So much for making great progress...

[SSpiro]

Dislocated my knee last night doing leg extensions.. was at the hospital until 2 in the morning...I was on my second set @ 160lbs, was going to try and max out at 200 (max of the machine).

Sigh. Crutches and straight leg until I hear otherwise. This blows. :cry: Good thing I didn't start squats and dead lifts yet.

Apparently leg extensions are awful on the knees. I wish I knew about the knee issues, but its happened and over with. I'll avoid it from here on out.

[Clint]

damn that sucks man!!!!!!

[POLLO]

When you get back on your feet, do cycling, cycling, lots of cycling, as a replacement for legs for the time being... That will help you recover.

[Rdline1]

ouch

[christianlooney]

Guess we are not gonna play ball anytime soon then huh? Sorry to hear that. Thats why i don't max out without a spot....next time do leg ext. one leg at a time and spot yourself.....

[Capital G]

man that blows..... just hang in there with your diet while you cannot workout, a lot of people get bummed after an injury and start poor eating habits while they recover.

[Frankie]

Oh yeah, leg extensions are horrible on your knees. I stay away from those fuckers like the plague. Good luck on the recovery, and hey, at least you have a cool story to tells the girls. I see ass in your future.

[SSpiro]

Thanks guys, appreciate the feedback.

Pollo - Good idea. I will pick up on the cycling once this blows over (few months :( )

christian - Nope, no b-ball for quite some time now!

[Frankie]

Think about the upside, you get an extra day of chest and/or arms a week now!

[SSpiro]

Think about the upside, you get an extra day of chest and/or arms a week now!

Heh.. That's exactly what teh wife said. I just don't want to get crazy disproportionate..

Once I recover - you guys think elliptical will be OK to use? Should be, right?

[StreetDriven]

been there done that, my shoulder is my problem. Just when you get back dont go heavy. I have to work around my shoulder. Even tho i am getting alot stronger i am back up to doing 225 on shoulder presses. Give it time things will get better

[SSpiro]

Went to Ortho yesterday. He mentioned that there is nothing wrong with leg extensions, and he doesn't see the relation between my injury and the exercise. I'm not sure I agree, but whatever...

I have MRI on Thursday to determine whether or not I need surgery. :(

[Capital G]

Went to Ortho yesterday. He mentioned that there is nothing wrong with leg extensions, and he doesn't see the relation between my injury and the exercise. I'm not sure I agree, but whatever...

I have MRI on Thursday to determine whether or not I need surgery. :(

he just wants you to keep doing them after you get better so you can come back for more surgeries :lol: j/k...... or am i?

[SSpiro]

he just wants you to keep doing them after you get better so you can come back for more surgeries :lol: j/k...... or am i?

lol.. I don't doubt it. Seemed like a good guy, but somewhat arrogant (aren't all specialists?).. He's response to me was that he's seem thousands of people do leg extensions every night in the gym and never seen a related injury.

I'm not going to risk it..

[djgizmo]

Sorry to hear about this man. I know how it feels to have a good going then get slowed down due to some crazy stuff. I've never been a fan of high weight, only lower weight higher reps with resistance.

[raveman7]

i would use some HGH to help speed up the recovery...

just my .2 cents.

[Guado]

my knees aren't the strongest and I have put an ass load of weight on teh leg extension for myself with no issues. Were you jerking or using smooth fluid movements?

this concerns me.

[SSpiro]

i would use some HGH to help speed up the recovery...

just my .2 cents.

HGH?

my knees aren't the strongest and I have put an ass load of weight on teh leg extension for myself with no issues. Were you jerking or using smooth fluid movements?

this concerns me.

Smooth movements. Leg extensions are really easy for me. I was under the impression that my bad knee was healthy (when leg was flexed, the tendens were fantastic.. everything where it belonged, and strong). 160lbs was not my max, and I had been heavier before, so not sure why the injury. I WAS going for 200lbs, which would have been my max.. This doesn't seem heavy to me though? 200lbs is not a lot of weight...

Apparently concerns the ortho doc as well.. I don't see leg extensions in the future! :)

[Guado]

Weird. I Will have to do some research on that myself...
I always figured doing leg extensions helped strengthen the knee. You always see physical therapy use it.

[Dunecune442]

You may not have been going as smooth as you say. Everyone I see with bad form always thinks its correct, have an experienced weightlifter/trainer watch you, you'll be surprised at how "correct" your form really is.

One problem I see quite often is an explosive movement with leg extensions, usually as soon as the weight is lowered. That and seemingly "catching" the weight at the top; throwing the weight up so fast that it travels alittle faster than your legs. This problem is usually reserved with lighter weight but can happen if you explode enough at the beginning.

Leg extensions are to be done VERY slow and concentrated. Your negative/positive movements should be about 1-2 slow seconds each. One-1000 up, one-1000 down. Stop focusing on how much weight you lift and start focusing on how you lift, thats how injuries occur.

If you rarely go over 160, jumping to 200 for the hell of it is a bad idea. A 10-20 lb jump is fine but if you've never even done close to that your going to shock the hell out of your joints and muscles. Swallow your pride and do weight you know you can do until your body is developed enough and your mature enough to handle that kind of lift. You wouldn't start riding on a hayabusa, or buy a ferrari for a first car now would you?

[Frankie]

Keenan is on the money there. I know my form probably isn't perfect either, but I see a lot of people in the gym bouncing and rocking weights against their joints. Sure, they're doing twice as much weight as I can do, so they feel like billy bad ass, but pretty soon, you don't see them in the gym anymore. If you can't keep a good, controlled motion and good form, you can't do the weight. There's no other way around it.

[SSpiro]

You may not have been going as smooth as you say. Everyone I see with bad form always thinks its correct, have an experienced weightlifter/trainer watch you, you'll be surprised at how "correct" your form really is.

One problem I see quite often is an explosive movement with leg extensions, usually as soon as the weight is lowered. That and seemingly "catching" the weight at the top; throwing the weight up so fast that it travels alittle faster than your legs. This problem is usually reserved with lighter weight but can happen if you explode enough at the beginning.

Leg extensions are to be done VERY slow and concentrated. Your negative/positive movements should be about 1-2 slow seconds each. One-1000 up, one-1000 down. Stop focusing on how much weight you lift and start focusing on how you lift, thats how injuries occur.

If you rarely go over 160, jumping to 200 for the hell of it is a bad idea. A 10-20 lb jump is fine but if you've never even done close to that your going to shock the hell out of your joints and muscles. Swallow your pride and do weight you know you can do until your body is developed enough and your mature enough to handle that kind of lift. You wouldn't start riding on a hayabusa, or buy a ferrari for a first car now would you?

Oh, I agree 100%.. In my defense, The focus wasn't on the amount of weight. I always attempt 10lb increases at a time, never more. My max of all time is 180, so I was on my second set (3rd if counting warmup)... I try to do these on a pyramid.. 200 would have been a few sets away.. Who knows if I would have even made it, as I work to fatigue, and I might have still stopped at 180..

Once I heal, I will definitely have my form checked on this machine..but I don't think I'll ever use it with heavy weight ever again..

What I'm really worried about is squats and dead lifts..

[Dunecune442]

for squats use the smith machine until you have the form completely down, and even then do not exceed your body weight.

Deadlift just start with the bar. Remember there are two grips, sumo and conventional. Do sumo, its much less stress on the hips. Feet should be approx. 2-4 inches outside of your shoulder width. Start off at a squat position, back slightly arched and ass squatted down. Initiate lift with glutes/quads, and towards the middle begin arching your back (bar is around your knees). Thrust your back out and throw your quads/thighs out. Your chest should be puffed out, and your back arched pretty far back. If you can try and find some videos, otherwise I can send you a link to a good clean lift you should try to emulate, same for squat.

[SSpiro]

for squats use the smith machine until you have the form completely down, and even then do not exceed your body weight.

Deadlift just start with the bar. Remember there are two grips, sumo and conventional. Do sumo, its much less stress on the hips. Feet should be approx. 2-4 inches outside of your shoulder width. Start off at a squat position, back slightly arched and ass squatted down. Initiate lift with glutes/quads, and towards the middle begin arching your back (bar is around your knees). Thrust your back out and throw your quads/thighs out. Your chest should be puffed out, and your back arched pretty far back. If you can try and find some videos, otherwise I can send you a link to a good clean lift you should try to emulate, same for squat.

I'll see if ExRx has any animated gifs, etc.

I'm going to ask the doc on Tuesday after I hear about the MRI results in regards to squats and deadlifts. I guess I need to start thinking about a rehab program for my injured side now as well. My left calf and thigh was already .25" smaller then the right, and now it'll get even worse (not counting the strength I'm losing with the injury :( )...

Speaking of MRI, had that today. Man what a pain in the ass. Laying completely still for 50 minutes was a bitch.