
Bench has been going ok although I'm well away from anything that was heavy for me. My rows are way down now too for obvious reasons.
Snatch is currently at 75kg, clean is at 102.5kg and jerk is a bit less than that. If I can get back on track, I'm now considering a weightlifting comp in March next year. I have decided that the October powerlifting meet I was planning on entering is not on the cards as I am way behind where I was at this time last year.
Today, I purchased Lyle M's new ebook on Optimal Nutrition for Injury. It may prove helpful.
Sunday 30/7/17
Left biceps still not right (there's some bruising and a hard lump) so I'm giving o-lifts, rows and deads a break.
I can still bench ok and squat though.
Paused Front Squats (kg)
W-U: 50/5, 70/5, 80/3
90/5
95/5,5,5
100/5*,3 - * PR
70/15 - met set
Knee sleeves throughout. No belt
Notes
Bodyweight is currently around 82 kg.
5 x 100 PR was not a max effort but it was not far off.
My current goal for these is to get to 120 for paused sets of 5. I may need to add a bit of bodyweight along the way.
Left biceps still not right (there's some bruising and a hard lump) so I'm giving o-lifts, rows and deads a break.
I can still bench ok and squat though.
Paused Front Squats (kg)
W-U: 50/5, 70/5, 80/3
90/5
95/5,5,5
100/5*,3 - * PR
70/15 - met set
Knee sleeves throughout. No belt
Notes
Bodyweight is currently around 82 kg.
5 x 100 PR was not a max effort but it was not far off.
My current goal for these is to get to 120 for paused sets of 5. I may need to add a bit of bodyweight along the way.
Got a paused HBBS at 140kg the other night which is a PR for this kind of squat.
I've been doing paused squats for the past few months to improve my bottom position in the snatch and c&j. I use the load to push me down as far as possible and focus on getting a big stretch in my hips and ankles. It's helping.
With lighter loads, up to about 100kg, I hang out in the hole for a count of 20. At 140 it was more like 2 seconds but it was still a pause.
Got lots of DOMS in adductors following that session and a little bit of a nerve twinge in my lower-back. Thankfully, that is a lot better today so deads later.
I've been doing paused squats for the past few months to improve my bottom position in the snatch and c&j. I use the load to push me down as far as possible and focus on getting a big stretch in my hips and ankles. It's helping.
With lighter loads, up to about 100kg, I hang out in the hole for a count of 20. At 140 it was more like 2 seconds but it was still a pause.
Got lots of DOMS in adductors following that session and a little bit of a nerve twinge in my lower-back. Thankfully, that is a lot better today so deads later.