My workouts were going really good. I had pushed myself to go harder than I ever had before and I was seeing improvements.
Upon returning from Greece, I had decided to go back to P90x which are little torture sessions, but that’s good, right? No pain, no gain. During the first chest workout, I completed a whopping total of 64 pushups. By the time I finished workout #4, I was up to 145. And then I screwed up my shoulder.
On 11/2, I was doing the shoulder/arms workout. The next day, my left shoulder didn’t feel so good, but the pain wasn’t that bad either. On 11/8, I attempted the same workout again and my shoulder would have no part of it. After just a couple of sets, I threw in the towel. I decided I wouldn’t do another workout until the pain went away. But then it didn’t go away. It doesn’t help that I sleep on my left side. How the hell does one teach themselves to change sleeping positions???
Yesterday (11/15) I went to the doctor who said that I probably just strained some connective tissue in my rotator cuff. She suggested anti-inflammatories and taking the rest of the month off from weight training. Bleh.
P90x workouts suck (in a good way!), but not being able to do them sucks more (in the worst way). Hopefully, I can resume them in December.
Running
When your shoulder gives you lemons, you take up running. That’s not exactly how the saying goes, but this is what I’ve done. I have two 5ks to run in December and my crappy shoulder has given me a reason to train harder with all of my extra time. I’m running at least 2 miles every day.
My best 5k time is 29:59. My goal is to beat that. I don’t like running, but we’ve had some stunning days here in Colorado lately, so at least it’s very pleasant to be outside.
Steps
I’m thisclose to meeting my 6,000,000 step goal for the year. As of 11/15, I have 5,784,775 steps. This is an average of 18,191 steps per day. If I keep up this pace, I’ll end the year with 6,639,715. That is short of my stretch goal of 7,000,000, but still a shitload of steps. And if my shoulder stays sore, I’ll be putting in a lot more steps, so maybe I’ll make the big goal after all.
Pivot
Life is full of twists and turns. Sometimes, you twist your shoulder and it hurts.
The most successful people are those who absorb the issues and aren’t defeated by them. Every failure is another opportunity. I haven’t always been so good at looking at life this way. Hell, I’m still not, but I’m trying. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll beat my best 5k time…
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Be careful with that shoulder. I hurt my left shoulder in the spring — likely doing either snatches or overhead squats. It got better — to the point that I thought it was all good. Then, it hurt again. Then, it was better. Now, it’s been consistently hurting for a couple months. The doc said likely either an impingement, or a torn labrum. The PT is currently thinking impingement.
What a bummer man. I hope that you get it figured out and get better. I’m sure it’s incredibly difficult for you not to work out.
Damn, man…sorry to hear about the shoulder, but you are absolutely right to take some time off to nurse it back to health. Also an awesome idea to use the down time to up your cardio (maybe join the wife on her latest endeavor?)…I’d also recommend some DB work and leg work for the opposite side of your body…if I remember correctly, you like dead lifts. Well, do one arm dead lifts. They’re amazing for building your core and you’ll definitely see some increase in strength when you are able to go back to the 2 arm method…best of luck, sir…
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Yep, just ran with Mindy this morning.
I was thinking about strength stuff for legs…
I’ve had good results with rotator cuff pain hanging from a chin up bar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUzNdTmRDx8
Oh man, thanks a lot for this. I watched the video and then marched over to my pull-up bar. It hurt slightly hanging there, but feels better now that I’m done.
I would recommend actively rehabbing the shoulder, not resting it too much. I feel like too often rest may make the pain go away after a time but results in re-injury when starting back in with workouts.
Try something like the following.
1) Do 20 reps overhead press (or pick your favorite shoulder exercise) with a light weight (very light for you personally, something like 30% of your max). Did the pain get worse? If so stop and wait a few days then retry step 1. Did the pain feel better/not get worse? Do 2 more sets of 20 reps. Evaluate your pain comparing before, during, and after. The goal here is that the work *should* make your pain feel a bit better.
2) Repeat step 1 two to three more times this week.
3) Every week thereafter increase the weight slightly and adjust the reps down until your back doing your original workout.
4) Throughout the rehab period, keep in mind that you are not broken and that it will get better!
The theory here is that moving the joint will (1) increase blood flow to it helping with healing and (2) tell your brain/body that you need to still use this thing called a shoulder, prompting it to hurry up and get fixing it.
In general, push-based chest exercises are hard on the shoulder. 145 reps is a lot of reps!
Thanks for the advice. What do you think of trying this with a machine? I normally use dumbbells, but I’m thinking the limited range of motion that a machine would force me into may help limit the potential for further injury.
I think a machine would likely be fine. If the weight is light enough though I wouldn’t worry about it pushing you into an awkward position even if not in a machine. Make sure the movement is controlled. You also need to consider that a machine often moves one particular way, which may not match the way the exact ergonomics of your personal body movements.
I come from mostly barbell experience, and one thing we do for shoulder issues while bench pressing is to move our hands closer together on the bar. This seems to reduce the shoulder portion of the work.
If your range of motion is limited, you could again try a progression from shorter ranges of motion to longer as it slowly gets better. The key is to “find” the right amount (weight, ROM, etc…) that doesn’t make it worse, or even makes it feel a little better, after/during the movement.
These articles may help:
https://www.barbellmedicine.com/scapulardyskinesis/
https://www.barbellmedicine.com/shoulderimpingement/
Modern medicine doesn’t really understand internal pain all that well. Sometimes the best medicine is just a good attitude, knowing that everything will be fine given a little time.
Sorry for the late reply, hopefully everything is feeling better by now!
Thanks for the detailed response, really appreciate it. I’ve decided to let it all rest through the end of November. After that, I’ll get back into it, but very gradually. I’ll start with low weight/higher reps and see how that works out. In the meantime, the layoff is driving me nuts…
Same thing happens to me with my shoulder from time to time…and is currently flared up along with a (very)partially torn bicep that is sore. My only suggestion, other than giving shoulder stuff a break is do some Spartacus workouts. Look it up online, if you think P90X is tough, you’ll hate me for recommending these. Basically you can do it all at home in 40 minutes (just power through to the end even if you have to take breaks), modify exercises to something that doesn’t hurt. If you can do pushups do plank holds, box jumps, Bulgarian split squats, or wall sits…just do something. I’m guilty of taking a bit too much time off when something hurts instead of modifying and getting the blood pumping.
Thanks for the advice. The spartacus workouts look intense, but easier on the shoulder. I’ll give it a try this weeekend.
Hard to know without an MRI but sounds like an overuse injury- as a trainer I’ve rehabbed my shoulder several times with great success- I have taken a different approach- First- do all the theraputic approaches- rest-ice- etc but don’t immobilize- keep the shoulder moving gently- once the pain calms down- I started training all the surrounding muscles- traps, rhomboids, pecs, gently integrating delts & finally SITS muscles- suggest you get some professional guidance- but I’ve found that the body is good at compensating for injury which is why I trained every surrounding muscle I could think of – my Orthopedist said my injury would never be more than 70% but today its 100% perfect- took 6 months but I’m glad I didn’t rush it
Thanks for the advice! I can’t sit still, so I’m definitely going to keep moving it. I hope I have something better to report in a couple weeks.
My main issue may be that I keep sleeping on the damn thing. I don’t go to sleep on it, but I wake up in pain because I’ve rolled over on it.
I’ve a similar issue, but with the right shoulder.
I’ve had success by using an extra pillow for the head and one in front and back to create some space for my arm to go *without* putting pressure on the shoulder/collarbone. It takes a bit of wiggling to get it all feeling right, and it took a couple of nights to get used to the slightly elevated position, but the pain went away.
I hope your shoulder is better soon. I’ve simplified my workout as I get older. Now, I just do presses, pull-ups, and squats with moderate weights. My joints can’t handle the stress. Anyway, good idea about more running. Stay healthy!
i just got back on the running train a couple of weeks ago. mrs. 1500 and her 0.5 marathon training about shamed me into it. i’ve done 10 treadmill workouts here at my job and hit my 3 miles almost every day and am finally a little less tired in the evenings. i do one little set of assisted dips or pullups after my runs. i’m not sure if i’ll ramp up to 13 miles but it’s nice to know you can complete a 5k any time you choose.
that sucks about the shoulder. some of those little muscle pulls take a while to go away. keep up the running and happy thanksgiving.
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Hey 1500,
Yeah, best thing you can do if your shoulder is sore (in a bad way, not just from muscle fatigue of working out) is to REST IT entirely. Give it some time and then maybe modify the part of the P90X workout that caused it grief in the first place.
As for running, I’ve done three marathons myself. The key is to just keep reminding yourself that it’s one foot in front of the other. Really that simple, and just keeping your mind in the right state as you go along. As you mentioned, each challenge is just an opportunity to grow.
Take care,
Ryan
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Thanks for the tips. For now, I’m letting the shoulder rest. Since 11/8, the only thing I’ve done is some stretches. It’s aggravating when it doesn’t seem to be improving.
Running! I find that if I do it every day, it gets easier. It’s amazing how soon it becomes the opposite of easy once you stop doing it though. I’ll never do another marathon, but I’m going to do a half-marathon next year…
The shoulder problem sucks. My dad has had a lot of problems with one of his shoulders and it was amazing how limiting it was on his movements and what he was able to do. Note – I’m not for a second suggesting that you’re as old as my dad…..
I’ve been there man. I think I tweaked my left shoulder rotator cuff after weeks of holding two infants one in each arm. I had the WORST acute pain with simple sideways motions. All I could do was try to rehab it with lifting soup cans for 30 reps every other night for like three months. Years later, that shoulder is doing much better, but it took about three years before I could sleep on it again. Hang in there mate.
And next time try to avoid overuse exercises? 5-25 workouts baby!! 😉
Three years!!! Nooooo!!!!
You should try to sleep primarily on your right shoulder if you are a side sleeper.
This keeps your heart elevated so it doesn’t have to work as hard. Your heart needs rest too. 🙂
When you sleep on your left shoulder your heart has to work much harder. I occasionally roll over to my left, but only for short periods. Just like anything else, it takes practice.
As a male approaching 50, heart health is on my mind. Both my grandpa’s died of heart attacks/clogged arteries and my dad had 2 heart attacks at age 69.
Your shoulder might take 6 months or more to heal. Another joy of getting older.
Right-side sleeping is exactly what I’ve been doing. It took me a week to get OK with it though. The first couple nights were misery.
Six months!!! I hope not! Gahh!!!
So a shoulder injury means it’s now leg day, every day? You can get good calorie burn just working the legs, they are larger muscle groups anyway (this coming from someone that is easily 40 pounds overweight…but i have a BS in Industrial engineering, so i definitely know how to BS with the best of them). I’m going to go against most typical FIers…and contra MMM: get a massage from a therapist that works at a PT office. It’s important you take care of your body. If that cost is too much for you (we are all allergic to spending), work something out with an independent therapist- maybe you have some skills you can trade, like setting up a website for them (I kind of did that, but it was a giving back project….they pay my fees forward to an elderly person getting a comped massage). You need someone that’s focus is on helping with repetitive sports injuries- (I don’t believe that just walking into massage envy will cut it). Good luck! Also: husband swears by this for his “old army injuries”: fill a long (clean!) tube sock with rice (not instant), tie off the top, and heat in the microwave about 1-2 minutes. Then use as a hot pad. It will absorb moisture, and provide compressive heat to the region.
Yep, leg day. Every. Single. Day. Bah… The good news is that my gut is rapidly shrinking. It helps to have an 11-year-old full of energy who demands that I run with her daily!
I’m not at all against spending money if it will lead to increased quality of life. And being able to do my workouts are definitely a life enhancer. I know a PT, so I’ll ask him for a recommendation.
Awesome time of the year for running, for sure! I much prefer the cooler and cold weather now to the sweatfests in the summer.
Just like anything fitness related, you tackle something too hard, your body is going to fight back. Gotta build up slowly and push hard once per week, then after some time, you can push hard more and more often…
Ice is a miracle worker – sometime if you ice a few times for a few days, and ease back in, you’ll be OK.
Thanks for sharing – not enough about fitness in these fire and finance blogs…
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I’m on pace to hit 6,000,000 steps for the year in mid-December. Good luck getting there and with everything for the rest of the year.
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Sorry about that, just be careful with that shoulder. This makes me bring this up the bad side of cardio; How your daily gut busting routine may actually be preventing weight loss and pushing you closer to death: http://www.healthandbeauty1st.wordpress.com
I wonder what the limit is though? When I googled this, the articles I found talked about heart scar tissue with marathon runners. I’m NEVER doing anything close to a marathon! 🙂 I’m running about 2 – 3 miles a day and that’s it.
Some of the articles I found also mentioned Mercola who is a super-quack: https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/9-reasons-to-completely-ignore-joseph-mercola-and-natural-news/
It’s hell getting old! I used to be very athletic when I was younger. Lately, I’ve tried to get back into shape by lifting weights, running and biking. Earlier this spring I had pains in my shoulder, elbow and hand due to the weight lifting. Ok, I’ll try jogging. I did this for about a month, then completed a 5k run. My right knee and shins were killing me for a week. I’m now back to my old routine of walking, occasional bike rides and stretching.
It’s hell getting old… 🙂
Sorry to hear about your shoulder.. I used to be so athletic before, but now I gained a lot of weight and having a hard time to do everything I did before. My back and knees hurt whenever I go for a run, jump and etc,, Ugh!
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There’s a guy near my route to work who has one. It makes him look like a dick. I also remember a delivery company (might have been Whistl) who were talking about having their employees deliver mail with them.