I can’t emphasize enough how much I love deadlifts. They’re basically making my back, shoulders and arms explode. If I had to cut out all the exercises in my routine but one, this is probably the one I’d retain. Of course, I love squats, too, so salt, grain-sized portions, etc.
Hm. Just to expand something that was brought up in passing earlier a bit…don’t forget that there’s a great deal of cross-over effect in many exercises. If you cut out curling for a while and you’re still doing chins/lat pull-down and rowing movements, you’re still working your biceps. I haven’t done a biceps curl in years and my biceps are still getting bigger and stronger. Just FYI…it’s not really the end of the world if you can’t curl any more.
I want to second and re-emphasize this: ICE, and definitely not heat. If you were to see a physical therapist, he would tell you not only to stop doing the lifting that is aggravating the elbow, but he would also tell you to ice (3 times a day, for 20 minutes) and take an anti-inflammatory. AND the kicker, to continue with the icing regimine even after the pain/discomfort has stopped (continue for about a week after all the pain is gone).
What’s going on (and yes, being over 40, I’ve had a couple bouts of similar problems) is that you’ve inflammed the soft tissues (tendons). And unfortunately, just every day use continues to aggravate it. So icing is the best way to get the inflammation down (you can see why heat is what you don’t want to do). Once you get the inflammation down, you can get back to doing what you were doing before. But it does take time to do this. The less you are able to use (let alone strain) the tissues, the faster they’ll recover. So you decide how quickly you want to get over this thing.
BTW. a physical therapist will also tell you that heat only makes whatever’s sore feel better, but doesn’t do any real “healing.” That is, once the heat is removed, whatever damage is still there just as it was.
And if you need perhaps the most telling proof of the value of icing (aside from my personal experiences): when asked about his secret to longevity, multi-Olympic hurdler Edwin Moses replied that after EVERY race and workout, he soaked his legs in an ice bath !
I’m going to have to work the deadlift in; I’m hearing too many people sing its praises. I realize there is no one-size-fits-all answer, but how much is the right weight for deadlifts, say, compared to one’s flat-bench weight? (By the way, I loved squats too. They just killed my knees.)
And your second point (previously raised as well) is one I tend to overlook–biceps get worked out on other exercises too, of course. I need to keep this in mind.
I’ve heard ice is the way to go. Here’s my problem: I have zero discomfort except when I’m working out. Right now my left elbow feels fine–not a twinge of pain. But I know for sure if I tried to curl, by the second set I’d be in pain, a pain that would quickly dissipate after the work-out.
So, how long is long enough rest? How long do I need to ice? I guess trial and error is the only way to determine?
Tough to say. Start with 3 sets of 8-10 reps at, oh, half your bodyweight and see how that goes. And keep in mind that while the deadlift is generally viewed as a leg exercise, it really does involve pretty much every muscle in your body–in fact, if you go heavy enough, you’ll feel it in your chest. Don’t do that at first.
By the way, when deadlifting, do you rest the weight on the floor at the end of every rep, then start from that position, or do you bring it almost to the floor, then start the next rep? Always wondered that.
If you want to gain muscle mass, I’d say mandatory exercises would include deadlifts, squats, chin-ups/pull-ups, tricep dips, skull crushers, rowing and bench presses. I personally rely largely on rows, tricep dips and chin-ups to work my arms with a few skull crushers/curls thrown in there.
In terms of the degree of elbow pain, you know your body better than I do. But if the pain is so minor, why start a thread? Seems from the OP it twinges a fair bit?
Well, it’s not so minor while I’m actually curling. It hurts to the point where I can’t really execute the exercise hard or properly. It’s similar to other “twinges” I’ve experienced (say, in my shoulder) with the difference being that this condition doesn’t seem to be getting any better–every time I curl now, same deal.
Then a half hour after the work-out my elbow generally feels fine.
Twinges are a part of working out. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be taken seriously. I had a bad, sudden one in my shoulder last week halfway through a heavy triceps exercise. I stopped the exercise, then did the same execise with just the bar, which I could do but was still somewhat painful. Although I did not have the pain when not weightlifting, I decided to stop all chest and tricep exercises for a week. I started bench pressing a couple days ago, then did some triceps/biceps work today at my normal load, and still felt a bit of twinge. So I’m going to not exercise my chest and triceps for another 4 days or so. It just is not worth turning a minor injury into a major one by not letting it heal properly, and in the long run doing other exercises is not a major deal. When not working out, I don’t need to take pain medicine, but time does heal all wounds. Working out can be painful, but if the pain lasts longer than a couple days and is consistently in the same spot your body is trying to tell you something… let me heal. I would recommend not doing those exercises for a week and then try it at 50%.
That’s the advice my lifting partner is giving me: lay off and/or significantly cut back on the weight. I guess there’s no alternative. Thanks for the advice.
You can still get a good workout even if you cut back on the weight. Super set and decrease the downtime in between reps. I do this every once in a while just for a boost.
