Shoulders getting stressed. Best adjustment?

mrpjourney · 2018-05-24T13:40:08+00:00

The Olympic bar is notorious for shoulder problems. Switch to dumbbells and see how that works. Maybe take a week off from anything that causes pain to allow some of the inflammation to go down before you try the dumbbells. If you still have pain with them, then you need to see a doctor.

I have to get a steroid shot in my shoulder every 6 months after 10+years of using the Olympic bar.

ReddJive · 2018-05-24T13:57:26+00:00

Just addressing the medical portion. Get checked out. MRI maybe. Shoulders are high risk for injury and they are the toughest to train.

It's likely the bench that is causing it. Research your benching. In short your shoulder blades should be pinched. Feet on the ground as far back as you can so your heels are slightly off the ground.

When you push up you push down on your heels like you are pushing your body sliding back on the bench. Keep those shoulder blades pinched and push up with your chest.

When coming down relax. Then up and contract again. My bench went up 80 pounds in a 2 weeks from this form alone. Not saying you will see that increase but form means everything.

thunderbeyond · 2018-05-24T13:35:03+00:00

I tried r/fitness but apparently any question potentially involving an injury of any kind is banned.

Yes... and perhaps that's because they realise this is a question you should be asking a health professional.

Don't skimp on looking after your physical health. This includes getting proper advice when you need it.

SteelToeShitKicker · 2018-05-24T14:21:59+00:00

You need to work on shoulder mobility. Get on youtube, there's plenty of videos on this.

Also, both OHP and Bench get very technical at the weights you are at. You need to work on your form, and further, you need to find the form that works for your geometry. For me on bench, I need to focus on keeping my lower back straight and more core tight, which doesn't allow me to get my chest up high, but enables me to do the lift without injuring myself. But, you need to find out what works for you.

2ndal · 2018-05-24T15:08:54+00:00

When this happens to me, I deload significantly and focus on form through increased repetition. For example my max on OHP is about 130lbs and this morning I deloaded to 80lbs and did 100 reps, 10x10. This gives me a chance to slowly work through form issues and crunchiness as you put it with less weight and therefor less stress and lower chance of repeated injury. I also feel like this helps me improve strength in more "micro" ways that help heal quicker, though that's bro science at best.

RedPillCoach · 2018-06-02T04:37:07+00:00

clicks and pops

With new Clicks and Pops, especially in the shoulder and especially if they "hurt" it is NOT the best approach to double down and build up the shoulders. The shoulder joint is ridiculously complicated and a lot can go wrong. I would lay off the shoulders for a couple of weeks at least until the pain/pops disappears and then work my way into it. If the pain recurs you should get a check with your family doctor.

A couple things to consider are: Is the pain constant? Or is it painful when it "pops?" If so then you certainly should NOT build up the shoulders before you get medical clearance.

Is the popping/pain produced with resistance/weight bearing in certain positions (i.e. arms outstretched or reaching behind)? If so, then it depends. There are lots of reasons for pops and crickles and creeks. If its a muscle you can go to town on shoulder day and suck it up like an Alpha male. If it is a ligament or tendon rubbing something the wrong way then when you take the Alpha male approach and hurt yourself, delaying your recovery for weeks, everybody calls you a dumbass.

broneilbro · 2018-05-24T13:36:20+00:00

Are you stretching before hand? I spend about 15 minutes stretching. Ill also do triflex and fish oil as I had those issues. Worked like a charm. I've gone from 95 OHP to PR of 185.

red-sfpplus · 2018-05-24T13:41:40+00:00

Superset these. Do them in the order I have, one full rotation is one set. Do these 3-4 sets. No more than 30 secs rest between exercises.

Standing one arm landmine jammers - med to heavy weight (75-100#)

Strict form lat raises (15-20#)

Strict form shrugs (I use a 45# plate with holes)

Extreme light weight standing behind the neck OHP (like 35#) curl bar

Facepulls (20-40#)

Other than the jammers (8-10 reps) everything else should be around 20 reps.

This will help with shoulder mobility and strength. You are getting to the point where your back and shoulders are not growing at the same rate as your chest.

Keep OHP and Bench static for now, focus on the above movements for 3-4 weeks and try again.

Steve_rebooting · 2018-05-24T13:39:07+00:00

Check out; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnBmiBqp-AI or Athlean-X for some videos that might narrow it down for you

I would assume its form

2gunsgetsome · 2018-05-24T16:31:08+00:00

Don't forget to equally train the backs of your shoulders to stabilize the joint. Pendlay rows, kroc rows, facepulls, lots of them.

Reach180 · 2018-05-24T16:54:14+00:00

I'm going to challenge your premise here - I don't think you need to build up your shoulders. You need to get them to be able to move properly.

As you age, your shoulders become less mobile in most people due to muscle imbalances. This happens in almost everyone unless they actively do things to counteract the imbalance.

But as a lifter, you accelerate that imbalance with things like bench press or curls. Benching makes your pecs tighter, which causes your shoulders to hunch forward a little. The result of this is the the ball joint doesn't sit right in the shoulder socket, and doesn't allow full range of motion. This is shoulder impingement. It plagues a lot of lifters, especially older lifters.

I wrote this a while back about how I finally resolved some chronic shoulder issues.

Short answer is buy a Shoulderok and use it often.

A little more in depth answer is in my post. I tried everything - two pull exercises for every push, the YTWL protocol you'll get from most PTs. I even tried what you're thinking here - that I need more shoulder mass or something to support the weight. They really didn't work that well for me, aside from being an OK warm-up.

But incorporating my DIY Shoulderok and using it before and after I lift, and doing a couple of other moves and stretches occasionally fixed me in just a few weeks. I went from icing and aching daily to being 100% pain free in both shoulders.

JoATMoN9 · 2018-05-24T17:36:58+00:00

How long does your movement take, both the push and the reset. Is it slower and concentrated or as fast as you can to get thru the set?

TeachMeTheWaysOfRP · 2018-05-28T17:59:39+00:00

Extremely late to this, but maybe OP will see it. Go to YouTube and look up Doug Brignole OHP. Credible biomechanics guy. Literally puts the physics into fitness.

Title	Shoulders getting stressed. Best adjustment?
Author	wildnight98
Upvotes	1
Comments	22
Date	May 24, 2018 1:27 PM UTC (8 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/askMRP
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/askMRP/comments/8lsmdx/shoulders_getting_stressed_best_adjustment/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/askMRP/shoulders-getting-stressed-best-adjustment.204445 https://theredarchive.com/post/204445

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