Recently I've been getting back into lifting weights. It's been a couple weeks now that I've been going at it. Four or five years ago, I lifted pretty hard, probably for eight months or a year. Then I just stopped (got tired of it I guess).
Anyway, I like to do a lot of full body work outs: Power cleans, squats, and deadlifts. Then I also do the usual bench press, incline bench press, a variety of arm exercises, a couple back exercises, and some abdominal exercises.
But recently I've been getting some pain in my chest, but not muscle soreness. It's more of an internal pain. I've been to my doctor before I've started lifting, and I'm perfectly healthy.
Has anyone else experienced this kind of thing before? I'm not overly concerned about it, but I'm definitely going to cut back on the amount of days I lift.
Also, please feel free to talk about anything that concerns weight lifting: exercises you like, exercises that can be done without going to a gym, exercises you find to be effective, etc. Also, feel free to talk about your routine, how you find your motivation, etc.
I'm curious to hear what other people have to say about lifting weights, as I'm sort of just getting back into the game, and none of my current friends lift weights.
Torn cartilage may be the culprit, as could a stress fracture around your sternum, ribs, or clavicle. But it also may be overtraining. If you took that much time off and started working out 3-4 days a week or more, especially trying to do what you did before, maybe with just less weight, you may be overtraining. Try going to the gym every 3rd day and don't look at your work schedule as a weekly regime, but as a cycle of 4-6 weeks. Besides, the more you miss on a tight schedule, the more apt you are to quit. When people fail to achieve what appears to be simple goals, they tend to give up--look at a wider body of work.
My suggestion is to focus on the 7 major compound lifts, and do them every work out: traditional deadlift, squat, military press, bench, dip, row, and pull up/chins. Don't even bother with isolating biceps and delts--these movements are proven to activate more muscle groups simultaneously than any other exercises. For instance, if you do bent over barbell rows with your palms facing up and do them with proper form, it works your lats, your posterior chain, traps and also biceps. Same with chin ups if you hold for a 2 count at the top of the movement--it works your bi's to hold you up. Biceps only account for 2% of your muscle mass, so why spend a lot of time on them? Lifting heavy weights and lesser weight with proper form will make your bi's grow.
If your chest still hurts from benching, try a wider grip which will activate your front delts more, or simply start doing perfect form push ups, which can be affective as benching with weights.
Warm up properly (not just jogging on the treadmill or on the bike), by doing dynamic warmups--light weight, short intervals that make you sweat, get your heart rate up, and prepare your muscle for what you are about to do.
Need help putting a workout together? I'll be glad to offer some suggestions.
Good luck, and listen to your body! Don't try to push through it--you know the difference between muscle soreness/fatigue and pain.
Topic: Anyone on Celticsblog lift weights? (Read 15890 times)