Programming around weird quad pain

[Carlos Daniel]

I try not to bother with simple stuff that I might be able to fix myself, but I have this problem that's been bothering my training more than it should.

Background

23 years old
BW: 174
Height: 5'7"
Best lifts
Squat: 355x3
Dead: 340x5
Bench: 225x2
OHP: 145x5x3

Goals: Strength, I intend to compete in a meet by the end of May.

Ever since my late novice days, when I pushed my squats too hard I got this weird pain on my quads. Sometimes on just the right one, sometimes on the left, sometimes on the RF, sometimes on the VL, you get the picture.

It is not simple DOMS, it feels very different and I ask you to trust my judgment on this. The best way I can describe it is that some portions of the muscles are quite inflamed, it feels like someone hit me with a stick all over my quads. It doesn't get better with light work, the only exercise thing that was able to make it feel better was with slow leg presses with the intention of getting a pump and burn (yes, silly, but it felt better afterward). Lightish 20 rep squats made it feel better too, but I suspect it's more of a neurological thing (the pain from the burn distracts the brain from the pain from the injury thing). The pain is quite bothersome, I had to skip my volume workout today because of it and I just can't have that.

Now, I was able to more or less manage this thing. Foam rolling (well, I use a rolling pin so it's rolling pin...hum... rolling) helps a bit. I have found that I can take the volume workout from TM without much problem, but I have found that the intensity workout aggravates the thing quite a bit. So I have been dabbling with doing DE box squats on Friday instead of heavy triples, doubles or 5's. I have found that DE box squats don't aggravate the quad thing. That being so, I have three questions:

-Do you have any experience with this weird quad pain of mine? Have the barbell gods looked upon me and said "Thou shalt not squat heavy, for it is not my will"?

-Would some kind of accessory exercise for the quads help make it stronger and therefore more resilient? It seems that it's always the quads that are hurting, my posterior chain apparently can take quite a beating and is almost never sore. It doesn't seem I have form issues that would explain that.

-Would there be a downside in never doing high intensity work? If I were to do volume on monday and DE on friday, I would probably never work above 85% of 1RM again. Would I be limiting my progress significantly?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Tell me about your diet.

[Carlos Daniel]

Currently my diet is a about a liter or more of whole milk/day, some kind of dead animal, every now and then some eggs, rice or taters. My current BW looks about right, I do intend to get bigger but I have realized it will have to come slowly if I am to stay with reasonable bf% since I'm not a novice anymore.

The quad thing has been mostly unresponsive to eating, I did consider the possibility that it was caused by insufficient eating (the quad thing first showed up when I was trying to reduce food intake as a late novice getting a little bit too fat) so I ended up eating a whole lot more than I should in an attempt to "overeat the injury away", only to get fat and still with fucked up quads. It seems that high intensity is the common variable between episodes of my quad thing.

[Mark Rippetoe]

The only time I have experienced chronic weird unresponsive to therapy quad pain, it was caused by insufficient caloric intake. Have you tried an actual therapist?

[Carlos Daniel]

The only time I have experienced chronic weird unresponsive to therapy quad pain, it was caused by insufficient caloric intake. Have you tried an actual therapist?

I could try to find a strong massage therapist (I assume you are talking about active release therapy) here in Brazil but I don't even know what it would be called nor do I know I there is such a thing around here, or if the guy in question would be competent.

My trusty rolling pin has provided some relief but I can't believe that I have to roll the living shit out of my quads ever day in order to be able to squat ever other day. Is that normal?

[Mark Rippetoe]

No, it's not. That's why I asked about your diet. Maybe you should actually journal this for a few days, and see how much you're actually eating.

[Carlos Daniel]

No, it's not. That's why I asked about your diet. Maybe you should actually journal this for a few days, and see how much you're actually eating.

I'm currently eating enough to stay more or less around the same bodyweight but I guess I could bump it to gain a pound or a little less/week. I am reluctant to gain more because I went down that road, going up to 185 twice, getting fat while doing that and having to diet back to 170-something and a month of dieting is a month of training down the drain. This makes me think I have to be careful with this whole gaining weight thing because dieting is just bothersome.

I know at 174 I'm not a walking wall of muscle but I don't think I can be considered small for my frame either.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Actually, 175 is pretty small for 5' 7".

[Shion]

This could be completely irrelevant but, maybe it's a form issue? My own level of quad DOMS is basically non-existant despite the fact that I work delivering appliances and furnitures going up flights of stairs and that's a fair bit of quad work, while hams, adductors and glutes are sore all the time from squats. The only time I have felt crushing quad DOMS from squats is when my form breaks down and I end up raising the chest a lot. Maybe you need to think of driving with the hips more?

[jwhal]

Rip: May I ask what you would consider a decent weight range for 5' 7"?

Carlos: after three different physiotherapists, I've managed to find a good one (an athlete himself) who utilizes massage therapy, and he solved six years of un-necessary knee pain for me. I know the common perception of PT's around here, but perhaps you could luck out and find someone who is competent in your area?

Jon