First of all let me say this - if you have been diagnosed with patellar tendonitis and you are STILL using the knee and jumping with it regularly - you can actually cause yourself permanent damage or a significant injury requiring surgery to correct. You need to STOP jumping and playing sports (temporarily) effective immediately!!

Now, to get you fixed up so that you can play next season -

1. REST (we've already discussed this but seriously...rest.) Avoid stairs, don't run, don't jump, just walk normally and even avoid long walks. Keep the knee flexible, but DO NOT abuse it!
2. ICE - you will need to ice the knee 30 minutes on and 60 minutes off 3-4 times a day, every single day without fail
3. Anti-Inflammatory Meds - you will need to take ibuprofen AS NECESSARY if the knee appears swollen or more painful than usual - do not abuse ibuprofen
4. Increase water intake - 1.5 gals a day in order to maintain proper anti-inflammatory properties would be recommended.
5. Increase sleep - Make sure to sleep for at least 8 hours a day
6. Chopat strap - google this. Buy yourself one or have a doctor fit you for one. You will wear this EVERY SINGLE DAY without fail. This will help keep the knee in line and take as much pressure off the knee as possible allowing it to heal faster.
7. Stretch the knee for 30-45 minutes a day, 6 days a week. Do NOT stretch to the point of pain, but very mild discomfort is acceptable. You want to keep the blood flowing to the area and keep it flexible. Ice after stretching.
8. See a chiropractor or sports medicine doctor who can treat you using things like traction and hydrotherapy.


I am very sorry to have to break this to you about having to take time off of your sport. However you will thank me later in life when you have two very highly functioning knees without any critical problems limiting your mobility and ability to function as a normal person.

Also, after you spend a good 6 months doing the above that I have mentioned - you will need to greatly improve the strength of your legs. The more muscle in your hamstrings especially, but quads and calves as well will result in a considerably reduced strain on the knees during jumping activities.

I forgot to mention, I do whear straps under my knees. Without them I would be pass out from the pain.

I know its patellar tendonitis.. it flairs up like this every year at this time. I have a huge ass, great hammys and quads, and big calfs. They all compliment eachother and is why I can jump so high. So i know a simple solution as just lifting more wont fix it, I know it will help though.

The only thing I dont do on that list is rest, we get sat and sundays off.

this is the third year this has happened, always at the same time.

I appreciate your advice, one last thing. What should I say to the trainers tomorrow for practice? I cant practice, It literally hurts that bad. I dont use the ice bath... i just ice my knees because I want to get home and eat, I do it for 20minutes and then take it off.. They're telling me if I iced bath then I wouldnt have this. I still ice though. They are pretty retarded. Our sport is at the bottom of the food chain so we dont get the best staff on duty.

Im almost ready to quit. This is my 3rd year, and I really want to be able to ski, and play basketball when im 40. Not be on pain pills.

I think Im just gonna say, "I cant jump, my knees hurt too bad. Im not jumping again until the pain is tolerable"

Your health is more important then a game. Rest Rest Rest.

1. YOU NEED TO REST - as in no playing sports at all - seriously.
2. Muscular size and Muscular strength are very different. You need to work on the density and pure strength of those legs which will greatly shield the knee from further damage after it's healed
3. Before you even talk to the trainers, go see a sports medicine doctor and have him evaluate your problem. IT MUST be a sports medicine doctor. His eval will match mine and say you should be resting. Bring all necessary paperwork to your trainers and explain you have doctors orders not to play and you have to be put on the disabled list until you are healed.
4. Any "trainer" who says if you took an ice bath, that this problem wouldn't happen, is a dunce. Ice baths do not prevent or repair patellar tendonitis. In some cases they actually can make it worse because of the massively constricted blood flow away from the extremities.
5. Don't curb yourself to anyone or anything. Your health is infinitely more important than the sport. You will tell them you have a legitimate medical problem and you have doctors orders to be on full rest until such time as your knee heals (~6 months or more)

Good luck - and please don't take your situation lightly. Go see the sports medicine doctor and stop playing/working out!!!

Hi there.

I appreciate your enthuiasm but please do not reply to other people's posts in this sticky.

This is NOT the general H&F section. Instead this section is reserved for myself and 7ds to answer questions.

thank you!

Was up Ray Ray

Curious of what ur opinion is on protein digestibility?
(ie) the amount actually being utilized in a given meal (popular belief is like ~40g a meal, rest is wasted)
which from my experience is complete BS...

wld also be awesome if u cld link me some resources, but if not, then its not a big deal.

thanksss

ive been working out for a good 5-6 years now and ive always felt like my traps are falling behind pretty much

sometimes ill work them out up to 3 times a week and they still dont get sore or do i see much improvement in them.

i am a frequent heavy deadlifter and squatter and i hit back pretty hard but it just seems like my traps dont go anywhere

so far ive done as much as trying some real heavy shrugs like 500+ with lower reps and other weeks ive tried much lower weight with more reps

got any tips on some good trap workouts?

how's vector as a cereal?

This is a great question and depends heavily on a few factors...

1. Size of the person
2. Muscle mass of the person
3. Damage to the muscles (ie: microtears)
4. Damage to other body tissues
5. Current peptide profile (ie: how many aminos you have queued up and waiting to be used/discarded/stored)
6. Amount of digestive enzymes present
7. Amount of food currently in the stomach (particularly protein)
8. Type of protein being consumed (including the digestibility and average digestion rate/time)
9. Amount of fluids present in the stomach or being consumed with the food
10. Temperature of the protein (denatured/thermolyzed, raw, slightly cooked, etc)
11. Basal Metabolism (including blood pressure, heart rate, and body temperature)
12. Total calories being consumed
13. Glycogen Stores*** (this matters when you are NOT on keto)

I realize this is all a lot to calculate so we can use good rules of thumb here:

2g protein / lb of LEAN bodyweight per day is the maximum NECESSARY protein to take in on a daily basis. You can take more in, but thats the maximum amount required to facilitate muscle growth assuming a normal workout routine and metabolism.

So if you weigh 200 lbs and your bf% is 10%, that means your lean mass is 180 lbs. Your total MAXIMUM necessary protein for the day would be 360 grams. Is 360g required? No, not necessarily - but there is still potential for this if you are maximizing your workout efforts and damaging muscle tissue at higher rates than most. A conservative estimate is more like 1-1.5g /protein per pound of lean bodyweight.


Anyway, to elaborate further, we can safely estimate that at 2g / lb of lean mass, you would then split this into 3 meals and 1 PWO protein shake. I would normally split it into 6 meals because I believe highly in eating smaller meals frequently throughout the day. I do NOT support all of this fad intermittent fasting garbage (don't start flaming trolls - warning you now)

However for the sake of argument, a 200 lb man at 10% bf would be taking in 360g of protein in 4 doses (3 meals and 1 protein shake). The MOST protein is required upon waking and right after working out. However, an even split of 360g for that man would be 90g per meal. However, if the man in question is only doing a 45 minute workout and is pretty sedentary for the rest of the day, his protein requirements drop. Taking in those 90g of protein at every meal would definitely be letting a lot of aminos go to waste.

So for the sake of conservative estimates we will measure for 1g / lb of lean bodyweight for that same 200 lb 10% bf male into 3 meals + 1 shake. 180g of protein / 4 doses = 45g. This is a MUCH more reasonable number for the average lifter and aspiring bodybuilding. Professionals would be seeking anywhere from 65-90g per meal in the same circumstances. Of course it is better to dial up the protein POST-WORKOUT, UPON WAKING, and PRE-BEDTIME moreso than any other part of the day if doing 6 meals instead of 3. If doing so, seek out a % system like this:

Meal 1 - 20%
Meal 2 - 10%
Post-workout - 30%
Meal 4 - 10%
Meal 5 - 10%
Meal 6 - 20%

If doing a 3-meal a day + 1 shake scenario...


Meal 1 - 25%
Meal 2 -20%
PWO Shake/Meal - 30%
Meal 3 -25%

I hope this helps!!

Absolutely. Your problem is that you are training traps wrong. I am willing to bet anything on this, especially when you say that you are doing 500lb shrugs. Very few people (with exception to powerlifters and pro bodybuilders) can do PROPER FORM 500lb shrugs.

Let me explain.

To perform a perfect shrug you will first use NO WEIGHT. Just dangle your arms at your sides or in front of you. Tilt your head back and point your chin up slightly (chin at approx 45 degree angle). Then, instead of bringing the shoulders straight up, bring them up and forward at the same time. Basically pretend you are saying "I dunno" and doing the natural shrug that come along with it. Consciously feel yourself rolling your traps to the front, rather than straight up. You will feel the muscles around your neck start to constrict and you will also feel your traps raising (instead of your shoulders). Also make sure NOT to roll the shoulders when doing shrugs. Just keep them on a proper angle...moving up and forward each time.

In addition to this being the proper form, you must have the proper rhythm in place. You will lift the shrug for a count of 1, hold it for a count of 2, and let it down for a count of 1. Remember, a count of 1 is 1-miss-iss-ipp-i. CONTROL the reps!!! Do NOT BOUNCE!! You will perform each rep as if the weight of the world is dangling on the bar in front of you. Give every rep your ALL with the traps ONLY. If you start sacrificing form for power on traps, they will NOT grow. Focus the whole time and envision your traps growing huge and filling up the whole gym (this is an Arnold tip that really does work).

I want you to try this form right now without any weight and see the noticeable difference. Traps are a frequently missed body part because of the form and angles required to properly hit them.

Good luck!