shoulder rehab/chest build

[stubbs]

hi all,

my shoulders and chest are quite out of proportion. i can push press 75kgs but i can barely bench press my own body weight. i remember seeing a link to an article about how sometimes shoulders can try to take over from the chest when benching if they're out of proportion. does anyone have that link?

my right shoulder's started cracking and crunching recently which i don't thinks good. it doesn't hurt generally (every now and then it aches for a little while) but i don't want it to haunt me when im older. i did cuban rotations a while back which i found quite nice so i might add them in again.

can anyone suggest a routine for my chest and shoulders that can slowly sort my shoulders out and build my chest up a bit?

my left knee also cracks and squelches so has anyone got anything that can help me out there? after reading one of the other posts i think i might add in zercher squats.

im paranoid about my joints when they're like this. i know about the fluid/air thing in them but sometimes i can feel like the ligaments slip around. i supplement with omega 3 oils, msm and liquid glucosamine just to be on the safe side.

any help?

cheers,

stubbs
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[Ford Prefect]

Honestly, as much as I hate the way his material is marketted and the way they encourage a fan-boy mentality, Scott Sonnon's body-flow as helped tremendously where my knees are concerned. I've always had knee problems from various injuries I sustained while in athletics, but squatting often and deep as well as body flow have left them in the best condition they've been in for quite some time.

As for your shoulder, I'd recommend a rather aggressive stretching program and dynamic range of motion program. Shoulder crunching and pain are never a good thing. Especially for a weight lifter. You can tear your shoulders up something fierce without taking the proper preventative measures. Also make sure your bench form is good. That is a major cause of shoulder problems.

As for the strength issue, you should just focus on your chest. Wide-grip 1 1/2 (bar down, bar 1/2 up, then back down, bar all the way up) bench presses done slowly should really hit your chest. Add a chest isolation movement in there too like flies.

[Toby]

Sounds like my shoulder. I just found a great doc who's given me a bunch of PT exercises to fix it. I've got osteolysis (form of arthritis) in it, which is very common with weightlifting. Symptoms exactly like yours, combined with an ever-increasing bone spur on the end of my clavicle. The proper treatment is rest (which I don't do, although I've reduced things a lot) and correcting structural problems. Basically, I shrug a lot, all day, every day. I can still shrug, as long as I'm aware of it. When I used to e.g. reach up to a shelf to grab a jar, I'd lift my shoulder. The doc showed me that it actually compromises my strength (stronger with the shoulder down) without increasing reach or anything and it's just a bad habit I've got into. Correction involves strengthening the latissimus dorsi, specifically around the edge of the scapula. At the same time I have to learn to isolate the lat from the pectoral (which I'm not good at). I've also got to learn not to shrug all the time.

The doc recommended I don't start Oly lifting until it recovers, so like 6-12 months :(. Overhead stuff is particularly bad for osteolysis. Also, no heavy bag work. Causes are single large injuries (like falling off a bike onto your shoulder) or repetitive microtrauma (like weights, bag work). Cure can include surgery which isn't a problem. Doc showed me that you can cut off almost half your clavicle with almost no physical effects or loss of strength. Usually they cut off a couple of centimetres.

Lemme know if you want to know more e.g. exercises.

[stubbs]

ok my current routine consists of:

monday/thursday

bench press 15,10,8,6
dumbell flyes 15,10,8,6

pull ups - as many sets until i reach 30
dumbell rows 15,10,8,6
deadlift 10,8,6

squat 15,10,8,6
leg extension 15,10,8,6
leg curl 15,10,8,6
calf raises 4 sets of 10-15

tuesday/friday

clean & press 3x10
lateral raise 15,10,8,6
upright rows 10,6,4
push press 6,4,2

straight legged deadlift 10,6,4
goodmornings 10,8,6

barbell curl 15,10,8,6
hammer curl 15,10,8,6
rope press down 15,10,8,6 (sometimes i do dips instead)
lying tricep extension 15,10,8,6

wrist curls

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right i think i'll swap conventional squats with zercher squats for a while. i'll scrap my current shoulder routine and swap with seated lateral raise, bent over lateral raise and very light cuban rotations. any other suggestions?

ford is this the sort of stuff you do? http://www.dolfzine.com/page674.htm
how would you recommend i add that into my routine.

toby, what exercises would you recommend i add take away?

im taking the rest of the week and maybe next week off to rest before i go back into this.

i think i actually originally hurt my shoulder doing a planch sit and i held it too long and got really bad cramp. the next day i did clean and press and it hasn't been the same since.

anyways, what do you guys think?

cheers again!

stubbs
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[Toby]

Well, it all depends on whether you've got the same sort of injury as me or not. You'll have to see a doc for that and get x-rays and maybe ultrasounds done.

If it were me, I'd be careful with bp, flyes, pullups, C&P, lateral raise, push press plus maybe a couple of others. I still do bp, but carefully. Doc told me to stop going for PR's too, since the loss of control with heavy lifts has big potential for damage. Keep your shoulder blades pulled tight together and your lats strongly contracted i.e. pull your shoulders towards your feet. I still do pullups, but I'm doing them unweighted for a while. Basically anything you do, you have to do with shoulders down which I find hard to do. E.g. I used to do something similar to rope press down with good form (i.e. not using momentum) except IIRC I'd shrug while doing them. So you don't have to stop anything really, you just have to do it right and further injury potential decreases a lot.