So, with the increase in strength and the reduction in body fat, as previously mentioned, my joints took a hit. Once the body fat reduces, the cushion for the joints also decreases. This caused a little predicament because if I trained with too much intensity, this could just make matters worst or I could adjust the training, and still make progress in the gym; not in strength but in gains.

This gym week, I decided to work more on reps rather than weight. I decided to incorporate other forms of exercises; wide grip bench press, one arm dumbbell overhead press, barbell reverse grip bent over rows, etc. Also, with the increase in strength, but with the reduction in fat, I started putting more strain on my bicep tendon on my left arm, which developed tendonitis years ago. Because tendons don’t heal as well as vascular structures, any strenuous activity over an extended period of time, will irritate the tendon and cause an increase risk of developing a new onset of tendonitis. My irritation is more on the distal (at the elbow), rather than proximal (at the shoulder), when it comes to my bicep tendon on my left arm.

This adjustment in the gym allows me to recover and still get my muscles pushed and stimulated, so that they grow. It isn’t like I plan to continue with this routine (low weights, moderate reps), for an extended period of time or even to next week. I am hoping that this off and on routine, can help my joints recover, so that I do not hit a wall because of injury.

The only way I will know if this adjustment worked, is when I go onto Week 18 and return to lifting the max amount of weight that I was lifting previously. I will make an update pertaining to that, at the beginning of the week prior to the Week 18 blog update, so that I can adjust my workout if need be.

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