Shoulder Trouble

[kooza]

Hi guys, I've read this forum quite a bit but this is the first time I have actually made a post. Really good stuff on here.

I just got back into training after quite a few years off have been training for about 7 months now. My natural weight is a massive 72 kg's (i.e. without doing any training and eating a normal three meals a day). I've managed to get up to 80kgs (fat percentage has probably stayed the same if not gone down, the one thing I have going for me is I'm naturally very lean), my goal weight would be between 85-90kgs.

Anyway reason for this post is due to pain in my left shoulder. I used to do the standard four day split but I decided to try a two day split doing each muscle group twice a week. I've had really good gains in strength but my shoulder has just been getting gradually worse. I'm wondering if I am doing too much on it? I did pop my ac joint in that same shoulder playing rugby about 10 years ago which I am sure is not helping.

My current workout looks like

Chest/Tris/Legs - day 1

Back/Shoulders/Bis - day 2

I average about 25 sets per workout and 9 reps per set.

I do two exercises per muscle group apart from legs I do 3-4. First exercise on chest for example will be barbell or dumbell press 4 sets average 8 reps and second will be incline, flies or crossovers 3 sets also average 8 reps.

I actually rotate between three different workouts for both days as I read somewhere that a good way to avoid injuries is to mix up your exercises so you aren't hitting your joints the same way constantly.

I mostly train 4 days a week, currently I am trying to do 1 on 1 off rather than two days in a row then 1 off 1 on two off sort of thing.

Incline chest flies (or whatever they are called) and shoulder press are probably the two which give me the most grief.

I also do a lot of pull ups - I was doing every back workout first exercise 3 sets, tried alternating grip and distance between hands then alternated with wide grip pull downs.

I was also doing dips every tricep workout but now alternate with push downs and alternate between using weight attached and not on dips.

Anyway a bit of a long post but I guess you need all the info to provide useful feedback, I have had a week off and will probably have another week off if not just do some light weights and see how it goes.

Any feedback would be much appreciated as it's starting to really piss me off not being able to push myself fully.

Cheers,

Mike.

[Jigga]

In a very similar situation to you mate. Left shoulder stopped me from doing Incline Bench Press and was niggly whenever I went heavy on Flat Bench. The way to get around it is incorporate some Rotator Cuff work into your program AND change your form slightly perhaps. A good RC strengthening movement is

. The movements you will be feeling pain/weakness with are the ones where a lot of stress is put on your Front Delt eg Inc Bench. A good way to protect your shoulders is to pull your shoulder blades together and keep your back tight as you fill your chest with air and push it out during any heavy pressing movements. This means your Chest is still being fully activated but it takes the load off your Delts at the bottom. With the shoulder specific work like Shoulder Press increase your reps and drop the weight just until you build up a bit of RC strength. This is just what worked for me.

[Beef]

yip i had a rotator cuff injury as well, went to the osteo and then did a lot of rehab. it' one of those things that you don't realise the importance of the rotator cuff till you injure it :nod:

[kooza]

Thanks for the tips Jigga, I'll try those scarecrows for sure. The way you described flat bench sounds pretty much how I do them anyway which may explain why I only get pain on incline.

You can say that again Gymsta I was out from rugby for about 2 months from memory. Virtually every upper body and I guess most lower body exercises put pressure on your AC joint in some way. That's why I wasn't sure if I might have been overdoing it.

Thanks again,

Mike.

[rose]

Do you do any rear delt work like bent over lateral raises or facepulls etc. No point doing four exercises for the front/side and none for the back. Don't rely on your back train to hit rear delts. It pays to work the back as well as the front, even if you can't see it in the mirror etc.

Also try these.

And these:

None of this is backed by any scientific evidence.

[Ronin]

I've said it before and I'll say it again...Don't rely on e-diagnosis, get ur ass (and shoulder) in to a physio. No-one here can accurately diagnose exactly what you have damaged, nor how to fix it, without having a look at it. Especially given that your description isn't overly detailed, ie we can't see at what point any given movement becomes too painful to continue, we can't compare ROM between the injured and non-injured shoulder, we can't do any of the things that a physio would do to establish the nature of your injury.

I injured my shoulder a few months back (sounds like your's is quite similar to mine), and yes I did ask if anyone here had experienced similar symptoms, but I still went to a physio. Turns out the e-diagnosis I got here was partly correct, but I had also torn the bicep tendon, which I hadn't even considered. It still took a good 2 months of rehab work to get back into it.

Seek help from those qualified to do so.

[rose]

I've said it before and I'll say it again...Don't rely on e-diagnosis

LOL. Was he asking for one? I only saw a request for feedback. If there's an injury and you're not seeing a physio ain't no net help going to cure ya... My attention to detail is reliant on my ADHD... Title, a sentence in the middle if you're lucky, last sentence :pfft:

Oh and if you don't train rear delts then you should etc because muscle imbalances are gay :grin:

[cantygirl]

Every second gym goer will have had a shoulder injury so any advice is always helpful. For my many rotator cuff injuries, I have learnt obviously to strengthen them, depending on which one you've injured or if its in the deltoid get some physio input there. Also as has been said, when training upper body muscles keep resetting your posture as you fatigue between reps, stop stand tall roll your shoulders up, around and back down which will help keep your traps down and your chest up.

[kooza]

Fair point Ronin and that's definitely where I'll head if I can't shake it. Rose is right though I was just looking for some advice on my training program rather than the injury itself. I have noticed imbalance pops up a lot which sounds like the most likely explanation. I do one arm bent over rows but I always focus on my traps. I'll definitely start doing some more rear delt work and see how I go.

Thanks for all the advice,

Mike.