posted Fri, 06/26/2020 - 14:30
1218
Hurt shoulder on incline press - thoughts on recovery and changes needed for workout
ad
I have been doing chest and arms on same day, which usually starts with bench if any are open at the gym, then chest dips, incline bench or dumbbell incline bench(depending on what's open), then jump to biceps(various), triceps(various).
Last week I put on normal weight for incline bench and shoulder popped some and hurt after I hit my chest and was pushing back up. I went ahead and finished a couple more which was dumb. Not sure if it is just age, too much weight, too many sets that involve shoulder? Anyways, I am going to lay off for at least a couple weeks and hope it heals up. Thanks for any advice on recovery time and if anyone else has the same issues and what you did to overcome them.
- Bookmark
- 0
- 0
When my shoulders get stiff I do two things that help! I try to do a few sets of hanging on the chin up bar for two or three minutes each time, along w/ shoulder stretching movements & up my creatine dose!
Usually it develops like this...
Early focus skewed to chest and pressing movements.
General lack on rear delts and targeted back work
Chest develops as do muscular adhesions, pulls shoulders forward that fraction.
Juice = more strength, more weight
Tendons ligaments won't grow to support...
Shoulder at from also has muscular adhesions (we all have it)
Rotator being stressed more and more over time
Over time, without developing balance and good habits with activation and adhesion, you can thrn develop impingements with the rotator (broadly speaking)
Then eventually, you can twang an impingement, or perhaps tear on a bone spur, or develop a tear, or the tendons can partially separate... or worse, you can have a full tear or ripped tendon etc.
There is hope.
Learn Ben Pakulskis approach to scapular stabilisation. This will change ypur life life.
When you nail that, Watch Joe Bennett stuff on activation, that will really get you going before lifts.
With those techniques down, Nd ypu relearn how to bench and press, consider always doing rear delts before presses. Minimum activate them and the whole scapular region rooms etc, before pressing.
Get that sorted and you will make lifting way more sustainable.
Then, investigate how to release m7scular impingement and adhesions. A.R.T. is the best for this.
Hope some of this helps
Good luck!
Damn it where is the plus 1000 karma button ....I know its around here somewhere.
This is a hard one that I ran into on a few different occasions....in my opinion or at least personally I would absolutely stay away from dips. Also I had this kind of pain/injury on a few occasions. I took a few weeks off and it came back quick. I tried still lifting heavy and if course I couldn't. I tried changing exercises and lifted much lighter and still not much luck!
'Im wondering if you are cycling now? The only thing that seemed to allow me to heal the 2-3 times this happened to me is when I got off my cycle.......seems I magically started heal as if I had a scab on my arm Everytime. Never had any big issues unless I was on a cycle.
Try putting it later in your exercise selection. If you’re pre-fatigued you won’t need as much weight. Just gotta put the ego aside to train that way.
AnonSolid advice. +1
"The truth I've discovered is that you don't have to lift enormous weights to grow muscle. By using stricter form, slower negatives, and stretching between sets you can get an incredible pump in all your workouts. Numbers are an abstraction, especially to muscles. Your body doesn't know the absolute weight of what you lift, it only recognizes how heavy it feels. The secret is to make lighter weights feel heavier."
- Frank Zane
Shoulders are extremely delicate things, one minute they are fine the next you are nursing an injury normally tendon or rotator cuff related. Main thing is to get them very well warmed up and not to overtrain them. They get hit during virtually every exercise you do. Even doing curls you are hitting them straight after training chest. Also bear in mind other exercises can strain them too but the direct chest work just brings it to your attention more - I've strained mine doing heavy pull-ups before, deadlifts massively strain the rotator cuff too as the shoulder tries to stabilize and bring the weight into the body. Squats cause a massive rotational & abnormal load on them too .....
When my shoulder was hurt I used dumbbells. I took a few weeks off first. Then a physical therapist told me to always warm up with bands. He said it strengthens your rotator cuff. Not sure if I spelled that right. For some reason the barbell puts more strain on your shoulders. I am back 100% after that.
Why would you do incline press and dumbbell incline press? I’d choose one or the other each workout.
Try doing dumbbell flat press with a neutral grip then reverse grip flat bench for your upper chest. Finish with dips with a narrower grip if you’ve got the V shaped dip bars. Do this until it clears up.
If it’s still painful see a Dr.
Yeah I go with one or the other too. That way I can switch it up.
Thanks Sam I Am, I edited my comment and added the or in there for incline. I usually pick whichever is open when we get to the gym for incline. I have never done a reverse grip flat bench, will give it a shot for upper chest as you suggested and less shoulder. We do have a curved dip bar that I rotate in, I was thinking of stopping those since it puts weight on the shoulder until it heals up. I appreciate the input!
Same thing happens to me . The best I can figure is I'm over loading my front delt and the tie in point of my bycept.
Causing bycept tendonitis.
It will throw your whole shoulder out of balance. When that happens there is impingement in the shoulder cuff and tendons.
I had to not do curls for about 6 months for it to heal.
What I do now is when using chest pressing I will always follow with rows. Focusing on the back and not the bycept. So for every push there is a pull. But not a curl.
Most of us with out thinking have a forward posture. Its caused from
One wanting to look bigger
Two being out of balance in a forward way.
Three not knowing these little things.
Standing there up right with hands down at your side
Do your thumbs point forward or towards your legs?
If toward your legs make a focal point to correct that.
Dont pull your shoulders back but push your chest out so your sternum points in front of your face . This should fix the posture.
Something important I overlooked for years regarding the “for everyone push there is a pull” rule is the importance of horizontal pulls. Since the lats insert in the inner arm it can internally rotate the shoulder making things worse.
Strengthening the upper back muscles has done a lot mending the shoulder issues I have. Some light warm ups focusing on the mid and lower traps make the shoulder feel a lot better pressing by improving mobility
Thanks for the response. Thumbs point forward with hands at my side. I will add in rows after chest as you suggest with the push pull concept. You are probably right, I push a lot more on the "look" muscles, and don't go near as hard on my back. Currently legs and back are Tues and Thurs, I do MWF Chest and Arms, rest time on the weekend. I will make adjustments based on your input my friend.
Also try bands.
I will stand holding the band in front arms shoulder high.
And shoulder width maybe a little tighter to keep tension on the band at the bottom of this motion.
Thumbs up, pull the band apart till you arms are out to the side. With your thumbs pointing behind you like the Fonz.
So your arm should rotate clock wise right hand and counter clockwise left hand. (External rotation).
This motion is not worked with a row. The hands have to pull apart from each other.
It works the supraspinatus muscle . This little guy is responsible for holding your shoulder where it needs to be.
Look up jeff cavalier shoulder work ups .
Another one they taught me in PT is just like an external rotation using a cable stack but with a band. Elbows locked at your side bent 90 degrees For the external rotation. Without changing the elbow angle do a front raise but focus on retracting and depressing the scapula to drive the movement. Hold for 3 seconds at the top for sets of 10-15
Molinin302Solid