Dave Draper’s Musclebuilding Q&A

I worked out with weights every day for three straight months followed by an hour long martial arts workout. I think I was getting a little crazy towards the end. Now I am doing weights every 1-2 days out of necessity: trying to lessen the nagging tendonosis in my arms and chronic soreness in my left shoulder (not yet a rotator cuff tear, thank God). At what point does pain heal and the body get stronger?

Like a fuse, you’re burning out. No time to rest and recuperate and think clearly and wisely about what you are doing — to pause and assess and regulate — to observe and enjoy and appreciate yourself and your endeavors and achievements and life around you. Eager and energized enthusiastic is good; driven and obsessed is bad.

Oh, yeah. There’s that: overtraining, injury, exhaustion, low-resistance and the anxiousness and irritability that results.

When you rest adequately, making sure you’re always eating right, and embark upon a sensible and balanced training regimen.

Godspeed… Dave

I am 67, with osteoarthritis in the knees. I discontinued squats, and in my home gym I don’t have a leg press or calf raise. Will there be no harm doing squats, leg press, deadlift or standing calf raise, or can you suggest an alternative?

I, at 68 and with leg-limiting stenosis issues, have decided my best plan for my future fitness and mobility is to train the legs to walk well, prevent muscle deterioration and not injure or overtrain them. My suggestions include walking a lot, varying the pace from steady, long-distance plods to swift short-distance stints. Include stairs and hills in your sessions and wear a weighted knapsack as your desire and ability allow.

You are the best (and only) one to determine the program for your needs, wants and goals… a mix and match adventure for the wise and willing.

I have taken to farmer walks with 50-pound kettlebells up and down a sufficient grade for 10 sets of 40 to 50 paces. I do this twice a week to complement my twice weekly weighted workouts for the upper body. I think I’m onto something for my particular problem. Leg presses and squats were causing my knees to swell and ache. The farmer walks are, thus far, a welcome event and appear to have improved my balance and gait.

For more direct thigh and core work, you might try standing at the end of a flat bench and half-squatting till your butt taps the bench top. Focused and formed reps count most. When ready, grab a pair of dumbbells and apply the good old-fashioned rules of weight training. High reps, low reps, a few or a lot of sets… your knees will speak to you plainly and help you determine a program.

A popular exercise since Hercules Unchained is the one-leg calf raise off a block holding a dumbbell in the hand matching the leg. Go…

We have enough here to keep us busy, growing and going and going and going… God speed… Dave

I’m 58 years old and started weight lifting at age 14. I felt great for years enjoying exercise. I need to have shoulder replacements in both shoulders due to arthritis. In your years of experience, do you think bodybuilders wear their joints out? Could my case just be from genetics?

Sorry for your injuries and the tough road ahead. Learn, grow and endure and you’ll come out on top.

I suppose we’re susceptible to injury due to a list of variables outside the gym walls, which include genetics, structure, nutrition, accidents, lifestyle and job description. And in the gym even a sound and genetically strong body can be damaged by excessive training, overload, improper exercise execution, carelessness and foolishness.

A responsible and sensible and meticulous lifter has the best chance of surviving training injury-free. Hello! Such animals are as frequent as zebra-striped apes. Most ironheads I know are a good kind of crazy, pushing and pulling with all their might.

Sometimes I think the pain begins in the head and ends in the shoulder… or elbows or knees or…

Slow me down Lord.

I guess that would be Godspeed… Dave

I know you’re not a medical doctor, but I reckon you’ve got Doctorates in bodybuilding and weight lifting, so I wanted to ask you this:  If I go real heavy on barbell curls or dumbbell shrugs, it feels like something is swollen in my upper inner right arm, in the armpit region.  Have you ever experienced this or have any educated guess on what it might be?  It only happens on those two exercises, and only if I go heavy (a weight I can only handle for 4-6 reps). Semper Fidelis…

Gee, by now your biceps are healed, and your guns are the size of cannons.

I don’t know what your problem is, but it sounds like an overwhelmed biceps insertion. Heavy weights and low reps present awesome eccentric or negative action. Gotta warm up, work out with care and persuasion and know that moderate weight with focused intensity can be as affective in building muscle as heavy weight… and safer and smarter.

Yeah, tell that to a Marine fighting terrorists in Afghanistan.

God bless you and your buds and know I’m one of millions of big fans across this great country. I pray for you all regularly.

Handle with care. Never quit… Dave

I have tendinitis above my knees. I weigh 307 and am wondering if you think it will go away if I drop 80 pounds. The local doctor would not answer the question.

I don’t have a certain answer, but commonsense tells me dropping 80 pounds of unnecessary bodyweight while exercising and eating right to affect musclebuilding will be of great overall health and well-being value.

Those knees have big smiles in them when they’re not under excessive and unbalanced strain all day long. It’s worth the grand, magnificent and wonderful risk. I’ll bet most docs and physical therapists would agree.

Go… Godspeed… DD

I’m coming up on 62 in February. My knees are giving me problems, especially my right knee.  In May I’m having a partial knee replacement on my right knee.  How do I keep my leg strength when I can’t squat anymore?

You’ll be wise to listen to your physical therapist and take your time… walking is a great exercise, inclines and stairs eventually.

Light extensions and curls might be included with leg presses in time. The extent of the injury and the particulars of the repair will certainly determine your course of rehab.

You’ll get a few clues from your PT and previously wounded friends and settle on listening to yourself and your instincts to lead you to recovery. You’re a smart guy…

Oh, and prayer… dd

I’m getting a lot of soreness in the hands,  elbows and lower back and hip areas. Lifting slowly with control to get back into the program, but feel like the Tin Man at times.Supplements you recommend? Good drugs? Old fashion rack to be stretched on?

Pain and soreness — more or less — come and go like hooded warriors on horseback with big sticks. You can run, but you can’t hide. I’m always finessing my workouts to accommodate joint and muscle pain. I sit here a heap of throbs and stings and stiffness. Can’t wait till my next workout.

Warming up helps big-time, containing your level of exertion (last rep, extra sets) is important, rest and eating for repair and recuperation are major factors.

Add Omega 3 oils to your diet. Check out Body Ammo, particularly popular and effective for some consumers. I use both.

Any of the over-the-counter basics: Tylenol, Aleve, ibuprophen. These work, but there are downsides, and it’s best not to use them regularly.

There’s a lot to myofascial message therapy. Laree’s big into such pressure message and writes about it almost weekly as her training experience and instruction. Good stuff - excellent - and can be self-administered, but requires fascination and attention. Check her blog entries, here.
We adapt, physically and mentally, but the pain continues to rear its ugly head as we plod through the iron jungle.

Don’t forget your machete if you have far to go… Godspeed… Dave

I am all for the old days when it comes to training, but as I turn 50, my joints, especially my shoulders, are a mess. I used to to do 225 for ten reps on the bench. Today maybe 185 for six on a good day.

Yeah,  funny how that happens. We wear out like old shoes, fan belts and washers in the kitchen faucet.

I say this: Be grateful, not critical, young man.

We have a need, iron-headed as we are, to press on. So we must practice the deed sensibly, courageously and consistently.

Letting go, lightening up, is not a sign of weakness, surrender or inability; it’s a wise, voluntary and brave action to preserve, extend and enable. Love it or hate it, in time the fork is in road and we must make a choice: fight till we drop, or nurture, coax and persuade for a good long time.

Perhaps two more reps is too many and enough reps are just right…

Train smart, eat good, be happy, live, learn and grow… Godspeed…Dave

 I’m 57 and my arthritis and left knee replacement keep me from exercising as I did 10-15 years ago, and as I did in the Army before that.  Is there a way I can still lift weights and not kill my arthritic joints?

Our Old Guy Blues club is getting bigger by the minute.

I suggest you start by adding plenty of Omega-3 oils and a combo of the joint building and protecting ingredients, chondroitin and glucosamine, to your menu. Body Ammo is top quality, my choice for nearly 10 years.

These are a must for the lifter loading his joints and attachments and muscles regularly. A well-balanced diet high in protein and lots of fresh, living food is absolutely important. Add water and rest in abundance, and less stress (water’s the EZ part).

Each day, as you sensibly persist to train, you learn how to establish and finesse the exercises that work, modify the grooves and improvise and invent movements to accommodate you and your limitations. Pain necessitates invention and improvisation. The creativity of ouch…

I use wraps here and there (elbow, wrist, knee) regularly. I warm up a lot in each grouchy exercise and put the wraps on and take them off with each set of exercise where needed. Helps get another worthy percentage of resistance while protecting the area and diminishing the pain.

Warm up lots — Moderate — And by all means, enjoy Bomber Blend – the best protein in the world.

Train hard and always… God’s Might… Dave

 I’m writing because my health has gone downhill. My right foot has had corrective surgeries because of arthritis; my left knee is so arthritic that I can hardly climb stairs. My back won’t let me lift more than 50 pounds standing up. I have ballooned in weight. I have a cable machine and I can do 20 minutes on the elliptical, but can hardly walk after. Please advise.

You have your hands full. The only thing we can do is press on and never quit.

The excess bodyweight can only be approached by the controlled intake of smart foods. Here’s a hint on general nutrition.

How to exercise as we encounter aches and pains and limitations is a bump over which we have less control. The answer seems to be found in the basic rule: Do whatever exercises don’t hurt.

Approach your gym area, take your time and experiment and think. Make a real or mental list of the movements you can do with the equipment you have. These can be partial moves, improvised or invented. Sometimes there are little variations of grip or position or assisting devices that prove invaluable when experiencing and enduring — surviving — our workouts. An assured and hopeful attitude is valuable when getting involved and inventive in tailor made exercise routines.

More disconnected thoughts:

• Do the elliptical in doses of 10 minutes.
• Do one less rep than a sensible max on every set of those exercises  you can do.
• Work from a seated position often.
• Use the wisest and handiest weights — appealing, enjoyable — for more highly focused and custom-formed reps.
• Dumbbells allow greater variation of movement and creativity. Our busted up machines need creative operators.

Make the most of every exercise; few are recruiting one muscle only. Get all the surrounding and associated muscles in the act. It’s encouraging when we realize we’re getting more kick for the buck. One-arm (at a time) exercises work where both arms don’t: seated curl, lateral, overhead triceps press, dumbbell row, leaning press… Stimulate — don’t pound — the muscles.

Get to know your pulley system. If it’s cool, it will be of enormous value as you discover its endless variety of actions, pulls and presses.

I add the following after I say good bye and good luck… rather, God’s mercy and might… Dave Draper

I’ve been doing hyperextensions for my lower back.  Ever since I started doing this move, my lower back has been noticeably sore.  I’ve experienced this issue before and discontinued this exercise.  The question is should I keep up this exercise, and will this discomfort ever stop?

Perhaps you do too great a range of motion, especially the upward range or contraction (too tight), or too many sets or reps or too often during a week. If so, moderate… go for stimulation every 5 days, or, maybe, chuck the exercise.

Do light dumbbell deadlifts, seated lat rows and such to beef up the areas involved for health.

Look into the joint mobility exercises for the hip and pelvic regions as encouraged by Laree in the blog in the past months. Major importance to us all who walk and play and lift.

Go… DD

I’m a 68-year-old man. I don’t feel I’m lifting too much weight, but after workouts the left side of my left elbow hurts and both shoulders hurt. Weights range in poundage from 30 pounds to 40 pounds. I do 15-10-5 reps. Should I back these off or lower my weights?

Oh, boy. The stinkers. Elbows and shoulders and past 25; to back off or not back off.

I don’t know, and I say this with a whiny sigh. The origins of injury and pain are often varied and uncertain and the ultimate resolutions are no less a mystery. I’m going to the gym in an hour and face similar circumstances and wonder which way I’ll go to outwit my adversary.

Warming up is important. I’ll have my right elbow wrap in action, on and off as needed. You might consider a similar assistance, a smaller version of a knee wrap, to handle the load, protect the joint, reduce the pain and enable more exertion — sets and reps or weight handled.

The shoulder limitation demands more creativity. The range of exercises from presses to lateral raises need to be investigated and modified and improvised. The answer is found by trial and (near) error. Try both avenues — alter the reps or alter the weight — for a week and make assessments during and after (days following) the workout.

Focus, feel, find, fix, finished… fun. That’s what I’d do.

There are always your over-the-counter anti-inflammation meds: Tylenol, Advil, Aleve.

Carry on the good fight… we press on… foreword march… never quit… never…

Godspeed….DD

What supplement do you recommend for elbow joint and for shoulder pain? Should it be fish oil or a combination of fish oil and a glucosamine supplement?

You’re on the right track. Stay with the fish oil and check out this link to Body Ammo’s Joint Connection supplement, a superior combination of glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM.

I wrap the elbow — on and off, set by set, for years — with some degree of success with certain movements.

Sometimes Aleve or Tylenol X or Advil are tossed in the mix during the winter months. Sensible exercise change-up helps avert joint overload without diminishing muscle load.

Hang tough, that’s what we do.

dd

Is there something natural that you may know about that will suppress lower back pain, as well as some back exercises to help as well? I’m 6′, 259 pounds and need to get to around 205-210.

The first thing you’ve got to attend is the excess bodyweight. While perhaps not the root of your problem, it is certainly a major contributing factor. It’s gotta go or your problems will worsen. This is accomplished, as you well know, by exercise and correct eating habits.

Without medical attention, you’re limited to the over-the-counter painkillers like Tylenol and Aleve, and anti-inflammatory products like Advil and aspirin. These will help to a degree.

Bottom line, you lower the stress on your back and your entire system as you lower your bodyweight. It’s a wonderful thing if you or your spouse are great food-makers, but you must take strong and deliberate steps to drop the weight and build the body’s muscular system.

Discipline and perseverance and smart thinking are the tools. Everything will improve as you get in shape: energy, health, strength, endurance, diminishing of pain and of back-overload, attitude and behavior.

I suggest you train in a gym where a stationary bike is available for aerobics (four 20-minute sessions of various intensities a week) and 45-60 minute weight workouts three days a week. Nothing overhead, light weight (to moderate weight, in time) for reps in the 8,10,12 range, entire body with an ear to your low-back pain signals.

Take your time to develop your routine as you feel your way around the gym and recall your past workouts and condition your mind and body. Always warm up. Read my last newsletter for the training approach.

You might view our forum… or join in… a smart and friendly bunch.

Train hard and always… God’s Might… Dave

About a year ago I got interested in power lifting. I have a contest coming up next month — what can I do to make the joint pain go away ASAP?
Abused joints go with the territory.
I’ll be blunt: Go back to healthy musclebuilding with a less-intense powerlifting contribution to your training scheme. That’s what I’ve done over the years, a fulfilling and complementary and reasonably safe combination.

As long as you power lift you will endanger your body, regularly over-maxing joints, ligaments and tendons in same ways with same exercises without building muscle balance through thoughtful and extended exercise programs. Gets worse; ask any legit powerlifter.
Wrap your joints, keep inflammation at a minimum by icing and taking over-the-counter meds and resting, eliminate exercises that pointedly aggravate tender regions, and develop an intelligent plan to build supportive muscles. Eat right as nutrition is vital to structure strength and repair.
Try Joint Connection — could help a bit. Also Omega 3 fish oil.
Suggestion: Laree is a student of training injury and body pain and is presenting information of recently developing exercise applications for injury repair and prevention and muscle-balancing. Check out her commentary for a long read on corrective exercise, nothing ASAP about it, however.
Go… Godspeed… Dave

Thank you for the words of encouragement on my Brother Iron and Body Revival books. I need to lose 45-50 lbs (6-0 and 250lbs at age 52) and would like your opinion on the benefits of creatine while losing weight. Also, along with Bomber Blend and Super Spectrum, will the Ageless Growth help with recuperation? What other supplements do you recommend? I have small tears in both rotator cuffs, with full range of movement, and tendinitis in one elbow. I am hoping these supplements will help my strength and recuperation and to avoid surgery.

Thanks for your support. I believe in both books (you will find redundancy in the exercise info — books written for different audiences); both are valuable resources and I expect they’ll answer a lot of you questions.

Creatine is good (choose a superior quality to avoid possible contamination in manufacturing) and aids training, yet it tends to cause intracellular water retention. This is okay and good, but not necessarily appreciated by those on mission to lose weight. If you intend to weight train hard, swell. If not, forget it.

Ageless Growth is a favorite product, but I suggest you settle into your training regimen before bringing it into play.

Consider Body Ammo (glucosamine, chondroitan and MSM) for your joints and tendons.

Carry on the good fight… Godspeed… Dave

A friend of mine went to a chiropractic association meeting last weekend in conjunction with the Arnold Classic. Lou Ferrigno was a surprise guest speaker; he mentioned he had had both knees replaced and possibly needs a hip replacement. I have heard about more and more ex-athletes having similar stories to tell at a relatively young age. I thought the topic of severe joint issues such as these and how heavy weightlifting and/or steroid use over long periods of time may or may not influence these issues could be a good topic for one of your Bomber Blasts.

Thanks for the suggestion. My answers would only be guesses after referencing my years in the musclebuilding world. Real research and stats are not my thing.

Every hardworking pro takes a beating from his or her intense overload to achieve championship ranking — fighters and football players at the top (more accurately, bottom) of the heap.

Mix squats, deadlifts and overhead presses with adrenalin and boundless determination, and you have big muscle and big trouble.

Musclebuilding is wonderfully healthy until we lose commonsense. Ego and pride and insecurity and stupidity take us down.

As to addressing the affect of steroids on joint health, I don’t know enough to be relevant.

Train hard, eat right, be happy… Dave

Shoulder shrugs or shoulder roll: What are they good for, if anything? This would be done with a barbell, dumbbell or Smith Machine. I see it done a lot and have been told that it is not healthy for the shoulders, and I have an older friend who does them all the time yet complains of shoulder pain.

Hefty up-and-down dumbbell shrugs work most safely and effectively to build the shoulder cage and trap muscles. The grip, forearms and biceps are substantially stimulated as well. I’d skip implementing the bars and the rotating (rolling) action as these put an unnatural demand on the rotator regions and contribute to their separation.

Four sets of 15, 12, 10 and 8 reps ascending the rack is a nice mix once a week, wherever they fit your schedule and urge. After arms or back or shoulders or legs… after tea… after the gorilla…

Pull hard and pull again… Dave

I began working out again at home with a bar, a bench and dumbbells after a huge layoff, ’bout 25 years! I’m experiencing elbow pain, mainly with curls and slightly with kickbacks and triceps extensions. Can’t do laterals at all without pain. Holding the weights for deadlifts and calf raises kills the elbows. Do have any advice for an old feller who loves to lift?

Elbows are under heavy stress: age and condition and inflammation due to overuse and overload and insufficient repair time. Additionally, training with limited equipment narrows down your choices of exercises to perform. Less variation, more redundancy and you’re pressed to practice unsuitable or disagreeable movements.

Sounds like tendonitis… so common and disheartening. You’ll have to follow the pain and work out the solution yourself — basic instinct and commonsense.

Rearrange your workouts so pressing and triceps work don’t interfere with one another. Don’t over-extend the elbow in either the lock-out or bent position.

Skip triceps kickbacks — troublesome.

Invest in a pair of elbow wraps that can be pulled on and off, snug and not-so-snug as needed. Helps me bigtime.

Take Aleve or other anti-inflammatory OTC medicine on tougher days. Ice if swelling is visible, or even maybe if not.

Try reverse or thumbs-up curls for painfree biceps action.

Expand your exercise repertoire by improvising or further equipment investments or a gym membership.

Provide a three-day weight-free rest each week.

Carry on the good fight, go… Godspeed… dd

I have a pinched nerve and my lower vertebrae are compressed from an injury. At a recent visit to my chiropractor, he told me to avoid the elliptical and stair master, and to avoid all back exercises… specifically to stop doing squats (one of my favorites). What exercises do you suggest?

Not good news… critical area and you don’t want to abuse or damage it further. Beware and be aware.

Did your DC take pictures to confirm his findings? I’m scheduled for an MRI of the lumbar for a similar problem, which is getting severe. For me, squats are out, but the leg press is no problem till I sort things out.

No major loss giving up the Stairmaster and the elliptical (tough on knees and hips); you can replace them with the stationary bike — practice intervals. Great stuff.

Squats and lunges might have to give way to the leg press, extensions and curls. You might carefully bring in hyperextensions for the lower back health and strength. Dunno about very light deads…

Can’t tell you how many favorites I’ve had to give up due to limitations from injury and age. The beat goes on; we improvise, we adjust, we find joy in the bountiful remnants. Growth comes from accidents, injuries and failure. Smile, you’re on a roll.

Go, girl… Godspeed… Dave