ExRx.net

Hi, this is a follow up from the following thread

http://exrx.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=933&start=15

In one sentence, through neglect my rotator cuff muscles are very weak and on the left side, one or more of the muscles is inflamed, causing pain.

I plan to let that settle down and then get back in the gym, starting light and prioritising the rotator cuff muscles i.e. bring them up to scratch.

I would like advice on exercises (not for RC muscles i.e. chest, back, arms) that cause minimal stress on the shoulders?

When the pain goes away and I am prioritising the RC muscles, I was going to train my legs more and would like to train my arms more but not sure if I would get away with it in relation to going heavy and the stress I would put on shoulders.

What bi/tri exercises cause the least resistance on your shoulders?

I'm inclined to just do isolation exercises but when thinking about it, I can't really work out what's best...

This is all so that I can do something in relation to lifting weights... It depresses me when I can't go do much, would also like to bring my arms up to scratch. Legs are ok but would like to take advantage anyway and hit them harder/more often.

Obviously if it could do more bad than good then I would hold off...

Thanks

KP

For chest you may wanna try the decline bench. That hits the front delts the least out of the 3 angles, so maybe you could handle that. If that worked you could also do triceps extensions on the decline as well.

Also you must be aware of form. For many people such as myself, letting the bar actually hit the chest on flat bench strains the shoulders since it goes beyond natural range of motion. In a similiar fashion, incline bench should involve letting the bar down to about the forehead and no further. That is why decline is a good choice for you also since letting it hit your chest is proper form. Improper form could hurt the RC.

DB incline curls shouldn't hurt your shoulders perhaps the way BB would.

Thanks for the replies.

It could be on hold anyway, for some reason, I stopped training completely and it got worse. I can't move my left arm (upper) without hearing and feeling all sorts of clicking and cracking noises from my shoulder, with the odd bout of pain. It is healing slowly though. When I perfom Rotator Cuff exercises with NO weight, my left shoulder becomes fatigued, after around 15 reps. Either, it is extremely weak or something else is not right, but i think my RC on both sides are just extremely weak.

I therefore intend on spending around 6 weeks allowing it to completely heal and also to focus solely on RC exercises - also will perfom Stability ball exercises while I am at it (another neglected part of my training).

After the first 6 weeks or so when i feel my RC's are fine and a little stronger, i will spend 6 weeks doing some light weight exercises, depending on progress i may just start my routine again only keeping everything light - obviously keep training the RC's and other stabilisers.

After the 2nd 6 week 'block' i am going to go onto a maintainance/shaping routine - apologies to all who oppose traditional bodybuilding methods ;-)
I plan on doing a great mixture of exercises, hitting muscles from as many angles as possible, still not going all out heavy.

After that I will start going all out, gradually decrease my rep range, increase weight and hopefully get my strength back and more....

Also intend on stepping up cardio to keep me sane - need to compensate for lack of weights at intial stages!

Anyway, hope my recuperation plan sounds ok as i just thought of it as I typed....

Thanks again for your help

KP