Knee Rehab, Weight loss, Upper Body Strength, & Programming

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hey Jordan and Austin,

25 y/o male, 6 ft, 245, with a high percentage of body fat. Currently sitting between a 36-38 inch pant size at the hips, and never been heavier. I used to be a lot thinner, around 180 lbs, but college, Chick-Fil-A, a lack of self-control(that’s the big one) and a brain injury in 2020 took me to where I am now. I haver been the strongest or most consistent lifter, but on and off did SS for years. I got very familiar with the exercises but never with programming. Now, come last year, I broke my left tibia and due to atrophy in my patellar tendon, I cannot run very fast or jump at all. It is very weak and cannot take the load, although I am thankful there is no pain. Looking at all that I am now: weak, very overweight, and in need of knee rehab I have decided to buckle up and change. I have gotten some help from this forum on what to do for the knee rehab, and thought it wise to plug that into the beginner template, but I am unsure of how to go about this. The exercises suggested to me on this forum for rehab were: single leg knee extensions, calf raises, and Bulgarian split squats. I have also heard that eccentric decline single leg squats are great. Looking at these and the beginner template, wanting to include at least one day of normal barbell squats and deadlifts, I saw that there is a massive gap in upper body movement comparatively. Knowing that I want to be able to do pullups and dips again, I thought I would add in BW movements to assist in upper body volume and because I enjoy pursuing the goal of pullups and dips again. I took a stab at a routine and this is what it looks like.

Sunday: Planks 3x30sec below max, inverted rows 3x10, parallel bar support hold

Monday: 3x10 BSS, 3x10+ calf raises, 3x15 eccentric decline SL Squats, 3x8 single leg knee extensions, 3x10 RPE 6,7,8 Bench Press, and 3x5(progressive increase) eccentric pullups.

Tuesday: Nike Guided Run, Planks, Pushups, Planks 3x30sec below max, [maybe pullups bar hangs?]

Wednesday: 3x4 RPE 6,7,8 Back Squats, 3x4 RPE 6,7,8 OHP, 3x8 RPE 6,7,8 DL, 3x10 RPE 6,7,8 Barbell Rows

Thursday: Planks 3x30sec below max, inverted rows 3x10, parallel bar support hold

Friday: 3x10 BSS, 3x10+ calf raises, 3x15 eccentric decline SL Squats, 3x8 single leg knee extensions, 3x10 RPE 6,7,8 Bench Press, and 3x5(progressive increase) eccentric pullups

Saturday: Nike Guided Run, Planks, Pushups, Planks 3x30sec below max, [maybe pullups bar hangs?]

My purpose for everyday, 3 main workouts and then supplementary cardio and bw work, is that I need to keep myself moving and build the habit. If this program is even remotely well devised, I did not intend it to be long term but to build the habit and joy of working out, as well as to make sure I am moving as much as I can along side of my calorie deficit in order to lose the fat.

Maybe I am just over eager and crash planning, but I have got to do something and any advice would be greatly appreciated.

2

Thanothan,

I think this is one of those situations that would benefit from a consultation to further explore the specifics of your situation, make recommendations, and tweak them as needed with follow up. From here, a few thoughts:

  1. If you can run, you can probably squat and deadlift. I’d do “regular” squats and deadlifts 1x/wk to start with a 3-0-3 tempo in the 8-12 rep range.
  2. Replace the other 2 squat and deadlift slots of the beginner template with your suggested leg work. I don’t know that what you’ve listed here is what I would necessarily recommend, but it seems fine too.
  3. I’d do the upper body work from the beginner template and would 10/10 stop tryin doing novice linear progression for any lift, ever.
  4. I would do more conditioning and get rid of the “extra” GPP. I’d probably do it on a bike.
  5. Building habits doesn’t tend to be frequency-related as much as it is preparedness and adaptability. I think having options for getting your exercise in and flexibility in it is worthwhile.

-Jordan

3

Jordan,

I really appreciate the response, this so helpful. Felt like I was trying to find my way in the dark for a while, with so much conflicting or confusion information. It is a breath of fresh air to actually have a personal answer from a professional instead of guessing. I would most definitely be interested in a consultation, where would I go to get that set up?

4

Here’s a link to the questionnaire for our Pain and Rehab team:

After it’s filled out, one of the team members will reach out to you and go from there.