Knee issue...unrelated to training..but still some after effects

[TommyGun]

I recommend staying with the NLP and continuing to increase your strength to stabilize the knee. I ruptured both patellar tendons simultaneously, had emergency surgery, and then had two additional surgeries (one each knee) to remove/repair 3-4 meniscus. Just as you described, I had knee pain, cracking, general discomfort. It may never get to a "100%," but I am confident it is better than without strength training.

Mind if I ask how your knee injury happened? Emergency surgery with follow additional ones, wow.
At work? Basketball? My son had recent (scheduled) knee surgery.

[buddy0329]

I'm 8-weeks into the NLP now. The knee is stronger. It still feels "off", but as I'm getting stronger it has improved and has become less of an issue. I did my squats work sets at 250lbs tonight, they felt lighter and easier than 175lbs was 5 weeks ago. My upper body strength is shit, and my grip is a limiting factor on deadlifts. I have had 8 trigger finger release surgeries in the last 13 years caused by inflamed tendons induced from juvenile diabetes. I'm a physical wreck, tennis elbow surgery 3 years ago, and a decade removed from having both shoulder labrums repaired.

Age 45
Height 5'11"
Beginning weight 276 lbs
Current weight 282 lbs

Squat 125lbs to 250lbs
Bench 75lbs to 130lbs (failed the 5th rep on the 3rd set tonight)
Press 65lbs to 97.5lbs
Deadlift 135lbs to 290lbs (been deadlifting 3x per week so far; will need to add a light pull day soon)

The last couple of weeks I've experienced bilateral numbness (pins and needles) in my hands, completely out nowhere. It was very subtle at first. More recently I started noticing that I was waking up with numb hands in the morning. I didn't train during Thanksgiving week because there was too much going on and it actually got worse last week. I notice it in the thumb, index finger, and middle finger which means it's related to the median nerves. The discomfort can extend into the forearms and elbow but it's inconsistent. Over the last couple of days specifically, bent elbows while working at my desk on the laptop seems to make it flare-up during the day; straightening the arms seems to give some relief. Ibuprofen / Naproxen dont seem to help at all.

Seeing the PCP this week, and I'm sure a neuro soon thereafter to run nerve conductive tests. I feel like I can't catch a break.

[buddy0329]

I'm now on a prescription regimen of 500mg of Naproxen 2x a day for the next 7 days from the PCP pending. Based on symptoms, I get the sense it's carpal tunnel which there is a family history on my mother's side of the family. I'm getting most of the symptoms in the morning and at times during the day while working the computer. Seeing the orthopedist on Monday to get his take.

I did my five's on Friday night without any issue. Squat felt strong @ 255lbs, same for press @ 100lbs. I did struggle with grip a bit on the 5th rep of deadlifts at 295lbs. My deadlift should be @ 315lbs by now if I hadn't backed off by 25lbs 3-weeks ago when I first started noticing symptoms in my hands. I was able to do 5's at 290lbs but noticed I was struggling with grip off the floor one night and could tell my form was suffering as a result.

[buddy0329]

Neck xrays show bone spurs along the ventral aspect of C5-57 with multilevel facet arthropathy.

Saw the orthopedist today. He's someone I trust who has operated on my hands multiple times with good results.

He had no concerns with the barbell training, and said based on his examination and presentation of the symptoms resulting in both median and ulnar nerve he would bet on a cervical radiculopathy versus an acute onset of bilateral carpal tunnel or cubital tunnel syndromes.

PCP already ordered physical therapy for the neck and I have to get an EMG to complete the diagnosis.

[buddy0329]

Naproxen regimen hasn't helped at all. Waiting to get an EMG in 2-weeks to identify if cause is in the neck, shoulders, elbows, or wrists. Added wrist wraps just as a precaution. Training has been unaffected and continuing to see progress:

Squat 270lbs
Bench 132.5lbs
Press 102.5lbs
Deadlift 305lbs

I had been deadlifting 3x per week since October 3rd when I restarted the NLP. I kept that up until Dec 8th when I skipped deadlifts that session. My back and grip has been struggling to recover within 48 hours in the prior couple of workouts; and the back soreness wasn't going away. The extra couple of days helped a lot and I was able to pull 305lbs much easier than 295lbs or 300lbs happened to be.

Instead of deadlifting only once a week would it be reasonable to cut back to every other training session until that no longer works? IOW, next week I would only D/L on Wednesday, and the following week I would D/L Monday and Friday and keep alternating until I had to cut back to 1x per week?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Adjust your training any way you need to. Post when the tests are complete.

[buddy0329]

I decided to try a less severe drop in volume to keep me deadlifting 2x a week for as long as I can manage it. By using a Monday and Friday schedule i would have 72-96 hours between deadlift sessions. I did my set of 5's tonight at 310lbs without drama or any kind of grip problem, numbness, etc.

Back to the knee. I don't want to say it's a non-issue because it's something that is clearly still there, and I still feel it at times in some of the most benign of circumstances. However, since I started this thread ~6-weeks ago I've added 80lbs to my squat. My knee may never be the same but I've compensated for it by getting stronger. 10 weeks ago when I started this NLP I was squatting 125lbs and tonight I just completed sets at 275lbs. I cannot begin to say what a profound difference that has made overall in my day-to-day quality of life.

I've added 10-12lbs of body weight since starting the NLP, but I've have to go down a couple of notches on my belts. According to my bathroom scale my body fat % has dropped by 5%, I know those metrics are generally garbage, but I believe it's moving down based on what I see in the mirror and the progress of my lifts. I can see and feel muscle growth all over. The first thing I noticed are my traps, neck, and forearms. My posterior chain has seen the biggest gains overall with definition in my calves, hamstrings and glutes....and I'm a fat guy. I've even started to notice some triceps and biceps come into the picture.

I do need to fix my diet and get enough protein without going overboard with calories, especially from fat. For example, over the last two days I ate 210g-215g of protein per day, but I consumed 3,400 and 3,800 total calories each day. I probably need to get protein dialed in to 250g-275g per day and get total calories down to 3,000.

[Mark Rippetoe]

I do need to fix my diet and get enough protein without going overboard with calories, especially from fat. For example, over the last two days I ate 210g-215g of protein per day, but I consumed 3,400 and 3,800 total calories each day. I probably need to get protein dialed in to 250g-275g per day and get total calories down to 3,000.

Oh, absolutely, Buddy. Whatever is working so well now, change it. Great idea.

[buddy0329]

Oh, absolutely, Buddy. Whatever is working so well now, change it. Great idea.

Rip,

In SS Radio #25 about an hour into the podcast you give an example of a 5'11" 275lb 19-yr old kid and you want to put him on 3,000 calories. Obviously I'm not just starting out, but I'm also not a 19-year old kid. How would you target calories differently?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Since what you're doing now is working, just keep doing that. I don't understand your confusion.