A chance to rebuild muscle for survival and every day (advise sought)

I am recovering from a very serious accident. How and why it happened is a very personal matter and not one I would like to go in to. I will tell you the injuries how ever to help you understand my limitations. Around my right eye was broken both above and below. Ware on most people you see a cheek bone mine has been broken and moved close to my ear. My jaw was broken in 2 places I suffered a sever concussion and neck injuries. I was in a medication induced coma for 3 days. I also have amnisa thank goodness of the actual events themselves. I have lost 70 ponds most of it muscle I was was not that flabby to begin with. It has been about a month and a half sense this happened so I am still pretty sore but I think my body is healing pretty well.

What I am looking for is advise. I need to regain my lost muscle. I am 43 years old so I no longer have unlimited energy add that to the fact of the medication I am on I get tired quick. At the present moment I can eat nothing in less it has the consistency of mashed potatoes. At least until middle of next month when I get the Docs ok. I have tried those high calorie high vitamin drinks and cant stand the taste. they make me gag. I don't mind saying it hurts to gag. Funny I have been known before to cook and eat bugs but these things are worse So whats the advise. Both for food and low impact exercise in my current condition. bear in mind as I heal I will become more active but I don't want to wate. I am getting lazy and that is not good. Its a habit that is too hard to break latter on. I may need the muscle I build no later on.

u ever heard of those machines that twitch you muscles for u using electricity, just a thought.

Im am sorry for what you are going thru, I myself do not know but someone on here will most definitely will be able to give you advice. I just wanted to say good luck to you

Originally posted by DocHolidaze
u ever heard of those machines that twitch you muscles for u using electricity, just a thought.

Thanks for the advise But I do not believe in short cuts. I can do the work just not sure what to do any more never been in this situation. The food Is what I am having a real hard time with. I can eat things like elbow noodles if I mash them up I try to get creative. I need things that are soft can be mashed yet still high calorie.

Steroids and hyperbaric oxygen may be a way to go here.
Obviously under medical supervision.

You could look into Kettle bell exercises. People around your age seem to get a lot out of them when they have had medical issues that prevent them from performing more strenuous exercises. What parts of your body are you most wanting to focus on?

reply to post by hapablab


Thank you very much. It has not been a fun time in my life that's for sure. I am trying to put a survival/learning spin on it tho. Its gets hard to remember sometimes that things are what you make them. I just know if a sit X does happen while I am in this condition I wont be any good to myself or anybody else. That's why I came here for advise.

I would suggest you check out Isometric Exercises. Here is a brief intro, with some exercises you could start with now.

What's good about this form of muscle building is you don't need a gym, nor special equipment.

Isometric Exercises
How to Strengthen Abs, Legs, and Shoulders
By Mary Stasiewicz

Isometric exercise is a form of resistance training in which the participant uses the muscles of the body to exert a force either against an immovable object or to hold the muscle in a fixed position for a set duration of time. In this type of exercise, the muscle is contracted but does not change length during the exertion of force. Additionally the joint most closely associated with the effort remains static throughout the exercise.

One precaution with high blood pressure

Although isometric exercises may result in a great deal of benefit to the individual, there are some precautions that should be noted. Specifically those with high blood pressure should not engage in this type of activity because isometric exercises cause a spike in blood pressure. Although the blood pressure typically returns to normal rather quickly once the muscle is relaxed, the spike in blood pressure can be dangerous to those who already suffer from elevated blood pressure. If you suffer from high blood pressure but you really want to engage in isometric exercises, please consult with your doctor for tips on how to lower blood pressure first.

www.howtodothings.com...

Mayo Clinic on Isometrics.

Isometric exercises may be helpful to someone who's been injured or has a condition such as arthritis, which could make movement painful or be aggravated by using muscles to move a joint through the full range of motion. For instance, if you injure your rotator cuff, your doctor or physical therapist might initially recommend isometric exercises involving the group of muscles that helps stabilize the shoulder to maintain shoulder strength during recovery.

www.mayoclinic.com...

Sports and Fitness Adviser using Isometrics.

Isometric Exercises & Static Strength Training

Isometric exercises, also known as static strength training, involve muscular actions in which the length of the muscle does not change and there is no visible movement at the joint (1).

The term 'static contraction training' is sometimes used to describe isometrics. However, 'contraction' signifies a change in length (shortening) of the muscle belly, which does not occur during static strength training. The term 'static action' is preferred to static contraction.

Isometric exercises can be used for general strength conditioning and for rehabilitation where strengthening the muscles without placing undue stress on the joint is warranted.

Some actions within a wide variety of sports require isometric or static strength. Examples include climbing, mountain biking and motocross (grip and upper body strength), Judo, wrestling, alpine skiing (static strength required to stabilize the upper and lower body), shooting, gymnastics and horseback riding.

Isometric exercises can be completed with submaximal muscle action - such as holding a weight steady, out to the side. The force used to hold the weight still is not maximal as this would lift the weight further causing movement and a change in the muscle length and joint angle. Static strength training can also involve maximal muscle actions and examples here include pushing against an immoveable object such as a wall or heavy weight.
www.sport-fitness-advisor.com...

These links should get you started in the right direction...good luck....

Des

2nd on the isometrics
Plenty online to find and as you develop your muscle mass you can take the exercises that bit further
The Russians did a lot of experimenting in the 50's and 60's and developed some very good exercises
However some pushed the body too far and could cause damage such as a high impact tensions
( jumping off a wall , landing in a legs sprung but tensed muscle stance )
Very effective if you can't phys normally like being stuck in a cave
Combine this with a good all round protein supliment to feed the muscle and you should see results within a week or two

After that try something like p90x AT YOUR OWN PACE and slowly build up

Good luck

reply to post by angryamerican


Hello angryamerican. May I wish you Peace, good health, and a quick recovery!

With those type of injuries and pain, it will be difficult to do any muscle training. Muscle workouts will make you even more sore; No pain no gain :p When you do weight lifting, you cause micro tears to the muscles. The tears cause the soreness that most feel a day or so after working out. Those micro tears fill-in with new material while healing, thus causing muscles to grow.

May I suggest swimming laps, or joining an aquatic aerobics class if there are any in your area.

Also, try resistance stretching and resistance training with stretch-bands, stretch-straps, and hand grips.

Isometric exercises are also good when you have limited movement issues. Flex your bicep muscle intensely without causing strain to yourself. Hold the flex for a few moments, then release. Flex again for a few moments, then release. Do this with other muscle groups too. Stand next to an extremely strong and sturdy wall, preferably brick. Place both hands against the wall and attempt to "push the wall." Really try to push the wall down until you feel the effort all throughout your body. Push for a few moments, then stop. Push again for a few moments, then stop. You need to find yourself a wall that you won't damage by pushing against it.


As for food. Since you said you are limited to pasty consistencies and trying to regain weight and muscle: eat lots of peanut butter! Tons of calories and protein.

I hope something I said will help you. Take it easy my friend, and allow your strength to return gradually. Peace.

swimming might contribute to muscular development as your body adapts to the specific demands imposed on it.

You can think of swimming as the ULTIMATE low weight high rep workout. The resistance of the water ABSOLUTELY builds muscle. You should feel your shoulders, triceps (back of the arms), lats (back muscles), butt, quads, and hamstrings all get sore from a really good swim workout. In addition, it will provide a good cardio workout as well.

an hour is PLENTY of time to get a great work out.

Here are some suggestions:

Rather than doing all ten lengths several times, do maybe 4 lengths quickly (not a full sprint) to get your heart rate up.
Make sets for yourself. For example: do 4 lengths at a time (100 yards in a standard 25 yard pool) 5 times with 15-30 seconds between each.
If you get really good you can use the clock to standardize your sets. The way to do this is too swim 100 yards as quickly as you can while you time yourself. Then using this time you can swim at slower paces for more sets. For example: let's say you can sprint 100 yards in 1 minute and 30 seconds, then you could reduce the time and do this set: 4 lengths (100 yards) 5 times 2:00 minutes per 100 yards.
KICK!!! Grab a kick board and kick 2 lengths and do it fast! This should burn the quads. You don't always have to sprint kick, but kicking in general will help target those leg muscles. Some people have trouble moving anywhere when they kick, but as long as you keep your ankles nice and loose and you don't bend your knees too much, you should be fine.

These tips should be enough to keep your heart rate up and give you a great woukout.

reply to post by Destinyone


Thanks for the tips, Im recently recovering from biochemo and my body ( which was healthy as a hore this time last year.) is shot. I think ill start off with ome of these exercise before going to anything more strenuous Definately before going back to work.

hey how are you,
congratulations on your determination to change,

ages ago i was hospitalized for a period of close to three or four months total,
my appendix had become inflamed, had burst, and caused internal damage and blood poisoning,
it wasnt fun,
as i was bed ridden for most of that period, and on iv, i had become quite emaciated,
over the years i've rebuilt myself,

first thing,
DIET.
eat as much whole food as you can, preferably organic, as raw as possible, you want your food to be ALIVE, avoid gm products, and if you can organic is the way to go, ( the united states , assuming you live there, radiates most of it's food, this depletes the nutritional content of whatever it is almost completely,
you're left with say an apple that looks great and healthy, but will provide you with very little nutritional content,

lots of green veggies, slow carbs, ( oats, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, sweet potatoes are easy to substitute for your normal starch heavy bleached fast digesting carbs, which will sap your body of the nutrients you're trying to provide)
a decent amount of fruit, but keep in mind fruits are high in sugar, ( good sugar, but sugar none the less , )

for protein, go with whatever you can afford, try and stay lean, (seafoods are great )
keep in mind soy products will increase your estrogen count, and estrogen will increase your body fat, )

have a regular workout routine,
get up early have a very light breakfast, ( very light, almost nothing ) have a vigorous workout, a good amount of cardio and a small amount of weight training is the best way to start your day , ( not to heavy with the weight as you'll want to work out later and focus more on weight & resistance training then,
after your morning workout, have a hearty breakfast with plenty of slow digesting carbs some fruit to boost your insulin bussing ( insulin is your bodies nutrient carrier ) , some protein and greens,
something like a mrp ( meal replacement ) shake with oats and maybe some berries mixed in is great,
some lean protein (eggs are your best friend in the morning ) scrambled with some greens ( say spinach, for example , spinach increases your muscle protein synthesis )

and go from there, hard work on top of regular training is a sure winner, ( heavy labor, etc, farmers are usually incredibly strong as compared to your average buff gym rat )

if you have been in an accident and have mobility restrictions i recommend using resistance bands to help strengthen your ligaments, as they can easily become damaged with rigorous training, (your muscles will grow faster then your ligaments can keep up, you'll be able to lift more then they can handle without stress, and torn ligaments are no fun,

if you have access to a family doctor, and he's familiar with your history and your health issues, your best bet to help you along would be to ask for some sort of testosterone supplementation,
you'd most likely be a prime candidate and your doctor would probably set you up with something like testogel, at 50mg to 250mg per month,
testosterone will help you rebuild your muscle, and ease you into getting back to being active,
usually you'll receive a topical gel that you apply externally, or possibly you might get a monthly injection,
depending on what state you're in HGH may also be an option for you, though it is quite costly as compared to testosterone,

i advise that you go to your doctor and not try and source it from say a body builder at your local gym, while some steroids are legal, most are not. though depending where you are that could be a legal grey area.

I advise you to go to your doctor as he'll be able to monitor you and your blood work, and depending on your health coverage, could be covered.

if there's anything else you have questions or concerns on feel free to message me.

Originally posted by angryamerican
reply to post by hapablab

 

Thank you very much. It has not been a fun time in my life that's for sure. I am trying to put a survival/learning spin on it tho. Its gets hard to remember sometimes that things are what you make them. I just know if a sit X does happen while I am in this condition I wont be any good to myself or anybody else. That's why I came here for advise.

The wanting to get better is great too, motivation is the key, movement as well, gotta keep moving, and you know with the elbow macaroni mashed up making a good salad dressing and lots of small grated parmesean cheese makes that stuff taste really good, fat in the oil of the dressing and fat in the cheese, good stuff!. I make my own dressing, vinigar, veg oil or olive oil, garlic, italian seasoning and pepper, I stay away from salt, a little maybe but not as much as what is in the store bought kind and tons of cheese, it is really good.

also cancer warrior, God bless, God bless you both actually. Everything will work out :-)

Originally posted by Cancerwarrior
reply to post by Destinyone

 

Thanks for the tips, Im recently recovering from biochemo and my body ( which was healthy as a hore this time last year.) is shot. I think ill start off with ome of these exercise before going to anything more strenuous Definately before going back to work.

Congratulations on your recovery. Here are some simple isometrics for office, in front of a computer daily use. I do them without even thinking about it anymore.

Isometric Exercises You Can Do at Your Desk
An excerpt from "The Entrepreneur Diet"http://entrepreneurs.about.com/od/lifebalance/a/deskexercise.htm

Are you a desk-bound entrepreneur? If so, then you have to get a little extra exercise to make up for the fact that you're sitting all day. Exercise will also reduce stress, increase your energy and clear your mind. But the gym can seem like a waste of time. It's not the 45 minutes working out that's a problem -- it's the additional 45 minutes of prep, travel and cleanup.

In his new book, The Entrepreneur Diet: The On-the-Go Plan for Fitness, Weight Loss, and Healthy Living (Compare Prices), author Tom Weede offers eight simple exercises you can do to build strength, tone and flexibility without leaving your office, and no matter what condition you're in already.

Quick-Start Exercise
At its most basic level, exercise is nothing more than your muscles, bones, and heart working as they were designed so well to do -- to move. And even with a crowded schedule, you can work physical activity into your life just about anywhere and with minimal equipment.

entrepreneurs.about.com...

Des

Hi angryamerican...

Just a quick note to say, glad to hear that you are recovering and on the up.

As for the exercise, after what you've been through i would strongly advise seeking out proper advise via a trainer in your area, especialy one that deals with GP referals (thats what we call it in the UK). Most trainers could give you a routine, but whether would be safe for you is a different matter. Some trainers go onto do additional training that deals with this.

I trained in Personal Training and Sports Therapy when i left the army, and i wouldn't go straight into prescribing a fitness routine unless i knew a persons full medical history, especially if they'd recently been through something like you are describing.

By that i mean a proper consultation with the client, followed by any liason with the doctor/specialists that treated you if neccesary. Sorry if that seems a bit much, but it's to save you getting the wrong advice and making things worse in the long run.

It's cool that at 43 you are bothering to look after yourself, i'm a couple of years behind you and too often i see people who really aren't that bothered.

As far as general survival fitness is concerned, this is quite a varied subject that has been addressed several times in the forum here. Personaly, i think as long as people do regular cardio work, whether that be walking daily, running or whatever else floats your boat, combined with various bodyweight exercises so you can haul your backside when you need to, you can't go too wrong.

Good luck with your recovery.

CX.

First off, go paleo. Google primal blueprint and also the paleo diet.
Once you get your body running on a high protein diet like this you'll start to feel more energetic and more able to work out.

Try bodyweight exercise like push ups, pull ups and running up hills.

That should see you alright.

reply to post by angryamerican




I know EXACTLY what you need bro.....I'm 37, just got off of several cycles of Testosterone. I got it prescribed through a hormone replacement therapy program. I was prescribed 250 mg every 5 days. They totally take care of any potential side effects, and over the course of an entire summer, I had no side effects whatsoever. No testicular shrinkage and no excessive estrogenic effects. I put on 25lbs of solid muscle and lost about 10lbs of it when I came off of it, I still have maintained that muscle today. Plus you feel like a Greek god everyday you wake up! All that test flowing through your veins is incredible! But like I said, I was prescribed this dosage and would not advocate using anything illegally....its too dangerous and didi mention ILLEGAL. GET ON THE NET AND LOOK UP hormone Replacement Therapy......and good luck. And don't let anyone tell you that 250mg isn't enough, it is! Plus you're taking that every 5 days, not every 7 days, that makes a big difference. Also there are several types of testosterone, Proprionate, Cypianate, Ethinate and a blend of them are your options. Good luck my friend!

Good thing is I was in A little above average shape before. Not to much of a middle age spread. Not all of my military discipline left me. I was not a fanatic about eating right but I was a little careful. I never really cared for beef almost always opting for either wild meat or chicken or turkey, If I had a choice between sweet potatoes or white I would take the sweet every time even going out of my way to get them. In fact thats my supper tonight Having to rebuild myself is just not some thing I have had to do before and I want it done right the first time so I don't have to do it again. To compound this how ever I have very few whole teeth left. Lots of sharp jagged pieces but they wont deal with any kind of pressure. Talk about insult to injury.

reply to post by angryamerican



For exercise, the best low impact, is getting in the water. Not necessarily swimming to start with, just tred water and flap your arms about a bit, you will get results without feeling any after effects. Build up from there. Aqua-aerobics classes can be good, if you're inclined towards classes, but just getting in there and moving about, the resistence of the water is enough if you do it regularly enough, and because you are always fully supported by the water, it won't hurt in any way.

Diet, combined with exercise, if you're still on liquids, try full-fat yogurts, I struggle with my weight, keeping it up, and tend to get litre tubs of probiotic yogurt and just eat the whole lot in one sitting, I find it generally stimulates everything, appetite and energy levels. Don't be afraid of fat, just make sure you don't eat too much in the way of carbs and sugars...loads of veggies and fruit with full fat milk, yogurt, even cream will help you build muscle, while maintaining the energy levels you need...and try making a milk shake with a few eggs in there, free range of course, that'll help you keep your spirits up too.