Hello everyone, I used to be a fairly avid poster several years ago, but I dropped off after I started focusing more on school, fitness, etc. After graduating and getting a good job, I've gotten to a point in my life where I can finally afford leg lengthening surgery with ease. My goal is to regain the height I lost due to precocious puberty, as my projected adult height was approximately 6'0.5 (or 184.5 cm). That requires about 5.5 inches of leg lengthening. The main question, however, is if I may regain all my weightlifting performance after leg lengthening surgery--as this is also an issue of great importance to me. My current lifts are 315 for a max bench, 405 lbs for a max squat, and 450 for a max deadlift, and my lifetime goals are 400, 600, and 650 respectively. I don't plan for LL to destroy these ambitions. Thus, my plan is to lengthen approximately 18% of my femurs and tibias (under the 20% soft limit for LL) in order to facilitate easier recovery, which equals about 5.6 inches of total lengthening. The question is: how realistic is this, really? I'm still very young, healthy, and have no preexisting conditions, but I'm curious about the posibilities of x factors that will ruin my ambitions. A lot has changed on these forums in my absence, so anyone with new relevant info and experience would be great.
It's not really a matter of overcompensation. Being very strong and muscular is of incredible importance to me.
Regardless, what is your opinion on the matter?
I'm starting with one segment to reach about 176-177 cm, seeing how I feel, then only going back under the knife if I'm still dissatisfied. However, thank you for your input.
That sounds fine. I certainly expect it to take at least a year to return to previous strength levels after 2.5 inches of tibial lengthening.
I plan on doing tibias first—ideally about 7 cm—and we’ll see from there. If I’m satisfied, then I won’t go ahead with a second surgery. Of course, I’ll start the tibial lengthening and see how my body reacts, only going to 7 cm if there’s no problems.
I don't mind pain too much, but I appreciate the warning.
Quote from: Gradescender on December 09, 2021, 12:53:06 AMAssuming that you are mobile enough to accommodate the new bone growth and that you can recover the contractile properties of the muscle before it was stretched during LL (I'm not actually sure how well this is done), I don't think it's impossible to achieve your lifetime goals on those lifts. The human body can do some pretty amazing things with the right preparation, training, and enough time. So if you go about it programmatically and address your weak points with the proper mobility or activation drills, I think you could still reach impressive numbers in your new body. I REALLY like Kinstretch and Functional Range Conditioning (FRC) for mobility training. A combination of Kinstretch, yoga, and MAT (muscle activation therapy) has made a huge difference in my own mobility and makes lifting feel much better. As you increase & strengthen your active ROM, you get more out of your lifts of course. Kinstretch/FRC could be something to look into for before and after LL.
Another consideration: your center of mass is going to be higher. It's typically easier for people with lower centers of gravity to move heavy weights. Even if you adjust to your new center of gravity for tasks like running and walking, I'd expect the mechanics of your lifts to change. This article helped me think about the impact of body ratios on lifting. Something to keep in mind possibly as you make decisions on bones and amounts to lengthen.
https://www.t-nation.com/training/body-proportions-lifting-what-you-need-to-know/
So I think your lifts will be more difficult due to longer legs and (hopefully temporary) mobility issues, but this doesn't necessarily mean you can't achieve your PR goals. Maybe your max deadlift will need to be a sumo deadlift instead of a conventional one. There's a chance that as you age you'll become more interested in tailoring a strength program to your body than training for performance gains on the big lifts anyway. Whatever you decide, be sure to get yourself as mobile as possible.
I appreciate your detailed answer. That's a lot of information and analysis--thank you.
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