training with Hernia?

[pei]

So after talking to my friend who is actually getting hernia surgery this summer, I think I may have one as well. I'm having a lot of the symptoms, and it all makes more sense when thinking that i have one... pain, sometimes when i hold my breath and lift theres a lot of pressure on my lower abdomen and it hurts.. anyway im going to get it checked out tomorrow.

does anyone have any experience or anything with hernias? could you impart some wisdom to me, and most importantly.. should i continue training with it or modify anything, how long would surgery set me back?

wish me luck all

[jack_of_all]

from my very layman research, you probably dont have a severe hernia if you have one and it could actually go back on its own. still, i would definatley reccomend that you see the doctor (certain types of hernia are BAD news in that you can cut off blood supply to the organ and cause gangrene).

often it is periods of heavy strain/coughing that cause this. so if i were you i would quite doing the valsalva maneuver when lifting (everyone knows how to do the valsalva maneuver, you just hold your lips together and blow ). this tecnhique often makes people stronger, but at major risk to them(you shouldnt just breath freely when doing deads/squats/any other big llift, but you shouldnt be purposley trying to increase your core pressure by as much as possible.)

[The Real TO]

Jack of All. Are you freakin kidding me? The Valsalva Maneuver makes you stronger. I thought I had heard everything. Holding your breath while doing any exercise, whether it's deads/squats/bench press, or any other movement doesn't make the exercise any better. It makes it worse because you are limiting oxygen to your brain, and it gives you a chance at some sort of injury.

The only thing the Valsalva Maneuver is good for is to give you a chance at getting a exercise induced headache during the actual lift. I can't believe I am reading this crap on here. Someone is actually giving advice saying that there is a benefit to using the Valsalva Maneuver.

You know what, Jack of All, keep doing it, and when you pass out from not breathing after doing a bench press, for example, I will make sure not to step on you in the gym. I'll step right over you, and move onto my next exercise.

Back to the discussion. Sorry, I got off track, but that sh** pisses me off. If you have any kind of pain around your lower abs when you lift, I agree with Jack of All here, it would be a good idea to get it checked out. Just to make sure nothing is wrong.

Keep lifting heavy boys, and keep freakin breathing. I think I'm going to try something new. I'm going to go for a quick run, and see how long I can run without breathing. Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. I will let you know how that goes.

[leanmuscle]

I had an umbilical hernia when I was a senior in high school, wasn't that bad but it did put me down for a few months. The sugery was fairly simple it was done on an outpatient basis, but the recovery time sucked. It takes a couple of months to start feeling like you can lift anything, especially to train with weights. But I wouldn't train until I get that checked out, could make it worse.

[jack_of_all]

this tecnhique often makes people stronger, but at major risk to them(you shouldnt just breath freely when doing deads/squats/any other big llift, but you shouldnt be purposley trying to increase your core pressure by as much as possible.)

maybe you should read all of this. and yes, you can put up more weight if you do it, this is FACT (well, maybe not fact, but hell im not sure). this is why its hard for people to stop doing it alot of the time, they get weaker just like people who lift with bad form when they go to proper form. Of course, i reccomended NOT doing it for various safety reasons, but you ignored that part. and if you dont get what 'shouldnt just breathe freely' means (this could be interpreted as saying to hold your breath), im telling him that his breathing should be focused to lifting, (the generally accepted exhale concentric--this should be a SLOW exhale that speeds up as you hit the top--, and inhale eccentric)

[Geeper]

Hernias are for the most part genetic, you are ethier predisposed to have them or not. My dad, brother, grandfather and son all had them as do I.

Mine I've not had to have operated on, it's not in a bad place, it moves in and out fine and is no real immediate threat, I've lived with it for 4 or 5 years, it just looks a little strange. I do get it checked out at least once a year and know that if it turns color, gets stuck out, if I start vomiting ect I have to go to the hospital ASAP because it could be life threatening.

Always get thing type of thing checked by a dr

[GonnabeBig]

I had an inguinal hernia on one side the summer before last, and it never really hurt at all, but I noticed the bump, got it checked out, and it turned out I had a smaller one on the other side as well, it just wasn't visible yet. From what I was told and what I had learned, you can train with a hernia (at least the inguinal, I don’t know about the other locations...), BUT, doing exercises while seated or lying down (bench, etc) are fairly low risk to making it worse, while doing standing exercises are very high risk. Either way, you def don't want to make it worse. If enough pressure is caused on the ruptured area, a segment of intestine can stick through and become distended. This causes the circulation to be cut off, and if not fixed ASAP will require surgery to fix and during recovery have you wearing a colostomy bag. That was enough motivation for me to get them patched up immediately. Your doc will tell you how long you need to not be lifting while you recover (usually approx 6 weeks). NOTE: all I know about is inguinal hernias; everything could be different for other afflicted areas!

[DNL]

Jack of All. Are you freakin kidding me? The Valsalva Maneuver makes you stronger. I thought I had heard everything. Holding your breath while doing any exercise, whether it's deads/squats/bench press, or any other movement doesn't make the exercise any better. It makes it worse because you are limiting oxygen to your brain, and it gives you a chance at some sort of injury.

The only thing the Valsalva Maneuver is good for is to give you a chance at getting a exercise induced headache during the actual lift. I can't believe I am reading this crap on here. Someone is actually giving advice saying that there is a benefit to using the Valsalva Maneuver.

You know what, Jack of All, keep doing it, and when you pass out from not breathing after doing a bench press, for example, I will make sure not to step on you in the gym. I'll step right over you, and move onto my next exercise.

Back to the discussion. Sorry, I got off track, but that sh** pisses me off. If you have any kind of pain around your lower abs when you lift, I agree with Jack of All here, it would be a good idea to get it checked out. Just to make sure nothing is wrong.

Keep lifting heavy boys, and keep freakin breathing. I think I'm going to try something new. I'm going to go for a quick run, and see how long I can run without breathing. Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. I will let you know how that goes.

So first you disagree with him then you agree with him.? Interesting. I doubt you have read... or comprehended all that was said.

[The Real TO]

I agreed with him about getting the hernia injury checked. Maybe you should read a little more carefully.

I love reading people's idea's about different breathing principles, when the simple fact of the matter is just to freakin breathe. That's it. How hard can you make this simple daily task?

There isn't a benefit by breathing differently on the bench press compared to the squat. Or the deadlift compared to the squat. Just breathe freely. There isn't anything wrong with respiration. It is helping you move that weight, so why work against yourself? It just doesn't make sense to me.

I would love to see some studies showing that using the Valsalva Maneuver can be used as a benefit in strength training. Please. I'm begging you guys. Show me some literature.