after closing the Coc # 2 69 x in a day I got this tendonitis

[alan_fra]

Hi Everybody ,

I'm new to the forum. I was wondering how long it takes to recover from tendonitis. I was gripping really hard  by flexing with my elbow and bicep muscle when closing the Coc # 2 2 and a half weeks ago and then I developed sore tenderness on the inside of my arm just above the elbow. It seems there are tendons there that are inflamed for like 3 to four inches. Yesterday I tried some hammer curls like 53 kg barbell reverse curls and that aggravated the problem by making that area more sore. How long do you think the recovery will be ? And will it be stronger than before because I tried the Coc 2 today and could only do 1 rep whearas before when not injured my max was 6 reps. 

[Blacksmith513]

Welcome to the forum. That sucks. 

could be a week, could be months... It all depends. Its real important to build up to volume like that. Look up some rehab threads on this forum.. Extensor bands, massaging, pronation and supination with light hammer.... bucket of sand...  Hope it heals fast.

[alan_fra]

Thanks, Yes it's unknown exactly how long it might heal. I've been doing wrist curls 3 x a week now in order to speed up recovery and I have no pain when doing them , even at heavier weights over 30 kg barbell. We'll see how long it takes and your're right that there needs to be a buildup to volume like that because my previous best was like 55 x closed and then a month later I suddenly went up to 72 x and three days later 69 x which is when I got the injury so it seems my tendons were not used to that type of stress yet

[dubyagrip]

There is no reason to do that many reps.

[Vinnie]

30 minutes ago, dubyagrip said:

There is no reason to do that many reps.

Agreed.  I might do 5 or 10 on something easy for warmups, but once I am a little warm, I'd keep reps low on harder grippers and just do a few sets.  There is no magic number of reps or sets that works best for everyone and I don't even do it the same every time for myself, but something like two or three sets of 3 to 6 reps on a gripper that I can't do more than 5 or 6 reps, then a few singles (or attempts) on grippers near my max.  Example (just how one workout might go for me, with my MMS close max now at about 165 RGC +/- 5 depending on the day): All MMS:  10 quick reps trainer, a minute or two rest; 10 quick reps 1.5 or similar under 100 RGC gripper, a minute or two rest; 5 quick reps COC 2, a couple minutes rest; 3-5 regular reps COC 3 rated 142, 3-4 minutes rest -- then, I will either do a couple more sets of AMRAP on the COC 3 rated 142 (or similar) with 5-ish minutes rest between them, and call it a day, or, if it is a day I want to max out and go for high RGC, I will switch to singles: one rep 147, one rep 152, one rep 159, one rep 165, one rep 170 (these are just the numbers I own right now, I probably should get a couple more in the 160s to allow for some flexibility in jumps).  Sometimes I take longer rests.  But I am not sure there is ever a day that -- even counting my warm-ups -- I have done more than 60 closes in a day.

I am not saying it should never be done, just that I am not sure it is something that needs to be done.  There are some formal gripper training programs you can buy (in fact, I bought one of them, but haven't done it yet), where high reps do figure in -- and maybe those systems work -- but I am just saying I am not sure it is the only way to go.

Hope this helps.  Jaland (@dubyagrip), your thoughts?

[Vinnie]

1 minute ago, Vinnie said:

Agreed.  I might do 5 or 10 on something easy for warmups, but once I am a little warm, I'd keep reps low on harder grippers and just do a few sets.  There is no magic number of reps or sets that works best for everyone and I don't even do it the same every time for myself, but something like two or three sets of 3 to 6 reps on a gripper that I can't do more than 5 or 6 reps, then a few singles (or attempts) on grippers near my max.  Example (just how one workout might go for me, with my MMS close max now at about 165 RGC +/- 5 depending on the day): All MMS:  10 quick reps trainer, a minute or two rest; 10 quick reps 1.5 or similar under 100 RGC gripper, a minute or two rest; 5 quick reps COC 2, a couple minutes rest; 3-5 regular reps COC 3 rated 142, 3-4 minutes rest -- then, I will either do a couple more sets of AMRAP on the COC 3 rated 142 (or similar) with 5-ish minutes rest between them, and call it a day, or, if it is a day I want to max out and go for high RGC, I will switch to singles: one rep 147, one rep 152, one rep 159, one rep 165, one rep 170 (these are just the numbers I own right now, I probably should get a couple more in the 160s to allow for some flexibility in jumps).  Sometimes I take longer rests.  But I am not sure there is ever a day that -- even counting my warm-ups -- I have done more than 60 closes in a day.

I am not saying it should never be done, just that I am not sure it is something that needs to be done.  There are some formal gripper training programs you can buy (in fact, I bought one of them, but haven't done it yet), where high reps do figure in -- and maybe those systems work -- but I am just saying I am not sure it is the only way to go.

Hope this helps.  Jaland (@dubyagrip), your thoughts?

Also, @Chez, since you're back, you are my mentor, your thoughts?

 

[Vinnie]

3 hours ago, alan_fra said:

Thanks, Yes it's unknown exactly how long it might heal. I've been doing wrist curls 3 x a week now in order to speed up recovery and I have no pain when doing them , even at heavier weights over 30 kg barbell. We'll see how long it takes and your're right that there needs to be a buildup to volume like that because my previous best was like 55 x closed and then a month later I suddenly went up to 72 x and three days later 69 x which is when I got the injury so it seems my tendons were not used to that type of stress yet

This happened to me before I found the gripboard when I was just discovering grippers and was overdoing it on my COC2 in hopes of getting to the COC 3 faster than I really could.  I lost a few months.  I was in my late 40s and I had no clue about extensor bands or curls or anything, I just overdid the gripper closes, period.  After I met the grip guys  (Chez and a few others) and got some guidance, I improved again and eventually certed on the 3 (a few years later).  Jaland did it a lot faster.  Obviously some of it has to do with your own body, but you do have to read your responses.

[dubyagrip]

24 minutes ago, Vinnie said:

Agreed.  I might do 5 or 10 on something easy for warmups, but once I am a little warm, I'd keep reps low on harder grippers and just do a few sets.  There is no magic number of reps or sets that works best for everyone and I don't even do it the same every time for myself, but something like two or three sets of 3 to 6 reps on a gripper that I can't do more than 5 or 6 reps, then a few singles (or attempts) on grippers near my max.  Example (just how one workout might go for me, with my MMS close max now at about 165 RGC +/- 5 depending on the day): All MMS:  10 quick reps trainer, a minute or two rest; 10 quick reps 1.5 or similar under 100 RGC gripper, a minute or two rest; 5 quick reps COC 2, a couple minutes rest; 3-5 regular reps COC 3 rated 142, 3-4 minutes rest -- then, I will either do a couple more sets of AMRAP on the COC 3 rated 142 (or similar) with 5-ish minutes rest between them, and call it a day, or, if it is a day I want to max out and go for high RGC, I will switch to singles: one rep 147, one rep 152, one rep 159, one rep 165, one rep 170 (these are just the numbers I own right now, I probably should get a couple more in the 160s to allow for some flexibility in jumps).  Sometimes I take longer rests.  But I am not sure there is ever a day that -- even counting my warm-ups -- I have done more than 60 closes in a day.

I am not saying it should never be done, just that I am not sure it is something that needs to be done.  There are some formal gripper training programs you can buy (in fact, I bought one of them, but haven't done it yet), where high reps do figure in -- and maybe those systems work -- but I am just saying I am not sure it is the only way to go.

Hope this helps.  Jaland (@dubyagrip), your thoughts?

A mega volume day might shock your system if you needed to bust a plateau or just have some fun, but doing 60+ reps on the regular just seems like a good way to...give yourself tendonitis...

My work out the other day was 11 reps, and I decided to do a set of five at the end of my workout to knock some rust off, so it should have been a total of 6.

We are all different, but I don't know anyone who has done well with grippers who was doing that kind of volume.

[alan_fra]

Jaland , 

 

Yeah, I seem to have gotten tendinitis from it. My intention was to do heavy volume to develop steel tendons. The kind that are not fazed by high volume workouts. This was also supposed to have translated into increased tendon strength as well. You know, the more you do reps the more your tendons adapt to the load and pretty soon it's easy to do that same load a week later or so. I guess in this case it seems to have not worked well but I'm hoping that the tendons remodel and heal stronger so I do develop more robust tendons

[dubyagrip]

4 minutes ago, alan_fra said:

Jaland , 

 

Yeah, I seem to have gotten tendinitis from it. My intention was to do heavy volume to develop steel tendons. The kind that are not fazed by high volume workouts. This was also supposed to have translated into increased tendon strength as well. You know, the more you do reps the more your tendons adapt to the load and pretty soon it's easy to do that same load a week later or so. I guess in this case it seems to have not worked well but I'm hoping that the tendons remodel and heal stronger so I do develop more robust tendons

I see what you were trying to accomplish, but what you developed is an overuse injury which actually has weakened them.  Steady, consistent progressive overload will give you the results you seek, provided you allow yourself the time to recover adequately.  I am glad you are still training.  I remember when you started.

[alan_fra]

Jaland, 

Thanks!  Never give up is a good philosophy. I will try steady , consistent progressive overload. My injury is not in the forearms or hands. It's above the elbow of the right arm on the right side of the bicep in a tendon. What period of time do you recommend to rest up for full recovery time ?

[dubyagrip]

12 minutes ago, alan_fra said:

Jaland, 

Thanks!  Never give up is a good philosophy. I will try steady , consistent progressive overload. My injury is not in the forearms or hands. It's above the elbow of the right arm on the right side of the bicep in a tendon. What period of time do you recommend to rest up for full recovery time ?

I can't really recommend a recovery plan or time. You're going to just have to lower the weights and feel it out.  A physical therapist can help you identify specific movements to alleviate your symptoms.  Perhaps @C8Myotome can provide some insight into what you can do.

[alan_fra]

Ok, I will lower the weight for sure ! Yeah , I hope C8Myotome could provide some insight. I think I'll take a week of grippers too. Thanks for all your advice

[Mitch Jones]

I started on a high volume program earlier this year after not having done grippers in a few years. I was extending my elbow and supinating my wrist when closing grippers. This gave me a lot of pain in my forearm close to the elbow for months. I pretty much discontinued grippers for the follow few months. This started i think in April this year and has just stopped bothering me during training a month ago. So it may take a while to fully recover. I try to keep my elbow still now and keep the volume much lower. I have very little gripper experience compared to just about everybody on the gripboard, but it sounds like we had a similar experience, so i thought I'd share.

[C8Myotome]

I could solve this easily but I'm not going to. I intentionally no longer go out of my way to help people for free publicly on this website.

Sorry, but a handful of people on this website decided to ruin that for everybody else! go see a doctor like everyone else. 99.99% of the people on here have absolutely no idea what they're talking about regarding anything medical, or how to train properly.

[IzzyGrasp]

On 11/16/2023 at 6:01 AM, alan_fra said:

Hi Everybody ,

I'm new to the forum. I was wondering how long it takes to recover from tendonitis. I was gripping really hard  by flexing with my elbow and bicep muscle when closing the Coc # 2 2 and a half weeks ago and then I developed sore tenderness on the inside of my arm just above the elbow. It seems there are tendons there that are inflamed for like 3 to four inches. Yesterday I tried some hammer curls like 53 kg barbell reverse curls and that aggravated the problem by making that area more sore. How long do you think the recovery will be ? And will it be stronger than before because I tried the Coc 2 today and could only do 1 rep whearas before when not injured my max was 6 reps. 

I have absolutely no experience with this sort of recovery as I have yet to have a similar injury, so I’ll leave the responding to the experts, but welcome to the forum and I hope your recovery is fast! 

[Chez]

On 11/16/2023 at 10:16 AM, Vinnie said:

Also, @Chez, since you're back, you are my mentor, your thoughts?

 

Ya. I don’t do crazy high reps and to fight Tendonitis  you need to make sure to train your extenzers at the same time. Easiest way is just opening your finger against rubber band resistance. 

[alan_fra]

41 minutes ago, Chez said:

Ya. I don’t do crazy high reps and to fight Tendonitis  you need to make sure to train your extenzers at the same time. Easiest way is just opening your finger against rubber band resistance. 

I took 4 days off so far and the pain went away totally. I'm focusing more on weight lifting exercises to strengthen the tendons around the elbow now before I restart gripper traiing again. Yesterday I did 3 sets of bicep curls at 27.5 kg. Now today both my arms are sore where the tendons around the elbow are but there is no pain so it appears to be DOMS. Maybe these bicep curls will prevent future tendonitis. 

I will add some extensor training too.

[Alawadhi]

On 11/16/2023 at 3:01 PM, alan_fra said:

Hi Everybody ,

I'm new to the forum. I was wondering how long it takes to recover from tendonitis. I was gripping really hard  by flexing with my elbow and bicep muscle when closing the Coc # 2 2 and a half weeks ago and then I developed sore tenderness on the inside of my arm just above the elbow. It seems there are tendons there that are inflamed for like 3 to four inches. Yesterday I tried some hammer curls like 53 kg barbell reverse curls and that aggravated the problem by making that area more sore. How long do you think the recovery will be ? And will it be stronger than before because I tried the Coc 2 today and could only do 1 rep whearas before when not injured my max was 6 reps. 

As they said here train less reps. Do hot and cold bath too. Go to a physiotherapist and get massage and released in the right places. Try dry needling too. You should be fine.

[jmort]

MSM powder is a good natural supplement to help heal from tendon damage, in your case it might be worth a try. Good luck!

(It’ll also make your hair and nails grow way faster, though that may be a good thing)

[alan_fra]

22 hours ago, Alawadhi said:

As they said here train less reps. Do hot and cold bath too. Go to a physiotherapist and get massage and released in the right places. Try dry needling too. You should be fine.

Yes, I'm thinking about training less reps. How many Coc #2 reps would be a safe maximum 2x a week? Would 50 reps be ok ? I don't have a massage therapist here but I may not need one since the soreness has gone down a lot. I'm planning to restart gripper work tommorrow which will then be 7 days of rest spent. I think I'll do a few reps of Coc #2 and then do Elite 4 reps because they seem to have been easier on the tendons. It's surprising but I've never been injured using the Elite series grippers just from the Coc #2 ( maybe because it is much wider , difficult ). Tendons seem to be 80 percent healed at minimum. 

[alan_fra]

21 hours ago, jmort said:

MSM powder is a good natural supplement to help heal from tendon damage, in your case it might be worth a try. Good luck!

(It’ll also make your hair and nails grow way faster, though that may be a good thing)

Thanks. Yes, I already use msm daily. 1 teaspoon daily along with 1 teaspoon vitamin C and a teaspoon of calcium powder and 1 teaspoon of magnesium powder. It helps and the tendons finally feel more stabilized after 24 days of injury. I'm hoping the tendons get stronger and remodel to become more resilient like muscles in bodybuilding sports

Edited November 22, 2023 by alan_fra

[Alawadhi]

48 minutes ago, alan_fra said:

Yes, I'm thinking about training less reps. How many Coc #2 reps would be a safe maximum 2x a week? Would 50 reps be ok ? I don't have a massage therapist here but I may not need one since the soreness has gone down a lot. I'm planning to restart gripper work tommorrow which will then be 7 days of rest spent. I think I'll do a few reps of Coc #2 and then do Elite 4 reps because they seem to have been easier on the tendons. It's surprising but I've never been injured using the Elite series grippers just from the Coc #2 ( maybe because it is much wider , difficult ). Tendons seem to be 80 percent healed at minimum. 

Other people with better gripper experience told you their workouts. I would follow their advise and then adjust accordingly to my body. I am just MMG 2 cert. Closed my 171 #3.5 on my best gripper day long ago. Me and Jedd Johnson took a BB Grand Elite to almost half an inch when Jedd was here (albeit my set was a bit deeper). So I am not the best gripper guy to ask. I also train way less so I am far lacking behind in new training methods. Better ask the guys above or just there are tons of very good gripper people here on the board who can help.

But what I can help with is pain. The hot and cold bath helps. The hands in ice bucket after training is a very good injury/pain preventive method, at least for me. Dry needling and good chiro/massage therapist from time to time is also needed for me. 

[alan_fra]

22 minutes ago, Alawadhi said:

Other people with better gripper experience told you their workouts. I would follow their advise and then adjust accordingly to my body. I am just MMG 2 cert. Closed my 171 #3.5 on my best gripper day long ago. Me and Jedd Johnson took a BB Grand Elite to almost half an inch when Jedd was here (albeit my set was a bit deeper). So I am not the best gripper guy to ask. I also train way less so I am far lacking behind in new training methods. Better ask the guys above or just there are tons of very good gripper people here on the board who can help.

But what I can help with is pain. The hot and cold bath helps. The hands in ice bucket after training is a very good injury/pain preventive method, at least for me. Dry needling and good chiro/massage therapist from time to time is also needed for me. 

Yes, I just reminded myself  about the other people on this board that are more experienced with grippers. I remember Jaland's advice was progressive training. I will try to follow that. 

I see that you closed some heavy grippers. That's awesome ! I understand that you feel you might be out of date with new training methods.

 

Thanks for the hot and cold bath advice ! And the ice bucket method .  

[alan_fra]

Today I had my first gripper workout after a 7 day rest. I woke up around 95 percent healed meaning that almost everything was feeling clear to the touch except some minor sore spots by the top of the forearm and near the elbow but hey were not deep. 

I decided to skip the Coc #2 because it's what got me injured in the first place due to overtraining so I chose to Rep the Elite 4 estimated RGC avg. 95 but my weight test showed it was at 101 ( if it was accurate at all) which is the max rating based on the GOG rgc rankings website. I did 4 sets of 14 , 18 , 19 , and 16. Prevously a few weeks ago I was able to do 22 reps max. so doing 19 today is about 85 percent of my strength capability. 

I then did 4 sets of 27.5 kg bicep curls of 41 , 41 , 43 , and 50 reps. That was challenging but fun and I'm hoping that these sets strengthen my tendons significantly

Edited November 23, 2023 by alan_fra