Dave Draper’s Musclebuilding Q&A

I love to get out on a road and run, and have now been running for several years, but wonder if I should put more attention to weight training, which I do for about 30 minutes twice per week. As I get into my 50s, do you have any suggestions for me? Can I continue as I’m doing for the long term, or is there a worry here?

Aerobics are important and do their part in assisting one in a pursuit of fitness. You love running, obviously — the lift and the results. I’m a musclebuilder who wants and seeks health also, but my accent is on muscle building. Beware: too much running will interfere with sound and healthy musclebuilding advances. I believe your knees might begin to show the strain, and your feet, ankles or hips from all the pounding — good sneakers, soft ground or not, but even more so on the road. In my opinion, and especially as we age, a good mix of weights and aerobic is 25% spin bike or running and 75% weights. We lose muscle regularly each year after our mid-20s and spinning or running are not muscle builders after the initial conditioning phase.

Try superset training — if you don’t already — to match your apparent need-to-move nature. You’ll love it for pace and rhythm and muscular results and aerobic-conditioning effect.

Go… God’s speed… Dave

I’ve been having trouble lately with both of my elbows — am still working out, but they are hurting. Any input?

All the joints are overused and abused by lifters and seldom get the rest they need. We’re too busy lifting… hard.

Besides rest, some basics that help me:

• Warm up slowly and surely.
• Wrap the elbow under stress when pain begins or is eminent (I improvised an elbow wrap from a halved knee wrap fitted with Velcro for easy on and off — slip-on commercial version not suitable).
• Certain extension movements, for triceps in particular, might have to be discarded or replaced, permanently or temporarily. Or they might need to be modified, abbreviated or lightened. This is where our musclebuilding commonsense and creativity and survival instincts come together. Find a groove that works.
• Be sensible. Certain pain can be approached and tolerated. Know it and deal with it. I’m sure you do. And then there is pain that is absolutely wrong and damaging and should not be allowed, endured and pursued, or real and permanent injury is in the works. And the injury migrates.
• I don’t use ointments or OC meds… twice a week I use a anti-inflammation med.

You might find rearranging your workout is helpful. You might be pushing too much on one day – spread the stress out – alternate repetitive movements or action. Rep schemes too high or weights too heavy and reps too low?

Eat right, rest wisely, lift sensibly, rock on, Godspeed… Dave

My wrists hurt – I think it’s chronic inflammation.  I’m wondering what you think about wrist surgeries. Do they work or does that backfire? I’m continuing my training, but am aware of potential damage or need of repair.

I don’t know that a good orthopedic MD could offer you a solution to your problem if it’s inflammation. I have similar hand and wrist quirks that are a result of torquing and over-work. They come and go according to my care and awareness.

I note the discomfort and limitation, and am more and more careful each reoccurrence to prevent what seems to be weakness or oversensitivity. I do wrist curls and various specific region-strengthening movements to build up the area, warm up always and allow ample time for repair (actually, I warm up and work my way through the pain wherever and whenever it arises using commonsense and instinct to guide me — sound familiar?).

I think you will become increasingly careful in performing different daily tasks that once were simple, but have now become problematic. Familiarity, growing and learning. My wrist are currently okay cuz of the extra attention and thoughtfulness I afford them. Comes with age and need and fear of liability. They have improved with time and finesse.

I use a wrist wrap on the right wrist for certain demanding movements.

So glad you are pressing on and fighting hard. Go… Godspeed… Dave

My shoulder is wrecked, so I’m doing six Tylenol Extra Strength a day…put on this capsazin stuff…good analgesic…no weights now…90-minute aerobic sessions every day…and eating a lot of protein. I figure a good rest from the iron while maintaining my weight will bring me back stronger when my body has healed.

So sorry to see this.

Do whatever movements you can for whatever muscle tissue you can — in creative positions, mild weight, abbreviated motions, wisely stabilized, much warm-up, extraordinary focus and stimulate with lovable effort. I don’t like stopping the iron action unless I’m unconscious.

Modestly stretch the area and seek healthy shoulder movement. Dumbbells and single pulleys work best for isolation and custom groove-invention; partial curls, partial one-arm rows, mild shrugs, single cable forward-leaning crossovers for pecs and associated tissues, minimal flat dumbbell presses or some bar-only trial lockouts from a flat bench and racks. Work legs on appropriate machines for obvious reasons and to assure systemic growth.

You, the injury, the pain and the iron have got to work it out. Rest and attitude and good eats are invaluable. Don’t overload on the over-the-counter assists. Bad for the tummy. Don’t overload on the aerobics. You’ll disintegrate and dissolve simultaneously. Above all, talk to God, the Great Healer.

The B-69 Bomber, AKA The Irontasauras   (pronounced i-ron-ta-sor’-as)

Is there photos or video somewhere of you doing the exercise called rope tucks? I’ve had back surgery and would like to try these.

No film illustrating rope tucks, sorry. If only I’d thought of it before I became a turnip.

An idea:

Attach a rope to an overhead cable. Kneel before the apparatus and sit back on your heels as best you can (age makes us stiff, ugh), allowing enough room for you to bend fully forward while holding the rope with bent arms near the chest. Using a lightweight, assume the described position and begin a series of exploratory reps.

Aware of your back issues and seeking contraction in the gut and planning a range of 25-plus reps total, you are now in charge of developing a rope-tuck scheme to suit you. Finesse, focus, feel; ample extension at the top, tight contraction at the bottom, controlled tension throughout the thoughtful, unhurried set. There are numerous variations of stretching and tugging and exerting to include lots of torso and other grateful muscle parts — grip, bis, lats, pecs…

Take your time, be suitably cautious and advance the action and exertion, as you become conditioned and familiarized.

I like to shift the body at the end of the tucks to a seated position on the floor and away from the apparatus and continue my efforts in a lat-row movement for a final 6, 8,10 reps. Nice, just enough lower back involvement, again determined by your extension and final contraction positions.

Warm up, light weight at first, listen, feel, engage, be strong and be smart…

Go… Godspeed… DD

I hear of you speaking about tendonitis now and then. I have a sor” spot on the inside of my right elbow, so I try to use light weights when I do curls. Does you use anything to tone down the soreness? I’m 74 and have written before. Any suggestions would be deeply appreciated.

I vary my movements — thumbs up or reverse curls with dumbbells or reverse curl instead of straight bar curls. And I limit the range of motion…  all modifications according to pain.

Wrapping the elbow with an elastic elbow wrap helps me also. Warming up with light weight and progressing the weight slowly set by set allows me to go reasonably heavy. Some movements can no longer be done weekly cuz of a good overload workout… that is, I hit a good workout with a favorite exercise and skip a week due to soreness on certain tri exercises.

God’s speed… Dave

I’m 55 years old and have a real problem with pain on the inside of my elbows. It flares up after I do bench or any lift where stress is put on that area. What can I do to help with this? Is it my tendons that are burning? Any supps that will help?

Sorry that I have no certain resolution. Sounds like tendon pain, though it could be muscle or joint inflammation. Rest works (ugh) and for many the intake of chondroitin and glucosamine and MSM helps, such as Body Ammo. Fish oil is a good move, too, if you’re not already taking that.

I apply lightweight warm-ups with focus and try to determine the guilty, aggravating exercises. I eliminate them temporarily or alter them (range of motion, groove, weight) or focus on other bodyparts till a plan unfolds.

Wrapping sometimes helps. Dumbbells replacing the rigid barbell in exercise often helps. Natural grooves and tracking are essential to avoiding undo stresses… Laree says triggerpoints in the forearm or problems in the shoulder often display pain in the elbow.

We press on… God’s Speed… Dave

I’d like your advice about squats. I’ve been training for a over 20 years, and have been doing various styles of squats, going to full depth.  Over the past few months my knees have got really sore. Do you think I should stop full depth squats and go to parallel instead?  I don’t want to stop squatting, but the sore knees are starting to get too much.  I’m 46 years old.

Nothing like full squats!

A little change of pace, perhaps. Stimulate and revive: mild to moderate extensions, decent curls and walking lunges provide a suitable workout as you focus on the rest of the body. Ease into bench squats after awhile, for awhile. Leg presses for thoughtful reps without going too hard or heavy make for a good squat substitute.

Do you warm up your knees with extensions before squatting?

Around your age, I found wrapping the knees for each set was essential and wise and damage and pain-preemptive. Warm up and wrap — apply commonsense and perfect form.

Hmmm… squat heavy less frequently — squat once a week and augment with a lunging or leg-press workout for a second weekly leg training session…

Eat right, rest plenty, be happy, by God… Dave

I am an avid reader of your articles and have been a fan since the days of old. Based on your long bodybuilding career and current age, how have you managed to keep your joints arthritis free?

To accommodate joint issues –

• I wrap wrist and elbow when overloading (on  and off each set).
• I avoid distressing movements, or modify them appropriately.
• I warm-up carefully.
• I use less training weight and seek strength and musclebuilding advantage through guided, focused maximum muscle exertion, a practice one learns as limitations demand.
• I take a 50mg indomethacin  cap (anti-inflammation) the day of my two weight workouts a week.
• I take plenty of fish oil and Body Ammo Joint Connection regularly  and eat right.

And I deal with the crappy “letting go” that haunts everyone, athletes in particular — I never let go and seek God daily.

Inflammation is troublesome. You might google arthritis or hit this link.

We press on,  counting our blessings… Dave

Thanks for the information on tendonitis in the newsletter. I have this on both of my elbows and I cannot bench press heavy. As a result of this tendonitis, my arms are lagging behind compared to the rest of my body. Please advise  how I can correct the situation.

First, you might re-read the newsletter. It is a bit info-packed and complex and each line offers more insight than you might realize upon one reading.

A few suggestions:

• Don’t bench… Go to dumbbells. This bench limitation should not affect your arm growth.
• Wrap the elbows (on-off set-by-set) when doing tri extensions and other tri-direct work.
• Try working forearms regularly as part of your arm routine — don’t ask why and expect an answer beyond “it helps.”
• Reverse curls, thumbs-up curls, wrist curls add ammo to your arm arsenal.
• Try biceps, triceps supersetting: Standing barbell curl and lying triceps extension//seated dumbbell alternates and seated overhead triceps extension with barbell//low-incline dumbbell curl and machine dips or pulley pushdowns.
• Train hard, mixing weight between moderate to heavy and moderate to light-moderate.

Don’t hurry, stay focused, be precise, keep moving. Work arms up to twice a week.

Pack in the protein and have pre- and post-workout feedings for growth and energy.

Be strong and God’s speed… Dave

*Note:  A reader responded with the following suggestion*

On  the tendonitis issue,  whenever I get it, I get one of those tennis elbow armbands…wear it practically 24/7 till it goes away.  It works.  It just wraps around the arm, hooks with velcro.  Be sure to place it BELOW the elbow, about two inches or so…

Depending on the injury, it can take from days to a couple of months before it’s all back to normal.  Be sure to wear it when lifting, of course, but  also…just all the time. 

I had knee surgery and now think I may have stenosis. Do you take any medication for the stenosis?  Is this malady typical in men in their 60s like us? 

I suggest you google stenosis and review the links and info. I have/had spinal stenosis and after various tests and an MRI was advised to have a L2, L3, L4, L5 lamenectomy (surgery to drill holes for nerve passage), which I had a couple of years ago. Apparently I tried alternative treatments too long and the nerve damage was severe enough that the surgery did not fix the problem.

What’s sometimes thought to be leg stenosis can be peripheral artery disease (PAD), and can sometimes be treated with stent placement. You might have neither dilemma… just a reaction or healing period post-knee surgery. See your doc if trouble prevails…

Get that blood moving… stay strong… Godspeed… Dave

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