After one scant month of working out, I have learned a very important and hard-won lesson: It helps if you know what you are doing before you do it.
My doctor informed me that my newly-contracted Plantar Fasciitis won't get lonely because I have Tennis Elbow to keep it company. The former is the consequence of being too dumb to know when to quit jogging and the latter is the byproduct of technically having too much weight on the dumbbell during bicep curls.
In order to achieve the greatest amount of muscle development, bodybuilders are instructed to go through a full range of motion for each exercise. For example, when doing a bicep curl, one should begin with the elbow extended and not stop until the arm is completely folded. However, for long-limbed athletes such as myself, this is a problem. The elbow acts as a fulcrum. The farther the weight is from the pivot, the greater the amount of force required to move the object. |
What does this mean? Long-armed curlers exert more pressure on the elbow joint than their shorter-limbed peers. (Most professional bodybuilders are 3 - 4 inches shorter than me.)
The obvious solution would be to use a lighter weight but, if I did, I'd sacrifice muscle tension, which is what creates muscle growth. Instead, and as suggested by six-foot-one Cedric McMillan, the trick is to shorten the range of motion to three-quarters.
The obvious solution would be to use a lighter weight but, if I did, I'd sacrifice muscle tension, which is what creates muscle growth. Instead, and as suggested by six-foot-one Cedric McMillan, the trick is to shorten the range of motion to three-quarters.
To make matters worse, when my muscles wouldn't let me do anymore, I naively curled my wrist inward (instead of keeping it straight) so I could get one more rep. This overtaxed my Extensor muscles. By the end of the set, I was so exhausted, I foolishly let the weight drop, which jerked my arm downward. Not good. |
This all boils down to "too much, too quick." These are rookie mistakes that my doctor said she sees all the time with bodybuilders.
Lesson learned: Weight training takes patience, not only in what you do, but also in what you don't do. (And making sure that when you do, you are doing it properly.)
I've been told to take two weeks off. However, as luck would have it, I injured my right elbow, so I can still work my less developed left arm. Also, my midsection seems to be in one functional piece, so I can focus on that in the meantime as well.
I'll report back in January when I'm running on all six cylinders once again.
Lesson learned: Weight training takes patience, not only in what you do, but also in what you don't do. (And making sure that when you do, you are doing it properly.)
I've been told to take two weeks off. However, as luck would have it, I injured my right elbow, so I can still work my less developed left arm. Also, my midsection seems to be in one functional piece, so I can focus on that in the meantime as well.
I'll report back in January when I'm running on all six cylinders once again.
#ThorChallenge #BeYourOwnSuperhero #PlantarFasciitis #TennisElbow #Injury #BicepCurls #Patience
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