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Hi Guys.

Quick, hopefully simple question.

I am doing the realjock muscle-building workout, and find that on the "legs" days with squats I get some really odd pain in my left thigh.

Basically, it feels like a combination of a twinge and a tear (but not intensely painful, more searingly hot) that is on the sides of my lower thigh (closer to the knee).

If I "work through it" , my leg gets a bit numb feeling. Some friends have said this is just lactic acid at work, but I'm not so sure.

Days later, if I do similar activities and positions to a squat, this "numb" feeling comes back.

Any thoughts/suggestions (besides the obvious see a physio, which I'll probably do anyway...?)

L

I've never experienced anything like that during squats, or any other exercise. It doesn't sound normal to me. Sorry I couldn't be more help.

"searingly hot" sends alarms off in my book. That muscle / specific area of a larger muscle is in pretty bad shape. Does the heat only come during contraction? The pain and heat is a direct results most likely of a severe bruise, puncture or slight tear mid-muscle. You will either want to get it checked out or if that isn't an option, do not do legs for about two weeks.

It's irritation of the iliotibial band. See link below.

Iliotibial Band Syndrome

Stretch well prior to your workouts, use lower weights until you build strength/tolerance, and use OTC NSAIDs (e.g. ibuprofen) after your workouts. Hot soaks and massage may help. Note that you should not be doing squats during symptomatic periods!

Have you try to do some warm-up first? Maybe you should work on your thighs more than doing your squat? I think this will help your thighs get stronger and able to do squat without any pain or feel numb. that is my guess. sorry.

Thanks guys... appreciate all this info.

I'll prob get it checked in a few weeks. I won't do legs until then (or at least, no squats - seated leg presses and knee extensions don't seem to irritate nearly as much) and will try to stretch better before/after (admittedly, I know very little about stretching).

rightasrain saidIt's irritation of the iliotibial band. See link below.

Iliotibial Band Syndrome

Stretch well prior to your workouts, use lower weights until you build strength/tolerance, and use OTC NSAIDs (e.g. ibuprofen) after your workouts. Hot soaks and massage may help. Note that the link suggests not doing squats during symptomatic periods!

While this is true, the latter isn't really conducive to healing. I would strongly suggest a week to two off during which he can stretch and do massage therapy while keeping inflammation down. At the end of the recovery period he should resume with about 65-70% of the former weight he was using.

Also, you should generally avoid treating constant muscle-induced inflammation with ibuprofen. Something is wrong if this reoccurs or any other injury repeatedly.

On a last note, if this is the first time seriously working out legs in a lifting program, the RJ program tends to over work muscle groups for beginners. You should consider letting go of an exercise or two. While some leg workouts may not have irritated your specific muscle, they still can cause damage.

Also noted.

I'll take 2 weeks off legs and try and stretch well during that time and see how I feel. I'll also see if I can get in some physio and just check things out that way.

Any ideas for specific stretches for that area? I've figured out a few, but I'm sure there are more effective ways.

This definitely is my first time doing a largely muscle-specific workout (I used to basically do all body all the time, but it was pretty uneven). I'm definitely getting great results, but I want to be careful not to hurt anything. I've definitely stopped doing things if there's pain (and tried to observe careful form), but this one stumped me.

Thanks guys

pinny is right..... the only way to heal is to STOP doing what you're doing and let it rest. it is the essential part of the healing process.

on the other hand, i try to tell that to patients everyday and i realize that they won't completely stop. so my advice was meant to allow him to 'continue' without serious injury. guess i better tell all those patients not to use ibuprofen.... (tongue planted firmly in cheek)

rightasrain saidon the other hand, i try to tell that to patients everyday and i realize that they won't completely stop.

That is a good point.

squats + pain = poor form, or trying to lift way above your means. There is a ton of info here and on the net on proper form.

peace

mike3

rightasrain saidIt's irritation of the iliotibial band. See link below.

Iliotibial Band Syndrome

Stretch well prior to your workouts, use lower weights until you build strength/tolerance, and use OTC NSAIDs (e.g. ibuprofen) after your workouts. Hot soaks and massage may help. Note that you should not be doing squats during symptomatic periods!

This sounds like a good call to me.

Steady as she goes should be the order of the day. Your body has pain as a guide. If you're untrained, or train infrequently, and then you got out and lift without proper form, you're gonna' hurt yourself. Don't train like an idiot. Consistency, calories, and proper form, as well as rest, are crucial to long term and ongoing success. EASE into these things...

In the case of the original poster, here, reading the profile, I see he's very thin and looks like an ectomorph. You need to work on easing into stuff, and you need to stay consistent, as well as make sure you're eating enough to support gains. Typically, ectomorphs can be very strong, but gain slowly. If you just started training, back off the amount off the weight. If you're in pain training, that usually means you need to back down, or at least go easy, until you rehab / build / fix whatever the issue is. Common sense is a good practice when training. You want to stay injury free, while still making gains. Sometimes, it's impossible to know what's too much, but, unless you're doing rehab, acute pain shouldn't be in your regular workout. That being said, if you're running a marathon, or doing reps of 50 in squats, there's a training pain that comes with the territory that you plunge through. You have to let that pain guide you, and not try to hang with the guy who is a classic mesomorph who has been training consistently and eating consistently for years.

rightasrain saidIt's irritation of the iliotibial band. See link below.

Iliotibial Band Syndrome

Stretch well prior to your workouts, use lower weights until you build strength/tolerance, and use OTC NSAIDs (e.g. ibuprofen) after your workouts. Hot soaks and massage may help. Note that you should not be doing squats during symptomatic periods!

QFT

chuckystud said

rightasrain saidIt's irritation of the iliotibial band. See link below.

Iliotibial Band Syndrome

Stretch well prior to your workouts, use lower weights until you build strength/tolerance, and use OTC NSAIDs (e.g. ibuprofen) after your workouts. Hot soaks and massage may help. Note that you should not be doing squats during symptomatic periods!

This sounds like a good call to me.

Steady as she goes should be the order of the day. Your body has pain as a guide. If you're untrained, or train infrequently, and then you got out and lift without proper form, you're gonna' hurt yourself. Don't train like an idiot. Consistency, calories, and proper form, as well as rest, are crucial to long term and ongoing success. EASE into these things...

In the case of the original poster, here, reading the profile, I see he's very thin and looks like an ectomorph. You need to work on easing into stuff, and you need to stay consistent, as well as make sure you're eating enough to support gains. Typically, ectomorphs can be very strong, but gain slowly. If you just started training, back off the amount off the weight. If you're in pain training, that usually means you need to back down, or at least go easy, until you rehab / build / fix whatever the issue is. Common sense is a good practice when training. You want to stay injury free, while still making gains. Sometimes, it's impossible to know what's too much, but, unless you're doing rehab, acute pain shouldn't be in your regular workout. That being said, if you're running a marathon, or doing reps of 50 in squats, there's a training pain that comes with the territory that you plunge through. You have to let that pain guide you, and not try to hang with the guy who is a classic mesomorph who has been training consistently and eating consistently for years.

Thanks for the response.

I agree with all you're saying, and you definitely seem to know what you're talking about. I've been pretty careful with my form, but I'm definitely just getting into it and could have been making any number of errors. I wasn't using much weight, but I'll scale back more (after taking a week or two off) and see how it all feels.