Im not gonna lie since before the gym closed I have really been going through it. Covid came at the worst possible time for me. Late last year I had a gameplan to compete before I turned 40. Do everything right for once. I slipped going down a flight of stairs christmas eve and dislocated my right shoulder. Few days later stepped on a piece of glass and I still remember the agony of forcing myself to stay home while i healed. I had that fire again like i was 19. I couldnt do shit couldnt walk couldnt use basically my upper body that dislocated shoulder was really the first injury in my life. I was so mad. Mad at myself for being stupid mad that i was missing workouts. It had me in tears. Fast forward to feb i was gung ho again. Put on 30lbs and landed in the hospital. Few weeks later i tried again and the gym got shut down. I was heart broken. First it was three weeks and i still had hope. Then it was three months and hope faded. They opened the gym and i felt hope again and the very fucking next day they shut it down. Now i have medial and lateral epicondylitis in my right arm. I cant do shit again. Rehabing an injury with no guarantee of recovery.
There is little joy in my life besides bodybuilding and I keep trying and forces beyond my control keep telling me to stop but then who am I? Just any random middle aged nobody.
So yeah, enjoy your workouts and dont trip on what you dont have. This goes to anybody really. Whatever situation you find yourself in make the best of it and be happy. Im gettin off my soapbox.
Injuries are depressing. Fuck competing. Those temporary drug muscles will soon leave you and all you will have is pictures. I have so many tweeks in my sixties. I still train thinking I'm young. My advice is do what you can and fuck the rest. I can't bench due to shoulder issues but I do stuff like decline presses, dips and push ups. Of course I miss the bench but I can't do it. The beauty of training is that you can usually find a substitute to make it work.
I knew a guy that had his shoulder so fucked up he basically couldn't do anything. He just started running and soon was up to 10 miles a day. When he returned to lifting he used high reps and low weight. He said he just went for the burn. He soon had the best physique he ever had. He misses big benches and deads along with the rest but found his body looked the best using light weights. He was lean and ripped. No, he could never compete with his thin body but damn he looked better than Bruce Lee.
Train hard but forget the sport of bodybuilding that is based on drug use. Half of these guys that are so proud of the pictures they put up know they look like shit without the drugs. The best part about training drug free and adapting to injuries is that you will look great and know you look better than a drug guy when he goes off drugs. Except you will be in shape year round.
