Shoulder pain, conditioning and over training

Ilk

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Hey wanted to ask about a problem of mine with the shoulders.

Ever since I started to go boxing twice per week my shoulders have always been problematic.

I used to weight lift 3 x week with doing bench twice, over head press once and a couple of assisting shoulder exercices per week. And back then I noticed my shoulders are burning. In one spar I kind of injured my left shoulder after throwing a hard counter jab.

I took a month off from everything but running and soccer. And now I am back in boxing and trying at least once per week to bench. But the same shoulder problem appears. I feel them tired all the time.

It is funny because my lower body receives much more punishment. I run once per week and I play soccer twice per week. I used to squat twice sometimes 3 x per week and DL once per week but never felt my lower body tired.

So how do I recover and condition these shoulders to have this problem gone?
 
Short answer:

1. Stop doing or do less of what aggravates the shoulder
2. Work on quality over quantity and be selective with your shoulder exercises, put the focus on recovery and don't go to exhaustion
3. Slowly build back up the volume towards tolerating full intensity or sport again

Barring that you might need to see a professional.

In regards to your lower body it's apples and oranges. Different joint structures and biomechanics. Some people have issues here, others there. It's not set in stone.
 
Okay... I have had terrible shoulder problems my entire life. It started when I was playing football... I was a lineman and I found that "punching" people in the chest and generally keeping my hands out in front of my body caused impingement and then tendonitis and I suspect you might be having a similar issue. I went to multiple physiotherapists but all I really got told was that my shoulder joint itself is irregular and to do standard rotator cuff excercises. So, with my left shoulder being messed up, the right shoulder was overcompensating, and being a retarded 20 year-old I pushed myself way too hard using poor form and ended up tearing my right labrum. I had surgery and it healed but never to 100% and now I have two bad shoulders.

So... what to do? Basically I took a long look at all my lifts and removed the ones that caused me problems, and improved my form on others.

My number one recommendation is to make sure you get your bench form down. Lower the weight if you have to. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and arch your back. Lower the weight in a controlled motion to just below nipple level and make sure to not flare your elbows too much... elbows flared to the sides and not having your shoulder joint locked in place under you places a ton of stress on the shoulder. If problems persist consider swapping out the bench for incline bench which in my experience is less likely to cause tendonitis. Weighted pushups are also excellent because your scapula moves in a much more natural way then when benching.

Do not do any dips as they are absolute murder on your shoulder joints.

Basically, you gotta keep tinkerink with alternative excercises until you find something that produces results and is easy on your shoulders. My push day now looks like:

Incline bench
Weighted pushups
Cable lat raises (more time under tension amd less strain on the joint than dumbell raises imo)
Dumbell shoulder press (lower weight, higher reps)/Military press (higher weight, lower reps)
Low cable flyes (i find low flyes much easier on my shoulder than high ones)
Tricep cable pushdowns (single arm)/Overhead dumbell extensions

Also I don't know what supps you are taking but Glucosamine/Chondroitin/MSM + Fish oil makes a world of difference for joint pain in my experience.

Also make sure to stretch and to finish off your workouts with some rotator cuff excercises... i like external rotations on the cable machine personally.

Listen to your body and don't be scared to takr a day off if your shoulder feels off. Forcing yourself to excercise is all well and good but with things like shoulders you will hurt yourself more and it will be counterproductive in the long run. I say that as someone who forced himself to lift 6 days a week through the pain and ended up with a torn labrum, missing almost a year of lifting and losing all my gains. Play it safe.

Good luck!
 
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In my own experience my shoulder issues seem posture related. You might have rounded shoulders so maybe working on the back more will help, specifically the upper/mid back. So seated rows, seal rows, face pulls, reverse pec deck machine and band pull aparts will help. Also start goiy to yoga if you can but be sure to explain your pain to the instructor.
As for working out, like a poster said above find what works for you. You may not be able to do an OHP so maybe a seated Arnold press with low weights will work. Instead of bench press do a floor press with dumbbells and if that hurts then bring your elbows further in until you feel no pain. Good luck and don't expect this to be fixed in a week or two cos it didn't take a week or two to get there.
 
In my own experience my shoulder issues seem posture related. You might have rounded shoulders so maybe working on the back more will help, specifically the upper/mid back. So seated rows, seal rows, face pulls, reverse pec deck machine and band pull aparts will help. Also start goiy to yoga if you can but be sure to explain your pain to the instructor.
As for working out, like a poster said above find what works for you. You may not be able to do an OHP so maybe a seated Arnold press with low weights will work. Instead of bench press do a floor press with dumbbells and if that hurts then bring your elbows further in until you feel no pain. Good luck and don't expect this to be fixed in a week or two cos it didn't take a week or two to get there.

You know what. I have done more back work the past month and got advised from a friend on few simple stretches and the left shoulder pain seems to have disappeared. I can still feel discomfort after I have completed a workout that is heavy for my shoulders, for example sometimes after boxing and if I have had many rounds on the boxing bag. But in general I have been working on my back muscles slightly more than the usual and it seems to have fixed the problem.
 
You know what. I have done more back work the past month and got advised from a friend on few simple stretches and the left shoulder pain seems to have disappeared. I can still feel discomfort after I have completed a workout that is heavy for my shoulders, for example sometimes after boxing and if I have had many rounds on the boxing bag. But in general I have been working on my back muscles slightly more than the usual and it seems to have fixed the problem.
I'm happy for you dude. I'm nowhere near there yet myself unfortunately!
 
Hey wanted to ask about a problem of mine with the shoulders.

Ever since I started to go boxing twice per week my shoulders have always been problematic.

I used to weight lift 3 x week with doing bench twice, over head press once and a couple of assisting shoulder exercices per week. And back then I noticed my shoulders are burning. In one spar I kind of injured my left shoulder after throwing a hard counter jab.

I took a month off from everything but running and soccer. And now I am back in boxing and trying at least once per week to bench. But the same shoulder problem appears. I feel them tired all the time.

It is funny because my lower body receives much more punishment. I run once per week and I play soccer twice per week. I used to squat twice sometimes 3 x per week and DL once per week but never felt my lower body tired.

So how do I recover and condition these shoulders to have this problem gone?
It's strange that you mention burning rather than pain or aching which is more typical. Actually, shoulder injuries are common and should be taken seriously, but what you describe seems atypical (?)
 
General comment for rotator cuff rehab, based on dealing with shoulder issues for more than a decade. This is the best protocol I have found:

 
Just my 2 cents:
1) If you entertain thoughts about being overtrained, you are overtrained.
2) 1 month isn't enough rest if you really fucked up a joint, it's more like 6-8 weeks.
3) If simple stretches help, it's not completely fucked, but you're doing something wrong. What you're doing wrong is hard to pinpoint without seeing you train.

And ffs, posture is overrated nowadays. Have you guys ever even seen boxers? They look like hunchbacks (internally rotated shoulders, kyphosis, hollowback and anything else you can think of) sometimes and still have loose, relaxed shoulders.

mark-munoz-gegard-mousasi-ufc-fight-night-41.jpg


Wanderlei_Silva_training.jpg


jean-pascal-vs-bernard.jpg
 
easiest answer is they feel tired because they are tired.


you're going to have to be patient and wait until your shoulders get used to throwing hundreds of punches. lessen your shoulder activities until you feel acclimated to this new thing you're doing, and improved technique, then you can get back to the weights.
 
Yeah I actually rested half Jul and entire August. Pain did not fully dissapear.

I added a lot more back work in th gym and now it is.gone. However I am not very consistent with boxing right now to measure it and make conclusions. I have also added shoulder stretches to my routine while resting and lifting. It seems to work.

I guess it has been an injury based on over training.
 
ever try buying the yoga brick? it expensive 20 bucks for a piece of plastic but its freakin biblical it works wonders .. ofcourse you need a yoga mat first
 
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