Update on surgery recovery & rehab and a training question..

[paulsed1]

Well, for anyone that may recall, I posted on here about six weeks ago about a humerus fracture I suffered from arm-wrestling and the subsequent surgery I got to fix it. I am glad I did get it. Even though it still freaks me out a bit when I see the plate that is in my arm in the X-rays, there is no doubt that recovery is much quicker this way. It is six weeks out from the surgery and other than the scar, you wouldn't even know anything happened. Of course my right arm has atrophied a bit, from almost 19 inches or so to just a little over 17". Hopefully that size will eventually be regained.

Today I also got the go ahead to start lifting with my right arm again, yay! The doctor's instructions were to use a weight that falls within the 20-rep range. I haven't lifted with my right arm at all for the past six weeks (a little left arm training to maintain), so I obviously won't be starting with super intense 20 rep sets right off the bat. Once the initial kinks are worked out though, I would like to still make the 20 rep sets challenging. My question is, do you think gains can still be supported with this rep range? It is obviously not going to build a lot of tendon strength. I love to normally train pretty heavy, but he said the bone will not be fully calcified until 3 to 4 months out. I guess I should be grateful for what I can do. Has anyone ever trained like this with success or know of any special programs? I am thinking if I keep rest periods short, maybe I will still get a decent workout. The bone is still not completely healed yet either, so I need to be careful. You can still just barely see the fracture line. The movements need to be tight, nothing to mimic arm-wrestling. No Flyes and such, just good basic, compound movements, which are the best anway.

Any and all thoughts are appreciated, thank you!

Paul
 
     

[thelamefalsehood]

I tore my left bicep in early April so I feal your pain about the atrophy and not being able to lift. I have started working upperbody again, I waited 6 weeks postop as well. My Doc never mentioned staying at that 20 rep guideline your Doc did, he just said to pay attention to my body and to hold back for a while at going all out. What I do now, is pick one compound movement per bodypart and do only that movement. My rep ranges are 12 at the highest and 2 at the lowest. Even though I say 2 reps, its not like I am trying to set new PR's or anything, just getting my arm used to moving weight again. I usually do 6-10 sets, just dependent on the bodypart. I usually start pretty light and pyramid up 5-15% per set. I workout each bodypart twice a week now because I am using alot less weight, so I seem to recover quicker. I would say start out at the high rep end like the Doc said, but don't be afraid to go a little heavier and lower the reps. Just pay attention to your body, if something is wrong, it will let you know. I also wrap my bad arm with an ace bandage for all sets where it is involved, and if I feel it needs a little extra support, I will add a neoprene sleeve. Good luck and be careful

[JackCheze]

Did you talk to the doc (or a nutritionist) about diet?