Ask any bodybuilder who has sustained a leg injury – intermediate or professional – and they’ll all likely tell you the same thing. There was a small warning sign. Perhaps some soreness or stiffness in the region was present. Or, maybe they felt something just not feeling right. Many major leg injuries are precipitated by smaller pains. If a bodybuilder is able to recognize these signals and immediately halt the workout – and seek medical attention if necessary.

Soreness in the region during warm-up
If a muscle group is sore during warm-up, think back to the activities you were involved in earlier that week which may have led to this soreness. If it’s just stiffness, you should be able to work through it. Perhaps you had to sit in a boring seminar for eight hours the day before. Or, perhaps your legs aren’t quite healed from the cardio 2 or 3 days before. Soreness isn’t a huge problem, and you can usually work through it with extra stretching and a medium-intensity workout.

Immediate “crick” in knee
There are times in the gym where you just don’t warm up adequately, and upon completing your first set of squats, you feel a small ‘crick’ in the knee. These pains are often warning signs that something is out of place and you are about to sustain a much larger injury, if you place maximum weight load upon the joint. Step back, train another body part, and return to train legs in 2 to 4 days.

Shooting pain in muscle group at any time during workout
If at any time during your workout you experience any kid of shooting pain, it’s time to end the workout. You may have punched a nerve, or you may have simply strained something. Whatever the cause of the shooting pain, further lifting will only make it worse.


The Snap
Two years ago, Arnold Classic winner Victor Martinez was training chest when he felt a small tear in his pectoral muscle. For most bodybuilders, a torn pec is almost a career-ender. And most bodybuilders tend to pray, ignore, and pretend the pec isn’t torn, hoping their career isn’t over. Instead of taking that path, Vic Martinez immediately sought medical attention from industry professional Heather Green, who was able to fix the very small pectoral tear before it developed into something which harmed the visual appearance of his pectoral. If you feel something ‘snap’ or ‘pop’ during a workout, it should be obvious that your workout for the day is over. Don’t try to test the muscle group. Don’t try to work through it. Slowly walk to your car, making an assessment of what has happened to what muscle group in your leg. Remember that since many injuries start small, you may be about to trigger a much larger injury.

Dedication and devotion to the gym is one thing. Injuring yourself further by ignoring signs of a serious injury is quite another. Don’t derail yourself from weeks or months of training by sustaining an avoidable injury. Train smart, and at the first sign of an injury, halt the workout and consider medical attention.

Dane Fletcher is the world-wide authority on bodybuilding and steroids. He has coached countless athletes all over the world. To read more of his work, please visit either http://www.BodybuildingToday.com or http://www.SteroidsToday.com

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