I've had two hernia surgeries and want to build up

[Piruz]

I've had two hernia surgeries on both sides of the lower part of (not sure what it's called lol!) and have recovered fully. The doctor said that hopefully it would never reoccur because I'm still young and tissues are still fresh. Anyway, I wanna build up body without running into a reoccurrence or some new hernia in body.

I've already been exercising for about a month, lifting weights (5 kg on each hand) for hundreds of times every day and on different position. I've also been doing 100 sit ups everyday for about a week now. I'm not that fit and I have a fat of some sort so muscles aren't that ready I'd guess. height is something like 177 cm and weight is 100 kg, I have quit a wide structure so don't let the weight fool you.

So, I wanna know what's good for me and what's bad. I don't wanna strain muscles and run into hernias but I want to gradually strengthen muscles and be able to withstand long durations of exercise and muscle pressure without causing damage.

Please give me an ideal guide, I want professional stuff. Cheers!

[Piruz]

Guys??

[Boss Man]

I posted this for someone else recently so it might work for you.

Breakfast

Option 1.

Bowl of Whole-grain Cereal and 1 rasher of Bacon, fat trimmed off and scrambled Eggs, (2 Egg Whites + Yolk)

Option 2.

Protein shake, small portion of Nuts, (excluding higher carb ones like Cashews, Chestnuts and Grapenuts), + Apple. Give the Apple 10-15 minutes to digest to improve digestion.


Snack

Option 1.

Portion of Turkey + Orange

Option 2.

Small Portion of Peanuts, some Chicken + Raw Carrott.


Lunch

Option 1.

Large Beef Sandwich with trimmings, I.E. Tomato, Lettuce, Cucumber etc.

Option 2.

Bowl of Chicken Soup, + Pot of yoghurt.


Snack

Option 1.

Turkey + Cashews

Option 2.

Ham + 2 large Tomatos


Dinner

Option 1.

Pork with mashed Potato.

Option 2.

Chicken and Rice

Option 3.

100g Halibut + Broccoli


Snack

Option 1.

Beans on Toast

Option 2.

Ham Sandwich, no trimmings.

Easy on the bread with both options.

You could add a few things to certain meals, like Sea Salt, Cracked Black Pepper, Parsley, Mustard, Herbs, Garlic.

As for the training you could do a schedule something like this, which is all bodyweighted.

Squats, 2 sets, 10 reps

Lunges, 2 sets, 10 reps

Good Mornings, 2 sets, 10 reps

Bent over Rows, 2 sets, 10 reps

Vertical Flyes, 2 sets, 10 reps

Shrugs, 2 sets, 10 reps

Planks 30 seconds.

In relation to the training ideas I gave you above, your bodyweight workouts and cardio schedule could look something like this.

Day 1. Bodyweight

Day 2. Cardio

Day 3. Bodyweight

Day 4. Day off

Day 5. Cardio

Day 6. Bodyweight

Day 7. Day off.

This prevents you doing 5 days straight and 2 days of nothing, as I think that's allowing too much consecutive taxation and 2 days of your body doing nothing, slowly starting to adjust to it, before 5 days of grind again, which might take the edge off progress potential, so the 5 split days should be better for you.

I would also say though for future reference, that due to peoples time contraints and / or levels of understanding, it's not always possible to get quick responses, so you will have to be a little more patient in future when you want responses .

Anything else you want to ask, don't hesitate .

[Piruz]

Cheers mate!

But I want to know, are the exercises that I've been doing for a month now not so useful? As I've said I've been lifting weights with 5 kg on each hand in different positions for about 500 times every day with an additional 100 sit ups. Besides legs which I need to work on by running, doesn't this train all upper part equally without leaving one part not so worked out?

Also I'm more worried about injuries or reoccurrence of hernias. I had pains when I started the exercises but the pain gradually shifted away after 3 or 4 days of training and then I was all set and right on. During sit ups I could still (when doing more than 100 everyday) feel some sort of strain on the right side of during exercise. What do I need to do in order to avoid injuries that result from excessive exercise?

Thanks in advance mate.

[Boss Man]

Benefit could have been derived, but because you're using the same weight level on everything, some parts of the body will be working at a greater percentage of maximum depending on the size.

So you would be stimulating areas like the arms and shoulders more than the back, chest and legs and there is a slight risk you might be overtraining anyway doing things 500 times a day.

You'd be better having a system like the one I described, with fixed training days, a fixed system and prescribed periods of rest over the week, as opposed to doing something every day, multiple times, when you can find the time.

You might cause some slight muscle imbalances and posture issues doing what you're doing, as you'd be using a level of weight that causes more taxation on the small muscles, therefore alowing them to progress further than bigger ones, because you can't use more weight on the bigger ones, to allow for a similar strength progression in the larger muscles.

For example I know people in the gym who could train their shoulders with twice what you're using and max out for around 8-10 reps, but that weight level wouldn't even represent 1/10 of what they could handle with their quads when squatting.

So anyone using what you are using and maxing for reps on shoulders, would be capable of probably 8-10 times that much on a squat, so therefore allowing a greater muscle growth potential on small muscles versus big ones, could possibly create posture and pain issues, because 5kg dumbells stimulate certain muscles more than others in terms of progression, if they are all you can use.

This could therefore create imbalances, as the percentage improvement in some muscles would be greater and bigger muscles could plateau with what you're lifting, sooner than small ones.

Hopefully that all makes sense.

Doing bodyweighted stuff means you're working with what weight your body has and nothing more than that.

One way to improve your bodies potential to remain proportionate, would be to use the dumbells on large muscle groups, then use a lower amount of weight on smaller ones, like a couple of equal sized books, that weigh around 40-50% of what the dumbells do, so the small muscles should have their growth potential limited to the same kind of percentage as the larger ones.

You could then incorporate the books and dumbells into the routine I described.

[Piruz]

Alright. Thanks allot man, I'm gonna take the program you suggested.

However, there are some exercises that I can't do because I don't have the necessary equipment. For instance, I can't do Good Mornings because the weights I have are separate (and please don't ask me to buy some long ones cuz I really can't do that right now lol!). Bent Over Rows are also not an option for the same reason. Any alternative? Vertical Flies I can do since it is possible to pull them off with two separate weights which is what I will do.

Shrugs are just nasty as I know in advance they will make me look like a gym monkey! Don't you think that I can strengthen shoulder enough by doing the rest of the exercises you suggested?

Also I don't understand why you didn't include sit ups. Is there any exercises up there that you can swap with sit ups? I really think they have good benefits for me as I need strong muscles. Also aren't you going soft on me by suggesting no more than 2 sets and 10 reps for each exercise? I know I can do more than that without hurting myself!

Thanks in advance mate!

[Boss Man]

Planks are good for core strength whereas sit-ups have bene linked to lower back issues in the past.

Bent over rows and good mornings can be performed with dumbells as well as barbells, so no need to ditch them or use alternatives.

Doing what was suggested might have an effect on the shoulders, but shrugs will work. The mistake many people make is to roll the joint on shrugs, which could lead to rotator cuff issues.

The typical straight up and down works well, though some like to squeeze for a second or two at the top of the movement.

2 sets of 10 is not a case of hurting yourself, it's a case of letting the muscles get used to certain things. In a gym environment any such TBT system like the one I described would be done with that kind of mentality, because it was established years ago, that 3 sets of anything for people getting accustomed to weightlifting biomechanics, created demands that couldn't tolerate too well.

In your case it wouldn't be forever, you'd only need to do it this way for about 4 weeks, then add a third set on everything except the shrugs, because of secondary stimulation from one or more other exercises.

[Piruz]

Alright, I get it, thanks. I've got a few questions though.

I just heard from a friend that doing exercise and then quitting all of a sudden could harm your muscles and make them even weaker than before, also possibly making them look all soft and small! Is that in any way true?

Now about Shrugs and exercises focusing on the neck/shoulder, say I don't add a third set to them and yet add more to the rest, would that stop them from becoming too big? Do they become all that big anyway? I mean I've seen martial artists and fighters with an ideal body and great reflexes but without growing too much shoulder/neck muscles. I want to be the same.

Also in regards to sit ups, I think they're too important if you wanna be able to, say, jump from back to feet, right? or do planks serve that purpose as well?

Finally, I wanna know it's true whether lifting weights while standing (like in Good Mornings) reduces your height by pushing the discs between your back bones closer to each other. I know that stretching might be able to increase those spaces and gain you height. I can't risk being shorten than 177 cm you know!

[Boss Man]

I just heard from a friend that doing exercise and then quitting all of a sudden could harm your muscles and make them even weaker than before, also possibly making them look all soft and small! Is that in any way true?

(Yes to some degree. Catabolism happens initially, but atrophy happens in the long term, because the body cannot sustain muscle at a level it's been elevated to, by stress based exercise(s), if you stop, but the good thing is the membrane surrounding muscles called the fascia, does not shrink, so muscle regain after say enforced no or or lighter lifting, possibly after an injury spell, happens quicker than the initial gains, because that fascia is not providing resistance, until you are in a situation where you are trying to bulk beyond the point, where a lighter or prohibited lifting period started.

The muscles might look softer, becasue 1lb of added muscle burns another 45-50 calories per day, so losing some would potentially cause a small increase in fat, between the muscles and the dermal layer.)

Now about Shrugs and exercises focusing on the neck/shoulder, say I don't add a third set to them and yet add more to the rest, would that stop them from becoming too big? Do they become all that big anyway? I mean I've seen martial artists and fighters with an ideal body and great reflexes but without growing too much shoulder/neck muscles. I want to be the same.

(You could affect growth yes, but you could try that and see how it goes and if you feel you're not getting enough growth, or you're starting to experience slight issues with posture, discomfort and disproportionate muscle size relative to surrounding muscles, then try the added set and see how that works for a few weeks at least.)

Also in regards to sit ups, I think they're too important if you wanna be able to, say, jump from back to feet, right? or do planks serve that purpose as well?

(Planks condition the muscle well as do things like leg raises, reverse crunches, V's .a.k.a Bananas I think and if people have the equipment available, roman chairs. Sit-ups do increase risk of back problems, but also, unless you use a workout partner, or anchor the toes under something like a radiator pipe, they're damned near impossible to do and you would struggle to do one let alone several, so they're not ideal; although there is a version called Janda sit-ups, developed by a Doctor Janda, who I think is Czech, but they require a workout partner, or the device created by Pavel Tsatsouline, called the pavelator, which allows Janda's to be performed without a partner so I believe.)

Finally, I wanna know it's true whether lifting weights while standing (like in Good Mornings) reduces your height by pushing the discs between your back bones closer to each other. I know that stretching might be able to increase those spaces and gain you height. I can't risk being shorten than 177 cm you know!

(I would think the effect you're eluding to would be almost certainly unlikely. I've never heard or read about any such effect, relating to things like good mornings, or romanian deadlifts, where fluctuating anterior tilt is required to perform the movement, as opposed to utilising a fixed anterior tilt, like you would with something like bent over rows.

So I think you would be fine.)

[Piruz]

Yes to some degree. Catabolism happens initially, but atrophy happens in the long term, because the body cannot sustain muscle at a level it's been elevated to, by stress based exercise(s), if you stop, but the good thing is the membrane surrounding muscles called the fascia, does not shrink, so muscle regain after say enforced no or or lighter lifting, possibly after an injury spell, happens quicker than the initial gains, because that fascia is not providing resistance, until you are in a situation where you are trying to bulk beyond the point, where a lighter or prohibited lifting period started.

The muscles might look softer, becasue 1lb of added muscle burns another 45-50 calories per day, so losing some would potentially cause a small increase in fat, between the muscles and the dermal layer.

God! Is there any way to make sure the muscles grow in a relatively stable way? Do they, after months of years of work out, reach a point where they begin to stabilize even if you quit the exercise? Isn't there any way at all?

Planks condition the muscle well as do things like leg raises, reverse crunches, V's .a.k.a Bananas I think and if people have the equipment available, roman chairs. Sit-ups do increase risk of back problems, but also, unless you use a workout partner, or anchor the toes under something like a radiator pipe, they're damned near impossible to do and you would struggle to do one let alone several, so they're not ideal; although there is a version called Janda sit-ups, developed by a Doctor Janda, who I think is Czech, but they require a workout partner, or the device created by Pavel Tsatsouline, called the pavelator, which allows Janda's to be performed without a partner so I believe.

I've been doing 100 sit ups everyday for weeks, and nothing turned out wrong and they're not as difficult as you suggest. Yes, at times I did place toes under something but not always. They made me feel allot more mobile as

I would think the effect you're eluding to would be almost certainly unlikely. I've never heard or read about any such effect, relating to things like good mornings, or romanian deadlifts, where fluctuating anterior tilt is required to perform the movement, as opposed to utilising a fixed anterior tilt, like you would with something like bent over rows.

So I think you would be fine.

But I know I read somewhere (and it was a professional article) that during the day our height gradually decreases and by night we are a few inches shorter because the discs between our bones are closer to each other due to work out during the day (I know this because when measuring height during the day I am somewhat shorter). Something tells me that lifting weights upwards every two days will definitely add to the pressure and push the discs closer to each other.

Anyway if it has not been observed in most people that lifting weights upwards reduces their height, I won't worry too much about it. Maybe what I'm saying applies more to people who focus all (or most of) their exercise on lifting really heavy weights upwards.

Anyway thanks for all the help!

[Boss Man]

Yes you get longer when you sleep and shorter when you are awake, because of the effects of gravity. The spine does shorten a little bit, because gravity and the weight of the head makes it happen to a large extent and the discrepancy is around 3cm as you say.

As for muscles developing stability, yes they do when trained correctly and with attention to maturing them equally and not focusing to much or too little on some areas, but enevitably when you get situations where you are forced to cut down or stop training certain areas for a time through injury for example, thne you might develop a slight disparity between some muscles and others.

As for the sit-ups, if they work for you fair enough, but often then can be a problem for people who train alone and as I say, they have bene linked to back issues. I use planks as the core of abs work negate to use sit-ups through past experience. no back issues just inconsistent ability to perform them correctly, which may be related to me being tall, but I'm not certain of that, as I don't know whether or how height affects things like sit-ups.

However on the issues of stabilisation of muscles again, no, they can't stay the same when you stop working them, not beyond the first 2-3 days after a session, as catabolism or atrophy start kicking in, as what you're doing is taking a muscle beyond where nature let it get to and forcing it to adapt, but when you stop doing what makes the muscle adapt, the muscle would revert back to where it started from and the aging process would eventually become part of the equation when your body stopped producing as much of things like testosterone and DHEA.

That's why Arnie stopped taking steroids and lost a lot of his previous size, because training as hard as he could have done when on them, would not have prevented loss of some muscle, owing to only having 2 of the 3 primary ingredients needed, to create that "beyond natural mass" still in the equation.

It's a similar thing with consumption of stimulents; you can be addicted, but to stave off the substance(s), kills an addicition eventually. The body adapts to change, but reverts back to a previous state, when not forced to remain in an altered state, that it never achieved naturally through adolescent development.

Hopefully all this makes sense .

[Piruz]

It makes perfect sense, thanks. I guess I have no choice but to come back to exercise every 2 days at least.

Why didn't you suggest exercises like the Biceps curl, which works out the biceps brachii muscle, or that exercise in which you stand up straight, hold a weight with your hand and lift it up while keeping your arm perfectly straight and your back as well? I'm not sure what it's called but it's similar to the Dumbbell shoulder fly or could be it, I'm not sure. I've been doing those things and they seem to make arms stronger.

I'd like to remind you that I won't be doing Vertical Flies with a machine, rather, I'll do it standing up and holding weights with hand. Think that's okay?

Also 2 sets and 10 reps won't be enough for me, I'll be doing more as I have already started long ago and so I don't need warm up, at least with the weights. Cool?

Finally, are you a professional, sir?

[Boss Man]

Well in that case you can add a bicep exercise in. It could be basic curls, could be hammer curls, could be zottmans, could be curls with a 90 or 180 degree twist, but you do have options.

Vertical flyes standing up are fine as opposed to sitting down ones which are also fine. The idea being you mimic the action used on a pec deck with dumbells.

As for being a proffessional, no; but I am self educated in own way and have well over 10 years training experience, so I've picked up own levels understanding and experience down the years.

[Piruz]

Hello Bossman!

I forgot to ask you about the duration of cardio required. Do you want me to run for, say, 20 minutes on speed 7 (which is what I've been doing)? Word is, it takes 20 minutes of cardio, at your target heart rate (not sure what mine is), to even begin burning fat! Does that mean if I run for 20 minutes on speed 7, I won't burn any fat at all?

I have to say I do have a somewhat fat (it's mostly unnoticeable, but it is a spoiler!), and I want to burn it as quick as possible.

Cheers!

[Boss Man]

Don't be too concerned about heart rates.

This is how it is calculated though.

You work out max heart rate by taking 220-age.

Then you have different heart rate zones.

General exercise is 50%-60-% MHR

Fat burning is 60%-70% MHR

Stamina is 70%-80% MHR

Weigtlifting is 80%-90% MHR

Very heavy lifting is 90%+ MHR

You will burn calories if your heart rate is above 70% MHR anyway, so therefore you can quite easily create a THR of more than 70% MHR and you should the desired results anyway, if the duration is good.

I'd aim for a cardio duration of 30 minutes with each session, but you could do intervals not steady state, to prevent any chance of the body getting used to it, thereby affecting the efficacy.