Preventing tendon injuries

[wastedwhiteboy2]

For the last 2 years I've been having problems with tendon injuries. Seems like once I get one healed I hurt another tendon. Usually not the same tendon injury. One was an achilles tendon injury from running. I can say I've been in the best shape of my life but I have to take often breaks due to injuries.
I get a good warmup and stretch before lifting. When coming back from an injury I start off with 1/2 the weight and go up in weight week by week. Usually my injury occurs when I'm in peak condition.
Not sure if I'm just pushing it too hard for my old age or what. I'm used to giving it 100% and it's tough to slack off in the gym when I'm in shape.
I pulse sometimes with differnet PH but dont go over recomended doses. Possibly too much strength for the tendons?
One thing I'm going to try is to lay off the AI's and use serms only. Not sure if that will make a difference but I do get dry sometimes.

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong so I'm looking to you guys for tips.

 

[ambulldog]

stay away from low rep work for starters

 

[wastedwhiteboy2]

low rep as in anything below 10 reps? I've raised my reps from 8 to 10. Should I go to 12?

 

[Nitrox]

Heavy weights and uncontrolled negatives (ie just dropping the weights and then 'catching' them at the bottom) are hard on tendons and ligaments.

Also, controlled negatives help to build tendon strength.

I've switched up to an 8-12 rep range with 2-3 second negatives and my joints are starting to feel pretty good. Yes I have had to drop the weight a lot from doing 4-6 reps and under 1 second on the negatives but it hasn't hurt my mass any.

 

[ambulldog]

low rep as in anything below 10 reps? I've raised my reps from 8 to 10. Should I go to 12?

no stay away from id say below 8. unless llike stated above its a slow controlled neg. i train dc and fairly heavy and my joints have never felt better. when i switch to a conventional type routine once in a while and bang out some serious weight with normal rep cadence its only weeks b4 my shoulders and elbows have had it. its dc for me for life

 

[Nitrox]

no stay away from id say below 8. unless llike stated above its a slow controlled neg. i train dc and fairly heavy and my joints have never felt better. when i switch to a conventional type routine once in a while and bang out some serious weight with normal rep cadence its only weeks b4 my shoulders and elbows have had it. its dc for me for life

Good point about mentioning DC training. Higher reps AND integrated stretching. Don't forget to stretch!

 

[ambulldog]

Good point about mentioning DC training. Higher reps AND integrated stretching. Don't forget to stretch!

yeah as an older lifter i follow dantes advice and keep my reps in the 15-25 range rp. i try to avoid a weight that would have me failing before 10 reps. on the 1st set i shoot for a weight that kills me at around 12. ive made great progrees in the last 8 months of dc but nothing beats how my joints feel while doing it. its not for everybody though. ive been thru 4 wo partners doing dc and they all say its not hard enough lmao they just dont like going to failure and reducing their working weight

 

[DBinMD]

Wasted,

I also agree with being careful about reps under 8. When I have tendinitis the absolute minimum number of reps for the area effected is 10. I save the low reps for a couple of sets of flat bench, squats, and 1 for shoulder presses, close grip benches. The rest of the time it's 8-12 with a warm up using very little effort. Since I've been doing that (about 8-9 yrs) I've had very little tendinitis. Make sure your taking enough fish oil and glucosamine/chondroitine (make sure it has chondroitine, glucosamine by itself does nothing for me). If you've tried everything else or even to be safe, it's on to the next step below.

Another thing to think about - get your hormone levels checked. This spring i was having a hard go of it, including tendinitis and muscle pulls. I suspected low test (since I tried every other trick I knew) and I did come back low. doc put me on 25 mg of androgel (which is as low a dose as you can get) and everything got back to normal.

I'm 56 and have been lifting since you were born, so 36 is too young to be worried about being too old. But it's possible you haven't recovered properly from one of your last cycles, so get yourself tested. Pulsing with minimum doses is no guarantee of no suppression, you have to remember that you are only assuming what is in the bottles is accurate (what are you gonna do, sue CEL?) and will effect you as expected. I'm not putting down their use or the manufacturers but you have to be realistic. Also, low test may have nothing to do what you've done in the past, some people can have problems naturally.

Good luck, let us know how things work out.

 

[wastedwhiteboy2]

Thanks guys. I do controlled slow lifts and always do an easy warm up set. I take fishoil but it wont hurt to up my dose. Good point on the low test. That is a possibility. I'm looking into DC lifting as I type. I thought 36 was young too but I feel old when I get injured.

 

[Nitrox]

If you are going in for lab work maybe get a general panel done including thyroid. Low thyroid can cause joint and muscle aches. Going through it myself atm.

 

[ceo]

I can echo most of what has been said. I do DC training as well and have had fewer injuries doing DC than anything else.

I also use a gluc/chond/MSM product (Osteo Bi-Flex Advanced Triple Strength is what I've found works great). I use cissus quadrangularis, and take plenty of fish, flax, olive, and grapeseed oils as well. I make sure I am drinking plenty of water - usually a gallon and a half a day (or about 6 liters).

When I go to the gym, I warmup by riding the stationary bike for 5-10 minutes at a pretty good pace, just to get my blood really flowing/heart pumping, then I rotate my shoulders, elbows and wrists at least 20 times in each direction. I save stretching for after my workout when my muscles/tendons are warm and more pliable. I do the DC extreme stretching.

Take a few extra steps to take care of your body and prepare it adequately and it makes a big difference.