at work

[claygrant]

About 3 weeks ago I pulled/strained a muscle below my left rib and my doc said to lay off the weights for 6 weeks. I've been a little down and regret all those days when I skipped my workout just because I was feeling tired or lazy. But, we all have those days of course. Anyway, you guys probably understand that I've been feeling small lately - who wouldn't!! I really miss those after-workout pumps.

So it was very surprising at work last week when a coworker was talking to me about squats and shoulder presses, and after a few other people joined the conversation the first guy walked over to me, pulled up my sleeve, and told everyone, "I mean, look at these arms!" One other guy raised his eyebrows and muttered, "Nice arms." It was too much, considering how small I've been feeling.

On the bright side, I know it's an experience that I should be proud of. It's a testament to all the work I've put in so far, and it's reassuring to know that even in my "small" state that people notice!

[brent]

Originally Posted by claygrant

...
and my doc said to lay off the weights for 6 weeks. I've been a little down and regret all those days when I skipped my workout just because I was feeling tired or lazy. But, we all have those days of course. Anyway, you guys probably understand
...

I do understand. When i hit my head last fall I had to take a month off of the gym. The good news is that due to muscle memory, you'll be back on top in no time!

[Marco_ukmus]

Originally Posted by claygrant

About 3 weeks ago I pulled/strained a muscle below my left rib and my doc said to lay off the weights for 6 weeks.

Ah yes. I have done something very simular about 8 weeks or so ago. I was doing a dumbell bench presses after doing some normal benches and suddenly on the 3rd set, I felt like something moved in the muscles underneath my right pec in the ribs. When i went to see the physio guy, he told me that I had indeed ripped part of the muscle that connected down into my ribs. It was so painful at the time that i could hardly get off the bench. Anyway, the guy told me that infact the damage done was quite hard to do and quite rarely done. But hey, i still managed it... He also recommended not working that muscle group for about 6 weeks.

Like anyone here, If I miss just one workout i feel crap all day long. I think like you, im addicted to training. Which is no bad thing.

Originally Posted by claygrant

So it was very surprising at work last week when a coworker was talking to me about squats and shoulder presses, and after a few other people joined the conversation the first guy walked over to me, pulled up my sleeve, and told everyone, "I mean, look at these arms!" One other guy raised his eyebrows and muttered, "Nice arms." It was too much, considering how small I've been feeling.

On the bright side, I know it's an experience that I should be proud of. It's a testament to all the work I've put in so far, and it's reassuring to know that even in my "small" state that people notice!

Yeah, you should be very proud of your self. Like you say, even though our "bigerexia" kicks in, people notice that hard work and draw attention to it in awe... Like Brent said, you'll soon be back in the gym and get back to what you were lifting, and more...

Marc

[ethernet_jock]

Wow Clay! That's a great story with a good ending!

The best part is that you'll be back to getting even more HUGE in no time! Just be patient, it'll come!

Hey - I did something just like that too! About 8 months ago I was closing down one of my previous employer's offices as we were on the slow path to going out of business... and anyway I was sitting on the floor disassembling a large PBX that I'd just taken off the wall when I decided it was time to lift the entire PBX and put it into a cardboard box on the other side of me. I twisted, lifted, and then twisted the other way while holding the system up in the air.... and just as I twisted the other way it suddenly felt as though I had broken a rib! I quickly put down the phone system, gasped, and laid there on the ground for a good 20 minutes before I even trusted myself to slowly get up (I was alone in this office building).

It took weeks after that before the pain really went away but I managed about 80% of my exercises without moving that part of my body too much after taking the first two weeks off.

Scary really.... be careful when you're working alone.... can't imagine what I'd have done if I had actually been immobilized.

[claygrant]

brent, marco, EJ - thanks for the encouragement. This is why I still come back to this forum. It's amazing how this little site has changed my life. I was thinking about it the other day, and I realized how good it's been for me to meet and share experiences with other guys on here. Sometimes at the gym I feel very isolated, which is a good thing (I can focus on my workout), but I wish there were more friendly guys at the gym who I could talk to about lifting and life-as-a-result-of-lifting. A part of the problem is that now I'm the bodybuilder in my group of friends. None of them are into lifting as much as I am. But it makes sense; none of them are as obsessed about muscle either!