Hi! I’m currently in Week 5 of the 4-day GPP/Hypertrophy program. Last week, I believe I strained an intercostal muscle on my right side doing leg press. I had a similar injury but on my other side many months ago while squatting.
I’m not sure how to adjust my workout to let this heal. So far, I’ve made no training adjustments. Most of the time I don’t feel anything until I move a certain way. This means my workouts usually go fine at my normal weights and then later that day as I get into bed, I can really feel it screaming at me. I’m not sure which lifts are worse for it (all of them? Anything with a belt?). Should I go lighter all around for a few weeks? I believe that’s what I did last time. Any advice is appreciated.
40 years old, been lifting since February (SSLP → The Bridge → now the GPP Hypertrophy program).
Symptom wise I’ve got a tender spot on my right side toward the bottom of my ribcage. I can feel it when I take a deep breath, during some movements if I turn a certain way. I’ll feel it laying on my side.
It’s been just over a week. I’ll see the soreness fade, but then I’ll do something like a bunch of situps on GPP day, and then the soreness will intensify a bit. On belted squat / DL day it was pretty brutal, but the next day felt pretty good. So I’m not sure which things specifically make it worse and which ones just make me feel it more.
I did have a very similar experience a few months into the start of my training but I injured it during a squat and it was on the other side. I reduced my weight by 15-20% for a few weeks and then restarted my LP from those reduced weights. I’m kinda hesitant to drop weight if it’s not necessary. I just can’t tell if I’m preventing anything from healing.
Gotcha. Thanks for the additional information. I’d advise initially dropping volume and/or intensity. If something like sit-ups is aggravating the issue then perhaps you can still tolerate sit-ups but at a reduced volume. Same can be said for squats / deadlift. Then just be patient with the process (easier said than done). Symptoms are ok but they shouldn’t be drastically increasing during sessions and remaining increased for 24+ hours, if this is happening then perhaps you aren’t tolerating load well (this doesn’t necessarily mean you are impeding healing). Also - given the location of the pain, it may be worth seeking consult if the issue lingers and/or you develop any other symptoms.
Awesome, thanks for the advice! Since dropping intensity worked last time, I’ll try that again and see if it changes anything. I finished my last session for the week today so I’ve got a few rest days coming up. I won’t do anything stupid to re-injure myself and I’ll keep an eye on things.