2 pulled quads in 2 days

[Maj. Bloodnok]

Well, poot.

Yesterday, as I was standing up from doing cool-down stretches, I turned to my right and felt a sharp twinge in my right quad.

This morning, while warming up, I did one lunge onto my left leg. An invisible someone drove a spike into my left thigh and put me on the floor.

I was able to complete my workout without too much trouble, though I skipped the cardio portion. The right leg seems better, but the left one still hurts. I can walk without limping, but somehow I don't think I'm gonna be running anywhere anytime soon.

There's no swelling or bruising that I can see, though I'm keeping the leg elevated and iced. Hopefully this will clear up in a few days and I can start rehabbing my muscles.

I've been doing a mix of bodyweight, dumbbell, and heavy lifts, along with some interval training on the elliptical. Can I keep training my upper body and core while letting my legs heal, or am I asking for trouble?

Thanks in advance!

[Yoshi]

Do you do things like jumping jacks before you start doing lunges for your warm-up? I'm just asking because you may need to get warmer than you are now.

Those things aside, I hope you heal quickly. And I think you can definitely keep working your upper body. [Think Lieutenant Dan.] Just go easy on your quads until they feel better, then make sure your warm-up is adequate.

Also this: http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/01/09/warm-up/

[Maj. Bloodnok]

That's the exact warm-up I was doing. I think part of the problem was that I've been working my quads kinda hard the last couple of days. The lunges really work the top of my quads, and that's the exact place that got pulled. Methinks I'll have to give up the heavier weights for now.

[Yoshi]

How many different things do you do for your quads? I know I used to do hyperextension and deadlifts in the same day, not really realizing that they worked the same muscles [just because I liked both exercises.] It jacked up my backside [in a bad way] for a few days until my roommate shed some light on the subject.

Are you doing both lunges and heavy squats or something along those lines? [Just trying to think of what might cause that, because heavy weights doesn't convince me unless they're so heavy that you can't control them.]

[Maj. Bloodnok]

I've been doing a 3-day split; 1 day is weights, followed by a little cardio; next day is cardio, 3rd day rest. Lather, rinse, repeat.

I'd used the beginner warmup, including lunges, then did 5X5 sets assisted pullups and dips, 90-lb back squats in a Smith machine (Bad Major! No biscuit!), and 90-lb deadlifts. Then I got on the elliptical and did interval training: 60 sec slow, 30 sec full-tilt boogie, increasing the resistance level to 12 at each sprint, then dropping back to 6 during the slow part. Did about 10 minutes of this.

Next day I did a 21-minute HIIT routine: 2 minutes warmup, then 30 second sprint, 30 second rest, 45 second sprint, slowly working up to 1:30 sprint, then back down to 30 seconds, ending with a 3 minute cooldown. That tends to work my legs pretty good, or in this case, overwork them.

Maybe I should do more bodyweight stuff, and throw in some wall sits to beef up the quads. (I like the weights, but they hurt me too much.)

[Yoshi]

I don't see anything wrong with your workouts other than using the Smith Machine. Your implication: "Bad Major! no biscuit!" makes me assume you know that they're bad, so I'll spare you any rants. However, I'll just say that the Smith Machine is designed for quad workouts and you hurt your quads, so I'd suggest doing real squats. Does your gym have a squat rack?

[Maj. Bloodnok]

Unfortunately, no rack. I'd tried goblet squats using a 70-lb dumbbell and managed to strain my back. (Pity; the 65-pounder seemed too easy.) I'm 41 years old, and my recovery time isn't what it used to be. Gotta be careful.

[andygates]

I'm the same vintage, and I've basically had to double my warmup and do much of my work in sweatpants to keep the old pins toasty. Might be useful to you. Sounds more like a specific warmup-at-extent-of-motion thing though, with lungemageddon.